Page 34

CHAPTER 34

NOTHING STAYS IN VEGAS

THEODORE

W ho is this random man dressed up as Elvis?

? * I’m looking at him, and his mouth is moving, but nothing’s coming out, or maybe I can’t hear?

Yeah, I don’t think I can hear. The only thing in my head is the sound of my heart thumping.

Turning my head slightly to face forward, I’m holding hands with Bridget.

Fuck !

Did she fucking drug me and bring me to Vegas? Did she fly in without me knowing and drag me to get married before I slipped out of her hands?

As my panic starts to rise, her face begins contorting into what I can only imagine she will look like when she’s eighty. I’m still holding her hands, not squeezing, but she starts to scream, and I look down where our hands meet, and her bones are cracking.

What the fuck is going on?

I feel a hand slap my cheek, and it’s definitely not this old-lady version of Bridget, but it’s enough to pull me out of wherever I was.

Suddenly, I hear Jax’s voice and realize the horror of marrying a geriatric Bridget was nothing more than a nightmare. “Please… for the love of all that is good, stop fucking screaming. It feels like my head’s three seconds away from imploding. And you’re in the blast zone.” He lets out an exaggerated groan. “Holy shit I don’t think I’ve been this hungover since I put those cameras in—uh, since Clay and I won the beer pong tournament during sophomore year homecoming.”

Slowly, I have enough courage to peel my eyes open. When I look down I find Jax’s arm draped over my torso, as well as one of his legs.

Wait.

Jackson Baker is in my bed.

Jackson Baker is naked in my bed.

Jackson Baker is naked and hungover in my bed.

Where the fuck are we, and what the hell happened last night?

My head, too, feels like it could implode any minute. My mouth feels like what I imagine it’s like going five days with no water, and my whole body feels like it’s vibrating. Oh, and I could throw up on command right now. I swipe my free hand over my face, and I’m hit with the metal of a ring, and the second it does I get a sinking feeling in my gut. Even though my hungover brain knows exactly what it is, I need to see it to be sure. Inhaling a shaky breath, I put my hand out in front of my face and find a black ring on a very important finger.

What. The. Fuck.

Then, all at once, it’s as if my brain jump starts, and I’m able to put all of the pieces together.

I’m in Vegas.

I’m in Vegas, on a work trip.

Jackson and I are naked in bed.

Marrying Bridget was just a nightmare.

But if marrying Bridget wasn’t real, and Jax is in my bed, and I have a ring on my finger then?—

Jesus fucking christ.

With my unsteady voice I whisper, “Jackson… What happened last night?”

Nonchalantly, Jackson responds, “We got married. Now go back to bed before I divorce you.”

Like he didn’t just drop the most earth shattering news on me, Jax’s soft snores go back to filling the room. I just lay there… wracking my brain for the last thing I remember, but I can’t seem to pinpoint it. I vaguely remember a woman named Rose… no, Ivy… maybe Fern?

There is absolutely no way I got married in Las Vegas. By an Elvis impersonator. To Jackson Baker. While still engaged to Bridget.

Of all times to do something crazy… of all the ways I could have rebelled… this is what I choose.

You’ve really fucking done it now, Theo.

After what feels like an hour, Jax finally speaks. “I can hear you thinking from here.”

“Well what do you expect, Jax? You just told me we got married. You’re naked in my bed. Anyone could have seen us last night.” Oh, shit. I can feel my chest getting tight. “I work for the school. I’m engaged. I?—”

Jackson puts his hand over my mouth. “Shhhh.” I mumble against his hand, but he doesn’t move it. “I’m really going to need you to chill the hell out, Theo.”

I sit up and Jax’s hand falls from my face. Once I get the room to stop spinning, and the feeling of intense nausea subsides, I look down at Jax whose eyes are still closed but somehow has the smile of the Cheshire cat across his face.

“Jax,” I sigh. “What the fuck are we doing? You know I’m supposed to marry Bridget. I?—”

His eyes pop open, and a stern look crosses his face as he holds up one finger. “You were supposed to marry Bridget. Now you don’t have to.” His mischievous smile reappears. “You’re mine now.”

Fuck I can feel tears starting to sting my eyes. “I was supposed to be leaving you alone. It’s your graduate year, and here I am, ruining it again. We need to get this annulled.” I throw the covers off the bed. “Come on. I bet if we get down to wherever we got married, they haven’t even sent the marriage certificate off yet. No one will have to know. I won’t disappoint my parents. The school won’t have to find out. I won’t fuck up your life any more than I already have. I-I—” A single tear finally falls from my eye. Jax sits up in front of me with a grunt and runs his thumb across my cheek to stop the tear from falling further.

With both of us sitting in bed, completely naked, Jax softly asks, “Forget all of that for one single second and answer the question, did you want to marry Bridget? Is that the life you want for yourself?”

I silently shake my head. Not needing to give it a second’s thought.

“Then for once, Theo, live a life for yourself. Don’t worry about her parents, or your parents. Don’t worry about your family’s business… which by the way, is not enough of a reason to marry someone you don’t like, and live the life you want to live. I may have been drunk as fuck but I never would have suggested it if I didn’t want to help. Despite everything that’s happened between us.”

The feeling of regret is overwhelming. “Why would you want to help me? To stay married to me?”

He sighs and smiles softly. “I shouldn’t care about this or you, not after everything you’ve done.” I drop my head, but he hooks his finger under my chin, forcing me to look up at him. “And I’ll never be able to explain the effect you’ve had on me, but even though I’ve done everything in my power not to care, more than anything, I want you happy, Theo. Whatever that may look like.”

Great, now my nose is really stinging with the floodgates about to open. “You make me happy, Jackson.”

He wraps his hand around the side of my neck and drops his forehead to mine. “That’s all I want.”

Then he’s pressing his lips to mine in a slow, gentle kiss. One we’ve never shared before.

They’ve always been hot and heated, both of us rushing. This is the complete opposite, and it’s the kind of kiss I could drown in. But I also remember the state that I’m in when a wave of nausea rolls over me. I pull away breathlessly and whisper, “As fun as this would be, I quite literally feel like I could die, and we need to figure out what the fuck we’re going to do when we get back.”

Jax chuckles. “Yeah, hungover sex doesn’t sound entirely appealing at the moment, does it?”

My eyes roam over him for a moment. “How do you still look so fucking good? Wait—why are we naked in the first place?”

“You threw up in the shower. I had to help you get out. My clothes were soaked.”

“Oh my god.” I cover my eyes and flop back onto the bed. “This may all be too much for me to handle. Just leave me here to die.”

Jax bursts into laughter and hops off the bed. “Oh don’t be so dramatic. I’ll order us the best hangover cure I know, and we will come up with a plan.”

“Oh, and what is that?”

“Some McDonald’s breakfast, of course.”

My stomach groans desperately at the mention of the greasy food. “You’re the best husband ever.”

He beams with pride. “I know.”

* ? time travel - mgk, Trippie Redd