“Cool posters,” he said.
“Thanks.”
He picked up a Nirvana CD from my dresser. “You a fan?”
“Yes. Don’t touch my stuff.”
He put it back. “Me too. Nevermind is my favorite album.”
“Mine too,” I said grudgingly.
“See, sis, we have so much in common.” He sat down on the edge of my bed.
“Stop calling me sis.”
“What should I call you then? Wife?”
“That’d be more appropriate,” I mumbled.
“Come on, Alex. You think I really believe that shit? I know you’re just trying to get back at me for fucking you and then disappearing.”
“I don’t care about that,” I snapped back. “And I’m not lying.”
“Okay, okay,” he said, holding his hands up. “That’s fine, whatever. We can at least be civil.”
I sighed. “I can prove it to you.”
“Go ahead.”
I turned the laptop toward him. “See? That’s an official marriage license. Take a look.”
He pulled the computer toward him and looked closely at the screen. His face clouded over for a moment as he considered it, but I couldn’t read his expression.
Finally, he looked up. “This is impressive,” he said.
“You believe me now?”
“I mean, it’s impressive that you’d go to so much trouble. It’s a really good fake.”
I gaped at him, uncomprehending. “You think I forged this?”
He shrugged. “Sure. Wouldn’t be impossible. Doesn’t look all that real to me.”
I wanted to scream. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “But it’s from a government website!”
“Is it?” He shrugged, standing up.
“Cole,” I said through my teeth, “you have to understand. We are really married.”
“Look, sis,” he said, “I had a good time with you. Frankly, I still get hard thinking about that tight pussy.”
I blushed and looked away. “Stop,” I said.
“You don’t want to hear about it? In the jungle I used to think about your body. I dreamed about making you sweat. I wanted to track you down and get you off one more time, and look what happened.”
“You’re not getting anything off. You were just an attractive stranger.”
“Glad you still think I’m attractive.”
I sighed, completely exasperated. “That’s not what I said.”
“It is, actually.” He crossed his arms, smirking at me. “Look, you can keep up this whole marriage joke if you want, but I’m not interested.”
“It’s. Not. A. Joke.” I practically spit the words at him.
“Fine, whatever you say. But we might as well get along.”
“Look, if you think this is all a joke, will you sign some papers for me?” I got out of bed and dug into my bag. “I have them in here somewhere.”
“Really? You carry around fake divorce papers?”
“Not fake,” I said, ignoring him. “Ah ha! Here we go.” I pulled them out and showed them to him.
He glanced at them and handed them back. “No, thanks.”
I felt like falling over. “Come on. Please?”
“Begging now?” He smirked and grabbed my waist, pulling me against him. I stumbled right into his chest, my heart beginning to hammer. “Sounds familiar.”
“Cole,” I mumbled. I breathed in his smell and it all came rushing back again, the way he made me feel, the way my back arched under his strong hands. He was the same man I knew back then, except he was being an asshole for some reason. “Don’t be a dick.”
He laughed, whispering in my ear. “We both know this is what you want.”
“I just want a divorce.” I pushed myself away and he laughed again.
“Whatever you say, sis.”
I made a face. This day was just too insane, too intense. I needed to be done with all this. Maybe tomorrow he would be more willing to listen.
“When are you leaving?”
He cocked his head as he opened my bedroom door. “Leaving?”
“Yeah, like, leaving my house, going home.”
“You don’t know.”
I looked at him. “What?”
“Oh, this is getting better and better.”
“What are you talking about?”
“My mom is moving in with your dad.” He was halfway out of my room. I felt a bolt of lighting run through my core.
He turned back, smiled, and spoke slowly.
“And I’m staying here for the summer.”
4
Cole
After months in the Thai jungle working my ass off, training harder than I had ever trained before, I came back home and suddenly had a wife.