With or Without 04 - With Abandon by J.L. Langley

Author:J.L. Langley [Langley, J.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Matt stared into the mirror. He was going to have to leave the bathroom sooner or later to go get his tie tied, but he was nervous. He’d never been to a fancy party like this before. He wanted to go, was excited even, but there was still the fear of the unknown. The crowd at this party would be sophisticated and rich…glamorous. He was none of those things. What if he did something stupid, like trip—he was always tripping on stuff—and embarrassed Aubrey?

“Sugar? You ready?” Glancing toward the bathroom door, he hesitated. He picked up his color identifier off the vanity and pointed it at his jacket.

“Black,” came the disembodied mechanical voice.

“Matt, you know you’re in all black and white, right?” Aubrey’s voice held a hint of amusement.

Matt sighed, feeling silly for getting caught using his color identifier on a tuxedo. “Yeah, I know. I’m just playing.” It made him feel more secure. He hadn’t worn pink or lime green since he got the thing. He’d become dependent on it. And right now he needed all the surety he could get.

“I promise it’s all black and white, sugar. Come on out here.”

Resisting the urge to use the thing on his shirt, Matt set it on the vanity and gave it one last longing look. “Please don’t let me screw up tonight.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” Matt checked his appearance once more, smoothing down the jacket. There was no time like the present. He snatched up the bow tie and went into the bedroom. His stomach was queasy.

Aubrey stood in front of their bed—when had he started to think of it as theirs?—watching the stockmarket ticker scroll across the bottom of one of the news channels. He was watching the stocks because the volume was off. He did that occasionally, and it still baffled Matt. All those numbers and letters made no sense to him at all and after a while they all blurred together.

“Are you—?” Aubrey turned and froze.

Oh no. Matt’s stomach clenched, and his breath hitched. He looked down at himself, but didn’t see anything wrong. He hurried back to the bathroom to check the mirror. Nothing jumped out at him. He seemed okay. At least he thought he did. Frowning, he glanced over his shoulder at his back.

“What are you doing?” Aubrey stepped into the bathroom and took the forgotten tie from Matt’s hand. He positioned himself behind Matt and began putting the tie on him.

“You looked at me funny. I was trying to figure out what I screwed up.”

Fussing with the collar, Aubrey chuckled. “Relax. You’re about to jump out of your skin. I was staring because you look amazing.”

“I do?” Matt cocked his head at the mirror. Amazing? He saw the same reflection he always saw and…did he look pale?

His tie was starting to take shape beneath Aubrey’s slim, elegant fingers. Matt followed those fingers to the arms and the face just behind his shoulder. Aubrey was the one who looked amazing. He belonged in that sleek black tux.

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