Coda 05 -Paris a to Z

that from me. And yet, I honestly couldnt think of anything else. I caught his hand so that he stopped and turned around to face me. “Everything all right?” I asked.
    This time he met my eyes, smiling. “Course, Zach,” he said. His smile turned flirtatious, and he tugged on my hand. “Come take a shower with me and Ill prove it.”
    Who was I to argue?
    O N M ONDAYS , Angelo worked the store alone. On Tuesdays, I did. The arrangement gave us each a break from the store, and a break from each other, once a week. It helped keep the peace both at work and at home.
    He had just left for the day on Monday when Jared called to tell me that Jon and Cole were getting married, and that we were all invited to Paris for the wedding. He said Cole had called the day before, but the message hed received through Matt wasnt very helpful, and hed wanted to confirm everything with Cole before calling Angelo and me.
    I had mixed feelings about the news. On one hand, Jonathan was a part of my past, and I hated to be reminded of him at all. I was annoyed that he was intruding on my new life by inviting me to watch him marry somebody else. Was I jealous that Cole was getting what I had wanted so long ago? Maybe a tiny bit. But more than anything, I was jealous that they were getting what I wanted with Angelo. Angelo and I had been a couple far longer than they had. It seemed unfair that they got to take this step before we did. I wondered if it would ever be our turn.
    “I didnt realize their relationship was serious,” I said to Jared. “That was a year and a half ago.” Which was true. It had been a few months after our return from Vegas when Jared told me Jon and Cole were seeing each other, and I had snapped at him that I didnt give a shit and
    didnt want to hear any more about it. He had apparently taken me at my word.
    “It doesnt matter anyway,” I said. “We cant afford to go to Paris, even if he does pay the airfare.”
“You dont understand,” Jared said. “Hes paying for the whole thing—airfare, hotel, expenses. About the only thing well have to pay for is parking at the airport while were gone.”
“Are you serious?”
“Hes loaded,” Jared said. “I think he has more money than God.”
It was too much to take in. Id never even spoken to Cole. My sole interaction with him had been watching him lead my boyfriend into the bedroom two years before. And Jonathan? Hed made it very clear when we ran into him in Vegas that he wanted me back. It had surprised me, the way he seemed to remember our relationship with fondness. I remembered the bad more than the good. I suspected neither of us remembered it accurately.
“I understand why he invited you and Matt, but why us ?”
“I asked him that, too, and I think its basically because they dont have anybody else. He said somebody named George would be there—”
“Thats Jons father,” I said, wondering why they hadnt mentioned his mother, Carol. There was certainly no love lost between George and I. I didnt want to see him any more than I wanted to see Jon.
“Other than him, itll just be us.”
Fucking fabulous. That made it even worse. If it had been a big wedding, I could legitimately have dodged Jon and his father for most of the trip. But if it was really going to be just the six of us, plus George, Id have no way of avoiding them.
“Zach?” Jared asked, and I realized Id been silent far too long. “You guys are coming, right?”
It seemed insane to turn down a free trip to Paris, but I had no desire whatsoever to go. It had been bad enough seeing Jon in Vegas. I couldnt think of any good reason to intentionally subject myself to that a second time. I would have been perfectly happy to never see him again. Instead Id be flying halfway around the world just to watch him marry another man? A man who Id let fuck Angelo?
I wondered if Jon knew about that. He and Ang had parted on friendly terms, but I had a feeling Jon wouldnt be amused if he found out what had occurred between my boyfriend and his soon-to-be husband.
And then there was Matt and Jared. Matt could barely stand to be in the same room as Cole, and he didnt exactly like Jonathan either. Between Matts jealousy and Angelos temper, wed be lucky to get through the trip without anybody being punched. And the chances of it being one of the grooms on the receiving end were astronomically high. Any way you looked at it, it was a terrible idea, and I opened my mouth to say so.
But then I thought of