Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

ARCHIE

The party went on far longer than I expected it to. While the justice left with the paperwork of our union in tow, the rest of the group stuck around to swap stories and gorge themselves on cake.

I ate a bit here and there, though I barely tasted a thing. My mind was still reeling from the kiss earlier.

Somehow, in all the excitement over solving my citizenship issues with this wedding, I’d forgotten that I would need to kiss Takeshi in order to seal our vows. It honestly slipped my mind entirely.

And then he had to lay the kiss to beat all kisses on me.

As far as wedding kisses go, it had to be a twelve out of ten. He was gentle, yet not so gentle I couldn’t feel the heat in his touch.

I wanted to keep kissing him, not pulling back until I felt my lungs were set to burst.

But he wasn’t mine.

Not really.

We’d agreed to not see other people during all this. That didn’t mean he’d default into wanting me.

Right?

It would be my luck that my normally low libido would go into overdrive after locking down into a temporary union with a complete stranger. Yes, perfect sense.

As the night wore on, I realized I had no clue what he planned for later. Takeshi had stepped out of the room earlier and hadn’t returned. I suspected there was far too much socializing going on for him.

I went in search of my husband.

Just the thought had me shivering. He was mine. My husband.

No matter how short lived it would be, he’d always be my first.

I found him exactly where I suspected him to be — in the room where we’d met that first day. Since then, I’d been told the space was actually meant to be a recovery room for the guys. With Takeshi’s injuries being more pronounced, though I still wasn’t sure of the whole story, he’d stayed longer than anyone else had.

“Takeshi,” I said softly as I stepped through the cracked door.

His eyes whipped up to meet mine. He was leaning on the table, his finger tracing the patterns in the wood.

“You ok?”

He tilted his head to the side, then held out his hand toward me. I moved forward at the request. Nothing in me wanted to be away from him. It’s partly why I’d come to find him in the first place.

Once my hand slipped into his, he tugged me forward. With our bodies nearly touching, I knew there was no chance of him missing my erratic heartbeat. He had to see the effect he had on me.

His free hand came up to cup my cheek. I leaned into the touch, my body eager to take anything he’d send my way. Every ounce of affection from him was a gift.

I had no delusions about our marriage. Not really.

What I had was hope.

Hope that we could build something that might make the next few years enjoyable for us both. It might never be love, but we felt highly compatible.

His thumb traced along my cheek, the softness lulling me into a soothing trance. I didn’t want to move, didn’t want to end the moment.

Several minutes passed in the quiet before he moved again. He stepped forward as his hand shifted to the back of my neck. I waited patiently, unsure what he’d do.

When his lips pressed to my forehead, I sighed. It was impossible not to.

Everyone had a weakness. Forehead kisses were mine.

“Are you ready to go home?” I asked him once he’d pulled back enough I could see his face. He gave me a nod, then walked over to the bed to pick up a large duffle back.

I hadn’t even noticed it when I came in the room. He’d drawn my attention so completely there was zero chance.

With his bag in hand, we made our way back to the main room. The party was still in full swing, yet somehow they all managed to stop as soon as we walked in.

“We’re going to head out for the night. Thank you all so much for the amazing day. It’s more than I could have imagined.” Emotion clogged my throat as I spoke.

I felt the soft whisper of Takeshi’s thumb grazing over my knuckles where our hands were joined. The move calmed me enough to give out hugs and handshakes to the few who approached.

After the short goodbyes were over, we went down to the car park. “I’m over here,” I told him as I pointed to my old car.

The faded blue paint made it easy to spot in the underground area full of heavy-duty military looking vehicles. I wondered where the guys parked since none of these vehicles appeared to be their personal rides.

Speaking of cars, I wondered where Takeshi’s was. What type did he drive? Was he a truck guy? Or did he have a car?

I had no clue.

Honestly, I knew very little about my husband.

There was that word again.

Husband.

Spouse.

Partner.

We’d be together for the foreseeable future. There’d be no escaping spending time with one another, especially since I was going to teach him sign language.

The impromptu moment during our ceremony showed me he could go with the flow quite well. It also gave me a chance to see his eyes light up when he realized I was pledging myself to him in more than one way.

If I’d known how joyful it would make him, I’d have said ‘I do’ in every language I knew. I wanted him that happy always.

Once we got in the car, he put his address in my phone, and we let the app lead my movements. I could have let him drive, but he didn’t seem all that inclined to want to.

Soon we’d have to discuss his limits. We also needed to go over his injury. I didn’t need the gruesome details, if there were any. I was more concerned that I’d say or do something to offend him when all I wanted to do was help.

Not that he really needed me outside of the ASL teachings.

By the time we pulled up in front of a two-story brick home, I was a mess of nerves. How in the world were we going to live together when I don’t even know how to act around the man?

Get yourself together, Archie.

Takeshi climbed out of the car. I took it as my cue to exit as well. I went to grab my bags from the back, only to find them gone. I turned to see my suitcase already in my husband’s grip,

“I can get that,” I argued.

He backed away, shaking his head as he made his way to the back door. I’d been directed to park in a small, gated area behind the home. Despite noticing the nice neighborhood, I was glad to have my car tucked away. It had been with me for a while. I didn’t want anything to happen to it.

Takeshi unlocked the door, then keyed in a code for a security system that looked like something out of a spy movie. It shouldn’t have been surprising given his line of work.

Still, I gaped at the amount of numbers he had to press to get the damn thing to stop flashing.

Once that was done, he walked me further inside. I was so busy staring around the space I didn’t notice him pull out his phone until I felt mine vibrate in my pocket.

Takeshi

This is the house. You have free run of it. If you like, I can get you a different code to get in and out, so you don’t have to remember mine.

I smiled down at my phone, too afraid to let him see how giddy it made me that he noticed my reluctant feelings about his ridiculously long code.

Archie

That would be great. Your home is beautiful.

While I wouldn’t always text him back a reply, I felt like the moment called for it. He needed me to show I was dedicated to communicating in whatever form made him most comfortable.

Takeshi

Our home is beautiful. And thank you. I’d be willing to change some things around if you don’t like something.

Archie

Oh, no! It’s all so beautiful.

I wasn’t lying at all. The area we moved into opened directly into the kitchen. From where I stood, I could see into the living room and dining room areas. Everything was in neutral colors, making the space all warm and inviting.

Takeshi

There are three floors. The basement has all the laundry and fitness stuff. The upper floor houses the bedrooms. You can wander as you please. Would you like to come pick a room first?

For some reason, the question made me irrationally angry. I didn’t want to have a separate room from him.

But… we didn’t agree to that.

Just because he kissed me like a dying man and held me close like I was precious didn’t mean he wanted to snuggle me at night. He might not even realize he’s been sending me mixed signals today.

My best course of action was to get my own room to give myself space to think. Starting tomorrow I would observe things between us to see if these feelings were one sided.

It might all boil down to wedding energy. Don’t people usually hook up at weddings? That had to mean there was some kind of happy chemical signal in the brain that led others to make decisions they might not normally.

Sure. That had to be it.

I could tell I was lying to myself. It was a necessary choice given my husband just offered for me to follow him to my new bedroom — one he wouldn’t be joining me in.

Takeshi

Are you ok, Archie?

The vibrating device in my hand pulled me back from the dark trail of thoughts. I turned to smile at Takeshi, then gave him a thumbs up.

“Lead the way, please,” I said, stuffing my phone away. The message he’d sent haunted me with each step we took to reach the second level.

I wanted to take in the beautiful view from the large windows at the back of the house. Instead, I focused on not throwing up the cake I’d eaten earlier. My nerves were a mess now that reality had settled over us.

There were a few doors to my right and a couple to my left. Takeshi motioned to the right, which led me to believe his room was probably in the other direction.

He tapped on three doors, then waved at me as if instructing me to choose one. I went to the one in the middle, not really caring about what the differences were in the room. They’d all feel cold without him there to share the space.

When the hell did I become so dramatic?

I silently groaned at the stupid trail of thought. Whatever this newfound crush I had on my husband was, it needed to scram.

The room was actually really nice. It mirrored the same design of the main areas downstairs, only instead of living room furniture, there was a massive bed and nightstand on one side and a dresser with a tv on top across from it. The closet was a walk in, from what I could see of the open door. There even appeared to be a bathroom attached to the bedroom.

I was going to be spoiled rotten here.

Turning, I smiled at Takeshi. “This is lovely. Thank you.”

He rolled my suitcase into the room, then bowed swiftly before leaving. I stared after him, confused by his reaction.

Was he struggling too? Did he want me to come to his room?

Or was all this too much? Was he regretting marrying me?

God, I hoped not.

I wasn’t even worried about my citizenship at this point. With one kiss, I realized one sad truth: I wanted to be with Takeshi. To really be with him.

This was going to be a disaster.