Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

ARCHIE

There really must be a HotGuys R’Us nearby. It was the only explanation I could think of to explain why everyone in this building made me want to drop to my knees and beg for their attention.

Ok, so maybe I’m exaggerating a touch.

The only person I truly wanted to do that for was the silent man seated beside me. His cold persona intrigued me far too much.

While the other men I’d met were attractive, Takeshi had a spark about him that spoke directly to my curiosity. I needed to know more about him.

What happened to him? Why was he so reluctant to learn ASL? How did he feel about Tank's proposal for us to get married?

It was silly of me to think I’d get to ask him all those things. Not when I could tell he had questions of his own burning beneath his gaze.

He scribbled on the white board as soon as Tank left us alone. I waited patiently for whatever he wanted to say to be spelled out. Rushing him wouldn’t help any of this along.

Besides, I didn’t want him to think I felt inconvenienced by his inability to speak. If anything, I felt a call to help him find better ways to communicate.

Only if he wanted it though.

I wasn’t going to force him into anything. He needed to decide on his own that this was what he wanted.

When he turned the board, I was surprised to see a list of five questions neatly numbered.

1. Your full name?

2. What is the deal you made with Tank?

3. Why are you agreeing to marry a stranger?

4. How old are you?

5. Tell me something no one else knows.

I grinned at the last one, curious as to why it was included. The other questions felt like he was trying to get details from me pertaining to the possibility of our fake marriage.

Or real marriage actually.

Nothing about it would be fake. It had to be one hundred percent legit to pass the scrutiny it would come under. The U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services office was very clear about their beliefs on fraud. If we were caught —

I couldn’t think like that. Believing we would fail would certainly lead us down that path.

Clearing my throat, I answered his questions to the best of my ability. “My full name is Archibald Leonid Kane. Please never refer to me as such. Archie is just fine. My parents had a field day with the name baby book, hence the foolishness that is my full identification.

“The deal I made with Tank is simple. He's going to try to help me with my citizenship no matter what. If we don’t get married, he’ll try to contact someone who might need an interpreter. This initial way — the one where we get married — is to benefit us both, according to him. The other would be for me alone, and I’m not sure what he’ll do with you after.

“I’m agreeing to marry you because it makes sense. I don’t have to stress about work visas and prejudiced people who don’t like the fact that I’m not a full-blown citizen. Plus, I’m not in a relationship at the moment, so it’s a good time to tie the knot.

“As to my age, I’m twenty-three. My birthday is in a few months. And the secret is going to be a tough one. I’m a pretty open book.”

He frowned at my words. I wondered if it was because I didn’t have a secret at the ready to tell him, or if he was upset I shared my life so openly with people. Would it make a difference to him if I admitted I only had a few key people in my life who knew me? The rest were acquaintances who never looked past the surface level.

“I guess the only secret I have is my fear of missing out on life. It’s not something I typically tell people. My whole life, I’ve dreamt of having an epic adventure of some kind. It’s actually part of the reason I learned so many languages at a young age. I hated not knowing what the people around me were saying. Mom used to say I just wanted to be able to gossip with them. I knew it was much more.”

Takeshi took up the board, erasing it quickly before going in to ask more questions. I waited again, curious to know what else he had to say.

This time didn’t take as long. When the board flipped my way, I read over the words he’d written.

‘Marriage is an epic adventure to those willing to take the risk’.

It felt as close to admitting he wanted to marry me to as I’d get from him. Smiling, I nodded in agreement.

“You’re right. I’ve never been the type to dream of a certain type of wedding. To be honest, I simply wanted to have the freedom to do as I chose and marry who I wanted to. Back home, simply being gay was enough to be ostracized in the community. Here, I don’t have to worry near as much.”

He grabbed his marker, then went back to writing again. I watched him closely, noting the lines of concentration in his face. Even when scowling the man was handsome.

His hair was short, almost close to a buzz cut, and his features were soft. Genetics had given him an advantage, because though I didn’t know his exact age, I had no doubt he was older than me. There was a maturity about him you couldn’t find in other people my age.

When the board flipped around, I found three more questions there.

1. How soon do we need to get married?

2. Should we tell your family the truth or lie?

3. Do you want to see other people for your needs?

My eyes widened the more I read. From these questions, I could tell he was going to go along with the plan Tank laid out.

The concern I faced was how I felt about what he asked me. Questions one and two were easy enough to answer.

“We can do it whenever is easiest for you. Tank said he’d coordinate,” I said with a shrug. “My family probably only needs to know the bare minimum. We talk often, though I don’t relay much of my dating life to them. I could have been married for months now, and they’d likely have no clue. Like I said, it’s never been a huge deal for me.”

He tilted his head, then tapped the final question.

Here we go. Time to take on the big one.

“If I’m honest, I feel weird about this. While marriage isn’t some huge deal to me, I do believe in being faithful. It’s not like I’ve just been out hooking up with people left and right anyway, so I’m not going to miss anything if I don’t have someone on the side. What about you? Are you asking to fulfil your own desires? And how old are you anyway? I think I deserve a few answers too.”

His smirk at my petulant tone sent shivers down my spine.

Was it bad that I kind of wanted to fuck my soon-to-be-husband? It probably was. Especially since we weren’t in love or anything.

This was going to be a marriage of convenience. We would both get something out of it.

Though, honestly, I didn’t know what Takeshi would get. He hadn’t mentioned learning ASL at all yet, and I was hesitant to bring it up myself.

The answers to my questions were easy enough.

‘I do not have a need to seek pleasure as often as others might. Our marriage will remain sacred. I am thirty-four.’

Oh, shit. He was eleven years older than me, give or take a few months. Why was that so hot?

I’d always liked older men. Something inside me just fell head over ass for them. Not romantically. More in a carnal way, since I’d never gotten the courage to talk to any people like that.

And given I didn’t get out much, there was nowhere to meet them.

“If you’re fine with everything, then I am too. Should we get Tank?” I motioned over my shoulder to the door. The other man hadn’t come back in yet, though I imagined it was by design.

Tank had to know Takeshi would be reluctant over this entire charade. He probably also knew his guy well enough to know I’d be grilled the second we were alone.

I should have been mad at the idea. Instead, I was highly amused.

Takeshi shook his head. I watched him clear the board, then he wrote a quick sentence and spun it around.

‘You’ll teach me at my pace?’

I whipped my head up to look him in the eye. His gaze was intense, as if he was begging me to agree. It was like he needed me on his side. Like whatever demons he faced from all this would be something we’d overcome together.

To be honest, it all felt a little heavy.

Could I really do this? Would marrying a man who needed my help nearly 24/7 be ideal?

Short answer: Yeah, it was fine. I didn’t have anything else to do.

Long answer: I had no clue how it would go. I was an all-in kind of person, so this would definitely play to my strengths.

But also, I understood being around someone else could be frustrating. Close proximity wasn’t always ideal. It worked in books and movies, not real life.

“We can do whatever you want,” I said after staring for far too long. At his quirked brow, I blushed beet red. “Not like that! I mean, the learning. You have me at your disposal to learn as much as you want, how you want.”

That part wasn’t completely true. Learning ASL took just as much focus as other languages. There was also a heavy emphasis on application though. The slightest change in movement could mean two completely different things. He needed to know all the differences if he wanted to be able to communicate on his own.

And his team was going to need training too. I had no plan as far as they went. Maybe we could do group sessions outside of their working hours?

I knew this place was a security company; however, there was much more lurking beneath the surface. That much I learned the night before while helping those survivors.

Speaking of which, I needed to check with Tank on that too. Surely they hadn’t gotten everyone squared away in the time it had taken me to talk to Takeshi.

I had an urge to help them as much as possible. Before today, I would never have been accused of having a white knight mindset.

Sure, I did the right thing, and I stayed on the good side of the law. I even tipped well when I had the money to do so.

But this was more.

I felt like I was truly contributing to the world by helping the trafficking survivors. I wanted to feel more of that. I needed to.

“Did you have any other questions?” I asked when the silence became too much.

Getting too deep in my own thoughts would do neither of us any good. Action was the best course here.

Takeshi shook his head, then stood quickly. I watched him walk to the door; his strides full of purpose.

Aside from the strange colored scarf at his neck, nothing about him stood out. He’d be the type to blend into any crowd if he wanted to. Part of me knew a skill like that was probably what made him an asset to this team.

And well, that was a problem all on its own.

How would his work life look moving forward? Could he go back into the field after this? Was his team willing to adjust? What kind of danger would he be in if he couldn’t find a way to communicate quickly with them?

I didn’t know why I felt such panic at those notions. I barely knew him.

Then again, he was going to be my husband soon. That had to mean something, right?