4. Brady

Brady wokeup to a nicer morning than he deserved. He wasn't as hungover as he should have been (because Cole had forced so much water into him that he felt like he was one of those huge cups everyone's wives were carrying around), and he could smell something cooking from the comfort of his bed.

He may not be hungover, but he had to relive the memories of the night before, which was worse. He got drunk, spilled every thought in his head to Cole—a man who was practically a stranger and did not have any obligation to be as nice to him as he was being—had to have Cole drive him home, and then begged him to stay. Ostensibly because Brady didn't want him to have to take an Uber home, and because he was going to have to pick him up that morning anyway.

Not that it saved them a trip when they would have to go pick up Cole's suit from his place, but it had made sense to drunk-Brady.

His shoes were gone, but the rest of his clothes were still on, and very wrinkled. The other side of his bed was undisturbed. At least he knew he hadn't thrown himself at his new best friend.

He found Cole in the kitchen in a big Whales shirt he must have found in Brady's drawers, along with a pair of pj pants. "Couldn't find an apron, and I'm not getting grease on anything dry-clean only," Cole told Brady's confused face.

"I don't have an apron."

"I didn't think so. You also have very little food."

"I've been in Minnesota for a few months."

Brady peeked over Cole's shoulder at the stove where he was frying up some eggs.

"I was the biggest mess on planet Earth and here you are, making us eggs?"

"You assume I'm cooking for you?" Cole teased.

"Touché. We'll eat fast and then head to yours. I need to shower and pack up quick. We can grab coffee on the way since I haven't picked any up yet."

"Yeah, you need a major grocery run."

Brady took a deep breath. Today was the day, and it would be weird. But he would get through it.

The day was getting weirder, and maybe he wouldn't get through it. He waited in the car outside Cole's building for him to grab what he needed for the day and went through his texts. He had a nice one from Blake thanking him for coming the night before and letting him know he was excited to celebrate with him. And then a pile of texts from his assorted siblings, which he wasn't in the mood for. He could handle one emotional crisis at a time, and that crisis was his own.

"Ooo, what's happening now?" Cole asked, clocking the look on his face as he got into the car. He'd stashed his garment bag on the same hook as Brady's, and his hair looked fresh. Even in street clothes, he looked good. Polished. Awake at least.

"My middle brother ran away and flew to Arizona," Brady said.

"I feel like I'm going to need a little more context," Cole said, and Brady spent the drive to downtown explaining the Hunter-and-Jon situation and how Quinn fit into it all. Or didn't.

"I don't know what I would do if I was there, but I kind of feel like I should be there. Maybe Quinn wouldn't have darted. But then again, he's spent most of the summer isolating himself as best he can, even though my sister and I were living in his house. And then there's the Jon thing. Is he gay too? Am I gay? Can we all be gay? I don't know if that makes more or less sense."

"Mmm," Cole said. "That sounds really hard."

"Yeah, it is," Brady said. Cole's hand rested on his forearm for a moment, and sparks shot through Brady's body. He had a rush of embarrassment when he remembered what he'd put Cole through the night before. "I'm sorry again for telling you every thought in my head last night."

"I asked. Nothing to be sorry for. I appreciate you sharing that with me. Sometimes it's easier to tell people you don't know very well, rather than the people who know you best." It sounded like Cole was speaking from experience, but Brady didn't press. "What do you think about your older brother and the friend? Hunter?"

"I feel good about it. Hunter lived with us in high school for a year. Jon was already out of the house. Hunter and Quinn were so platonic for so long that I was a little sad he'd never marry into the family. Now he can."

Brady was grateful when they got to the hotel, and he could stop talking about his feelings. It was nice, but it was awful. At least while driving, he didn't have to look Cole in the eye.

They checked into their rooms and then met in the little conference room that had been transformed into a "getting ready" room. Brady didn't know why they had to get ready at ten a.m. for a four p.m. wedding, but he would do as he was told.

Nina, Amy, and Winter had hair and makeup to do, and Brady waited until after he ate one of the catered sandwiches for lunch before he put his suit on because he knew himself, and he would not be wearing mustard to Blake's wedding. Blake's groomsmen all wore the same suit, but the bridesmaids wore different deep wine-colored dresses, and Cole's suit coordinated with the women he'd be standing next to. He wore all black with a rich maroon button-down, socks, and a coordinating pocket square.

Brady wasn't enough of a bitch to ignore how beautiful Matthew looked. He was glowing, his navy suit popping next to the maroon of his side of the wedding party. His hair looked sleek without looking wet. Blake was in a dark charcoal. If there was any benefit to a traditional hetero wedding, it was not needing to coordinate four different styles of suits, but they did it, and it worked.

"Will you take it as an insult if I ask to put some product in your hair?" Cole asked him, a tub of wax in his hand. Brady put something in his hair, but he was man enough to admit he didn't know what he was doing. Cole's hair always looked good. Brady nodded and Cole looked so pleased to be allowed to fuss with him. It made Brady happy, too. Brady stayed seated in the conference room chair, and Cole stood between his legs as he worked in product, using a little comb to make it behave exactly how he wanted it to.

"There we go." Cole took a step back to admire his work, grabbing a mirror from the table to show Brady.

"Wow," Brady said, looking at a stranger. Cole had swooped his hair back off his forehead in a neat wave. It was a look Brady had never mastered, but Cole made it look perfect in less than five minutes. "You are multitalented."

After everyone got properly beautiful, they hopped into a limo and headed toward Stanley Park. The wedding itself would be in the teahouse, but the grooms wanted photos all over the grounds. The day was beautiful, bright but not hot, and Brady had little responsibility other than standing where he was designated and smiling.

"Have you ever been here before?" he asked Cole, as Blake and Matthew got a couple of shots on the beach. Matthew's hair was down and flowing in the wind, like Mother Nature was his stylist, and Brady had the first odd twinge of genuine happiness for his friend. He—like everyone else on planet Earth—knew how much Blake loved Matthew's hair, and he could already see this photo blown up above their fireplace. The weird, icky feeling he usually had around the two of them, which he was now realizing must be jealousy, was nowhere to be found.

Instead, his focus was on Cole.

Brady figured he would spend all his time with the other hockey players, but with the exception of Miles, who he was still a little afraid of, he didn't know Blake's hockey friends. Marcus and Luca had great reputations, but they weren't Brady's buddies. Cole had kind of become his buddy.

"A few times, yeah. It's pretty beautiful. I saw sharks here once."

"For real? I love sharks."

"We can come back when we're not doing wedding shit. It's worth spending some time here."

Cole wanted to hang out with him again? Alone? Hanging out in nature. Maybe seeing some sharks. Brady wanted that. He wanted to spend more time with Cole, but he hadn't thought Cole would want to spend more time with him, too.

The photographer called them over for group shots. Blake and his boys, Matthew and his crew. The entire group. They took photos of every variation possible.

"Don't trip," Cole joked in a whisper, taking Brady's offered arm as they finally walked down the aisle. Blake and Matthew had opted for a small wedding, and the intimacy of it made Brady even more nervous than the giant wedding Quinn had. He found his spot behind Luca. Then the flower girl and ring bearer came down after them, in pure, uncoordinated toddler cuteness. Blake's nephew Drew gave the rings to Marcus, and then the music shifted into something sweeping, dramatic, and untraditional.

Blake and Matthew appeared on opposite sides of their guests and met at the aisle. They joined hands, and though it was unscripted, Blake couldn't stop himself from kissing Matthew's knuckles. He already looked like he was on the verge of tears. The team had a pool going for when Blake would cry, and Brady had put money on the very first slot.

The whole of Stanley Park held their breaths as Blake and Matthew made their way to the officiant. Blake stumbled enough to garner polite laughter, because it was clear his distraction was his beautiful groom.

The ceremony was sweet and not too long, and even Brady got misty when they read their own vows.

"Matthew, I knew from the second I met you that you would change my life. I have never loved more deeply than I love you. I have never been more sure of anything than I am of tying myself to you. And no matter what happens, I want you by my side through it all."

"Blake, when you gave me your heart, you gave me a home. You showed me what it means to have a soulmate and encouraged me to find my purpose in life. I've grown into the person I am because of you, and I only want to see what life has in store for the two of us if you're by my side."

They exchanged rings, and when the officiant announced them married, Blake dipped Matthew deep to kiss him, then fit at least four more kisses in when they were both upright. The crowd erupted, and Blake and Matthew were whisked away for more photos and a little alone time during cocktail hour.

Cocktail hour was inside the tearoom, and Brady slipped away as everyone headed inside to take a moment for himself. He tucked himself in a corner, the image of Matthew and Blake's first kiss playing itself over and over in his head. He wasn't sad, but there was something bittersweet that was squeezing his heart.

The tears that had been right on the edge of spilling over during the ceremony came now that he was alone. He tried to breathe through it, but he couldn't do anything but gasp for air and let his tears roll down his cheeks.

The door cracked open, and Brady scrambled to wipe his face dry with the scratchy sleeve of his suit. But it was Cole, and he already knew that Brady might be a mess. He knew to look for him. And when Cole opened his arms for a hug, Brady didn't hesitate to pull him close, to bury his nose in the warmth of Cole's neck.

"It's alright, sweetheart. You can be sad. It's okay," Cole said, his voice the comfort Brady was looking for. With Cole there, he could get his breathing under control. Cole smelled clean, sharp, and citrusy, and Brady breathed him in.

Cole had no obligation to him, but here he was, making sure Brady was okay. Walking Brady through his feelings. Being his literal shoulder to cry on. When the intensity of their hug eased, Brady cupped Cole's cheek, his thumb finding the indent of his single dimple. His eyelashes were so long, his brown eyes warm and clear. The world looked right past Brady, but Cole didn't.

He leaned in to kiss Cole before he had formed an entire thought about doing so. Their lips barely touched, and Cole didn't pull away from him. He nodded his consent, and Brady kissed him again, deeper this time, but just as slowly.

Their lips fit together, and Cole pulled Brady in by his shoulders. In Brady's arms, Cole was all man. Brady had stubble under his lips and a hand tucked up under Cole's suit jacket, and yeah. The kiss felt nice. The male attraction he had spent his life pushing away, shooing off to the edge of his consciousness to deal with down the line, solidified. He'd known being queer was okay before, but now he knew it was good. It was fantastic.

He pressed Cole gently against the back of the door, their bodies connecting along the entire length of them. And when he pressed a thigh between Cole's legs and felt his growing erection, they both let out groans.

Cole took a deep breath. "I am very on board for this. But not here."

"Are we going somewhere?"

"No, we're staying here. We're going to go have a nice drink, hopefully get some kind of snack, and then do the dinner-and-dancing thing. If you still want this by the time we shuttle back to the hotel, then it's game on."

Brady nodded. Cole had that fond look on his face again. He looked happy. He looked like Brady was making him happy.

"Do you want to be my date?"

"To what?" Brady only had the one brain cell at the moment, and it wasn't producing much power.

"To the wedding. I already know we're sitting together at dinner. But dance with me. Hang out. Have some fun with me."

Somewhere, Blake and Matthew were having photos of their rings taken, or whatever the couple did during cocktail hour, and Brady felt light for the first time when thinking about the two of them together. Blake was a great person, but he would never be Brady's person. It was time to move on.