17. Dia

SEVENTEEN

I'm sittingon the couch in Blaze and Mads' theater room when my phone rings. I dig it out from between the cushions and see a vaguely familiar number flashing on the screen. I don't know for sure, but it's a Chicago area code, so I can make a pretty good guess as to who it is. And I'm not interested in talking. I hit the button to send it to voicemail, which I will delete without listening to later.

Just as I toss it back down and reach for my bag of Nerds Clusters, it rings again.

Take a hint and move on.

I ice the call again, putting my phone on vibrate before getting back to my movie. Blaze took Mads on a quick trip to Nantucket so they could enjoy an ‘unplugged weekend', as he called it. With all the post-Super Bowl commotion they've both had to deal with, they needed a break. The guys still can't even go to the grocery store without adoring fans stopping to shower them with compliments and congratulations. I know they love it, but it'll be nice for them to enjoy some peace and quiet, just the two of them. Even though it seems like they've been together a lifetime, their relationship is still kind of new.

Maverick is on a guys' trip with his brother, so Bella and I are planning to hang out at some point in the next day or two. I can't believe I'm just going to casually chill with Bella freaking Simon. If you had told me that six months ago, I'd have told you to fuck right off. I'm just a less-than-average girl from a trailer park on the outskirts of Chicago. I grew up eating ramen noodles and showering with watered down body wash. How I have friends that are world-famous and a husband, temporary or not, that is beloved by football fans all over the country, is beyond me. It's like a game of Which One Doesn't Belong. I'm the outcast, even though they've all made me feel so welcome.

I'm pulled from my thoughts when my phone vibrates, notifying me of an incoming text. I look to find a new message from Dalton.

DALTON: Hey, Wifey. What are you up to?

DIA: Nothing. Watching a movie.

DALTON: By yourself?

DIA: Yes. It's a normal thing that people do when they're at home alone and bored.

DALTON: Bored, huh? Want me to come keep you company?

DIA: There are cameras all over this house. You don't think Blaze and Mads would think it was weird if you just showed up here when I'm by myself?

DALTON: First of all, Mads only checks the cameras if she thinks Blaze might be naked. Plus, his cabin in Nantucket has no cell service and no WiFi. Only a landline. That's why they went there.

DIA: But what if they decide to look?

DALTON: Don't worry. I'll think of an excuse.

DIA: OK, fine. But only because the house is big and dark. And if a robber comes, I can sacrifice your life for mine.

DALTON: Be right there. I won't be mad if you're naked and waiting for me.

DIA: Dream on.

Twenty minutes later, I see Dalton pull up the driveway. I watch from the window as he rounds the back of his car and pulls a large bag from his trunk, looping the strap over his shoulder. I feel like a teenager sneaking her boyfriend in while her parents are asleep upstairs as I quietly open the door and let him through.

"What's with the golf clubs?" I ask, raising a brow.

"They're Blaze's. I borrowed them last year during our Pro Bowl trip. I figured if they happened to check the cameras and saw me here, I could just say I was returning them. Great cover up, right?" he says with a proud smile.

I huff an annoyed breath. "Uhh, yeah. It's great. But don't you think it's going to look a little weird that you're showing up at ten o' clock on a Friday night to return a set of golf clubs that you've had for over a year when he isn't even home? Not to mention, I assume Blaze doesn't do a whole lot of golfing outside in March when it's thirty-five degrees."

He stands there, perplexed for a moment. I almost feel bad, but he sets the bag down and drops a chaste kiss on my lips. "I have the smartest wife in the whole world. Always thinking of everything, aren't you?" He boops my nose before taking off toward the kitchen. Maybe I stand there, watching his ass for a minute before I follow.

He opens the pantry door, reaching for the snack shelf and pulling down several boxes of theater candy. Mads and Blaze keep it well stocked, because movie marathons are a way of life around here. He roots around for another minute before popping his head out. "I'm going to have to run back out to the store for your Nerds Clusters before we start the movie. Looks like they're all out."

I stand there, completely dumbfounded and speechless for a moment. "I—I took them downstairs already," I stutter. "How did you know they were my favorite?"

He shrugs his shoulders. "I know everything about you," he says. "Plus, you inhaled two bags of them while we were at Mads' parents' house. It was actually pretty impressive, Wifey. Turned me on a little bit."

I roll my eyes, trying not to crack a smile. "A stiff breeze turns you on."

"My wife is a fucking smoke show," he says with a grin. "You can't blame me for having a rager all the time. I'm a dude."

"Oh my God," I groan, unable to stop the corners of my lips from tipping up slightly. He follows me with his hands full of snacks as I make my way to the theater room, plopping onto the large couch. Well, it's honestly more like a bed. I think I've slept in here more nights than I have in the guest room since I've been here. I like it because there are no windows and the walls are soundproof. I don't want Mads and Blaze to feel like they have to put their kink-fest on hold while I'm here, so I try to give them space.

"What are we watching?" Dalton asks, taking a seat next to me. His thigh brushes mine and a jolt of electricity runs straight to my core as flashbacks of him coming down my throat the other night hit me like a speeding truck. I seriously need to tamp this shit down. I can't be getting used to him and craving more. This was only supposed to be for one night, but here I am, letting him give me orgasms on multiple occasions and hanging out with him when I'm bored.

"I was watching trashy reality TV, but we can put something else on," I tell him. I know that genre isn't for everyone, so I usually watch it alone when I can sit around in my ratty pajamas and shove snacks into my mouth like a little gremlin.

He tosses a Swedish Fish into the air, catching it in his mouth. "I love reality TV. I binged the new season of Prison Brides in one day."

I raise a brow, "You watch Prison Brides?"

"Hell yeah, I watch that train wreck," he says. "One episode and I was hooked. The guys give me shit for it, but whatever. It's like crack. I'm addicted."

I laugh, because same. "Okay, then," I say as I grab the remote and start another episode.

I wake up some time later, focusing on the screen as it tells me we've finished the most current season of the show we were watching before we dozed off. Dalton is laying behind me with a heavy arm draped over my midsection. His warm breath puffs against my neck as he sleeps soundly. I take a quiet moment to pretend that this is my real life. That I'm the girl who gets to open her eyes and see this man every morning, forever.

"Mmmm…" Dalton says, his voice deliciously gravelly. "Morning, Mrs. Davis. I missed waking up next to you."

"Morning," I reply, trying to pull away before I do something stupid like snuggle further into him. But he has me pinned down so I can't move. "I have to pee." It's not a lie. We must've been asleep for a while because my bladder is screaming at me. I grab my phone, checking the time to see that it's nine in the morning. We slept all night.

I walk over to the door, pulling it open. I hear faint music coming from the direction of the kitchen and freeze in place. I don't remember leaving the speakers on last night. I listen closely for any indication that we aren't alone. Just then, I hear a muffled male voice and the very familiar sound of my best friend's laugh.

"Fuck!" I whisper-yell, carefully shutting the door. "They're back early."

Dalton sits up, his messy hair and sleepy eyes making him like, fifty million times hotter. My core clenches.

Not now, you horny bitch.

"So, what?" he says. "Just say you were bored and I came over. It's not the end of the world if they think you don't hate me."

"Noooo," I say, drawing out the word. "But it's the end of the world if they think we were in here fucking all night!" I'm starting to spiral, obviously.

He rolls his eyes. "We weren't in here fucking all night. As a matter of fact, I poked you with my midnight snack twice and you didn't even move."

"Your midnight snack?" I question, raising a brow.

"Yeah," he shrugs. "I get boners in the middle of the night. Wanted to make sure you weren't interested."

I scoff. "Oh my God. What is wrong with you?" I drag my hands down my face, trying not to go into full panic mode. "What are we going to do?"

He walks over, soothingly rubbing his hands up and down my arms to calm me. "My car is out there. They already know I'm here. Let's go up there and act like it's not a big deal. I promise they won't think we were fucking."

I honestly have no idea why he's being so understanding. Or why he hasn't outed this whole situation to our friends yet, seeing as how I know he's perfectly happy telling the whole world for some reason. I've been going back and forth with it and it just feels yucky lying to Mads. I know I need to at least let her in on some of what's going on between Dalton and me. I just have to figure out what details I want to share and which ones I want to stay between him and me. I guess once the conversation happens, I'll just let it go wherever it goes.

"Okay," I relent. I go to turn but he grabs me by the arm, spinning me back around. "What?" I ask.

He cups my face in both hands. "I don't know when I'll get a chance to do this again." He leans forward, dropping his lips to mine in a teasing kiss. As he starts to back away, I fist his shirt and jerk him back to me, needing more. I open my mouth for him when his tongue darts out, letting it tangle with mine. We stand there, making out for several minutes before I break the kiss, barely able to catch my breath.

I try to ignore the ache between my legs as I smooth my hair and clothes before wordlessly opening the door and heading toward the kitchen with Dalton following closely behind. As soon as I round the corner, Mads and Blaze come into view. She's sitting on the counter while he tends to the breakfast food on the stove. When he leans over and kisses her, he catches our movement out of the corner of his eye and turns his full attention to us.

"Well, well, well," he says playfully, making Mads look in our direction. "What do we have here? Is this a double walk of shame?"

"Very funny," Dalton says. "I was cleaning my storage area yesterday and wanted to get your golf clubs out of the way, so I brought them back. Dia was alone, so I annoyed her until she let me stay. We fell asleep in the theater room. That's it."

Blaze raises a suspicious brow, eyeing us both for a moment before shrugging his shoulder. "Oh. Cool."

I stand there, completely flabbergasted as Dalton turns to me with a cocky grin because his dumb story actually worked. What an asshole.

Everyone goes about their business, busying themselves with breakfast preparations while my mind is going a million miles a minute. I'm at war with myself, stuck between being relieved that they bought Dalton's excuse and wishing they had grilled us about what's really going on. I don't know what I want anymore, but I know that the longer I stand here, willingly keeping something so big from my best friend, the more I feel like I'm being choked by my own conscience.

"We're married," I blurt, causing all three of them to stop what they're doing and turn to me. I freeze in place, hoping that if I don't move, the floor will swallow me whole and we can pretend this never happened. Unfortunately, thirty seconds later, I'm still here and they're still staring.

"What?" Mads says with an incredulous laugh.

"We're married," I repeat.

"What?" she says again.

"We—"

"We have to stop them or they'll keep going," Blaze interrupts, looking at Dalton. "What's going on?"

Dalton looks at me and I give him a weak smile. He takes a couple steps closer to me in silent support as he explains. "Dia and I ended up alone in Vegas, so we decided to walk along The Strip. We got to talking and she told me how her ex said she wasn't wife material. We were standing right in front of the chapel at the time, and I decided to throw her over my shoulder and talked her into marrying me to prove him wrong. It was just supposed to be for the night, but it turns out that getting married is a hell of a lot easier than getting divorced."

"What does that mean?" Mads asks.

I finally find my voice. "We have to share a legal residence for six weeks before we can file for a divorce. That's why I'm here in Boston. I switched my driver's license to say I live with Dalton right after we got back from Vegas. That's when our six weeks began."

"Wow," Blaze says, blowing out a breath.

Mads looks at me, unshed tears filling her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Fuck.

I shrug, full of shame for keeping this from her for so long. "I guess I didn't want you to try to change my mind about the divorce. I know you're a romantic. And your relationship with Blaze is what fairytales are made of, so it's fair to assume you'd want that for me. But that's not what I want for my life. After Josh, I decided not to put myself through it again. I've been left too many times to believe that the love you've found is out there for me."

"Josh was a piece of shit," she whispers.

Dalton grabs my hand, interlocking our fingers and squeezing gently, letting me know he's there. Grounding me. It doesn't go unnoticed by the others, but I don't care. They don't have to understand what we're going through.

"So, now what?" Blaze says, eyes locked on our adjoined hands. "Are you guys together?"

"We're whatever Dia wants us to be," Dalton answers. "Right now, she wants to go through with the divorce and stay here with you guys until our six weeks is up. I support that."

"Okay," Mads says, blowing out a breath. "I support that, too." She looks at me, "And I'm sorry that I made you feel like you couldn't come to me."

I round the kitchen island, pulling her into a hug. "I was scared. And confused. I'm sorry I hurt you." I'm relieved when she hugs me back, pulling away after several seconds.

"I forgive you."