Chapter Six

~ Patrick ~

"This is your place?"

I glanced back at Zaq as I unlocked the door to my condo. "For the next two weeks and then I hope it'll become someone else's place. I've already got a realtor ready to list the place."

The faster it sold, the faster the money went into my bank account and I could use it for something else. Like that fancy condo in New York City that was costing me an arm and a leg. If I hadn't had friends to help me find the place and then get a discount, I would probably be living in a dumpster.

"The place that is waiting for us in New York is much bigger than this place." Which had kind of surprised me. "This is only a two bedroom. The condo in New York is a three bedroom."

I opened the door and stepped inside, holding the door open for Zaq. It wasn't much to look at considering everything was already packed and waiting to be put in the moving van.

"Oh, early cardboard," Zaq said as he walked into the living room. He gave the stacked boxes against the wall a long look. "Not my design style, but I can see the appeal."

I chuckled as I slid the house keys into my pocket. "I was trying something new."

"I'm a fan." Zaq grinned at me over his shoulder. "It'll go well with the cardboard I have packed in the van."

I liked this playful side of Zaq. He was humorous and I'd always believed that laughter was the essence of life. I'd seen so many of my patients over the years get better quicker when they were happy and laughing.

"I donated most of the furniture to a halfway house, so we only need to pack those boxes into the moving van." It didn't make sense to me to truck a bunch of furniture halfway across the country when it would be just as easy to buy it new when I got there.

"How many more days on the road until we reached New York do you think?" Zaq asked.

"Depending on traffic it's really only about a twenty-five hour drive, so I figure a couple of more days maybe." I wasn't in a big hurry. Yes, I wanted to reach our new condo so we could go about living our new lives, but I was also enjoying spending this time with Zaq.

"Do you want to pack this stuff in the van tomorrow or do it now and get on the road before dark?"

"Well, there's no bed here, so..." I shrugged. "I say we get it all packed and see how much road we can eat up before we have to stop for the night."

"I'll go open the back of the van."

Before he could take two steps, Zaq's phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and then rolled his eyes after looking at the screen. "This should be fun."

I gave him a quizzical look as he answered the call, but put it on speaker.

"What do you want?" Zaq asked in what might have been the most unfriendly tone I'd ever heard him use.

"What did you do, Zaq?"

As soon as I heard my brother's voice, I knew exactly why Zaq had rolled his eyes. I wanted to roll mine too, but I was more interested in finding out why Peter was calling. Although, I had a pretty good idea.

"I'm not the one that did anything, Peter. You did when you stood me up at the altar to run off to Hawaii with your mistress."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Peter replied quickly, almost too quickly. "What mistress?"

That was what he was focusing on?

"She's blonde, maybe five six or five seven, and has a really impressive rack on her. I suspect silicone, but I can't be sure since I don't tend to be around breasts all that often because I'm GAY!"

My eyes rounded when Zaq shouted that last part.

"I can send you pictures if you want," Zaq continued. "Your girlfriend was nice enough to send them to me on our wedding day. You know, the day you weren't there."

Yeah, there was a little bit of anger there.

"I just needed a breather, Zaq. All that wedding talk made me nervous. That's all. I meant to call you, but time just got away from me. You know I'd never leave you hanging, baby. I love you."

Wow, could my brother spin a story or what?

"The wedding was five days ago, Peter. You're just calling me now?"

"Well, like I said," Peter replied, "Time just got away from me."

"It tends to do that when you're sunning yourself on a beach in Hawaii."

I almost laughed at the sudden silence that met Zaq's words. Had Peter not figured out that Zaq knew where he was?

"I just needed some time to think, Zaq."

"I no longer care, Peter."

I couldn't keep from grinning.

"Don't be like that, Zaq. I'm coming back. I swear."

Zaq held the cell phone directly in front of his face as he spat out angrily, "Peter, we are no longer engaged. We're not dating. We're not even friends anymore. I don't care if you come back. I want nothing to do with you."

"Zaq!"

"You left me at the altar, Peter. You took your girlfriend, and I emphasize girl, on our honeymoon, the one I paid for. What makes you think I'd want anything to do with you after that?"

"Could you at least call my parents for me?" Peter asked. "I can't seem to get through to them."

"Why?" Zaq asked.

I bet I knew why.

"Something is wrong with my credit card and I need my parents to wire me some money, or maybe you could? I just need a couple of thousand. That's all. I'll pay you back just as soon as I get home."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Peter, but your credit card doesn't work because it is my credit card and I had it canceled. As for me loaning you money, not a chance in hell."

I shoved my knuckles into my mouth to keep from laughing when Peter began to sputter.

"You canceled my credit card?"

"No, I canceled my credit card, attached to my bank account. I'm no longer your piggy bank, Peter. Find someone else to mooch off of." Zaq started to lift the phone away, but them stopped and smirked. "Oh, yeah, one more thing. I canceled the honeymoon. The entire honeymoon, including the airfare."

"What?" Peter screeched.

"I had to pay quite a bit in cancelation fees, so you'll be getting a letter from my lawyer for compensation."

Zaq swiped his finger over the phone, hanging up on Peter before he could utter another word. I watched him carefully, worried about how this might affect him.

"What an asshole," Zaq snapped. "How did I ever agree to marry him?"

I kind of wondered that, too, but I wasn't going to mention it.

"Well, it's not a problem anymore," I said instead. "You're married to me now. Peter can't have you."

That put a bright smile on Zaq's face. "Man, I'd like to a bug on a wall when he finds that out."

"You don't think he already knows?"

Zaq shook his head. "If he'd known, he would have raised a much bigger stink. Peter does not like to lose."

Oh, I was aware.

"No, he does not and that gives us an even bigger incentive to get this stuff in the truck and get the hell out of here."

Zaq's brow flickered. "Why?"

"Because both Peter and my parents know I live in Texas. Granted, neither of them have my actual address, but I doubt it would be too hard for them to track it down."

"Can't they track you to New York?"

"They could, but I doubt they'd ever think to look there. But, just to be on the safe side, the building we're moving into has some serious security. Even if they found us, they'd never get up to our condo without our permission."

Zaq blinked at me for a moment before turning and walking away. "You get the boxes. I'll get the door."

Sounded like a plan to me.

I grabbed the first box and followed Zaq out the front door.

Two hours later, I was wishing I'd hired a moving company. I was sitting on the steps, resting my arms on my legs and praying I didn't have to move anytime soon.

"Maybe we should find a hotel and rest up before we hit the road."

Zaq, who was sitting two steps below me, tilted his head back to look up at me. "I vote for that, but we should get out of the city first. Once rush hour traffic starts, it'll take us forever to get out of here."

That was true enough.

"I'm going to do one more walk-through and then I'll meet you in the truck."

Zaq nodded as he stood and then headed for the moving van.

I climbed to my feet and went back into the condo I had lived in for the last five years. There was a part of me that would miss this place. It was the first home I'd ever owned and paid for with my hard earned money.

Another part of me was looking forward to the new life I hoped to build with Zaq in New York City. A new house, a new job, and a new love interest. It was a really good way to start the next phase of my life.

I went through the condo, checking every cupboard and closet just to make sure I wasn't leaving anything behind. Luckily, I found nothing, which meant I had everything.

I stepped out onto the porch, locked the door, dropped the keys through the mail slot since the realtor already had a copy, and then walked down to the moving van.

As soon as I climbed inside, I felt the cool relief of the air conditioning. I just sat there for a moment, letting it cool my heated skin. "I am not going to miss the sweltering heat in Texas."

Zaq was fanning himself with his hand. "New York gets heat too, you know?"

"Maybe, but our building is equipped with a pool."

Zaq shot me a quick glance. "Seriously?"

I nodded. "Pool, gym, the works. It's also right across the street from Central Park."

"Damn, I'm sold."

Yeah, I had been, too.