***

“Is that who I think it is?” Lyn pointed at a guy in loose white linen clothes, standing with his back to them, who was studying the trunk of a palm tree like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

On their way to the resort, he barely had time to sneak a word in. Brad had chosen to bring him up to date with all the names of all the people who were going to attend his wedding. From the bits and pieces he absorbed, Lyn put together a few important aspects: Bella’s family was truly well-off, and his assumption that Brad would love to become a country club member wasn’t far off the mark; she had a younger brother Brad considered his current best friend – although not as ‘best’ as Lyn and Alexander; Brad worked as a stockbroker and was making tons of money – hand over fist, baby; and, most importantly, Brad and Bella loved to quarrel over how many kids they’d have – he wanted three, she only wanted two. But as the lady of the house, hers would be the last word on the matter, Brad had added, lifting both hands off the wheel for a few good moments that made Lyn frown slightly while looking at the road ahead and the way the dotted line seemed to swerve away from them.

“Yep. You could pick him out of a million, right? Tall fucker,” Brad said with a chuckle. “Hey, Alexander, look who’s here, man!”

Lyn squared his shoulders. He was shorter than Brad, and that had never bothered him, but Alexander’s towering height had always gotten on his nerves. Everything came easy to the guy – good grades, looks, money, status, you name it. And he always acted like he couldn’t care less that someone had handed him the world on a silver platter.

According to Brad, karma had hit him pretty hard for being such an arrogant asshole. Still, Lyn hadn’t googled him and didn’t know what sort of bad stuff had happened in Alexander’s life. Now, a silly wish that he had done so before meeting his and Brad’s best friend from college was taking shape in his mind.

Alexander moved slowly, with the same aristocratic boredom that had made him such a hit with the girls in college. Lyn did a double take when he noticed the unlit cigarillo hanging from the guy’s lips, and the devil may care attitude that came with it.

“Lynton,” Alexander said, taking the cigarillo out of his mouth and stashing it in his breast pocket.

“How’re you doing, man?” Lyn said, taking in the asshole’s handsome face.

Brad had gotten handsomer; Alexander had gotten plenty rough around the edges. His curly dark hair looked like it had been styled to look romantic and haphazard just in case its owner wanted to play the role of a pirate by accident. His hard jaw seemed squarer now, and his high cheekbones could, as always, cut like diamond. And he sported one-day stubble that contributed to his overall lackadaisical, yet attractive appearance.

“You’re overdressed,” Alexander remarked, ignoring his question.

There would be no hugs and reminiscence of the old days with this guy, Lyn thought. He was as obnoxious as ever. Why had Brad insisted on being friends with Alexander – and forced Lyn to be part of their trio – was beyond him.

Brad ignored Alexander’s rudeness and closed the gap between them. He grabbed both Lyn and Alexander by the back of their necks and made them take another step toward each other.

“This is going to be so awesome, guys,” Brad began with his usual enthusiasm. “It’s going to be just like college. The three musketeers, one for all, and all for one.”

Alexander didn’t seem to share Brad’s enthusiasm. He continued to stare at Lyn with his strange icy eyes, made to look even more intense by the bright light. “Bradley here must have started reading books,” he said, nodding slightly with his head at Brad. “Or did you just see the movie?” he asked, finally releasing Lyn from the strange intensity of his gaze.

Brad laughed good-naturedly. Lyn had always suspected Brad of being the only person capable of accepting Alexander’s natural nastiness without thinking anything of it.

“Bella made me watch that old thing.”

“So you know that they were actually four, right?” Alexander insisted. He reached for his cigarillo, bit into it for a moment and then reconsidered.

Lyn couldn’t imagine what could’ve made Alexander take up smoking. Could it be the long hours at work? Brad had mentioned that Alexander was now a heart surgeon, but he hadn’t mentioned where. Lyn could picture Alexander working extra shifts, never losing his cool, always looking unruffled and unbothered. His cold personality had to be a boon for his career choice; doctors, after all, had to be unfeeling to deal with so much human pain and misery without losing a part of themselves. In Alexander’s case, that part had never been there, so that was good.

“Yeah,” Brad replied, still unshaken by Alexander’s annoying habit of correcting everyone. “That’s why you guys are going to meet my future brother-in-law pretty soon. He’s our D’Artagnan, I’m telling you.”

“I look forward to it,” Alexander said in a tone that indicated the opposite.

“Awesome!” Brad let go of them to give them two big thumbs-up. “You two don’t mind if I leave you so I take care of other guests, right? It’ll give you time to get reacquainted and all that.”

“Sure,” Lyn said.

“No problem,” Alexander said promptly at the same time.

“See you at dinner then,” Brad said, walking backwards, still keeping his thumbs pointing at the sky.

“Yeah, see you,” Lyn said as casually as he could. The last thing he wanted was to be alone with this asshole, but he had promised to play nice, after all.

“You have to change out of that suit,” Alexander said. He gestured with his chin behind him, at the cozy cottage where they were supposed to room together. “That’s our humble abode. Come on.” Without waiting for a reply or a reaction, he grabbed Lyn’s luggage – although no one had asked him for his help – and began marching toward the cottage.

***