#iris rules

His mom...

A wave of grief and regret once again washed over Carlos as he thought about his mom trying to organize everything. She had been through so much these last few days, maybe they should’ve delayed—

“This is exactly the kind of distraction your mom needs right now,” Iris pointed out, as if reading his thoughts. “Remember how obsessed she got over our wedding? And this one actually means something. So today she can put all her grief aside and focus on giving her son the perfect wedding.”

And distract herself from the fact that her husband’s murderer was still out there somewhere, Carlos silently finished for her.

Though perhaps Iris was right. Perhaps distraction was exactly what his mom needed right now.

It had certainly been the right thing for him this morning. Sitting in their old booth at the Star Seeds Cafe, he’d momentarily forgotten about all the wedding prep as he and Iris had talked and laughed about the good ole days, about how they used to stay up all night talking about boys...

and certain TV shows.

Carlos suddenly flashed back on the loft, on TK’s teasing grin.

“So...how much did you tell TK?” Carlos tentatively asked.

Iris seemed to instantly sense what was concerning him.

“I didn’t tell him about the fanfic, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

It was—at least, in part—and Carlos gave a small sigh of relief.

Although that wasn’t the only detail of his past he was embarrassed to have TK know.

“And...the other stuff?”

“What other stuff?”

Her tone was casual, but it was clear from her look that she knew exactly what he was referring to.

“You know.” He gave her a pointed look, but she merely raised her eyebrows, daring him to say it.

Damn her!

Carlos lowered his voice as he merely asked, “Chicago Fire?” hoping that would be enough.

Apparently it wasn’t because Iris didn’t respond, obviously waiting for him to say the rest, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

He couldn’t believe she was going to force him to say it directly.

Just like she’d forced him to admit, “I’m gay,” all those years ago.

But just as that had needed to be said, so, too, did the answer to his burning question, and obviously she wasn’t going to respond until he actually asked.

Rolling his eyes in frustration, Carlos leaned over, whispering, “Did you tell TK about my...uh...firefighter fixation?”

As a teen, Carlos had become completely obsessed with Chicago Fire...and not just because it was something manly he could watch with his dad. The hot, buff men on the show were something that Carlos dreamed about—literally and figuratively—and he had often joked with Iris that perhaps he should set fire to his own house in order to meet a real firefighter!

But now, having experienced a real fire firsthand—having almost been responsible for killing both TK and himself because he hadn’t stashed a fire extinguisher upstairs—Carlos was relieved his horny teen self had never gone through with his ridiculous plan.

And luckily, he’d gotten to hook up with a real firefighter anyway.

Though he certainly didn’t want TK knowing about the fanciful sexual daydreams of 16-year-old Carlos.

And apparently he didn’t.

“No, of course I didn’t tell him that,” Iris stated, as if she was offended by the mere suggestion. “Some things are sacred between BFFs.” Her eyes twinkled once again before adding, “Though I’ve been dying to know, ever since I met TK, whether he lived up to all your teen fantasies.”

Carlos couldn’t help but smile. “Oh yeah!”

That first night in the honky-tonk bar, Carlos had tried to act all suave and casual when asking the hot young firefighter to dance, but inside, his little fannish heart was jumping for joy. He was dancing with was a real-life Casey, a real-life Severide.

Could life get any better than this?

Of course, Carlos now knew the answer was yes. Four years later and the two of them were getting married this afternoon. It was something he’d never even dared to dream.

“So,” Iris began, grinning at him. “20 questions?”

Carlos shook his head. Back in high school he’d often been reluctant to talk about his feelings, reluctant to say the words aloud, so Iris had begun playing 20 questions with him.

It wasn’t the traditional game, where she’d try to deduce what object he was thinking of. Instead, she’d merely asked yes or no questions about what was going on in his head, what he was feeling, what he was longing to do to the boys he had crushes on, so he didn’t have to say the words aloud.

But surely they’d outgrown that by now.

Besides, some parts of his relationship with TK should remain just between him and his soon-to-be husband.

“I don’t kiss and tell,” Carlos playfully replied.

Iris raised a doubtful eyebrow. “You did with Darnell Murray.”

“Shh!” Carlos frantically shushed her, nervously looking around the nail salon. Although he hadn’t heard the name of his high school crush in years, it was possible the star football player might still be in town, and Carlos was certain Darnell wouldn’t want anyone to know about their late night hookup under the bleachers after Homecoming.

Iris nodded, recalling, “That’s right. If I remember correctly, there was no actual kissing involved, at least not on the—”

“Iris!”

Obviously she hadn’t forgotten his answers to those particular 20 questions!

And she was liable to continue blurting out his sexual history to the entire nail salon if he didn’t distract her with something new.

So he reluctantly conceded, “Go ahead—you can ask your 20 questions about TK.”

Iris smiled, as if she’d known she’d win, before asking, “So what does TK stand for?”

Carlos opened his mouth, about to answer, when he stopped himself. He shook his finger at her, saying, “You know the rules. Yes or no questions only.” Plus, Tyler Kennedy was printed on the wedding invitation—hadn’t she even read it?

Iris rolled her eyes. She took a moment to think before asking, “Did you know he was a firefighter when you hooked up?”

“Yes.” Carlos grinned, remembering the hot firefighter standing next to him that night on the side of the road, watching together as the new fire chief rescued a baby from a tree.

“Did you get to see him in his uniform?”

His grin grew even bigger at the happy memory. “Yes.”

“Did you make him leave his fire hat on when you hooked up?”

Carlos could feel his cheeks suddenly burn with embarrassment. Iris knew him too well. She clearly remembered his favorite scene from season one—Severide making out with some girl (Carlos didn’t even remember the character’s name) who had insisted he leave his hat on—and remembered how Carlos had always said he’d do the same if he finally got together with a firefighter.

Though he could honestly answer her question, “No.”

“So he obviously wasn’t in uniform when you hooked up,” Iris correctly deduced before asking, “Did you hook up the first night you met?”

Carlos paused, not certain how to answer. They certainly hadn’t had sex that first night, but the heat they’d generated together on the dance floor had definitely meant more than a casual conversation. “Not exactly.”

Iris looked almost proud of him. “So you actually dated and got to know him first?”

Carlos blushed once again, thinking about how, only days later, he and TK hadn’t even bothered with dinner before practically breaking down the door to his loft, eager to connect.

“Not exactly.”

“What color do you want?”

Carlos jumped at the unexpected question as the pedicurist suddenly appeared at his side, thrusting a keyring with sticks of colored fingernails in front of him.

“We’ll finish this later,” Iris said, clearly recognizing that he didn’t want to discuss this topic in front of others.

He appreciated her discretion and decided to reward her later by giving her all the juicy details when they were alone.

And maybe he’d even show her the hot pics he’d saved on his phone of shirtless TK donning his sexy fire hat.