Chapter 24
Why couldn’t we just wear jeans?
Devyn
Heston still didn’t fully grasp the concept of a mate.
Not really. I wasn’t sure he would until we actually mated.
It was so unlike anything in his experience.
And frankly, it was a lot to take in. But having it all out in the open was huge.
I hated keeping secrets from him and we finally reached a point where I didn’t have to.
Funny enough, this wedding to a “stranger” part of things had been easier for him to wrap his head around.
It was a legally binding contract, basically, and a tradition he’d always been surrounded by.
It cracked me up because nothing about the two of us getting married was anything like the happy ever afters in the movies or what humans considered “normal”.
But when looking at it through his human lens, it was the most normal part of it.
Had I been slated to marry anyone else, I’d have backed out by now.
It had sort of felt like a semi-decent way to get what I needed when I agreed.
But we were being used. Did I fully understand to what extent and for what purpose?
Not even a hint, but it couldn’t be good. Nothing with my father ever was.
But the end result was the two of us being bound together.
Sure it was only legally, but the mating bond would happen in time.
I couldn’t wait to show my Heston what being mated truly meant— to have someone whose goal in life was to make yours better, someone who loved you unconditionally, one who would give everything simply to see you smile, someone to be your second half and not in the cliché way, but for real.
Our lives would be infinitely better because we shared them. There was nothing better than that.
But first we had to get through this marriage bullshit.
My phone buzzed, telling me I had an hour before my fitting for the wedding.
It didn’t make sense for it to be such a big deal.
A suit was a suit, right? I had plenty in various stages of wear and fashionability.
If this wasn’t “real” in their eyes, why the show?
It had to cost a bundle to have custom suits for the blasted thing.
They weren’t even doing the cheapy tux wedding rentals. Nope, they were going all in.
I popped in the bathroom for a quick shower, ignoring my erection, the one that was ever present when I was thinking of Heston.
Had I not been already cutting things close, I’d have taken my time and thought about what I wanted to do to his body as I jerked myself to completion.
That would have to wait. If I showed up late for this, there would be hell to pay.
After a super fast shower, I got dressed, not caring what I was wearing. They were going to be undressing me, anyway. And with something this fancy, the odds were good that special underwear and socks were going to be part of the package. The ridiculousness wasn’t lost on me.
Were they doing the same for Heston? Fitting him for an elegant suit?
Or was my father as big of an asshole as I knew him to be and planning to let him show up on our big day wearing clothing that shouted his social status.
I made a note to ask, because if the latter was true, I was going to wear ripped jeans with stains and a tee shirt with something beyond inappropriate drawn across it.
Was I biting off trouble that didn’t exist by planning ways out of these hypotheticals?
Absolutely. But it was better than focusing on the issues that were very real and present in my life.
At least there were solutions to the hypothetical messes.
I wasn’t so sure about the ones I was currently in the midst of. I’d find out soon enough.
I wanted to talk to Heston before I left, but he was working and I didn’t want to disturb him. Instead I pulled up a voicemail he’d left. It wasn’t even anything special, not really, but I’d listened to it a dozen times already, just wanting to hear his voice.
Hey, it’s Heston. I was just thinking about you. Talk soon.
It was amazing how much I could read into the words, everything from “He was bored” to “He loves me more than life” to “He was jacking off and was looking for phone sex”.
If it was a possibility, it ran through my head.
But best of all, I could hear him. He could’ve left me a recipe for his next door neighbor’s bundt cake and I’d have been happy.
I listened to it a couple more times and then grabbed my keys. It was time to go, whether or not I liked it.
It took too long to find a freaking parking spot and I walked into the tailor’s shop exactly on time, which to my father was as good as late.
Thankfully, the tailor didn’t agree and they welcomed me in.
It was a group fitting, or so I thought.
So far it looked like I was the only one coming.
Worked for me. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with my family.
Not that I was in the mood to be getting fitted for a suit I didn’t want, for a wedding I wished I’d planned instead of my father.
I might not appreciate the whole wedding thing, but my mate did.
And if I had the opportunity to give him exactly what he wanted, I’d do so in a heartbeat.
But the sad reality was that neither of us had anything close to resembling a say in this.
Our job was to say the “I do’s” when we were told to…
and done. This wasn’t supposed to be for us at all and they never pretended it was.
Shit, they didn’t think we knew each other.
The tailor had me stand on a box and started to take my measurements when Roy came in, talking on the phone and not bothering to look up. I was glad he wasn’t paying me any attention. I might have to be here, but that didn’t mean I had to put up with his bullshit.
Except I did. At least until this wedding fiasco was over with.
I focused on the questions the tailor asked me, but the more I tried not to listen to the asshole’s phone conversation, the harder it became.
And it became doubly difficult once Roy started growling into the phone, his beast close to the surface.
Great. Not only did I have the displeasure of having Roy in a piss poor mood, but I also had to deal with the very real possibility that he was going to start picking fights so he had an excuse to challenge someone to sate his beast.
Just freaking fabulous.
More people came in, many of whom were there for another wedding which had nothing to do with us.
Roy was extra Roy-like when he saw them getting better service than we did.
And it wasn’t really better as much as different.
The young omega’s family were all there and joy filled and we were… going through the motions.
Roy hung up and started making small talk with one of the randos that was in there. He was here because my father told him to. I’d put money on that. It didn’t surprise me that he was going to, at the very least, attempt to pick up someone to screw.
The tailor had me put on a pair of pants to determine how and where they fit best and where the pattern might need some tweaking. I was coming back to my little box wearing highwater pants when I noticed that Roy was no longer alone.
I soon discovered it was Sebastian… the Sebastian when Roy hissed his name. Interesting.
“I think you’re done, right?” Roy asked and I had no idea how to answer him. As far as I could tell, the tailor still had more to do. Roy didn’t care whether I had an answer for him or not. It turned out the question was rhetorical. He wanted me out of there.
“Who is that guy and why is he here?” I asked on the way to the dressing room, Roy not taking a chance I didn’t immediately leave after I got dressed. Or that was my guess, anyway.
“It’s a business thing. You wouldn’t understand.”
I wanted to argue with him. He was riding on my last freaking nerve. But also? I didn’t want to rock the boat or worse.
“Okay. I think the tailor needs a few more measurements.” Was it true or not? I had not a clue, but I wanted a front row seat to whatever it was that was going on.
“I’ll call him in here.”
Because that wasn’t odd at all.