I exhaled because it was a lot to take in. My gaze fell on the coffee foam and droplets on the carpet.
“Either we pay for the room or we clean it ourselves.” What a mess! “Dean will have my ass for this.”
“Your ass belongs to me and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise.”
“Good.” I snuggled against my mate.
“I know someone who’s a whizz at cleaning.”
“You do?” His father had domestic staff, so perhaps he could get one of them to get rid of the coffee stain on the carpet.
“You, Heston. You clean offices for a living.”
Oh right, I almost forgot. The whole shifter thing pushed out rational thoughts from my brain.
“Coffee is a bitch to get out.” I got up and held out my hand.
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 beand 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 gettingfitted 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.
