8. Brooklyn

Chapter 8

Brooklyn

I grabbed the two garment bags I'd prepared out of my closet and set them on the bed.

The day of the wedding was here, and it was time to get Marcelo all fancied up for his first date with our mate. It was funny how not long ago I'd been worried, or maybe not worried so much as sad, when I'd received an invitation to a wedding. I'd looked down at that paper and focused on how much I messed things up with Perry.

How foolish I'd been. Sure, I didn't make the best choices with him, but even if I had, things wouldn't be any different. He still wouldn't have been mine, and I still wouldn't have been his. His upcoming wedding was some sort of living proof of that. And this wedding was one of the first steps in me getting my happily ever after. It all worked out as fate had planned or was at least on the way to what fate had lined out for us.

I was excited about finding attire that Marcelo would enjoy wearing, about getting the chance to dress him up in clothes that I had picked out, that our mate would get to see how sexy he was all dressed up. I'd always liked fashion, and knowing that he was going to be wearing something I chose already had my pants snug, and I hadn't even walked out the door.

A few of the things I'd brought for him had been from my closet, but I wasn't quite happy with the selection and decided to go shopping, too. We were about the same size, and I hit up some of the local second hand stores looking for the perfect suit. There wasn't enough time to get a decent suit from a shop, especially not if he wasn't there for a fitting, but something told me the right one was out there waiting for me to find it, and that something had been right.

In the end, it cost more to dry clean it than it did to buy the one that shouted his name. It wasn't just a nice suit, it was a designer one that was just different enough to draw attention but not so different that he would stand out. It was runway worthy. I couldn't wait to see it on him.

I waited outside for Jackson who was picking me up. It was nice that he wanted to include me in all of this. He could easily have had me drop off the suit or had me drive myself. But he wanted me to be a part of the day. This entire situation probably didn't make much sense to him, but with each day we all chatted, he was more relaxed and confident in it all. He felt it. That much was obvious.

We'd wanted to have a date before now… the three of us, but schedules didn't line up. Not for in-person. But we managed to message, chat, and even video each other. And with each conversation, things were less awkward and far more natural.

I placed the garment bags in the backseat and climbed into the passenger side. "Thanks for picking me up." He didn't need to, and I really cherished the short bit of alone time we were going to get.

"That's a lot of clothes."

"I didn't want him to feel pushed into any particular style." I gave his thigh a squeeze. "And I'm really looking forward to seeing your face when he is all fancied up."

"Anything he wears is going to look amazing on him."

"Speaking of looking amazing… you look delicious." Even without his suit jacket on, he had such classy and yummy vibes in his ensemble.

"Thanks." Jackson leaned over as if he was gonna kiss me but then pulled right back.

"It's okay if you want to," I assured him.

He glanced at me as if he had no idea what I was talking about, and I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Seriously, it's fine. I'd like it even." This time I leaned and kissed Jackson on his cheek.

"Oh. Thanks." It felt like he had so much more to say, but wasn't sure what. I didn't push.

It wasn't a long drive to Marcelo's. He was there waiting for us…in nothing but a robe. It was well-worn and comfy-looking. Gods, how I wanted to be wrapped in it with him.

"I brought a couple of things for you to pick from. Where would you like to get changed?"

Marcelo led us into his bedroom, his eyes glued to the garment bags. "You brought a lot."

"I did, but I think the first one I show you is ‘the one'." I unzipped the garment bag and pulled out the designer suit. "I found this at a thrift store, and it looked like it belonged on your body."

"You weren't supposed to buy me things." Had no one ever taken care of our omega before? If that was the case, I was going to change that right here and now.

"It called to me, and I'd be embarrassed to tell you how little it cost. Why don't you try it on and I'll tell you all about the designer. I'm floored that it wasn't in a high-end consignment store."

"Probably an ex during a divorce," Jackson teased. He was probably right. Good thing we didn't have to worry about divorces. Mating was always and forever.

He slipped into the bathroom, and when he came out, he nearly sucked my breath away.

"All eyes are gonna be on you." Jackson crossed over to him and cupped his cheek. "Every. Last. One."

"Is that bad? We're not supposed to take away from a couple that's getting married, right?" Marcelo's eyes went wide.

"I don't care." He pressed a sweet kiss to his forehead.

"Okay. I just don't know a lot about weddings. It's not part of my… culture." Marcelo leaned in for a hug.

"Yeah, we don't align with the legal wedding stuff." I tried to brush it to the side. This was a much bigger conversation for a very different time.

"Weddings are more about two people committing to one another than legal paperwork… at least it's supposed to be."

"We have a ceremony, too. Just… it's different." I reached for Marcelo's hand. "Now turn around and let me get the full effect.

"What do you think, Jackson?" Marcelo asked.

"I think I want to kiss you."

"Then you know what you should do?" I placed my hand on his lower back. "I think you should kiss him."

"Even with you here?"

"Especially with me here." I pulled my bottom lip in with my teeth.

Marcelo took a step forward and brought his lips to Jackson's and brushed them gently. One kiss became two became two men showing just how much they were into each other. It was hotter than hot and over too soon.

When their kiss broke, Jackson looked at me, his eyes filled with worry.

"Was that as good as it looked?"

"Heck yeah," Marcelo said. "You should try it."

I wasn't going to turn that down.

"You really are okay with this?" Jackson asked.

I pointed to my netherregion. "What does it look like?"

"Oh." His mouth formed a perfect O, and of course my mind went straight to what he could do with that mouth.

I closed the distance between us until I was nearly touching his body. "Kiss me, alpha."

He reached up and grabbed the back of my head, pulling me to him. Unlike with Marcelo, where it started with barely more than a peck, this kiss was searing from the get-go. I sank into it, enjoying the way our lips danced together as our tongues explored each other's mouths. If it weren't for his phone buzzing that it was time to go, I'd probably have come right there in my pants.

We broke apart, each of us panting.

"Wow!" Marcelo came toward us. "Why do we have to leave now? I want to see more of that."

Both Jackson and I grunted.

"Stupid wedding with a stupid start time." I faux pouted. "At least I have something to think about when you're gone."

"And when we're gone, I need to think less about it," Jackson teased. "Don't need my family seeing how hard you two make me."

We laughed, and the phone went off again, signaling that it really meant it. They had to go.

The three of us left, and they dropped me off at my place on their way. I wished them the best of nights.

"You want us to stop by when we're done, right?" Marcelo asked.

"I'd love that. We can have something to eat and you can tell me all about the wedding."

Of course before I made it all the way back inside, I was thinking about what I wanted to be eating, and spoiler alert: it wasn't food.