Page 41 of Mate Matched: Xavier & Brady
We took Sunday to recover with neither of us moving further than the front door to get our food deliveries. Xavier had found this amazing pancake place that delivered and made sure to get me a stack with strawberries and raspberries piled high.
While I probably could have gone back to work, I kept Monday off to spend some time with Xavier without work hanging over us. We went to the pool where I worked the last of the soreness out in the water.
In the back of my mind, I held onto Dr. Glover’s words and kept optimistic about what my heat would bring.
Curtis and Jae opted to have their bachelor parties together—because they were like that—and held them a few weeks before the wedding. The event was a low key bash with greasy pub food, lots of cocktails, and karaoke.
The vibe was chill, with everyone telling stories about the grooms and getting to know each other better. Ricky, Curtis’ dad, and Minjun, Jae’s dad, were the first to take a shot at singing. They were pretty decent.
As best man, I had to be there to ensure everyone had a great time. Sadly, Marty couldn’t make it. His pregnancy was harder than he’d expected, and there was drama with his mate. I felt so bad for the other omega. Already a single dad, and being sick during pregnancy was a lot to deal with. He had Curtis and Ricky to support him, at least.
Not letting Marty’s illness put a damper on their spirits, Jae and Curtis played a few games of pool together. They were freaking adorable. Curtis couldn’t stop touching Jae for one second. Jae’s eyes were always on his big alpha, and he encouraged him to order another plate of wings when Curtis said they looked good. There was so much love between them anyone could have seen it.
“Do you think we’ll be like that in a couple of years?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Shot!” one of Curtis’ employees called out when Curtis dipped his soon to be husband. Xavier took two off the tray and downed them quickly, setting an empty glass in front of me. To anyone paying attention, our act wouldn’t fool them, but everyone else had been drinking for hours and hadn’t noticed that I hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol.
All my drinks were virgin, just in case. Though there was little evidence drinking this early in pregnancy would do any harm, I didn’t want to risk it. We wouldn’t know for another week if I was, it was more of a feeling.
I settled into Xavi’s side with a contented sigh. Jae had insisted I bring Xavi because he wanted to get to know him better, which was sweet of him. Over the last few weeks, he’d made a real effort to get to know my alpha. Xavi had also cometo some wedding planning meetings, though he usually ended up entertaining Leo instead of taking part. When asked, he always offered up an opinion, proving he was paying attention. I knew Jae liked him when they sat together in Jae’s kitchen one Saturday afternoon and discussed art. Jae was so impressed with the collection Xavi had amassed, and my boyfriend praised Jae for his keen eye.
“Hey, I need my best man!” Jae called, karaoke book in hand. “Come, sing with me!”
“Oh, this is going to be good!” Xavi teasingly pushed me off him towards my best friend. “I’ll sing with you next, okay?”
“Only if you sing with Curtis then. Alphas versus omegas: Duet Battle!” I giggled.
Xavier pinched my chin and drew me close to brush his lips against mine. “Deal.”
So Jae may have looked like one of those K-pop idols, but his voice didn’t live up to his image. I was okay after years of singing choir at church before my parents finally let me stop going. Xavier was straight up bad, it was almost painful. Curtis? Well, the man had pipes!
I sang with Xavier and tried not to wince when he didn’t land the note he was going for. It was cute how hard he tried. Curtis and Jae sang, looking at each other the entire time, so adorable. Then I got Xavi and Jae to sing together. Freaking hilarious! The pair could barely get through the song without dissolving into laughter.
“C’mon, it’s our turn,” Curtis urged, holding a hand out to me. By the time we got to our second verse, we had the whole bar singing along with us.
Jae watched his man with pure love in his eyes, and there in Xavier’s expression I saw the same love shining just for me.
Seventeen
Xavier
Shotswerethedevil.Either that, or I was getting too old to be playing drinking games at a bachelor party. I paid for that night for days after, much to Brady’s amusement.
Brady’s friends were great and so accepting of me, especially considering how messy our relationship was at the start. We’d travelled a long road to get here; a place where we could love each other openly and honestly. Yeah, I’d been married before, but Brady was the love of my life.
“Ready to take the test?” I asked him, brandishing the test box. It was exactly one month since his heat.
Brady peeked his head out from under the duvet. His face was paler than usual, with dark circles under his green eyes. “I’m scared.”
“Sweetheart, there’s nothing to be scared of. Remember yesterday?” He’d barely made it out of bed before he’d thrown up. “This is only going to tell us what we already know.”
“What if it’s negative?” He pushed the duvet further away and slowly crept out of bed.
“Then we go to a clinic and get a blood test.”
He smiled then. “You make it sound so easy.”
