Page 10 of Mate Matched: Xavier & Brady
It took me far too much effort to get out of bed, to go to my door and pick up the tote bag on the doorstep.
His pheromones wrapped around me immediately. My body relaxed for the first time in what felt like weeks. Xavier had been there. The sweater he left was still warm, as if he had peeled it off and run away. I could smell him on the toy wrapped in a pair of his boxer briefs. They’d clearly been worn recently. Later I’d be disgusted at the way I sniffed them as I made my way back to my bedroom.
I fucked myself with Xavier’s toy covered in his precome and wished he was with me. I knew I was doing the right thing for us both, even if it hurt, even if it felt wrong, because we both needed to heal before we could start afresh.
With Xavier’s clothes draped over my body, the new toy, and his pheromones everywhere around me, my next wave washed over me gently. For the first time since it had started, I actually felt satisfied to my bones. Each wave was shallower and shallower until it broke in the early hours of the morning.
Those clothes stayed in my bed for at least a week until the scent faded completely.
Five
Brady
Intheweeksthatfollowed my heat, I went cold turkey on Xavier’s pheromones. The first few days after his scent finally faded from the clothing he’d left me were rough. My skin itched, I could barely concentrate, and my mouth was constantly dry. Somehow I made it through each day only to return home for a cold shower, the only thing that gave me relief.
There were very few treatments for my problems, so I had to suffer through the best I could. The easiest thing would have been inviting Xavier over and letting him cover me in his scent every few days until I could go longer and longer without needing him. However tempting that was, I couldn’t bring myself to use Xavier like that, especially while he was struggling with the breakdown of his marriage.
Gio fought him on the cheating, stating they were in an open marriage. He wanted alimony from Xavier since his jobpaid more and infidelity meant he wouldn’t get any. Xavier also had to get a paternity test because he was liable for child support otherwise. The law around poly-bonds was murky. As Gio’s husband, Xavier had an equal claim to the twins Candice carried. He had to prove both the affair, and that he wasn’t the father. Just claiming he hadn’t gone through a heat with her wasn’t enough, since female omegas were fertile longer than male omegas. Even up to ten days before their heat.
I was angry for him. It was so unfair to drag things out when Gio had everything he wanted. Xavier had given him half their savings, the apartment, and even some art he’d been collecting as investment pieces. What more did he want?
Well, I knew Gio wanted his husband back. He didn’t want to be a dad alone with Candice. He wanted to keep his marriage and get his babies, no matter the cost to Xavier. It was cruel and showed me a side of Gio I hadn’t expected he had.
Although it was hard, I kept my distance from Xavier. We didn’t meet up, even when I felt like he could have really done with a friend. There were other people in his life for him to turn to instead. I had my own feelings over this fucked up situation to deal with. Instead, I kept my distance, washed his clothes and waited for a good time to drop them off. Preferably a time when I wouldn’t see him. I wasn’t ready. Everything was too messy, too chaotic for me. I wanted to give Xavier time to heal from his husband’s betrayal before we revisited what we were.
Friendship was all I could offer, and even that came at a distance. Gio’s threat often rang in my mind. It was better for all of us for me to stay away.
Besides, I didn’t have time for anything like dating after my promotion. The publishing company I worked for had made me an agent! Jae was, of course, my first client. My speciality would be omega authors due to my designation, which would set them at ease. I’d gone up against a few betas, so I knew it wasn’t onlymy designation that got me the job. I’d put in years of hard work cultivating strong relationships with the authors who visited the publishing house. The training was intense, yet so worth it!
Xavier sent me the biggest bouquet when he heard the news. We texted often, just little things about our lives. While I was keeping him at a physical distance because of the threat Gio made and my mixed up emotions, I was struggling with doing the same with keeping him out of my heart. We had such a connection, I hesitated to give it up.
Xavi
So proud of you! You’re gonna do great things in this job.
I looked at that text a lot when times were hard or if I’d had a bad day. Just knowing he was in my corner helped.
When the news broke about AlphaPharm and the faulty DuoStop they’d knowingly sold, I was struck once more with how compassionate Xavi was. He knew all about Jae and was on the phone immediately to ask if he was one of the affected omegas. Then he offered to help in whatever way he could. Even though that type of law wasn’t his speciality, he knew plenty of people.
“His ex offered to help?” Xavi sounded as stunned as I felt.
“Right? Hwan was a dick to him, but Jae said he and Seungmin, his husband, apologized for how things went down. Hwan’s connections might really help.”
“Won’t Jae find that awkward?”
“Nah, Jae’s the sweetest, besides he’s so gone over Curtis, it’s like he was never with anyone else.”
“Speaking of exes, Gio’s dropped the alimony and the claim for child support now that the paternity test is in.”
“Fucking finally!” I exhaled loudly with relief. On the other end of the call, Xavi laughed, a sound full of the same feeling as my sigh. “They really dragged their heels over it.”
“Gio said they wanted to focus on the babies now that they are here. He’s too tired after feeding them to worry about a piece of paper,” Xavi drawled.
“What a dick. He just doesn’t want to admit he was wrong.”
There was a long pause over the line. I tried not to talk to him on the phone much because just the sound of his voice made me want to forget all my reasons for staying away.
“Have…?” he began, “have you decided how to deal with your heat?”
