“Have you seen the way you look at her? Bro, I am telling you, it’s over. Your nights of chasing women up to the sheets of the Fuck Hotel is over,” Lucas said with a grin, Damien only shook his head.
Ever since Damien informed him about his upcoming marriage, Lucas did not let him breath fresh air without teasing him about Céline.
“You know, Céline wasn’t the only one shocked that night… even I didn’t believe it! You are getting married! Who would have thought!”
“You are one lucky bastard bro! That woman is a total package, damn!” Lucas whistled dramatically; earning a warning glare from Damien.
“That’s my future wife you are talking about, mind your words!”
Damien was starting to regret inviting Lucas over at his place. His constant bickering was making him lose concentration with the work he was trying to do.
He had decided to take the day off so the interior team he hired could finish up the arrangements they were making in his office. He wanted Céline working where he could see her again, just like when she first started working at his organization. She was also supposed to spend the time with him but she had to go with Mrs. Lydia to start trying out dresses for the wedding. Getting married in two weeks wasn’t as simple a task as his mother made it seem.
“Tell me something, have you had her?” Lucas asked shifting to the edge of his seat.
Damien looked at him from under his lashes before returning his focus to his laptop.
“No-”
“Shit! Damien you have been all over her for weeks now and you haven’t fucked her!”
Could Lucas ever shut up?
Damien kissed his teeth in frustration, ignoring him completely.
“Have you been with other women?” Lucas raised his brow, wondering if his friend had been cheating on his fiancée with other women. “Have you been-”
“No! I haven’t. Don’t you dare even say that!” Damien cut him off sternly.
“Fuck it bro, you are so going to get blue balls. I should call Charles. He needs to tell you how he survives when his wife travels out of the state for weeks!”
“Abstaining isn’t so hard you know. You should try it sometimes.”
The Damien that existed before he met Céline would have cringed at his own words; but that Damien is long gone. This Damien could never dream of having another woman other than Céline.
“You really should try it…”
“And miss out on getting the strippers every Saturday night! No way!”
“You are so shameless!” Damien laughed.
“Yeah, I know, you were once just like me.” Lucas joined him in the laughter.
It was funny how people saw themselves differently when they were in love, a few months ago, Damien was the one hitting on all the strippers at their favourite club. He was the shameless one. Now, the competition was left for Lucas and Brian.
“So, why did you insist I come over?” Lucas asked, returning to settle more comfortably on his chair.
“About that…” Damien began, “I want you to be my best man.”
Lucas raised his brow further and shifted to the edge of his seat again. “I know I practically brought Céline to you the other night but I never thought it would be this soon.”
“Are you really serious about going down the isle this soon, what did Charles give to you?”
Sometimes Lucas was unbelievable, Damien thought. “Charles gave me nothing, I am serious about this!”
“Make me understand something here, you really want to get into this forever till the end shit?”
Damien sighed, Lucas would never understand what it was like to love someone so strongly staying away from them started to bring physical pain. Lucas would never get that. “Maybe some day when you finally find a woman you love, you’ll understand-”
“Understand what? The urge to fuck her brainless or what?” He said snickering.
“The urge to get more responsible!”
“Geez, you sound just like Charles! Relax, I am going to be your best man, don’t worry about that.”
“Thank you.”
“When is the wedding?”
“In two weeks.”
“Waow, you really are in a hurry to get into her pants.” He burst out in laughter expecting Damien to join him but Damien only glared at him.
Damien was about to give him a reply when the front doors of his apartment flew open and his mother came in. Attendants followed behind her with large sealed boxes.
“Hello boys!”
Damien’s eyes went from his mother to the boxes her attendants were carrying. He and Lucas exchanged looks, wondering what Damien’s mother was up to this time.
“Mrs. Culhane, you look charming, as always.” Lucas spurt to his feet and went to hug her. He was already smiling anticipating the drama Mrs. Culhane was sure to bring.
She gazed at her outfit as if just noticing the blue turtle necked gown she had ensemble. Beaming with excitement, she extended her hands and hugged Lucas.
“Thank you Lucas. You are the only one that notices my fashion sense and effort around here.”
Damien rolled his eyes at her comment. His mother was always over dramatic when it came to all the aspects of her life, fashion pieces included.
“That’s a shame because they could learn a thing or two.” Lucas added patronizing her.
“Of course, it is my knowledge in that brain of his after all…” She giggled and returned her attention to the attendants following behind her. “Damien, where would Céline like to have these placed?”
“What are in them?” Damien asked, taking a sip of his juice.
“Oh, they are toys. I couldn’t decide which he will like so I got everything that caught my eye.”
Damien’s brows rose so high they touched his hairline. He could not understand what his mother was saying. He looked to Lucas for help, but Lucas shrugged, leaning on the wall.
“Toys? For who?- wait, who is the ‘he’ you just referred to?”
“My grandson, of course.”
If there was still juice in Damien’s mouth, he would have thrown it all out in the shock he got. Grandson?
“What grandson?” Damien’s eyes were as huge as two footballs as he stared at his mother.
Lucas was trying really hard to keep a straight face at the drama that was happening between mother and son.
Mrs Culhane narrowed her eyes to her son like he had grown a second head. She shook her head dismissively and turned to the attendants.
“You can leave it right here, my daughter In-law will come set them up. Thank you.”
The attendants dropped the boxes neatly on the corner close to the wall. They arranged it in stacks, going outside to get even more boxes. Damien was starting to lose his mind, his mother had gone all out to get toys for a child that was none existent. Why were women so complicated, especially the one he got as a mother?
He watched on in distress as the stacks of boxes got higher and higher up against his wall. At this point Lucas could no longer keep his laughter in. Damien glared at him, knowing very well that his friend was laughing at his misery.
“What’s funny Lucas?” Mrs. Culhane asked innocently, turning her attention to him.
“You should see Damien’s face, it’s priceless!” Lucas managed to say before breaking into another fit of laughter.
She turned to stare at her son’s face. “Oh, pay him no attention, he is too dramatic.”
“I am too dramatic?” Damien almost screeched. He could not believe his own ears.
“Yes, you are.” She dismissed, focusing her energy on the work her attendants were doing.
“You are buying toys for an infant that isn’t conceived yet and you think I am too dramatic, mom?”
“Who said the child was yet to be conceived, I have spoken to Céline.”
Damien blinked his eyes unbelievably fast. “You spoke to Céline?”
“Of course, she is my daughter-in-law I have every right to speak to her.”
“Mom, I never disputed that. All I am saying is there is no child-”
“I know there isn’t a child. I am not crazy. But, there will be a child soon! I have started a countdown.”
Lucas was a laughing mess and it was starting to make Damien’s right eye twitch. Handling his mother and having Lucas’ laughter in the background was making him lose his mind.
“When will she be back from her shopping? She needs to pick out color themes and flowers for the wedding.”
Damien reluctantly checked the time on his Rolex wristwatch. “In about an hour.”
“Good. I will wait for her then.”
“Here!?” Damien exclaimed.
He loved his mother but spending an entire hour with her in the house will drive him completely crazy. He was starting to wonder if all grooms went through this much ordeal a few days to their wedding, or this was just a special case that happened to just him.
“You don’t want me to stay in your house?” She inquired in a low dangerous tone.
“No, no, you can stay here all you want mum. I just asked.” Damien quickly corrected, the last thing he wanted was another lecture on how he should love his own mother who carried him for nine months.
“Good. I’ll be in the guest room. I need to take a short nap before Céline gets here. We have a lot of work to do. This wedding has to be perfect!” She sang the last word as she walked to the direction of the bedrooms.
“Fuck this is epic!” Lucas snickered.