The Bet | Gay BxB |

29. Reckless Intents

"No. I like this one," I said, holding onto mine.

Oh, Dad was not happy, but he wasn't going to cause a scene. He wrinkled his nose and put his suit away.

"I can see your taste has not improved," he said.

I couldn't be sure, but I had the feeling he was referring to Jax. It angered me, but since I couldn't be sure if he actually was talking about Jax, I swallowed it. At least we'd found a suit.

"Well, put it on," he ordered.

I did as he asked after the tailor gave me the right size. I was quite happy with it, but Dad obviously found ten different flaws.

"Absolutely not," Dad concluded. "We're wasting our time on these cheap brands. You're getting a hand tailored suit."

"For fuck's sake..." I sighed. "This is fine."

"How long will it take to get it done?" Dad asked the shop owner, ignoring me.

"Currently it'll take about two weeks, sir," was the reply.

"I need it done by next Wednesday evening."

"Oh, uh... We have a couple of orders already, sir..."

"How much will it cost to get it done by Wednesday?"

"I, uh... I, well, I'm sure we can work things out so that you'll have your suit by Wednesday," the tailor said, saying goodbye to his goodnight's sleep.

"I'm telling you, this suit is just fine," I tried again, hating the thought of having to spend any longer with Dad.

"Nonsense," was his only reply, and turned his back on me.

I wanted to argue back, to tell him that if he wanted me to his stupid party, he had to accept the cheap suit. But when I opened my mouth, the words didn't come out. The thought of what would happen next gave me anxiety. It would be just a pointless shouting match. Which I'd probably lose... The nauseated feeling in my guts was already bad enough. I was already fighting myself to keep my breathing steady. It was clear nothing had changed. He'd just use all his tricks to put me back in my place.

I really shouldn't have come here...

and it was suddenly harder to breathe when I was led into another room and stopped in front of a couple of big mirrors.

"Could you be quick?" I asked the tailor quietly when Dad wasn't listening.

"Of course," he muttered back.

I had the feeling he felt the same as I. He didn't want to spend time with my father any more than I did. He worked fast as he did his job. I tried to be patient and ignore my father, who lurked in the corner, giving me annoyed glares. For a moment, I thought he also regretted coming here, but then why was he making such a big deal out of the suit? Why did he even care about it? Image was everything to him, sure, but I couldn't remember if he'd ever been this obsessed with clothes.

Then it hit me. It wasn't about the suit. This was about control. I'd ditched him for Jax the last time we were supposed to come buy the suit. Being still mad about it made more sense than him caring about hand-tailored suits.

I kept my mouth shut and my thoughts to myself. I only spoke to the tailor whenever he asked me something, but otherwise, the atmosphere stayed icy.

And I was so fucking glad when the shop owner had everything he needed, and I was ready to get the fuck out of there.

"Nicholas."

I groaned and stopped right after stepping out of the door, then turned around to face my father who was following me outside.