“If I’m going to be toting around old biddies pretending to be on dates, I’d like to play a few holes and not the fun ones. Having an in with the owner would be nice. Also, I just want to clear it with him and staff so I can pop in with different clients without talk and make the experience more comfortable.” Apparently, Lowe could be thoughtful.
Tripp sighed raggedly. “As long as it’s professional.”
“Nothing but. I don’t shit where I eat.” Lowe made finger guns at Tripp before diving back into his phone. “Oh, and, Tripp? Thanks for making sure my baby got what I never did.”
Tripp had a feeling things were going to be very interesting.
Chapter Thirteen
Dray
He’d never had a dream about a white wedding or even a red one. A wedding never seemed in the stars for someone like Dray.
They’d gotten their suits, black with red accents, the cut of Dray’s made for his full belly. He lamented the pictures that would come of it, but he supposed it was a memory he’d want to cherish.
Red roses lined garlands. A red velvet cake with red icing decorated with white-icing roses sat prettily on a table in the dining hall. The menu had already been chosen, but Dray hadn’t paid much attention when everything had been told to him. Roast chicken for the carnivores and omnivores and vegetarian for the herbivores. Dray would have killed for some rabbit, but there were a few rabbits on Tripp’s side in attendance, mostly staff employees. They said they didn’t mind, and it got served occasionally, but it felt rude.
The ceremony wasn’t like human ones, where they walked down an aisle and joined before the crowd. And with snakes, it was different, too.
They stood before a screen and the crowd as they spoke the words of adoration to one another.
“And with your bite, I’ll have no other. I’ll cherish your smile and your humor. I’ll share stories with you and grow old. And in all things, I will trust you.” Dray spoke the words, and to a rattlesnake, they meant the world. A creature that couldn’t very often give a bite to their mate.
“And with your bite, I’ll have no other. I’ll hold you in my highest esteem. I will treasure you for always. Your smile is beautiful to me. I love your art and your expression. In no way will I change you. As you are, I fell for you. And as you are, I willcontinue to grow and love you. Until I shed my last skin. Until I slither my last.” Tripp and Dray kissed and parted, stepping behind the screen before everyone.
They shed their clothes together, heads lifted high as they embraced and shifted, letting their shifting bodies coil together and slither out, an unconventional pairing. A rattlesnake, ordinarily predator, prey to the great indigo. Still, his rough scales slid along Dray’s as the justice of the peace, a shifter coordinator of unions, lifted them up, Dray coiling around one arm and Tripp the other.
Standing there shaking a rattlesnake at a crowd probably was the fodder and legend that spurred a whole lot of religious talk. But they booped snoots, flicked tongues, and the crowd clapped excitedly. The coordinator put them on the ground, and they circled one another and retreated back to the screen to shift, dress, and come forward as a united pair—witnessed by all.
“And in scales you united, so shall it be.” The coordinator raised his arms, and that was it. The ceremony was done.
“And now, may everyone join us in the dining hall for dining, music, and cake. Dance if you want, but our new son-in-law isn’t up for dancing much these days.” Ian’s announcement made chuckles spread about.
And Dray’s father turned out to have a swath of class to him that he hadn’t seen before. All business and professionalism, despite his career choice, had Ian chatting with him quite animatedly—happy to meet his needs.
Full of food and cake, they were a happy couple, and Dray had no desire to hang around longer than he had to, not when there was a perfectly lovely cabin in the mountains with their name on it for a weekend of warm, lazy snuggles. No tattoos, no music or technology—signal sucked, but they’d have Wi-Fi to get a call out just in case.
They left the party as the socialization milled down to family friends, hopping into Tripp’s car with little hesitation.
“This is so weird,” Dray said as he shifted his belly and buckled in. “I feel like we need to stay behind and clean up…”
“I know, right? My parents had me working at the club since I was in middle school. I feel like I should be in back doing dishes and stealing sips off untouched champagne flutes.” Tripp laughed, and Dray elbowed him.
“You were a scamp!”
“I did it for years before someone told me it was just sparkling grape juice that made it back there.” Tripp sighed lamely.
Dray laughed and yawned, happy to be off his feet. Everything ached, but the ceremony was worth it.
A knock on the window caught Tripp off guard, and he whipped around, staring at an unfamiliar woman. Tripp made the same face he made when he sniffed something expired in the fridge, but opened his window none the less. “Shelby?”
Oh… That girl.Ship’s sailed, sweetheart.
Her arms crossed over her chest, and she stepped back, glancing between Dray and Tripp with a frown, not anger or jealousy. No bitterness, just annoyance. “Hey, Tripp.”
She blew a lock of hair from her face, clutching at her arms to fight off the chill.
“Hey. What’s up?” Tripp reached over to grab Dray’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
