Hello, friends. So, I've finally gotten the first 5 chapters of this story! I told myself as soon as I got 5 chapters done, I was going to start posting, so here it is! The Wedding Date The Destiel Remix. I am so excited for this story, so please tell me what you guys think! I'm also posting this over on AO3 under my killemwithfluff profile. Planning on uploading every Monday, but you guys know how I am. ANYWAY! Enjoy the story!
"Come on, Charlie. You must help me." Castiel Novak pleaded on the phone. He glared at the email on his screen, as if it was the email's fault what it read, what it was reminding him of. The woman on the phone laughed.
"No way. I love you, and I'd do anything for you, but I am NOT doing that." Castiel heard the clicking of the keyboard at what had to be Charlie deciphering or coming up with some coding. That was all way over his head. He scrubbed his hand down his face, hoping that his coworkers couldn't hear him from their own cubicles. The accounting firm that he worked at hadn't sprung for sound proofing anything besides the partners' offices, regardless of how confidential the information was that they worked with on a daily basis.
"I'll pay for everything! I'm sure my parents will even make you stay in another room so you don't have to listen to me snore! Please, Charlie."
"Nope. Even if I wanted to, Dorothy and I have our anniversary trip to ComicCon next weekend." Castiel groaned aloud. How could he forget the queens needed to return to their kingdom?
"You'd get to meet my brothers!" Castiel threw out his last attempt. He always thought that his older brother Gabriel and his best friend Charlie Bradbury would become fast friends.
"That's a low blow. You know I want to meet your family, but do you know how pissed Dorothy would be if I canceled our yearly voyage to the Motherland?" Charlie sighed, sympathetically. "You don't have any other friends you want to spend a weekend with?"
"Not that I'd have as much fun with. Plus, some of them might expect something afterwards. I don't want that."
"Why don't you hire somebody? I just read this thing in one of Dorothy's magazines that you can call these people and…"
"I'm not going to hire somebody to be my date." Castiel whispered so that nobody would even hear that his friend had even suggested that. He ran his hand through his dark, already wild hair.
"People do it all the time, Castiel. Plus, they're professionals. They wouldn't blow your cover like a certain redhead after a few drinks."
"You would never blow a cover, Charlie. You would see it as a quest to convince everybody that we're madly in love. What's the term you use? Lap-ring?" Charlie laughed, and then was suddenly silent and Castiel could practically see the eyeroll she threw at her cubicle mate, Harry, for shushing her.
"LARPing, genius. I guess you're probably right, but I'll have my own lady love. Why is it so important that you bring somebody though?"
"No reason." Castiel became quiet. He didn't want to say, but he figured Charlie would know.
"She's going to be there isn't she?" He was right.
"Yeah, and I just don't think I can face her alone." Charlie sighed.
"It's been five years, Castiel. I think you could do it, but I can send you the article and get the info from Dorothy about which agency they interviewed, if you want." Castiel paused and thought for a long moment.
"I would greatly appreciate that. Thank you." The rest of the day, Castiel's thoughts were enveloped in his past, especially his romantic life that he had left back in his hometown. He'd thought that moving to Chicago would help him forget his heartbreak and maybe he would find the love of his life, but here he was, thinking about her again. Suddenly, the hurt came back and Castiel felt a pang in his blue eyes. He quickly wiped his eyes dry and threw himself back into his work until his watch beeped at him, informing him it was time to go home.
YOU AND A GUEST ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO ATTENDED THE WEDDING OF
SARA BESS MYERS AND GARTH DONALD FITZGEARLD IV
ON JULY 26TH OF THIS YEAR
AT THE FIRST CHUCH OF GOD IN GRANTSBURG, WISCONSIN
PLEASE REPLY NO LATER THAN JULY 11TH
Castiel stared at the invitation in his hands. Not only was there the wedding, but they were having a get together the night before and then brunch Sunday (which was what the email had reminded him of). Why had he said he had a plus one?
He wasn't that desperate. Was he? No, of course not. He had coworkers at the firm that could go with him. There was Zachariah's (one of the partners) assistant, Anna. She was nice, and smart, and fairly pretty. The only issue would be if she had to work next weekend, which was entirely possible. Things didn't slow down much in the city, and Zachariah could (and would) make her sit in on a meeting or two, even on the weekend. Maybe he could ask her tomorrow. Castiel fell into bed that night, hoping that he would have a dreamless sleep.
"Good morning, Anna. How are you?" Castiel gave the woman sitting at the desk a smile the next morning on the way to his desk. She returned it, pushing her long red hair out of her eyes.
"Good morning, Castiel. Well, thank you. How are you?"
"Very well, thank you." Anna gave a short nod and looked back at her computer. Castiel had contemplated all night, and decided to ask Anna at lunch to attend Bess' wedding with him. However, now that he was standing in front of her, he decided to get it done with. "I have a question for you."
"Oh." Anna looked back to him. "Okay, what is it, Castiel?" Castiel took a deep breath before speaking.
"I have a friend's wedding next weekend, and I was curious if you would like to come with me." Anna looked taken aback before gaining her composure.
"Castiel, I'm very flattered, but I do have to work next weekend. Mr. Johnson has meetings all day Friday, and then Saturday he has a lunch meeting with important international clients." Castiel kept his outwardly calm, but inside, he was disappointed. She had been his last hope.
"Okay, I understand. Thank you for being honest."
"I really am. Sorry that is."
"Oh no, really. I understand." Anna seemed to breath in relief, and then gave Castiel a warm smile.
"Good. Still on for lunch?"
"Of course."
That night, Castiel stared at the email from Charlie. There was no harm in just reading the article. Dorothy, a magazine editor, always had interesting articles featured. Castiel pulled his laptop towards him and opened the email. There was a link to the article and a phone number with another link to a website of what, Castiel assumed, was the agency that Dorothy had used for their inside look into the business. They were nice looking…models? Escorts? What should they be called exactly? Castiel scanned the article, seeing if there was an answer to his inquiry. The term 'escorts' was interchangeable with the term 'paid companions', at least in the article.
Forty-five minutes later, Castiel was still staring at his laptop screen with his cell phone in his hand. He really didn't need to do this. He could face everybody alone, couldn't he? What was the worst that could happen? His elder brothers wouldn't care. However, he also knew that they weren't the reason that he was doing this. Castiel thought for another moment, before finally pushing the call button on his phone.
"Good evening, and thank you for calling Crowley's. This is Meg, how may I help you?" Castiel cleared his throat.
"Hello, I was just…um…c…curious about…?"
"Aw, is this your first time?" The woman had exchanged her professional voice for a sultrier one. "Don't worry, honey. This can be a lot of fun if you relax. Now, what kind of escort are you looking for?"
"Oh…um…I…I don't know." How had he not thought of this? How had he thought for nearly an hour and not thought of the kind of person he wanted?
"Okay, well, let's start with something easier. When would you need somebody?"
"Friday, July 25th until Sunday, July 27th." Castiel heard the clicking of a keyboard.
"A bit of short notice." Castiel figured he wasn't supposed to hear that. "Oookay, and next question, would you prefer a male or female companion?" This question had made Castiel freeze. He hadn't thought about that either. He had always assumed that there would only be female escorts, but he supposed that there were no pronouns used in the article that had suggested that this was a female only job. On the website, it was mostly filled with pictures of women, but now that he was looking at the website more thoroughly, he did notice that there was a section for male escorts that he hadn't previously seen. He thought about the possibility of showing up with a male escort and thought that to see his family and friend's faces would be rather comical. Still, he was choosing his battles this time around.
"I would prefer a female." Castiel replied.
"Hm…okay." There was more typing. "Well," Meg huffed. "I…shoot. Okay. Give me just…" More clicking. "one…" clicking. "moment….oh. Well," Meg hummed. "How opposed are you to a male companion?" Castiel thought for a moment.
"Are you sure there's…nobody else?"
"I'm so sorry sir, but we only have one person available that weekend, and his name is Dean. Of course, the same rules would apply. Nothing would happen unless negotiated by the two of you and he would be as discreet as you would like him to be." He didn't need somebody that badly. He could simply tell Bess that his date had to cancel at the last minute. However, knowing Bess, she would ask for pictures and Castiel would have none to show. He could easily make a man work. Hell, he was going to take a lesbian to begin with. This didn't have to be any different. He would just have to establish that nothing was going to happen.
"And…how much would that cost?" Meg and Castiel began to discuss prices and what would and could be paid for by Castiel. Castiel had found a price that he was…happy wasn't the right word, but could handle. He had been given Dean's phone number so that they could find a time to meet before the weekend.
He called the number the next morning and waited for somebody to answer on the other end.
"This is Dean." The voice threw him off. He wasn't quite expecting the rough, deep tone.
"Oh. Um…hello, Dean. This is Castiel. I was given this number by Meg."
"Well, hello Castiel. How are you?"
"I'm fine I suppose. I um…I am the person that is going to be…" What was he supposed to say? His date?
"Oh right, the 25th through the 27th in Wisconsin?"
"Yes, and I was wondering if we could meet beforehand to discuss some things?"
"That would be great idea. Does that Thursday work?"
"That should be fine."
"Great, great, any time work best for you?" Castiel thought for a moment before he thought of the best time for him.
"I think around seven-thirty would be ideal."
"Seeeeven-thiiiirty." It sounded like Dean was writing this down. "Great. Any place specifically that you would like to meet?" Castiel quickly tried to think of bars around Chicago that none of his co-workers went (he would say friends, but to be honest, the only true friends he had were Charlie and Dorothy and they already knew that he was probably going to go through with the plan since they sent him the information). He thought about a place far enough away from the office and dirty enough that nobody would go to.
"There's a little dive bar on the corner of fifth and…"
"Dagwood's?"
"Yes, there."
"Alright. We can meet there at seven-thirty on Thursday. Can't wait to meet you, Castiel." Castiel didn't know this Dean's voice well enough, but he thought he heard a smile in there. Although, that could've just been the customer service (is that technically what you would call this business?) in him.
"Goodbye, Dean."
Castiel hung up the phone and tried to wrap his head around what he had just agreed to.
