Chapter 48 – Jesse Flynn
Two days before the wedding, Jesse and the other groomsmen had prepared a little surprise for Silas. Early on Thursday morning, a couple of hours before the crown prince's usual wake-up hour, they had gotten up, dressed in black clothes with ski masks on their faces, and had entered his room making as much noise as possible. Of course, they had Timothy Parker on their side, and he had watched from afar, immensely enjoying himself.
Ezra, Henri, and Jesse's roles were to drag Silas out of bed, put a fabric bag over his head, and hold him steady while Nathan and Valerian put him into clothes. Silas was strong, Jesse had to admit that, and it took all their united forces to hold him. When he was ready, they half-carried, half-dragged him down the stairs, and by now, lots of heads had popped out of rooms to see what all this racket was about, this early in the morning.
Timothy was following not too far behind, and then they pushed Silas into the waiting limo outside. As soon as the door was slammed shut, the engine roared to life.
The boys let go of Silas who didn't move, waiting.
"You can take off the bag," Ezra said.
Silas took it off his head and blinked, looking at the six men around him, sniggering. "What the hell is going on?" he asked. He ran a hand in his spiked-up hair to tame it a little. "You're all so blurry. Where are my glasses?"
"Oh, here," Parker said, handing them to him. Honestly, Jesse would have completely overlooked this detail. It was a good thing he could still count on Parker, even in the midst of an abduction.
He looked at all the guys, waiting for an answer to his first question because Silas was not one to repeat himself.
"Have you ever heard about bachelor parties?" Ezra asked, pulling off his ski mask, followed by the others.
"…No?"
"Damnit, Silas," Henri said. "Don't you ever get out? Or watch movies at least?"
Silas shrugged. "The last movie I saw was UP, I believe."
Henri and Nathan shared a look and burst out laughing.
"UP as in the Pixar movie with the flying house and the balloons?" Ezra inquired, trying not to laugh.
"Yes," Silas said with all the dignity he could muster, only making everyone laugh even harder. "I don't have time for movies," he said. "So where are we going?" he asked. Unconsciously, he looked around.
"Uh, if you're looking for Doug, I'm afraid dogs are not allowed where we're going," Parker said. "I asked, but they wouldn't even make an exception for you."
Silas's shoulders deflated a little. Jesse knew how much he liked to have Doug around, especially in an unknown situation.
"Don't worry buddy, we're gonna take good care of you, today," Ezra said, slapping the prince on his back. "You've got a good 20 hours ahead of you with us to celebrate your childhood and enter manhood. Once you're married, you won't ever be able to do something like this ever again. Especially since you're like the future King of Illéa, but details."
"20 hours–" Silas sighed. "Just tell me what we are doing, please."
"We're not going to a strip club," Nathan said. "Unfortunately, because that would have been pretty iconic."
In the dimness of the car, Jesse wasn't sure if Silas was blushing or paling; maybe it was a mix of both. He tried to imagine Silas in a strip club, and no– that was impossible.
"We're not going to a casino either," Henri continued.
"And we're not going to the Erotic Heritage Museum, either," Nathan said, rolling his eyes dramatically.
Valerian patted his brother's shoulder. "It's going to be fun, I promise!"
Silas glared at his brothers and friends and just sat back against the backrest. He couldn't do anything, anyway, besides wait. He looked at the waking city, lights turning on everywhere as people got ready to go to work.
Henri and Nathan talked together about things Jesse didn't even want to listen to. But from the few words that drifted towards him, they were probably talking about past experiences in said clubs and places… Ezra was trying to coax Silas into talking, but Silas was stubborn: as long as they didn't tell him where they were going, he wouldn't talk. Valerian put on some music, and Jesse went through his phone.
The drive was only forty-five minutes long, but their first stop was actually breakfast. The limo stopped in front of a beach resort hotel, and they walked in almost incognito, all dressed in black, and early enough to be seated before the hotel patrons. Being mid-January, though, not many of these patrons went to the beach, if there were any patrons.
The waiter gave them a table with a view of the beach and gave them menus before leaving.
"You do know I only have coffee for breakfast," Silas said, eyeing the menu in his hands.
"Yeah, but just this once won't hurt," Ezra said. "I suggest you take something that will hold you until lunch… you're gonna need it."
Silas looked at his best man over his menu, probably thinking he shouldn't have asked these boys to be his groomsmen, but that he should have hired some strangers. At least that's what Jesse understood in that look.
"Fine."
A few minutes later, the waiter came back to take their order. They went from scrambled eggs to bacon, to pancakes, to waffles, to donuts, and everything in between. Until Silas ordered his breakfast:
"I'll take the Giant Waffles. Thank you. Oh, and a dark coffee, no cream, no sugar." He handed the menu back, and everyone around the table stared at him.
"Are you really gonna eat all that?" Valerian asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Who do you take me for?" Silas replied, a smirk growing on his face. "I've been thinking on the drive here, and I guess you're right, Ezra: this is probably the only time in my life where I'll be able to do something like this."
"That's what we love to hear!" Nathan said. "Finally, Silas comes out of his comfort zone!"
"Yes, well, let's not over exaggerate things," Silas said, pushing up his glasses. "This is just one breakfast."
The boys shared a look. "It's a good start," Jesse said, amicably tapping the prince's shoulder. "Take heart from it."
They all burst out laughing when Silas' waffles came: they were giant, there was no doubt. Instead of a plate, the two waffles were served on a silver tray, and each waffle was at least 20 inches long, by 8 inches wide, stacked on top of each other with more whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles one could possibly eat.
The prince's eyes bulged out of his head, and everyone laughed. "I cannot eat that much," Silas mumbled.
"Eeeh, don't worry about it," Parker said. "We'll help. Or you'll ask for a doggy bag."
"A what?"
Parker chuckled. "It's to take home what you can't eat."
"We really have to teach you everything, don't we?" Ezra said, attacking his stack of blueberry pancakes.
Silas ignored him and started eating the waffle that was on top. He didn't finish it, though, and everyone helped him clear out the tray.
"Damn, I know now what Nevaeh feels," Jesse said, patting his round belly full of food. "I mean, I don't have a real baby, obviously, but I do have a food baby."
All the boys around the table looked at their own bellies and agreed with Jesse: they all had food babies at that point.
"Now what?" Silas asked. "Do we go home now?"
"Nope," Ezra said, looking at his watch. "I said you had 20 hours with us. You've only spent 2. Next stop, back in the car." The boys filed out of the restaurant after Ezra paid, and Jesse noticed it was finally bright outside: the sky was blue and the sun was rising on the horizon. He knew it was going to be a great day.
The limousine took them to their first activity: paintball. Silas had no idea people actually did that for fun, and the guys had to explain all the rules to him. They separated in two teams – Silas, Parker, and Jesse against Nathan, Valerian, and Henri – and just played all morning. Of course, all of them ended up with bruises all over their bodies, and when they went to the changing rooms to take a shower; Silas made a face: he had a huge red and blue bruise on his chest, even though he was wearing protective gear.
"Ha! Oh, my God," Nathan said. "Ximena is going to be so mad at us for damaging you!"
Silas sent him a deadly stare and put his clothes back on. Jesse noticed how well-built he was and was a little jealous. How often did he hit the gym? How did he have the time for that? He looked at his own belly – granted, he had had a huge breakfast – but still, it was kind of soft. Did Nevaeh even find him attractive?
"What?" Silas said when he saw Jesse staring at him.
"Nothing! I mean- that bruise…"
"Okay! Next stop, the steak house!" Ezra said. "Who's hungry?"
There were mixed answers from the guys: everyone still had the breakfast heavy in their stomachs, even though they had run all morning. They still went, though, but only took small dishes. After that, they spent their afternoon in the Trampoline Center, where Silas impressed them all with his summersaults and his backflips.
"Where did you learn to do that?" Nathan asked.
Silas just shrugged. "No idea."
"Yeah, some people are just born to do trampoline," Ezra said, looking his arm around Silas' neck and ruffling his hair. "Maybe you didn't get the right calling, man."
"Shut up," Silas said, pushing him away. But he was still smiling. "Now can we go home?"
"What? Are you not enjoying yourself with your buddies?" Henri said, feigning to be hurt.
"Yes, but–"
"Just a few more hours," Ezra said. "And trust me, we've kept the best for the end." He rummaged through the bag he had taken inside with them and took out a black suit bag. "You're going to have to wear this for the last part."
Silas unzipped the bag. "A tux? What about you guys?"
"Eeh, you're the one getting married, not us. Put this on, and we'll wait for you in the car."
Jesse and the others left Parker and Silas to his tuxedo and went to the car. He didn't know all the details of the evening, but he knew the general idea. Ezra called Ximena's Maid of honor to discuss the last details and asked if the bride-to-be was ready.
A few minutes later, Silas arrived with Parker in tow, wearing the tuxedo. No one told him where they were going, but the drive took them only half an hour to get there, because of the traffic in town. Then when it stopped in front of a building, Ezra gave a black blindfold to Silas.
"Here, wear this."
"No," Silas said. "I'm not wearing this."
"Come on, please," Ezra said. "Trust me." He paused. "I swear we're not taking you somewhere you won't want to be. You'll love it."
"You will, Silas," Valerian said. And somehow, having Valerian say it, Silas believed him. He took the blindfold, slipped his glasses into his pocket, and tied it around his eyes. "Can you see anything?" Valerian asked, waving his hand in front of his brother's eyes.
"No."
"Good, then let's go," Ezra said. They managed to bring Silas out of the car without him tripping on his own two feet, down the hotel lobby, into an elevator, and up to the penthouse suite that they had rented for the night. Jesse honestly wondered what the whole budget was for the day… probably more than his Selection salary.
When they arrived there, the view over the city was incredible. And what Silas did not see yet, was his bride-to-be, also blindfolded, dressed in a magnificent black and gold gown. The top had long sleeves with a plunging V-neck, and the skirts went from the waist all the way down to the floor, in fancy golden patterns on a black background. They put Silas in the middle of the room while Ximena stood in front of the floor to ceiling window, her back to the city. She was waiting patiently, though she was a little fidgety.
Ezra untied Silas's blindfold without a word and the boys stood in the entrance of the suite with the other girls from Ximena's wedding party, watching.
"Oh, wow," Silas whispered when he saw her. He walked up to his future wife and reached her just after she had taken off the blindfold once she had heard his voice. They stared at each other in awe and then kissed as if no one was there.
In truth, no one was there, since Ezra and Laurel Coleman closed the door behind them, leaving the couple alone for the evening. They congratulated each other and the ten people headed down to the bar of the hotel for the evening. Jesse and the others had no idea what Silas and Ximena would be up to; he wasn't even sure if they were already doing it, or if they were waiting for their wedding night…
-o-0-o-
On Saturday morning, January 17th, Jesse was off-duty from reporting since he was a groomsman, so Otis was covering the guys and Sydney the girls.
They were all getting ready in the Prince's room – Silas was putting on the most formal suit Jesse had ever seen, with a blue sash across his chest and golden fringed shoulder pads while the groomsmen were donning a dark grey suit with red bowties – when there was a knock on the door. It was Laurel, Ximena's Maid of Honor. She was a tall woman with milk chocolate brown skin and as curvy as Ximena, wearing a long sleeve red dress.
"Is everyone ready?" she asked. "The girls are, and if we could get this party going, it would be nice."
"Bossy," Ezra mumbled under his breath. "Do you know how much time it takes to pin all these pins to the groom's chest?" he asked.
"He's kidding," Nathan said. "We'll be ready in five minutes."
"Okay, good," Laurel said, walking out. A couple of minutes later, Jesse walked out in the hall and saw Nevaeh. The bump of her belly was very visible in that red dress, and he smiled, walking over to her.
"Hey, you," he said, wrapping his arms around her thick waist. "You look gorgeous."
"Not as much as the others," Nevaeh mumbled. "Do you know how many alterations they had to do to this dress? I feel like I can't breathe!"
"I'll help you take it off, tonight," he whispered in her ear, grinning.
Neveah narrowed his eyes on him. "Okay. Fine." She looked at the other guys coming out of Silas' room. "Are you guys ready– oh, wow," she said, seeing the groom. "Silas, you look amazing."
"Thanks," he said with a tiny smirk. He pushed up his glasses.
The wedding party minus the bride and the Maid of Honor piled into a limo and headed to the Los Angeles Cathedral for the Wedding. Ximena would be coming in another car with Laurel, a few minutes after them.
The wedding procession was a fairly traditional one, with Marmee and Ximena's grandfather walking in first; then the Queen and her husband; Silas was next, on his own, and very fidgety as it was; behind him where the groomsmen and the bridesmaids – paired as follows: Nathan with Brandy, Valerian with Odessa, Henri with Laelia, and Jesse with Nevaeh – followed by Laurel and Ezra, the Maid of Honor and the Best man; after them came the ring bearer, who was none other than Doug himself, and the flower girl who was one of Silas's little cousins on his father side who was wearing a huge red tulle dress, leaving red rose petals on her passage.
And finally came in Ximena with her mother. Her dress was magnificent, and Jesse heard that she had designed it herself: it was some kind of sheath lace-covered dress with a sexy décolletage, long sleeves, and lots and lots of white fabric falling from her waist all the way down, making it look like she had a giant gown. Her bouquet was made of red roses and white lilies, and her veil was so long that it took four girls – the remaining four selected – to hold it behind her.
It couldn't more royal than that.
The only – slight – problem that had occurred was that her father had shown up to walk her down the aisle, but had been quickly taken away by Parker's men. Thank goodness Ximena hadn't seen him, since they had intercepted him before he could talk to her, otherwise she would have been shaken and stressed to walk down the length of the cathedral.
Speaking of which, Jesse couldn't have been prouder to be walking down that aisle with the love of his life and for his future King himself, who, at the moment, was staring at the back of the church, waiting for his future wife to show up. His face said it all when he saw her. Jesse hadn't known Silas to be very open with his emotions, but that day, the smile on his face would have even outshone the sun, had it made an apparition for the day. As it was, it was actually snowing outside, slowly covering the waiting people outside with a white, cold powder.
Jesse didn't really pay attention to the ceremony, because he kept his gaze on the woman he loved. She, on the other hand, listened intently to the ceremony and cried when Silas said I do, which made Jesse want to cry too. Then, Ximena took the Princess Vow and they were married.
Everything after that and until the banquet kind of all blurred together for Jesse because he was just so happy to be a part of all this, making history. Whenever he thought he was the highest he could be in his career, something else came around propelling him even higher. And being one of the future Kings Groomsmen was the highest he would ever be.
-o-0-o-
The Banquet and party that followed were somewhat private, with only 250 guests, some of which were family, prior-Selected who had come back for the occasion, some other royals and allies – namely from New Asia, France, and a few other countries in Europe and beyond – and people they couldn't not invite, such as ambassadors and whatnot. Jesse knew that out of these 250 people, the new royal couple cared about only a handful of them.
Dinner was luxurious as always, and the red rose theme of the wedding was everywhere: on the tables, on the stair railings, in the hair, in the decorations, in bouquets, even on the cake! Jesse thought it fit the couple well, and he was yet again very proud of himself for coming up with the color roses idea for the for the Selection.
From his seat at the royal table – thanks to being a groomsman – Jesse had a view over the whole dining room. He couldn't see everyone, but he tried to make a list on his phone, as discreetly as possible, of who was there. He wanted the tea.
"My feet are killing me," Nevaeh complained, leaning back on her chair. She had completely forgone trying to hide her bump. To be able to wear the bridesmaid dress, Laurel and another palace seamstress had to alter the dress a bit. It was a good thing she was shorter than the other girls because the belly was taking up some space. Not that much, but just enough that no one would doubt her condition.
"Do you want to prop them up on my lap?" he offered.
"It wouldn't be proper," Nevaeh said. "But it's very tempting."
Jesse smirked. "Who would know? The floor-length tablecloth is going to hide it."
They shared a knowing look and Nevaeh propped up her feet on Jesse's lap, sighed in relief. She still had her pointy heels on, and Jesse feared for his balls if he had to be honest.
"Uhm, let's take these off, shall we?" he suggested. And before Nevaeh could contest, Jesse had slipped her shoes off and was already rubbing the soles of her pantyhosed feet. Nevaeh let out a small groan of pleasure, and the people around the table looked at her, curious.
"Sorry," she mumbled. "Don't stop, Jesse. Please."
Jesse obliged, happy to be doing something useful. He was still writing down something on his phone with his free hand when Nevaeh nudged him with her foot.
"Jesse," she said. "Look over there."
"Where?" He followed her gaze and frowned. "What am I looking for?"
"Do you see the two redheads?"
Jesse squinted his eyes to see better. But in the middle of the serving footmen and the people talking at the tables, he finally saw the two redheads – he still hadn't gotten to that particular table in his list-making. "Is that–"
"Veronica?" Nevaeh finished.
"And Victoria?"
"But who's who?" Jesse said. "Damnit, I should have taken binoculars."
Nevaeh snorted, and then burst out laughing. "I'm sorry," she said. "Binoculars?" She laughed some more and actually choked on the sparkling water she was sipping just then, coughing loudly. Everyone in their part of the dining room turned around to look at her, and Jesse quickly patted her back, trying to help her.
It didn't really help, but she did end up stopping coughing, a bit red in the face. She laughed again. "Oh, Jesse. Binoculars." She giggled some more and put her feet back on his lap. "I really need to teach you proper manners, someday."
"Oh yeah?" Nathan said from a few seats away. "Like putting your feet up and bursting out in a loud laughter?" she smirked at his cousin.
Nevaeh sent him a look, but then just shrugged. "Look. I can't drink any alcohol, so I'm trying to have fun in some way, okay?"
Nathan nodded. "I see."
Jesse gently stood up and put her feet on his chair. "I'm sorry, I really need to go talk to the twins." He placed a kiss on the top of her blond hair and slalomed around the footmen and various people who were also getting up to talk with others. He stood behind the twins' chairs.
"Hello, Jesse," Yuna Anders-Caswell said. Since she was sitting across from Roni and Tori, she saw him first. "Congratulations on making it to the groom's party," she added not unkindly.
"Yuna," he said. "What a really nice surprise to see you here! How have you been?"
"I'm better now," she said, evading his question. "A trip to Switzerland was what I needed."
"Oh, nice! You were in the Alps?"
"Yes."
The twins were both looking up at him, twisting on their chairs. "Hey, Jesse," one of them said. He couldn't have said who it was. But considering she was being that familiar with him, it must have been Roni– no, the real Tori.
"You came with your sister," Jesse said, grinning. "Or am I seeing double?"
The girl who he guessed was Victoria laughed. "No, this is my sister, the real Veronica."
"Nice to meet you," the real Roni said, holding out her hand to shake Jesse's. "Tori's told me a lot about you. And how you… exposed us?"
Jesse made a face. "Yeah… about that…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry about that, I'm–"
"Hey, it's fine," Tori said. "It was time anyway." She shrugged. "I wanted to end the charade anyway, and I didn't know how to bring up the subject. I was in really deep. So, thank you."
"Whose idea was it, by the way?" he asked, looking at the two sisters in turn.
"Mine–"
"Hers–"
They laughed. "Roni thought it was time for me to fly out of the nest and to do something on my own. And since her name was pulled out and not mine, she made me do it."
"Hey," Roni said, playfully pushing her sister on the arm. "I have a boyfriend. I was not going to come to the Selection. What would Ben think of that?"
"He wasn't really happy with the whole charade in the first place if I remember correctly," Tori said, teasing. "Anyway. It was all fun and games until it wasn't anymore."
Jesse nodded. "I understand." He looked around the table and noticed it was full of ex-selected. Apart from Roni, Tori, and Yuna, there were also the girls from Val's Elite, Nathan's girls who weren't in the wedding parties, and Jacinta. Leigh hadn't even shown up for the wedding. He remembered the conversation he had had with her on the ship, after the National Day Ball: Leigh had really loved Silas, and this was just too much for her.
Jesse continued his rounds and then went back to his seat. Music started, and the Queen invited Silas and Ximena to the dancefloor in the middle of the dining room – the round tables had been set up lined against the wall – and they obliged. Jesse thought they were very cute, dancing together, with eyes only for each other. And what a handsome couple they made!
After the first dance together – because there was no father to dance with Ximena in the first place – where Jenissa played the special piece she had been working on for weeks, other couples joined them, ready to dance the night away. Or at least until the cake arrived. Jesse watched the couples, his chin resting on his hands, a happy smile on his face. Was love always this easy?
"Do you want to dance?" Nevaeh said leaning into him and whispering in his ear.
Jesse looked at the beautiful woman next to him who was smiling at him. "But your feet? And your back? And–"
"I'm fine," she said. "Come on." She offered him her hand, slipped her shoes back on, and they went to the dance floor as well. Jesse only had eyes for the Duchess for the rest of the evening.
The Big Wedding is done! Xilas is married! Jessaeh is cute! Valerie is a thing! only Nathan left, now...
anyway... 6 chapters left, and they'll be full of fluff and uwu-ness... What did you think of Silas's Bachelor Party? lmao. poor boi being abducted like that xD
See you on Wednesday! byeee
