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He took a breath. “I need you to help me into my dress. And makeup.”
“For tomorrow night?” she asked.
He bowed his head, then shook it. “Yes. But…also no.”
“Oh, darling,” she whispered. She touched his cheek and brought his gaze up, repeating, “Anything for you.”
Eleven
* * *
Dom wasn’t always the most outgoing person, but he laughed a lot, and he did genuinely enjoy being in the company of other people. He also wasn’t a nervous man by nature, so his anxiety about Sarah’s party was something new and uncomfortable.
Between the two of them, they’d managed to cobble together a wolf outfit that would suit. She had some leftover faux fur ears and gloves from some rave she’d gone to years back. They were black with sparkles, but he didn’t really mind since it was a party, and he wasn’t trying to look authentic.
He half considered confessing he was going as the Big Bad Wolf, but he knew then it would give Shiloh’s costume away, so instead, he chose a black jumper and some jeans. She did up his makeup after that with a black nose, colored in brows so they looked furry, and lips and eyes lined in kohl.
Dom stared at himself for a long time, rather impressed with her work.
Sarah grinned at him, perched on the kitchen table since she could never sit in chairs like an average person, and she shrugged. She was dressed up as Aphrodite with gold arm bands and a cascading toga, her curly blonde wig a little askew on her head.
“Alright, you’re sorted. I have to go make sure Jules didn’t bollocks up the entire set-up. He got this fuck-off-sized bowl for punch, but I’m terrified it’s going to crash right through the little card table, and I am so fucking skint, I cannot afford a floor repair right now.”
“You know your future husband is rich, right? And if hell freezes over and he says he won’t buy you a new table, I can fix it.”
She rolled her eyes and shoved at him. “Fuck off.”
He knew that was Sarah for, ‘I love you.’ Leaning in, he bused a kiss against her cheek, careful not to smudge his makeup. “Don’t stress. We’ll see you shortly. Tonight’s going to be amazing, okay?”
“Okay.” There was a new expression on her face—something almost devious, and it made his heart speed up. “Go have fun picking up Shiloh. And if I don’t see you at the party later, I won’t blame you.”
“What the actual fuck does that mean?” he asked.
She hummed, giving him a wink before she hopped to the ground and let herself out. In spite of wanting to chase after her and ask what the hell she was on about, he did rather like that she was unceremonious in her goodbyes. It allowed him to focus on the task at hand, which was walking up to the farm and fetching Shiloh for the party.
He and Shiloh had been texting most of the day, but Shiloh hadn’t sent him a single selfie of his costume progress, and he wasn’t sure he could take being surprised by the full picture of the man he loved in a dress. His mouth got a little dry when he started thinking about it, and he prayed to whatever god might be listening that he’d be able to keep his composure when he finally set eyes on his best friend.
His phone buzzed right as he was zipping up his jeans, and he glanced at the screen to see the text from Shiloh saying he was ready. The party was already underway, but he knew Shiloh liked to be late. He never did well before the crowds arrived when early partygoers wanted to make small talk, and though Dom usually saved him from the awkward silences, it was easier to just wait until people were too busy to notice them.
He stood in front of the mirror for another long moment, then took a breath, pocketed his phone, and headed up the road. He took his car, not wanting to make Shiloh navigate the road in the pitch dark, but that short drive robbed him of a chance to finish composing himself.
He pulled up in the front, then he looked over to find Benjamin crouched in the front yard with the barn cat. He smiled up at Dom, letting out a low whistle, and his hands moved in the faint yellow light from the porch lamp. ‘You look great.’
Dom rolled his eyes. ‘Thank you. Sarah did it.’
‘Matching costumes, right?’ Benjamin asked with a smile playing around the sides of his mouth.
‘Have you seen him?’ Dom couldn’t help but ask.
Benjamin let out a small laugh. ‘He refused to come out. He’s been waiting for you.’
And oh.Oh. God…he was going to die before the night was up. ‘I’d better get in there and make sure he’s not a total disaster. See you later?’
Benjamin simply nodded, then went back to stroking the cat. Dom watched for an extra second, to buy himself one single breath, then he moved up the porch and in through the front door. The house was quiet—the lingering scent of curry from their night’s take-away that was Shiloh’s anxiety food.
He felt a pang in his gut for Shiloh, knowing what this was costing him. He was brave—he’d always been brave—but not the same way other people were. Shiloh had just accepted the way things were—that he was different and always would be—and he refused to let people bend or break him.
But he was never loud about it, and he knew that this moment was the most seen Shiloh was ever going to be.
