(BL)Alpha Made-Chapter 532: A dinner for family and friends
Andrew could tell that others were watching him as he came back. Obviously, it was his wedding, so the eyes on him just made it so that Andrew had his game face on. He glanced around for a moment, locating the wedding planner and was thankful that she was near Luis and Thomas.
Who were near Maxwell. It was going to make this conversation a little easier.
Maxwell watched Andrew as he approached, his eyebrows together just slightly, showing that he was concerned about what had taken him so long and why Ben and Amir weren’t with him. Andrew didn’t join Maxwell at the long table right away, needing to speak to the wedding planner first.
It was a good thing that their table was a longer one, with both May and Ford and Thomas and Luis sitting on either side of them. At a table nearby was Kim, Jenny, Leo and Alyssa, Rose and Jordan and William. At another table nearby was Rue, Maria and Zack and their children, Michael, Dr. Cox and her daughter, and Dr. Piper. Ben and Amir would join another table with Andrew’s grandmother and grandfather, Mr. Dalton and his wife and Noah, Nicole and Elijah once they got back from the bathroom.
Those three tables were the closest ones to the longer table that the happy couple was set up at, with all the others flowing down the length of the room.
Andrew bent, kissing Maxwell on the cheek as the wedding planner, and Luis and Thomas met Andrew’s gaze. They were clearly confused, since Ben and Amir were the only two missing from the festivities.
"What’s going on?" Maxwell asked, grabbing Andrew’s arm. Andrew chuckled.
"What we worried about." Andrew told him and Maxwell sat there for a moment before he paused. It only took him a few seconds to realise what Andrew meant, and when he did, he only looked more concerned. He had been there when Amir had been pregnant the first time.
Amir had not had an easy first trimester.
"Is he okay?" Maxwell asked and Andrew thought back to how Ben had cried like a baby when the test had come back positive. How shocked and happy Amir had been. Andrew felt his smile grow more sincere.
"He’ll be fine. I just need to speak to the wedding planner. They are probably going to be delayed for a few moments longer, but he’s fine. Just...drank liquor and his body rejected it completely." Andrew told him and Maxwell relaxed.
"Oh thank goodness he’s okay." Maxwell whispered. Andrew could feel how Luis and Thomas were watching them whisper to each other.
"What’s going on, you two? Do you know something? Where are Ben and Amir?" Luis asked a little louder, intentionally making it so that they couldn’t ignore their question. Not that Andrew would do that.
"They’re fine. I watched them break off from everyone and just checked on them. They’re going to be a little late, Amir ate something that disagreed with him pretty badly." Andrew said with an apologetic smile. "Ben’s staying with him in solidarity." Andrew wasn’t fully lying, but he also wasn’t telling the truth. It was not his news to tell beyond Maxwell.
Mehar was a rainbow baby. Andrew did not want to put pressure on Amir when he only just found out today.
Luis looked very concerned upon hearing that.
"Oh dear. Is he really okay?" She asked and Andrew nodded.
"I grabbed someone to deliver some ginger ale and some tums for him. They’re just going to be a bit late. They said to start without them and I told them we would hold two plates for them when they come back." Andrew was speaking to Luis and Thomas, and the wedding planner. She nodded, her face serious.
"Got it. I’ll go let the staff know right now. Please take your seat, Andrew. Everyone is waiting for you." Andrew winced, remembering that he wasn’t just putting out fires, but it was his own wedding. Maxwell smiled, pulling out the decorated seat next to him. Andrew chuckled, shaking his head before he sat down next to Maxwell, May on his other side.
The cheers from the room filled the air as Andrew and Maxwell smiled, until the glass clinking started and Maxwell’s eyes lit up. He pulled Andrew close, kissing him and that brought more roars from the audience.
Glancing over everyone nearby, Andrew could see the joy on their faces. Everyone was having a good time, music was playing, drinks were flowing, and Andrew finally felt like he could relax a little bit more.
"He’s pregnant, isn’t he?" May’s soft whisper filled his ears and Andrew glanced at her briefly. He didn’t make it obvious, but he nodded slightly. May let out a soft breath. "That’s a good thing, right?" She asked, her face remaining the same as she spoke to him.
"I think so. They seemed happy." Andrew told her, glancing at her again. Her expression shifted and she looked happy.
"There is a lot of baby dust in the air right now, Andrew. If you don’t want to get covered in it, be careful." She warned. She didn’t encourage him, didn’t tell him that they should start trying, just warned him about what was going on. And, what others were going to bring up.
"There is a lot of baby dust in the air." Andrew agreed, catching Maxwell’s attention. The other man glanced at the two of them, before he leaned forward on the table, smiling at Andrew warmly. Andrew felt his body tense. He knew that Maxwell was about to say something.
"Why are you two whispering about baby dust over there?" Maxwell asked, smirking and May chuckled.
"Why wouldn’t we be speaking about it, Maxy? Ellis is pregnant, Jordan just had his baby, and I’m sure others around you are also pregnant. It’s the time in your lives where everyone gets married and has babies." May said with a shrug. Maxwell’s gaze slid to Andrew, and feeling nervous, Andrew reached for a glass of water. He was in the middle of taking a sip, like Maxwell anticipated, when the other man spoke.
"Oh. Then, should we make a baby, Andy?" Andrew choked, coughing while May roared with laughter but patted Andrew on the back. Maxwell grinned, taking the glass from Andrew’s hand so he didn’t spill all over himself while Luis and Thomas looked on, concerned.
"Are you alright, Andy?" Luis asked, and Andrew could feel how everyone was looking at him in concern. May answered for him, before Maxwell could.
"He’s fine. Water just went down the wrong pipe." She said easily, lying for Maxwell and Andrew. Maxwell grinned.
"Was it that shocking?" He asked, humour in his gaze, Andrew could barely see him through the tears in his own eyes as he calmed down and was able to breathe eventually.
"You can’t just say things like that, Maxy! Especially when I’m drinking." Andrew scolded while Maxwell shrugged, still smiling.
"I wanted to see how you were going to react." Maxwell teased, a glint in his eyes. There was something deeper in his gaze that had Andrew worried. He was about to ask him about it when the first course of the plated dinner began to arrive, and of course, they were served first.
Maxwell stuck his tongue out at Andrew, feeling cheeky since their conversation was interrupted. Andrew, feeling a little annoyed, decided to let it go. Instead, he placed his hand on the back of Maxwell’s neck, watching as the man’s eyes widened slightly at the hold. He knew that Maxwell liked it when Andrew did anything related to his neck, and this? This was how he was going to tease him.
Andrew pulled him closer, pressing a soft, tender kiss against his lips while tightening his grip on the back of Maxwell’s neck. The soft noise that left Maxwell’s mouth made Andrew grin, glad that he could kiss that little smirk off of his lips. The cheers that filled the room were background noise to him as Andrew kissed him again, still soft.
Maxwell’s face when Andrew pulled back was frozen, entranced and Andrew felt like he’d gotten revenge, if he was trying to get it. The soft glare that Maxwell gave him held no weight. Andrew squeezed the back of Maxwell’s neck one more time before he extracted his hand and slid it to Maxwell’s thigh instead.
Maxwell grumbled, but slid his hand to Andrew’s on his thigh, interlacing their fingers.
They ate in silence after that, listening to the voices of their guests fill the air.
May and Ford made small talk, checking in with Ellis and Richard now that they were at the eating portion of the night. Andrew was glad to note that the surprise that Andrew and Maxwell had arranged had arrived.
Andrew didn’t want them to feel excluded, so he had asked one of his favourite restaurants to make the same meal that Maxwell and Andrew were having for their wedding but on a smaller scale and for two people. He had to pay more money than a different version of Andrew would have been happy to consider, but that was fine.
If it meant that Richard and Ellis could be included.
Richard was sending photos of what they had received around the same time that the second course was starting. It was filled with question marks when Andrew saw it, like he couldn’t quite believe what was happening. May and Ford were all smiles, and the table even shared the phone to Luis and Thomas so that they could see Richard and Ellis’ response.
Richard was cursing Andrew’s name and shaking his fist at Maxwell, but there was not malice to his words. Especially when he sent a photo of Ellis eating, tears streaming down his face.
Andrew saw the text from Richard to his Mom about how Ellis had been actually really torn up that he hadn’t been able to attend the wedding. How he had fought so hard to be able to go, but he also didn’t want to lose the baby either. Ellis was never going to forget this moment.
It tore at Andrew’s heart and he squeezed Maxwell’s hand under the table. Andrew wanted to tell May and Richard that Maxwell had also felt lost without Ellis around, even if he wasn’t making it obvious. Andrew could tell. There were times he would begin speaking only to cut himself off and frown.
Andrew knew he wasn’t speaking to Andrew, but that he was speaking to a man who had been by his side for a long time. Andrew didn’t think either of them were handling this new transition in their lives well. They were both happy for the other, but they were dependent on the other.
Andrew held his tongue though. It wasn’t his place, and Richard was looking for comfort from his Mom, not him. Andrew didn’t even have his phone on him either.
He just kept that little tidbit to himself. He didn’t want to upset Maxwell right now, and he was sure that the other man knew. He didn’t need to remind him.
Andrew suspected that Ellis’ wedding wasn’t that far away anyways. Richard wasn’t the kind of man who would drag it out. Maxwell could be there for him when that happened.
