CHAPTER 380: SUITS, WATCHES, AND...?

Just like Lane had said, right after lunch, he took Damien to the tailor to get the measurements for the suit, and pick the styles and colors they were going to order. Lane was already familiar with the process, but Damien had never had a custom-made suit, or any suit at all, not even a hand-me-down...

And he greatly underestimated how long it would take. Even the initial consultation was extensive. First, the tailor took his measurements - and it wasn’t just his basic measurements to figure out his size, like the shop assistants from the stores they had earlier visited had done. Damien was sure that the tailor had noted down at least thirty different measurements! - then, they moved on to picking the designs. Various styles were needed for various occasions and seasons, not every fabric was suitable for every design, and Damien’s skin tone, hair color, and eye color also had to be taken into consideration!

In other words, it was a lot.

And it was only the initial consultation! After that, they would have to schedule at least two fittings. The whole process would take at least eight weeks, possibly more. Especially with Damien’s busy work schedule, it might be hard to make an appointment for the fitting.

Damien didn’t protest, though. Firstly, because Lane seemed really excited about it, and secondly... Because, as an adult man, it would be good to own at least one suit. Not necessarily a custom-made one - that much was unnecessary - but one that fit well. This way, if there was an occasion outside of work that called for formal attire - for example, if one of his sisters were to get married. None of them was engaged yet, but he heard that his second sister, Alice, was getting serious with her long-term boyfriend - he wouldn’t have to worry about what to wear.

It took a long time, but eventually, they were done with the consultation, and Lane once again dragged Damien through the clothing sections of the mall, to see if there was any store they had missed...

When all of a sudden, his steps faltered, as something caught his eye.

P & M Jewelers.

A high-end jewelry shop.

"Let’s go there!" he said, pulling Damien by the wrist.

Damien furrowed his brows, confused. "Jewelers?"

"Yeah! You need some watches to go with the suit!"

Which was... partially true. Lane hadn’t bought Damien any watches just yet, but it was indeed good to have a few. He also had a collection of his own, even though he couldn’t even remember the last time he had worn any of them.

That wasn’t why he dragged Damien into the shop, though. The real reason was that he had noticed the rings on display, which reminded him that he was supposed to think about getting an engagement ring for Damien...

Of course, he had no intention to buy it now, not with Damien around, but rings had different sizes, no? They had to have. People had very different finger thicknesses, even he and Damien, despite being both men and roughly the same height. A ring that would fit Lane would likely be too tight for Damien.

That was common knowledge.

And also about everything Lane knew about rings, as he had never bought any before. He hadn’t bought any for himself, because he didn’t have any interest in them, and he hadn’t bought any for others, because the intentions behind such a gift could be too easily misunderstood. People attached a lot of meaning to rings, after all.

However, since his intentions couldn’t be ’misunderstood’ this time, as he was considering proposing to Damien...

"What are you looking at?"

"Huh?" Lane blinked, his head practically snapping back to look at Damien. Although he had brought the man to the jewelry store, he dragged him to the watches’ display first... But it seemed that he had been glancing in the direction of the rings without even realizing, as he was trying to come up with an excuse to have Damien try some, so that he could learn his size.

But it was easier said than done. Since Lane didn’t wear any rings himself, nor had he any interest in them, he didn’t quite know how to tackle it... He didn’t want to make Damien suspicious, as it might ruin the surprise. A-and, well, it’s not like he was one hundred percent sure that he was going to propose. He was strongly leaning towards it, but he had to consider a few more things first...

So, in the end, he could only say, "Oh, I was just looking around. I was wondering, are you perhaps interested in any other jewelry? Watches are a must, but we can also get you something else if you want..."

Unfortunately, asking Damien whether he wanted Lane to buy him anything, let alone something so expensive as jewelry, was never going to work. "No, thank you," he said without hesitation. "I don’t wear any jewelry."

"Well, we can always change it?" Lane tried again, but Damien shook his head.

"There’s no need for that. It would only get in the way at work."

"Who says you have to wear it at work? You can wear it at home, or when we go out..."

"You don’t wear any jewelry either," Damien pointed out.

"Well, just because I don’t, that doesn’t mean you can’t wear any," Lane tried to argue. "And besides, it’s not like I don’t wear ANY. See?" he added, sticking out his tongue.

Damien stared at Lane’s piercing for a moment, before he seriously responded, "I don’t have any piercings."

"It doesn’t have to be piercings! There’s a lot of jewelry to choose from!"

"Do you have anything specific in mind?"

"This..." Lane found himself unable to respond.

Yes, indeed he had. An engagement ring. But he couldn’t exactly tell that to Damien now, now could he?

And since he had no other arguments, he had no choice but to shut up.

It was still fine, though! Even if he didn’t get to check Damien’s ring size now, he surely would find another way to figure it out, right?