15. Kelly
Chapter 15
I t took Teddy and Sam awhile to stop laughing long enough to explain to me what pegging was, and I’m sure I looked red as a tomato by the time they finished. I mean, I’ve heard of strap-ons, but it wasn’t something I ever imagined doing. Of course, now the idea of doing that to Teddy is making me all hot and squirmy. Just picturing the big omega at my mercy.
Dang-it girl, get your head outta the gutter, you need to make sure he’s feelin’ better.
He looked sick when you left earlier, that was the whole reason you went to the store.
Until you got sidetracked by the big colorful display of condoms.
He is looking a bit better though, less pale.
All good points. But before I can let my brain deep dive into any of that a loud ringing draws my attention to the coffee table. Teddy jogs over to pick it up before it can go to voicemail. His eyebrows draw together as he slides his thumb across the answer button, and suddenly a very loud, very vibrant, very female voice starts yelling from the phone. “You filthy slut, you found a scent match! Holy Shit! Congratulations!”
The crease in Teddy’s forehead deepens. “What? Sarah, what are you talking about? That’s like a myth, right?”
But the voice, Sarah, just talks over him. “Your scent match! Oh, my fucking God! Shelly said a friend of hers had those same symptoms after she met some alphas at a center mixer. It was like insta-lust, but you know the rules, we have to do the slow courting thing. She got super sick the next day, kept thinking it was heat flashes and nausea.”
Teddy nods at the phone, like she can see him. “Wait, Shelly’s your sister, right? So, one of her friends from the center?”
Another loud female voice in the background cuts through. “Well, I wouldn’t say we were friends exactly, she was kind of a bitch. But she was in the same dorm, and when you have to share a communal kitchen with people, you learn things.”
The first voice screeches back, “Do you fuckin’ mind, I am on the phone! Anyway, apparently you need security and comfort that you aren’t getting from your alphas. Hey! Assholes. If you aren’t purring for Teddy, I’ll track you fuckers down and beat the shit out of you! You better purr for your fucking omega or you’re gonna have to dig a size eight and a half wide outta your ass, you hear me?”
Sam rumbles in the background. “Sorry, it’s nice to meet you. We kind of all fell asleep earlier. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of our boy. We just weren’t sure what was wrong.”
Loud shrieking from the other end, apparently this Sarah is excitable. “Oh my god, Teddy, was that your alpha…He sounds fuckin’ hot! I told you before, I’ll tell you again. Fuck Steve and Garret ok? You got a fuckin’ scent match. I am so fucking jealous right now! Ok, Extra Thicc, I’m gonna let you go get some. Call me back soon, when you have time. I miss you, bye!”
The phone hangs up and Teddy just stands there staring at the screen like it holds the mysteries of the universe. I let him have a few moments to let his brain reset, before finally giving in to my desire to go hug him. He seems surprised at first, but then wraps me in his arms and pulls me tight against him. “Betas don’t purr, do they?” he mumbles against my head.
“No, sorry, we’re gonna need Sam for this one. But I can give you all the snuggles.” He pulls away, chuckling lightly before we both turn to Sam who has finally finished putting away the groceries I bought, and is trying to stuff boxes of condoms back into the bags. He gives us each a kiss on the forehead as he takes the bags upstairs, probably to the master suite, before returning and going back towards the kitchen.
“Ok, Omega, let’s get you fed and cleaned up and ready for snuggles. And lots of purring. Sound good?” Teddy relaxes against me, and I feel silly just standing here, so I wander over to ask if I can help him. He must hear me coming because before I have a chance to speak, he does.
“Nope, Sugar, you already went to the store and hauled everything inside. If you wanna ask Teddy what kinda soup he wants, you can, otherwise I’ll make up some tomato with grilled cheese sandwiches. Sound good?”
Teddy walks up behind me, wrapping his arms around me. He moves silently for being so big. His chin rests on top of my head, and I feel his answer as much as hear it. “Sounds great, actually. You sure you don’t need any help?”
Sam turns around and looks at both of us. “I’m not going to be able to get you two to go sit down and rest, am I?” He lets out a mildly annoyed sigh, and points to the cabinet two doors down from the stove where he’s working. “Teddy, can you get down bowls and plates for soup? Silverware is straight down below. Kelly, please get me out whatever kind of cheese you can find in the fridge, and the bread and butter from the pantry.”
He waves vaguely at a door on the other side of the fridge without looking. Teddy gives me a puzzled look but heads for the cabinet that Sam pointed him to, pulling out some nice looking stoneware dishes. I give Sam the side eye, even my parents’ dishes don’t match. Though I guess when you have kids that are super clumsy and break everything, that makes sense.
I head over to the pantry first—and holy green guacamole—it’s bigger than my closet at home, and super organized. Little labels line each shelf, plastic bins are labeled for bread flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, and three different kinds of rice. I didn’t even know there were three different kinds of rice. Wow.
I look all over for bread and finally see a wooden box that has ‘Bread’ carved into the front of it. Not sure how I missed that. I open it to grab out a loaf, but my brain goes scrambly when I see multiple packages, so I just grab the whole box. On the second shelf over there is a glass butter dish, so I scoop that up too before returning the stuff to the counter beside Sam.
I’m tempted to sniff the butter to make sure it hasn’t gone bad…Whoever heard of keeping butter in the pantry? My parents have always kept it in the fridge. I guess we’ll find out soon enough. I open the stainless steel door, and it isn’t as well organized as the pantry, but that’s hardly saying anything. I didn’t notice earlier when I was getting stuff out to make lunch—the bread was already out on the counter then—but I just realized that everything actually has a proper place. Fruits and Vegetables are divided between the two crispers, and the place I snagged all the sandwich stuff from earlier actually has a label of Deli written on it. I didn’t even notice because the fridge was so empty, that was just about the only thing I saw.
I grab out sliced American, Swiss, and provolone cheeses.
Why does one man need so much cheese?
There are a few blocks of different kinds in here too in another drawer marked “Dairy” but I just grab the pre-sliced stuff.
I mean, I get it, cheese is delicious…but still. Maybe he likes to make charcuterie?
That sounds fun, maybe he can teach me.
For cripe’s sake Kelly, focus.
I must have been lost in various thoughts of cheese, because I nearly jump out of my skin when Teddy’s big hand lands on my back. “Hey, Pixie, did we lose you to something horrifying growing in the back of that thing?”
I stand up, hearing a mildly affronted scoffing sound from Sam. “Yeah, I don’t think so. There was just a lot to choose from, sorry.” Teddy gives me a puzzled look but takes the packages I hand him and puts them on the counter beside the bread box.
We both look at Sam, who has pulled out a medium saucepan and a skillet and is squinting disdainfully at the side of the can of tomato soup before sighing again and popping it open to pour it into the pan. “So, what kind of grilled cheese do you two like?”
I stammer for a minute, trying to figure out if this is some sort of riddle. “Um…the kind with bread and melted cheese.”
Teddy snorts at my answer and Sam just chuckles before he tries again. “Ok, what kind of bread do you want on your sandwich?” Are there options? I never really thought about it. I mean, you go to a sub shop, and you have a choice of whole wheat, Italian, or something herby. But I never put any thought into it.
“Do you have any seedless rye?” asks Teddy while I’m still contemplating the various types of carbs that I have yet to discover.
Sam shuffles through the box, “Nope, sorry. I have seeded rye, white, wheat, sourdough, and I may have some brioche left in here, if you want me to look.” He pulls out a couple of slices and pulls the top off the butter dish to slather some on one side.
Teddy thinks for a moment. “Nah, just the sourdough for me. Thanks.” Both their heads swivel to me and I panic.
“Um, yeah, sure. Sourdough…sounds great!” I try to smile but it feels too wide for my face.
What have I gotten myself into?
Maybe I should look up what sourdough is on my phone, so I’m not surprised with whatever I get.
Did I get out the wrong cheese?
Oh no.
Sam takes out four more slices of bread and spreads butter on them too. Then he looks at the cheese slices I got out. “Hey, Teddy, can you grab out the block of cheddar, and maybe some gouda. Just whatever else you think these need?”
I did get the wrong cheese.
Yes, I know that there are different kinds of cheese…but grilled cheese was always just American slices on whatever bread was in the fridge.
Are the guys cheese snobs or am I a rube?
Crud.
I wander back over to the dining room table and pull out a chair to watch my guys make sandwiches. Sam keeps adding stuff to the soup—he has a big spice rack, but I’ve never seen Mom add anything other than just pepper and maybe a little salt after tasting it. Teddy grates a couple of different big blocks of cheese and slices thin slivers off another one before putting them all back, along with all the unused cheese slices I got out earlier. I feel kinda silly and useless right now. Maybe I should go take a shower and get cleaned up while they finish.
Before I can plan my escape, Teddy comes over and sits down across from me. It’s not a huge table, just a basic square one that has the center that pulls apart to make it bigger. We have one similar to it—but not as nice—at home, but we rarely use the fold out leaves. Sam comes over a minute later carrying a plate with a bowl of soup and a sandwich cut in half on it. It smells so good. I don’t remember grilled cheese ever smelling this good. Maybe there is something to having fancy bread. My stomach makes a loud grumbling noise, and Teddy smiles at me, a low chuckle rumbling out of him.
Sam sets the plate down in front of me, running his hand down my back before going and getting one for Teddy. He puts it in front of him and leans in for a kiss before going back one last time for his own, and taking the chair on the side between Teddy and me. I feel something brush against my knee seconds before a cold, wet nose presses against the outside of my thigh. Looking down, I see Jake under the table, giving me puppy dog eyes. But he’s not getting my sandwich. This thing smells so good, and it’s hard for me to wait for the guys to start. No one seems to want to though, so after a few seconds of everyone looking at each other, I dive in. Holy guacamole, this is amazing. It’s all crispy and golden and the cheese is melty and tangy. I want to try it dipped in my soup, but I think that might kill me at this point.
I finish off half of it before I even realize, and then look at Sam, embarrassed by my terrible table manners. Mom would be furious, but he’s beaming at me, looking pleased with himself. He’s only taken one bite out of his sandwich, but a quick glance at Teddy shows that I’m not the only one who left my manners at the door. He's finished half his sandwich too, but completely forewent the spoon option and just picked the bowl up to drink straight from it.
I’m relieved that they aren’t having second thoughts about me because of my manners as I pick up my spoon and taste the soup. It doesn’t taste the same as I’m used to, but it’s still really good with all the spices that Sam added. If Sam cooks like this, it makes me wonder if everything I hear about alphas being no good around the house was wrong. I know Jacks does most of the cooking at Pack Asher’s house. But I was under the impression that it was unusual for alphas, and cooking was mostly an omega or beta job. Hopefully, this is a regular thing for him because I wasn’t lying earlier when I told him I could only make sandwiches and burgers.
I hope I didn’t disappoint them with my sandwiches.
Teddy finishes his soup and uses the other half of his sandwich to mop up what’s left in the bowl, and Sam gives a small purr of satisfaction. Now that I’ve gotten past my initial shock and hunger, I slow down and enjoy the food. Sam passes Teddy half of his sandwich and goes back to the stove to bring over more soup, which Teddy slurps down quickly. His color's looking much better, but his eyelids are drooping, and he looks like he could fall asleep at the table. He shakes his head a little before getting up to go rinse his dishes and put them in the washer while Sam and I polish off our food. Teddy manages to get the cheese and bread all put away before we have a chance to help, and Sam takes my plate and bowl with him and finishes cleaning the kitchen.
Teddy leans heavily against Sam and they have a quiet exchange, but I don’t hear much of it. I don’t want to listen in, but they aren’t being secretive, just not overly loud, and my mind's all foggy now that I'm full of food. Teddy runs his hand down my hair as he passes behind me. “Gonna go get cleaned up, meet you upstairs for snuggles?” he asks before walking down the hallway to the first door on the right. Sam must have put his luggage in there earlier.
I sit there at the table, and Jake presses his cold wet nose to my leg again, looking betrayed that I didn’t share with him. But he scrambles away when Sam’s voice raises. “C’mere Jake, got some dinner ready for you too.” He looks upset when he sees only kibble in his bowl, but goes to town on it anyway, little hard chunks scattering around as he crunches away. Sam washes his hands and comes up behind me.
“You want to get a shower too, Sugar? Before bed?” I nod and smile up at him, but the exhaustion has hit, and I feel like my head's stuffed with cotton. Sam offers me a hand up, and I cling a little even after I’m standing, feeling uncoordinated and half asleep already. “You gonna be ok in the shower, Kelly? You look a little wobbly there, girl.” I nod a bit and start marching towards the bathroom before remembering all my stuff's out here. I spin around to get my shampoo and start to go down, only to face-plant against Sam, who rushes up behind me, arms outstretched to catch me.
“Do you need some help? You look pretty unsteady there.” I shake my head, my eyes feeling like they’re rattling side to side in my skull with the movement, but it switches to a nod as I start to tilt sideways just from the headshake. Sam picks me up, cradling me against his big body, and then grabs my new box of soap and the shampoo and conditioner I brought from home. He carries me up the stairs towards his room, and I melt against him. He feels so good, and I am just so tired.
We get back to the master bedroom, and he sets me down on the bed before taking off his shirt and jeans, standing there in nothing but his underwear. Then he goes to the bathroom to start the shower. He walks straight out to the closet and pulls out another T-shirt and a pair of shorts before he helps me stand and slide out of my shirt, shorts, and panties. He fumbles a bit with my bra clasp; I hear a low growl rumble out of him after a little while of his big fingers trying to manipulate the tiny hooks. He had such an easy time with them earlier, I don't know if it's a different angle, or maybe he's tired, too. Regardless, his growl soons changes to a snarl of triumph a second before my last bit of clothing falls to the floor..
Once I’m stripped, he picks me back up and carries me into the shower. Opening the glass door, he steps inside, testing the temperature of the spray against his forearm before he sets me down on my feet, and tilts my hair back under the spray. He’s still wearing his underwear, but I can feel his hard length pressed against my stomach as he pulls me forward and lathers shampoo in my hair. He doesn’t say anything about it, and I waver from side to side as he moves me where he needs me to go, rinsing the shampoo and then conditioning my hair. Soaping me up and scrubbing all the glitter off my arms and shoulders while my conditioner takes effect.
After I’m completely rinsed and cleaned, he turns off the water and holds my hands while I step out of the shower. He grabs a fluffy towel off the rack and blots my skin dry, more gently than I ever bother being with myself. I usually just wipe down quickly and wrap my hair up to keep the cold water from dripping down my back. He mutters a curse to himself before calling out the bedroom door. “Teddy, you up here? I’m drippin’ all over the place here.” Teddy comes in wearing a pair of Simpsons sleep pants and nothing else. The fog in my brain shifts enough that I want to lick him.
Well, we didn’t have dessert, and he does taste like cookies.
I giggle at my own thoughts as my guys exchange a look over my head. Teddy takes my hands, drawing me back into the bedroom, still wrapped in a towel with my wet hair dangling down my back. I try to pull back towards Sam, but Teddy just leads me until he can sit on the side of the bed with me in front of him. “He didn’t want to make you uncomfortable by being naked, Kelly. But now his briefs are soaked, and he didn’t want to drip all over the rug. Let him get himself cleaned up, then he’ll be in for snuggles, ok?” I nod limply, my head feeling like it’s on a spring.
Why am I so tired after eating?
Is it just all the stress from today catching up?
“Do you want me to bring your luggage up so you can have your own pajamas, or will these work?” Teddy nods to the clothes that Sam brought out earlier and I don’t want him to leave, so I just point at the men’s clothes that are available.
He puts my hands on his shoulders and holds the shorts up so I can step into them before shimmying them up my legs and under my towel. We really can’t do the shirt without me flashing him, not unless I want it soaked by my wet hair, so I whip the towel out from around me and bend over to twist it around my head before I can drip all over the place.
Unfortunately, when I try to straighten out, my body just laughs at the effort and I end up sprawled across Teddy’s lap, his arms holding me tight. My nipples are hard from the burst of cooler air, and he groans when I press against him. His face drops close to mine and he nuzzles under my jaw. “I want you, Kelly, but I think we both need rest.”
He’s not wrong. I finally manage to stand up and he helps me get the shirt on over my towel wrapped hair. It falls mid-thigh, and I could probably sleep without the shorts, but I don’t want to wake up horny and try to jump an alpha or omega in their sleep. So, I leave them on.
By the time Teddy has gotten my hair unwrapped and we fluff it out to dry, Sam comes out of the bathroom. Teddy picks me up and deposits me in the middle of the bed before climbing in behind me, snuggling up against my back with his arm draped over my waist. His rumbly purr vibrates through my whole body and makes me melt. I try to argue that he needs to be in the middle so Sam can purr for him.
Then Sam is cuddled up to my front, his arm draped over my waist too, holding Teddy’s hip on the other side. His loud alpha purr starts up, and the whole bed shakes a little with it. My mind tries to protest that Teddy's the one who needs to snuggle, but I can’t make my mouth work to get the words out. My eyes blink slowly, taking in the big alpha in front of me. I blink again, trying to wake up to get Teddy to trade me places, but my eyes won’t open. I don’t remember anything after that.