Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
Playing: Just Another Girl by The Killers
“ Please . Just tell me the way to your best friend’s heart,” I say to Stacia from my spot on the floor.
“Don’t put me in the middle of this.” She’s sitting in Ciro’s lap as they share a packet of M&Ms. The rest of her mates take up space on the couch, their attention focused on their game of Halo. Everett is sitting in the recliner, laughing at me.
“Hey, you want to know as badly as I do.” I throw my empty bottle of water at his face and miss.
I know I shouldn’t push my luck. Asking Stacia for advice is probably crossing an unspoken boundary, but the few shots I took with Ciro when we got here is blurring it for me.
“Stacia—” I start but she interjects.
“I swear if you two are the reason why she and Opal couldn’t come tonight, I will get one of my mates to steal your skates so I can dull them on the sidewalk.”
I put my hand on my chest dramatically. “There’s no need to get violent.”
“Why would that be the reason? Did she say something?” Everett asks.
“I invited them but after she found out who was going to be here she declined. Something about an early rehearsal tomorrow.” Stacia waves her hand casually. Everett and I exchange looks, ones that say ‘Yeah, that might be our fault.’
“Well, Sam and his pack are also coming, maybe they’re the reason,” I huff stubbornly.
Stacia sighs. “No, I’m sure it’s the truth. She’s taking an analytical Shakespeare class and got cast as Juliet for this semester’s play. She’ll be going to a lot of rehearsals soon.”
“Oh, my sister is in that class. That’s amazing,” I say sincerely.
Even in my disappointment, I feel myself preen with pride.
I had no idea Rory got cast in a play recently but that’s nothing short of incredible.
I knew she was an actor from our night together.
She spoke very highly of the art, so I know it’s something she is very passionate about.
I almost told her about my mother from excitement but stopped myself. It’s not public knowledge, so I can’t tell anyone but my pack. Even though I’m sure my other friends would take it in stride.
Ciro’s chuckle pulls me from my thoughts. He’s looking at me with amusement. “Damn dude, I’ve never seen you look like that.”
I cough slightly. “I just think that’s wonderful for her. She deserves it.”
Stacia looks at me with inquisitive eyes, but my phone rings before she can say anything else. I check the caller ID and excuse myself.
“Hey,” I answer as I walk into the kitchen.
“Have any of our parentals called you?” my sister asks .
I let out a laugh. “No ‘hello,’ no ‘how are you,’ just right to the point.”
Nicole groans. “Fine. Hi, how are you? What are you doing tonight?” she says in a bored and flat tone.
“I’m at my friends’ house. And no, they haven’t called me. Why, what’s up?”
She sighs, letting go of the pleasantries immediately as she goes into a rant. “ I knew it . They keep calling me, and they each had the excuse of making sure you and I were coming home for Thanksgiving. As if I’d miss an opportunity to be back in the city.”
I smile. Nicole loves where our family currently lives in Manhattan. I miss when we used to live in a more suburban area, but the city is still wonderful, at least for visiting.
I’m surprised Nicole decided to come to Bensen of all places, especially when she was accepted by NYU. I’ve never asked her about it though, because she gets irritated when we talk about serious things. She takes after our mother in that way. Being vulnerable doesn’t come naturally for them.
“I’m guessing you told each of them that we are.”
“Of course,” she replies. “I just don’t understand why you didn’t get a single call from them. Why are they up my ass all the time?”
Isn’t that the question of the century?
I open my mouth to respond but am abruptly interrupted by a loud celebration happening in the other room. I distinctively hear Kendall hooting and hollering, which causes me to laugh.
Nicole clears her throat. “So, you’re at a friend’s house.”
“Yeah.”
It’s quiet for a moment before she asks, “Is Everett there?”
I pause. When I found out that my sister may like my best friend, I immediately thought that meant Everett liked her back. Especially because I had been oblivious to the entire thing. Now that I know it’s a one-sided infatuation, I feel obligated to comment on it.
“Cole, do you like Everett?” I ask bluntly.
I hear her scoff. “No, Dax.”
She’s acting coy, and I really don’t want to be a bearer of bad news, but I also don’t want my little sister to get her heart broken. “Good, because there’s like a ninety-nine point nine percent chance that he’s my pack mate, so it’s not possible for you to be his mate.”
“I’m not interested in your best friend,” she gripes. “I like someone in my Shakespeare class, though.”
I nod and let her change the subject. “I heard the casting got announced recently, did you get a part?” I ask tentatively.
“Lady Capulet,” she says without any enthusiasm.
I smile regardless. “That’s great, Nicole. She’s a complex character! You love complex characters.”
“I should have gotten Juliet but the girl who got cast only got it because she’s an omega.”
A burst of protectiveness surges from deep inside me as I think about Rory. I swallow down my alpha’s anger as I grit out, “You shouldn’t say that about your peers, Cole. It’s not professional.”
She huffs. “It’s not just my opinion. My professor admitted that was why he picked her when I asked how I could improve my future chances of landing the lead role.”
Now my alpha has his eyes set on the actions of their professor. He sounds like a real dick. “Still, that can’t be the only reason he chose her. She earned it, and you can’t take that away from her. Lady Capulet is still a great role. Hell, doesn’t that play only have a few female roles anyway?”
There’s silence again. I can tell she’s annoyed I didn’t co-sign her complaint, but I don’t know what else to say.
Even if she was talking about someone other than Rory, it still wouldn’t be okay.
Mother would be disappointed in her for undermining another artist. She always taught us that others in our field aren’t competition but friends who love the same things we do.
There’s more noise flowing in from the living room and I hear Thatcher’s baritone crystal clear as they walk through the front door. “Hey, more people just showed up so I’ll have to call you back. If our parents call you again about Thanksgiving, tell them to bother me about it instead.”
That rewards me with a tiny snicker. “Deal. Later.”
We hang up and I head back to my friends. When I walk in, I see Thatcher first. He’s huge, which makes him a wonderful defenseman. His brown hair is shorter than it was the other day, and he looks around with the same reserved expression he always has. When he sees me, he gives a gruff nod.
I turn my attention to his official pack mates. Sam’s shirt is undone by a few buttons, indicating that he’s officially in relax mode. I don’t know how he does it, but he’s on top of everything when it comes to our fraternity and his grades, and considering he’s a law student, that’s no small feat.
“Sam,” I say before tugging him into a hug. He taps me on the back and pulls back.
“Dax”—he gestures to the person on his right—“this is Kit, my omega.”
It’s common courtesy to refrain from touching another alpha’s omega and vice versa, so I give a wave and a kind smile to the man next to my friend.
He’s lean, but still seems to be close to six foot.
His green eyes are wide, which tells me he’s probably nervous to finally meet Sam and Thatcher’s friends.
“It’s nice to meet you, Kit.” I swing my thumb over my shoulder. “Do you want something to drink? ”
Kendall steps up beside me and nudges my shoulder with his. “Are you trying to steal my job?”
“Well, if you hosted a little bit better, I wouldn’t have to,” I banter with him, which causes him to flick me.
Kit chuckles at that. “I’m good, actually. Maybe later. Thank you for asking.”
Turns out, later happens very quickly. The second Ciro brought out a bottle of spiced rum, Kit was down to take shots. After a few, we switched to mixed drinks, which made it even more dangerous as the harsh liquor went down smoother with every sip.
Stacia—who’s the only sober one besides Uriah—puts a romcom on at some point. The movie is actually very beautiful, the perfect mixture of humor and philosophy as the two alphas fall in love despite external expectations.
Hey, I may be a frat guy, but I can appreciate some good cinematography. Especially when it’s something that portrays a wonderful message.
A certain scene pops up and—as the mother of one of the alphas comes out—I nearly spit out my drink.
Because my own mother walks right on the screen with her usually blonde hair dyed dark brown.
I really need to start keeping up with her work so this doesn’t happen to me, but she has too many projects to keep up with.
I catch Everett’s eyes and see joyous hilarity in them. He’s the only one that knows about my mother, so I mime at him to shut up before he draws attention to us.
It’s a well-kept secret that my mother is a famous actress.
The world doesn’t know about me or Nicole, which is a lot easier said than done.
When my peers or friends ask me about my parents, I tell them about my non-famous ones.
Luckily I have enough parents so I don’t have to lie about anything, even though I’m heavily omitting important information.
I loved my childhood. My parents are the most loving and supportive people, and they were very involved despite their busy professions. I had unconditional love from every person around me, and I dream of building that same kind of family.
It’s just ironic that the person I’d like that with also happens to be an actress. Or, maybe it’s not irony. Maybe fate really does have a hand in the way things work out, and if that’s the case, then I shouldn’t worry too much about missed opportunities.
I gulp down more of my drink, finally feeling tipsy. Maybe it’s time to put the concoction down.
After the film ends, conversation starts back up. Sam talks about something that’s happening soon regarding our fraternity’s charity, and Thatcher and Atlas are discussing something that happened in practice a few days ago.
Kit drinks from his own mixed drink, seemingly much more relaxed with all of us.
“So, Kit… you’re an omega,” I say randomly.
He raises his brow at me, his sass apparent. “I am.”
“So, you might be able to tell me how to win one over.”
“Jesus Christ,” Stacia mutters.
Ciro pats her shoulder. “Now, doe, I don’t think we should discourage this. I’d like to see what happens.”
I flip my beta friend the finger before turning my attention back to Kit. He’s looking between us with confusion, but also curiosity. “What’s happening right now?”
Everett tries to cut in. “Dax, maybe we shouldn’t…”
“So,” I interrupt. “My almost-pack mate and I?—”
“Almost-pack mate?” Kit asks .
“—we’re pretty sure we’ve found our future omega. Our soulmate, if you will. But she’s not really giving us the time of day. Well, she isn’t anymore .”
“What did you do?” Kit asks like there’s a rhetorical answer to his question.
“Nothing!” I say a bit defensively. “We had a threesome a long time ago and it was the best sex of my life but now she doesn’t want anything to do with us.”
Ciro snickers and Everett huffs out, “Dax, please .” I look over and see the rest of the group is now listening to our conversation. Thatcher’s face is the most expressive I’ve ever seen it as he leans in closer to hear.
Kit laughs. “Well, you must have done something. Or maybe the sex wasn’t as good as you remember.”
I let out a dramatic gasp as Kendall snorts under his breath. Everett puts his head in his hands, which catches Kit’s attention. “Are you the almost-pack mate?”
Everett looks back up, and I can see that he’s debating on whether or not to lie before he ultimately nods. “Yes, but please ignore him. He’s just being crazy.”
“Hey,” I slur at him, but can’t get anything else out before Kit starts talking again.
“Maybe it has nothing to do with you. Maybe she isn’t ready for anything serious. Have you ever thought about that?” he says diplomatically.
Of course I’ve thought about that. And I want to respect it. It’s just… every day without her feels like a day wasted.
Kit is still looking at me expectantly so I respond. “Yeah, I have.”
“Then give her some space. If her omega feels pulled to you the same way you are to her, then she will eventually accept that. We’re young, and being all-in with someone can be scary.” He looks over at Sam when he says this. There’s happiness as they look at each other, but anxiousness, too.
I remember back to last semester when the guys were pursuing Stacia.
It didn’t happen overnight. They had to work through things before finding a baseline, and it seems like Sam and Kit are going through the same thing now.
Even if you find your future person, it doesn’t just snap into place as easily as you’d think.
There’s real challenges, real hurdles to jump over.
Biology and scent compatibility doesn’t solve everything for us, we also have to do the work ourselves.
I’m starting to realize that now.
“Thank you,” I tell him, and he looks back at me slightly surprised. I may have embarrassed myself just now, but the hole inside me feels like it’s closing up. Now I know what I need to do and it has nothing to do with convincing Rory to give us a shot.
It’s about working on myself, becoming the man Rory deserves. And if she ever decides she’d like to start things back up, I’ll be ready for her.