Chapter 30
“I’m stealing you for the day,” I told Madison over breakfast later that week. “I already cleared it with your boss.”
Alve blushed. “Coworker, but yes. Our staff is perfectly capable of checking over the arriving inventory to make sure all the boxes are there and you can go through it all tomorrow.”
“If you’re sure.” Madison turned back to me. “What are we doing today?”
I grinned. “Surprises. Unless you’re not cool with surprises, and then I can give you an itemized list.”
“I do love knowing the plan, but as long as you make sure I’m dressed appropriately I can trust you for the day.”
“No, I want you to be comfortable. If a list makes that better, then you’re getting a list.” I hopped out of my seat and scribbled bullet points for the day onto the magnetic notepad on Alve’s fridge.
1) Shopping to personalize the apartment
2) Beginner performance lessons at Les Bijoux
3) Lunch date
4) Pack trip to Leo’s show
I slid the paper over to her, watching her eyes flick down the list.
“Les Bijoux? Really? I didn’t know they did lessons.” She pressed the paper to her chest with a delighted smile. “Tyler would hate that so much.”
“I think the lessons are new, but that’s exactly why I picked it.
He doesn’t get to dictate what you do anymore, I figured it would be fun for you to try out a few things.
” Les Bijoux was one of the hottest shows on the strip—or at least that’s what their advertisements said—and combined burlesque and acrobatics.
“Is that safe if I might be pregnant? It’s probably still too early to do a test.”
“They said it would be fine when I called. They’re not doing anything strenuous, it’s just to give you a taste. And I double checked with Ava’s OB-GYN to see what they thought, and they said it should be fine, too.”
Madison bounced out of her seat and locked her arms around me. “That sounds so fun! Thank you.” She squeezed extra tight on the last two words.
“Finish up those waffles and pack some tiny shorts so I can appreciate how perfect your butt is.”
Madison laughed, but quickly disappeared into the nest to pack.
Alve tapped my wrist. “I’m not sure how well we’ll do being separated all day.”
“I thought of that. Everyone is meeting us for lunch, I cleared it with all your jobs.”
The pack blinked back at me.
“You really think of everything, don’t you?” Jude slid out of his seat and straight into my arms. “Pretty hot how good you are at taking care of us.”
I purred. “Is that so?”
“Mhmm.” He met my mouth and I indulged myself until Madison returned, a tote bag slung over each shoulder. Jude smiled widely at her. “You’re only going for a few hours.”
“I need to be prepared. What if I get sweaty? I don’t wanna be gross all day.”
Goddamn, she was cute.
I reached into the bag I dropped by the door before everyone got up today and pulled out a tie, a bandana, and a silk scarf, passing the tie and bandana to Madison and the scarf to Alve. “Scent mark these.”
Madison rubbed the tie along her throat and Alve did the same with the scarf, swiping it against each of his cheeks for good measure.
“Perfect, now swap and make sure Leo gets in there with the scarf, too.”
Once he’d scent marked it as well, I tied the pink silk around Madison’s neck and her eyes widened, then I turned, batting Alve’s hands off the tie and finishing it up myself, before tying the bandana around Leo’s upper arm.
“Everyone say, ‘Good job, Nathan.’”
My pack laughed, parroting the sentiment.
I wanted Madison to enjoy her day out, and if her recent bonds might interfere with some one-on-one time, then this would hopefully help. Each of them could carry the scent of the other until I reunited them at lunch. But for now, I needed to take Madison on a proper date.
“Ready, Freddy?”
“Yep!” Madison beamed at me and made a circuit through the pack, kissing each one before hooking her arm through mine. “Lead the way.”
Our first stop conveniently allowed Jude to join us. He clocked in at Best of Nests and I made myself the designated cart pusher, so I could watch the cuties in the wild.
Both were experts and had the store memorized, which made the process impressively smooth. It was impossible to miss the pointed stares from the staff when they saw Madison’s hand in Jude’s. I suppose they’d have been privy to his pining over the years. Hopefully they were happy about this change.
“You guys are giving me cute aggression over here.” I parked the cart and hugged both Jude and Madison, the plushie she’d picked up sandwiched between us.
“Sorry, not sorry.” Madison tipped her face up for a kiss I happily gave her.
“Also sorry, not sorry,” Jude added, “but probably not professional to get kissed at work. Especially with how hard the staff are eyeballing us.”
“Okay, fair.” I sighed. “But know that I’m thinking about it anyway.”
Jude gave me a soft smile. “Me, too.”
Madison’s plushie wiggled its way up my chest. “Do you want any for your room?”
“If you find one you think suits me. My room could use a touch of whimsy.”
She grinned and slipped away to grab a set of teddy bears dressed in primary-colored shirts. “Okay good, because I saw this and I definitely think each of you needs one in your room.”
“Now I wonder if the pajamas Alve had us borrow are from here,” Jude commented. “The bears are the same colors, but I haven’t paid as much attention to the clothing inventory as the housewares and bedding.”
“Best of Nests carries things big enough for alphas?”
“Some.” Jude nodded. “Not a lot, but since alphas tend to sleep in the nests, we keep pajamas in stock that are made of softer, more omega-appropriate fabrics.”
“Damn, they really think of everything here.”
“One-stop shop,” Jude said with a laugh.
Madison shopped for about an hour and Jude took note of stock updates they’d need, as well as ordering more of what Madison thought the apartment could use.
Jude was so smooth at work. Any questions his staff or customers had, he had the answer for. He knew this place inside and out, and I was damn impressed with that, considering the thousands upon thousands of items in here and the sheer size of the layout.
Once Madison had finished the initial phase of her quest and filled the cart, Jude waited with us long enough to check out, then helped us load the car.
Outside of the store and away from prying eyes, Jude was much more open to being kissed into a daze.
Madison grinned adorably as she claimed her kisses, and I tried very hard not to press Jude up against the car when I claimed my own.
We sent him back to work with a goofy smile and a semi-hard cock.
“Good day so far?” I asked Madison.
“Perfect day so far.” She stood on her toes, offering her face, so obviously, I had to kiss her equally senseless.
“Ready to let out your inner sexy beast?”
She laughed. “I’ll probably be more awkward than sexy, but I’m excited to see what it’s like. I went to Les Bijoux years ago for a bachelorette, so it might’ve changed since then. It was crazy hot, though.”
Our trip to the Strip was relatively quick. The traffic on the Strip itself was a nightmare, but we found the parking for the double-towered hotels, Glitz and Glam. Both had blue, pink, and gold glass flowing up and down the towers in a gradient.
Once inside, it was easy enough to find our way, with signs pointing to the applicable theater. Security waited outside the door and confirmed our names on the list, giving us each a wristband.
The stage was outfitted with a series of poles jutting up from the floor with thick mats beneath them.
A few nervous-looking people were scattered across the stage, and they directed us to the changing rooms. Madison and I diverged there, returning in our workout gear.
She stopped dead, her gaze darting over me before settling on my shorts. “Oh my god.”
I spun for her and planted my hands on my hips. “The info said to make sure the shorts were as short as we felt comfortable with or we’d slide down the poles.”
Madison gaped, her cheeks bright pink. “I didn’t know they made them that small.”
“Took me a few stores to find them. What do you think?”
“I think if they were any color besides black, I’d have to write you up for indecent exposure,” she said with a laugh. “They’re really cupping the goods in all the right places.”
“I’ve got to compete with my girl. You’re out here showing off your absolute cake of an ass in those shorts.”
She twisted to check out her own butt. “I guess the cheeks do look exceptionally round in these shorts. I wasn’t sure if you’d be participating in the class or not.”
“And miss out on all the fun? When they asked if I wanted to try, too, I couldn’t say no, and I thought you’d feel more comfortable if I was here to make a fool of myself so there’d be less eyes on you.”
“You’re not wrong about that.”
“If you want me to leave you to it at any point after today, you just let me know.”
A bouncy blonde and sleek brunette walked out from backstage in red and royal blue leotards, respectively. The brunette stepped forward, a smile on her face. “Welcome to the Les Bijoux sampler class! My name is Farrah, and this is Scarlett.”
The blonde waved, beaming at us. “I’ll be doing the fire dancing and burlesque portions of the class, and Farrah will be doing aerial arts with you.”
“Before you get too scared,” Farrah said, “we’re both trained professionals and we’re not doing anything hardcore.
The whole goal of the class is to let you try a lot of different things, so if you want to pursue anything further, you already know you’ll enjoy it.
Does anyone have questions before we begin? ”
No one did. I was more than ready to try out the fun, and Madison was eagerly bouncing on her toes as Farrah and Scarlett got everyone lined up at their own pole.
We started with a simple pole hold.
“Holy shit,” I muttered under my breath. Evidently this class was going to use muscles that had never been employed before.
Madison grinned, her cheeks already pink as she held the pose for a few seconds before dropping down.
“Don’t worry,” Farrah said with a smile, “I promise it gets easier, but it’s always a rough start.
Pole requires a lot of strength, stability, and flexibility.
Most people have one of the three, two, if they’re lucky, so part of the challenge will be cultivating all three.
The good news is we can modify anything to suit where you’re at today. ”
We practiced climbing the poles, which I was a little better at, since I could use my legs as well. And when they let us do the fireman spin, it brought in the level of fun that I’d been hoping for. Madison giggled as she twirled around the pole.
“Having fun?” I asked her quietly.
“Hell fucking yeah, I am. You’re the master of dates.”
I was glad she thought so. I brought the same energy to dating as I brought to most of my life, and if she was happy with something so simple, then she was going to be elated as fuck the whole rest of our lives together.