4. Kelly
Chapter 4
C ripes, when will this class end? I just want to go home and cuddle up with Teddy. Seriously, having the whole week off was too good and now I don’t want to do anything. My eyelids are too heavy, if I can just close them for a minute while I listen to this lecture…
Nodding off over the table, my head thuds painfully against the desktop.
Ouch, too hard, what the what?
Bringing my hand up, I rub what’s probably gonna be a red spot on my forehead.
Maybe I should hit the coffee shop before I leave campus.
Maybe I could bring one for everybody, a sweet coffee treat.
I still have another class after this one, but I like A&P. Business Composition is just…boring. Why do I even need this class? Ugh . My hands come up, rubbing my face and I debate slapping myself a few times to try to get the blood going. But a few people are already staring at me for my graceless face-plant earlier, and I don’t want to give them any more reason to think I’m weird.
Today has been strange enough, people moving out of my way on the sidewalk, a few loud sniffs when I walked by. Did I forget to put on deodorant this morning? Zoning out is the only real way to stay awake, and I let my mind wander to the last week. Things started out pretty tense, but I like to think we’ve gotten into a good groove. I wonder what kind of coffee Steve likes—I can’t make him like me, but I can at least try to be nice and hope he stops seeing me as a threat, and splurging on getting everybody a drink is a good start.
Pulling out my phone, I send off a quick text to Teddy asking what everybody wants from the coffee shop. He’ll have a good idea or be able to get everybody’s information, and it’s easier than trying to use the group chat, which always goes off the rails. I don’t want to have to sort through a bunch of replies that have nothing to do with coffee. If I can order it online, then I can just pick it up on the way to my car before I leave campus.
Teddy replies asking me for the name of the place so he can look up their website. It’s just the big chain that they have on campus. So, I send him a quick link and then turn my phone face down on the desk. This is the first time all year I’ve even had a reason to have it out of my bag in class, but I don’t want to be rude to the professor. Instead, I go back to staring intently at the clock, willing time to move faster.
P eople shuffling around me draw my attention away from where I’ve mentally drifted off, my mind finally registering that class is over. I snag my phone, flipping it over to see a reply from Teddy, but when I go to swipe it open, a low growly voice sounds right behind me. “Hey, Kelly…Kelly Girl…who’s Teddy?” My whole body jerks in response and I tilt my head back to look up.
Looming over me is Spencer, aka Spence—big, alpha, super sweet but not the brightest bulb in the box—who is currently trying to stare a hole in my phone. Noticing my reaction, his face turns down so he’s meeting my eyes. Blushing, he takes a step back. “Sorry. Just…how was your vacation?” He’s rubbing the back of his neck with one big hand. Spence is big, like, as tall as Dr. Leo, but also wide. The guy looks like a darned grizzly bear, but he’s also kind of a big marshmallow. He’s in school on a football scholarship, but I don’t know what he’s actually studying .
“Oh, vacation, yeah, no, it was…it was good. Crazy. So crazy, but good.” I close the screen on my phone, thinking I can order coffee before I leave my last class.
His eyes watch my hand, following the movement as I push it into my back pocket. “So…um…Teddy, is he a friend of yours? You’ve just…uh, you’ve never mentioned him before. Not that we’re great friends or anything, but…shit—er…shoot…um, sorry, I know you don’t like cussin’. You smell really pretty today.” His voice trails off, and he looks at me hopefully.
Ah crud.
Deflect! Deflect!
“Oh, no, Spence, talk however you want. I just don’t cuss ’cause Mom would skin me alive if she heard it. And yeah, I know, I’m an adult, but…uh. How was your break?” Stuffing my notebook into my bag, I try to return his smile with one of my own, something to get him talking about himself. The man really is a golden retriever, even if he’s built more like some kind of mastiff. Ugh…he actually reminds me a lot of Jake, and that thought makes my smile more genuine.
His own grin gets wider as he follows me out of the classroom and down the hall. “So, um…Teddy?”
Deflection fail!
“Oh, uh…Teddy’s my…well, he’s my omega. We met at the start of break.” That’s a gross oversimplification, but I don’t want to go into it. Spence is an alpha, and an amazing person, so I doubt he has any problems with it. Still, I had to deal with some negativity when I was dating Sal, and I couldn’t handle it. That ’s not why our relationship didn’t work, but it didn’t help the situation either.
Spence isn’t following me anymore, and I feel silly talking to myself. Turning around, I notice him stopped in the hallway, staring at me. His nose has gotten kind of red and he kinda looks like he needs to sneeze. I turn around and head back. There’s a few more minutes before the bell, and I’m doing great in A&P, so if I’m late, it’s not a big deal. “Hey, are you feelin’ ok? You look a little flushed all of a sudden. Did you get dizzy or…?” The question hangs in the air, waiting for him to fill it.
I step into his personal space. His face has dropped and he’s staring at the floor. Part of me wants to reach out and feel his forehead, make sure he’s not running a fever or anything. We’ve never been super close, but I worry about him, anyway. He’s the kind of guy who’d give you his coat in a snowstorm to keep you warm. Oh, I hope he didn’t get sick with that storm we just had.
“No, I’m…I’m ok. Thanks. Uh, Teddy’s a guy’s name, right? It’s not short for like Theresa or something like that, huh?” His eyes are almost pleading with me.
“No, sorry. Teddy’s a guy. I kind of got an entire pack last week along with him, but he’s the biggest snuggler. That’s probably why I smell like him. Sorry, Spence.”
He shakes his big head. “Nah, no, Kelly. No, don’t be sorry. Congratulations. I’m happy for you. Now, let me buy you a coffee and you can tell me all about it. How did you guys meet?” His eyes are a bit watery, but his voice has stopped being shaky by the time he finishes talking .
Shoot.
“That sounds great, but I gotta get to A&P, you know. We’re so close to the end I don’t want to mess up now.”
He goes pale. “Oh, no. No, you go to class, I’ll…I’ll see you afterwards.” He waves his hand in my general direction before turning and trotting off down the hall.
Now to hope I still remember all the bones in the human foot for this stupid test. Who gives a test right as you’re coming off a break? That’s just mean.
Teddy
I f the coffee shop on campus wasn’t a national chain, I probably wouldn’t be here. Instead, it seems like a good place to ambush Kelly for post class snuggles. We haven’t been separated this much since we met, and it sucks. My arms ache to wrap around her, pull her into my lap, and bury my face in her hair. Purring until she melts against me.
We all go, because apparently, we all want cuddles. Well, except for Vee—he tries to squeeze in next to me and Sam no matter what we do. How do I tell him to back the fuck off because he’s suffocating me? I don’t want to be cruel, but after the last week, I’m exhausted. I appreciate him standing up to his dad, but I still can’t fully trust him.
We arrive at the coffee shop, and I wander up to the counter to ask about an online order for Kelly. The barista’s just finishing up my caramel ribbon crunch frappe, and we each collect our drink, plus hers, and go find a table to wait for our beta. Vee, once again, tries to wedge himself in between Sam and me, and earns a loud rumbling growl from our alpha. Vee looks between us before going and sitting on the other side of the table, next to his brother. Meanwhile, Sam pulls me across the bench and into his side, nuzzling into my hair. “You ok, Omega? How’re you holdin’ up?”
Before I have time to really ponder that question though, in walks Kelly followed by a huge fucking alpha with a dopey grin on his face. Three loud growls break out around our table, and it still surprises me when I realize one of them is coming from me. Her voice is friendly as they carry on some sort of conversation. “—told you, I need to pick up coffee for my pack, then I’m heading home. You don’t have to walk me to my car, Spence. I promise I’ll be fine.”
The big idiot looks flustered, but tries to argue. “I just…I worry about you, ok. For my sake, please?”
She lets out a resigned sigh. “Fine, but it’s a waste of time. Nobody bothers betas, you know that. But if it’ll make you feel better, then yes, you can walk me to my car. ”
The gormless guy just continues to smile as he trails her to the counter. “Besides, I still need to pick your brain about how you met your omega and your pack. I thought we knew all the locals.” Kelly’s only half listening as she searches the counter before calling over the barista, who points at our table.
Kelly turns, and you can see the rage flaring in her eyes before she recognizes us. Then a smile blooms, and it’s like the sun has come out from behind the clouds and all is right with the world. She grabs the big alpha’s arm—causing another wave of low growls to erupt—and drags him behind her. I look down to see my hands tracing the edges of my cuffs and try to stop myself. It’s an annoying habit I do whenever I get stressed, and the big alpha, at least, notices. My fingers twitch as I pull them away, trying not to fidget.
“Spence, this is my pack. That’s Teddy, Sam, Garret, and Steven. Guys, this is Spencer. He’s in my Business Composition class.” She points at each of us in turn and the big alpha nods, eventually holding his ham sized hand out to Sam first, then me, Garret, and Vee last. “Now, you have seen me safely back to my pack, thank you for your chivalry, kind sir.” Kelly tries to do a curtsy and her feet get tangled, even in jeans—almost face planting against the table, before I catch her and pull her into my lap.
Spencer looks back and forth between us, then down at my arms, one circling Kelly’s waist, the other reaching for my drink. “Oh, hey, nice cards, do they have special meaning for ya?” Blinking quickly, I draw my hand back and drop it under the table, hiding my tattoos and cuffs.
Everyone at the table stares at the big alpha, causing him to blush. His hand comes up, rubbing the back of his neck, and he stares intently at the floor. “Sorry, I don’t always have a filter. My little sis used to try to read the tarot cards, and I can’t even tell you how many times she attempted to do mine. They kinda got stuck in my head after a while…I could probably read ’em better’n her by now.” He raises his head, trying to plaster on a smile, but it looks unsure.
I raise my wrist back up and turn it towards him so he can see the lady and the lion on my right forearm. Only the bottom inch or so is covered by the leather cuff, and he looks intently at it for a moment before his eyes flick back to my other arm. I bring that wrist up, letting Kelly balance on my thigh. The three of swords—a heart with three swords running through it. It’s slightly different from the original design. This one needed to cover a bit bigger area, so I had a roman column put in behind it. With the number VII on a small plaque at the top.
The big alpha’s eyes stare intently at my forearms for a long moment before his eyes flip up to my face. The concern written there is a shock, to say the least. I subtly shake my head no, and he gives a slight nod in response. “So…strength and betrayal, huh? Well, I’m glad Kelly here found you, she’ll stick by you no matter what. So, you can relax now.”
He smiles his big stupid smile at me again before continuing. “Oh, but it looks like you got the number wrong on the strength card. It should be a number eight, not seven, but at least that’s an easy fix.”
He nods at me again. “Anyway, I just wanted to make sure Kelly Girl was safe. She smells really good today, and I didn’t want anybody trying to be stupid at her. I know she can take care of herself, but she’s my friend…so…yeah. It was nice meeting y’all!” With a booming voice and an exuberant wave, he leaves the shop, and I take another moment to pull Kelly tight against me and breathe in her light lilac scent before we make our own exit.