Chapter 7 Delilah
SEVEN
Delilah
PRESENT DAY
After changing back into my shoes and excusing myself for a restroom break, I call Sabs as soon as the stall door closes behind me.
“Del!” Sabs answers on the first ring, dance music pumping in the background. “Is everything okay?”
“It’s…”
“Do you need to use your code word?” Her voice is sharp. “Hell, I can run over from the gym and be wherever you are in, like, two minutes.”
“No, I’m good,” I rush to reply. “I mean, Tae’s great. He’s been so sweet. It’s just…” I sigh.
Maybe it was stupid to have called her.
“What is it?” The concern in her tone rises. “If everything’s okay, you wouldn’t be calling me in the middle of your first date in a year.”
“We were skating, then a Pack Fire song started playing, and…” I cringe, thinking of what Tae must’ve thought of me. “I made a fool of myself and fell over. Hearing Jagger’s voice just caught me off guard.”
Even on a date, I can’t seem to get away from him. Wherever I go, he’s always there, hovering in the background like an annoying gorgeous ghost. If there was a Ghost Buster team who could get rid of exes, my life would be so much easier.
“Okay, listen up!” Sabs barks down the phone with the aggression of a drill sergeant.
“You are not letting him screw up this date. Jagger-fucking-Knight can go to hell!” I hear a muffled voice say something in the background on her end before Sabs yells, “What’re you staring at?
I said what I said! Go back to crunching those abs!
” She huffs, turning her attention back to me.
“Anyway, you said you’ve been having fun, right? ”
“Yes.” I recall how good it felt to have Tae’s hands around my waist. Being in his company is effortless. It feels like we’ve known each other for years.
“And he’s smoking hot, right?”
“Well, yeah.”
“And where is he now?”
“He’s waiting for me outside the restroom…”
“You need to get your cute ass out of there and quit hiding!” Sabs bellows. “You put your life on hold for too long after what happened with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Don’t let him ruin tonight for you too. You’re amazing, and Tae obviously sees that. Now go enjoy yourself.”
I laugh, my wobble over hearing Jagger’s voice already fading. “Thanks, Sabs.”
“GO!”
I laugh and hang up, instantly feeling better. I splash my face with some cool water then reapply a fresh layer of strawberry-flavored lip gloss, feeling like a soldier suiting up to do battle. Sabs is right; I can’t let one asshole ruin the rest of my life. No matter how much it still hurts.
“You’ve got this.” I fluff up my hair to give it extra volume. Tae isn’t Jagger. “Have fun.”
Outside, I find Tae leaning against the wall waiting for me. Exactly where he said he would be. See? Not all guys are assholes who will run out on you.
“Good to go, cookie?” Butterflies flutter in my stomach at the sight of his panty-melting grin and hearing him use his cute nickname for me. I thought it’d be a passing remark, but cookie appears to have stuck, and I kinda love it. “Pastries await!”
“Sorry for making us leave early,” I murmur as we head outside.
“All I wanted to do was spend time with you.” He waves his hand, wiping my worries away with it. “Besides, the music of lurrrvvvve isn’t really my taste anyway.” He peers down at my knees, where there’s a fresh run in my tights. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”
“I’m okay.” I force a smile. “Honest.”
It’s a crisp January night, the campus still bustling with students meeting up after the holiday break. “So how did you spend the holidays?”
“Packing all my life into boxes to move here.” He chuckles. “Nothing too exciting.” Before I can ask for him to elaborate, he turns the conversation back to me. “What about you?”
“I was at home with my family.” I tuck my chilled hands into my pockets.
“We take the holiday season seriously. We played a lot of boardgames, which I love, but they often end in arguments because my dads are so competitive.” I giggle at the memory of when they didn’t speak for a day over Monopoly.
“We all help out at a soup kitchen on Christmas Day. Mom baked her amazing peppermint crunch snickerdoodles this year, and I made a giant gingerbread house. Both were a huge hit.”
“Tell me, Delilah…” His tone is serious, pausing to look at me. His almond-shaped eyes are gorgeous, the intense way he focuses them on me turning my knees to jelly. “Does your head hurt?”
I raise a hand to my curls. Shit, do I have a huge spot erupting on my forehead from all the stress of skating? “My head?”
He flashes me his adorable dimples. “You know, from when you fell from heaven?”
“That’s a cheesy line!” I laugh, swatting his shoulder. “Is that how baristas charm girls on first dates?”
“I’m serious!” He shows me his palms. “You bake food for all your friends and go to a soup kitchen on Christmas Day. You’re a literal angel.”
“I don’t know about that.”
We resume strolling, passing the sCream Queen ice cream truck parked on Main Street. When she sees me, Vi waves in our direction. Her hair is dyed in a seasonal red-and-green striped pattern, and she’s standing beside one of her burly alphas who has ornaments in his beard.
Despite it being cold, the line for her ice cream still snakes around the corner. She has a brand new menu that revolves around hot fudge sauces. Her cinder toffee and salted caramel one sounds incredible.
“I suppose you do read smutty books.” He shrugs. “That’s not exactly something an angel would do.”
“Hey, even angels need to unwind,” I scoff. “They have needs too, and who knows? Maybe they even enjoy reading about dirty devils sometimes.”
He arches an eyebrow teasingly. “You’ll have to send me your reading list.”
My cheeks warm. The way he looks at me makes me feel all fuzzy inside, something I haven’t felt in so long.
Since being with Jagger, I’ve found myself comparing every other guy to him.
The few drunken make-out sessions I’ve had only left me with the bitter taste of regret and cheap Jell-O shots on my tongue.
The only reason I kissed the random guys was to give Sabs’s theory of “getting under someone to get over someone” a try, quickly learning that it’s totally not for me.
But Tae is different, fanning my embers of desire that I thought had been extinguished completely.
“Maybe I will.” I mentally face palm when my voice comes out deeper and more sultry than usual. Do I just sound like a strange robot?
“I think I’d like that.” Yep, he’s definitely flirting. “And—”
“Del!” I spin around at the sound of a man’s voice from behind us.
I turn to see two large, familiar figures heading in our direction. There’s no missing them, one with crazy red curls, the other looking like a Viking with his blonde hair scooped into a bun, a telescope tucked under one arm.
“Sorry to interrupt.” Laz—Sabs’s older brother and one of Faye’s pack—looks Tae up and down with interest. “Are you on a date?”
“I…” I want the ground to swallow me up. Thankfully, I’m spared from having to say anything as Tae cranes his neck to get a look at Riven’s telescope.
“Woah! That looks pretty neat, man.”
“It’s a new one.” Riven sounds proud as he shows it to him. Riven is part of the Valen Pack courting Kady. Although they haven’t officially bonded yet, they’re scent matches, so it’s only a matter of time. “After we hit the arcade club, we’re going to look for meteors.”
“An arcade club?” Tae’s eyebrows shoot up. “On campus? No way! How haven’t I heard about this?”
“You’re a gamer?” Laz’s eyes shine in approval. “I’m Laz, by the way. And this is Riven.”
“I’m Tae.” They shake hands. “Before I moved here, I had a genuine Pac-Man machine in my apartment. We couldn’t take it with us, though.”
“Really?” Clearly excited, Laz hops from one foot to the other. “They have one of those at the club. It’s a members-only place, but you could come with us some time.”
“They have a new Jurassic Park pinball machine too,” Riven adds.
“Well, he’s got my seal of approval, Del.
” I stifle a groan when Laz winks at me.
This is worse than being ambushed by my parents while on a date.
I shouldn’t be surprised, though; Laz is just as protective of all the Stellas as he is of Sabs and Faye.
“It is a super, secret club, though, so I’ll have to check with Delilah that you’ve treated her well first.”
Where is an emergency escape hatch when I need one?
“Don’t worry.” Tae doesn’t even balk. “I have every intention of treating her well.”
“You know, I think I can hear pastries calling my name,” I decide to put an end to this conversation before Laz can say anything to embarrass me further.
Tae laughs. “I guess that’s our cue to go.”
“I could eat a pastry,” Riven muses. “Maybe we can—”
Laz nudges him in the ribs. Poor Riven sometimes misses social cues. “I don’t think they want us cramping their style.”
“Ohhhh.” Realization dawns on Riven’s face, and his pale cheeks flush. “Right, of course. On a date, you’d rather be alone.”
“Del will give you my number,” Laz tells Tae. “We can all hang out soon.”
After they fist bump in goodbye, we continue on our way.
“They’re two of my friends’ packmates,” I explain. “They have a whole bromance going on.”
Recently, Laz and Riven have formed a tight friendship.
They’re total opposites, but Kady is pleased that Laz’s influence is helping to bring her shy alpha out of his shell, and Faye’s just happy that Riven can get Laz to sit still for five minutes to watch the stars.
With Laz’s endless energy, it’s no small feat.
“They seem like nice guys,” Tae replies. “I haven’t had time to meet many people here yet.”
“So you moved to town alone?”
“Oh, look!” Tae points at the Tea House up ahead, nestled behind an oak tree, the shutters down for the day. “ Don’t worry about it being closed.” He raises his finger to his lips. “I have keys for the back door.”
“I don’t want you getting in any trouble for me.” I wring my hands. “This is only your first week.”
“It’ll be fine.” He doesn’t seem at all concerned. “I’ll just say I forgot something if anyone finds out. No one will check.”
We sneak down the side alleyway, excitement bubbling under my skin at the thrill of breaking the rules.
Tae puts on a funny walk, pretending to tiptoe as I follow him.
His light-hearted, bright energy is contagious, and I giggle along.
I’d almost lost hope that it would be possible to have fun with a guy again.
After Jagger, I became so jaded. As much as I adore losing myself in a good romance book, I’d started to think that maybe they were just stories about unattainable love that doesn’t exist in the real world.
While I’ve always believed in fated love, clinging onto that belief has been getting harder.
Especially after I thought I’d met my scent match last year only to lose him.