17. Tara
“Are you sure you can’t come?” I whined, laying back on my bed with the phone on speaker beside me as I nested into the pillows with Jesse’s sweater wrapped around me.
Now that Charlie and I were bonded, the alpha had been staying at my house more… and since Jesse was still pissed, that meant I saw my boyfriend a whole lot less.
It felt a lot like a win-lose situation where I was simultaneously the winner and the loser.
Jesse’s sigh came through the line, a little muffled under the tear of candy packaging. “No can do, sweetie pie. I have a subathon today since I hit grandmaster.”
I groaned, how could I forget? Jesse had been working their ass off to get their rank up in game, and now that he’d managed to get there it was time to reward the community with a long ass stream that meant he’d be busy for fucking ages.
Lucrative? Yes.
Annoying? Also yes.
“Okay, okay, fine,” I mumbled, snuggling into my nest more. He was miles away, but I still wanted my beta.
I missed his sweet, subtle lemon scent. And his warm arms. And big, beautiful ocean blue eyes… Focus, Tara!
“I guess I’ll have to go to the mall annnnd—” I paused pointedly for dramatic effect, making Jesse laugh. “Spend Glitch's money all by myself like a weird lonely, super hot cat lady!”
Jesse’s eye roll was practically audible. “Why not ask Charlie to go with you? He’s there, isn’t he?”
The jealousy in his voice was unmissable. But it wasn’t like I’d invited Charlie to come and move in with me, it just so happened that while my bite was healing, which took the better part of a week, I craved him being around more than ever.
Though, a half-terrified little voice in the back of my mind said, if the online forums are to be believed, that might never go away.
But my desire to be close to Charlie wasn’t entirely built off of our newfound bond either, I liked him. He was charming, and compassionate, and damn good at making a PB s magic credit card, making him stop in his weak-chinned tracks as Charlie held the glass door open for me.
The shop had to be nicer than my apartment, all marble floors and tasteful crystal chandeliers paired with glossy black accents that drew the eye like a shimmering oil slick.
Polished wood floors and well-lit, dust-free displays featuring purses and shoes lined the walls, a few racks of ready-to-wear designer clothes dotting the sales floor alongside the most expensively dressed mannequins I’d ever seen.
“What d’you think?” Charlie asked, nodding towards a display of glittering high-heeled shoes.
“They look fucking uncomfortable,” I said without thinking, making a sleek, ponytail-wearing sales girl nearby wince.
Her perfectly puffed lips tried valiantly to tick up into a smile as she moved to greet us. “Can I help you find anything today?”
“Just browsing, I think, thanks,” Charlie said, his hand finding the small of my back to lead me through the space.
“Thank you!” I called back to her, grateful to Charlie for taking the lead.
He was good at that, stepping up when I was unsure. The pair of us trading off dominance in our relationship with the kind of comfortability that was usually only created after long years together.
Though, the bond helped with that.
I brushed him in it now, the alpha meeting me with a caress of his own before his lips found the top of my head. “Feels good when you do that… You know, you’re funny.”
“Am I?”
“Yeah. But you’re also right… they do look uncomfortable as hell.”
“I’m really more of a sneakers girl, if only because I can’t be fucked to wobble around with blistered toes.”
“Hm, maybe this isn’t the right fit then,” Charlie said, leading me back out the door. “Jewelry, right?”
“Think so…” I said noncommittally as we continued our path down the hall, my eyes drawn to a bright blue storefront with glittering diamonds in the windows.
Charlie towed me inside, smiling at the sales girl as she started to approach. “Just give her a moment to look on her own first, please.”
“Of course, sir,” she said, going back to dusting some fiddly little rings with far too many gem facings.
My eyes widened to the size of saucers as my gaze caught on pair of platinum cuffs. They appeared to need a screwdriver to take them off and to secure them on, little diamonds adorning them in flecks of crystalline glitteriness that made the crow in my brain excited.
It’s not that I thought all women liked jewelry, because, hello? Wealth disparity is real. Especially in California. But we did all, generally, care for one thing: sparkly .
The little D attached to the sides of the cuffs warning they could be used for more than fashion made my stomach do a little dance break excitedly.
I always thought that rich people had weird, boring, repressed republican sex with the lights off.
But I was wrong.
Rich people were freaky.
Or at least Californian-rich people were, the bunch of fucking hippy artists and whatever else relocated here. This revelation was still somehow a surprise even after all the money that people who were clearly in a different tax bracket than me tipped.
I guess a little tiny part of me continued to assume that the people who dominated the top 25% of earners were, you know…. Bland AI loving robot fuckers who wanted to jerk off into some robotic sex doll or a pocket pussy and then close their eyes to go to sleep.
I don’t know… maybe that shit was freaky too.
I've watched Ex Machina one too many times.
“What about this?” Charlie suggested, leaning over the glass case to tap the surface overtop of what was—by all intents and purposes— a collar.
It was made of the same silvery metal as the cuffs, linked chains forming a braided circle that shone as they caught in the light. The lock dangling from the front was heart-shaped and reminded me a bit of that bridge where people left locks as a symbol of love or whatever… and a dog tag.
Though, I’d never seen a dog tag encrusted with genuine little white and pink diamonds before. There was a first time for everything.
“Ooooh,” I cooed, prompting Charlie to gesture for the sales girl to come pull it from the case.
“May I?” he asked softly, motioning to pick up the necklace.
“Of course, sir.”
Charlie held the collar up while I looked in the mirror, his eyes glued to how the pale metal complimented my skin.
I’d already decided that I wanted it—but then I caught the near feral glint in Charlie’s eye as he looked at me with it even partially on. Then I knew there was no way I was leaving without it.
Really, it was my little puppies who should be wearing a collar, but I decided to let it slide this time. I wasn’t an unjust partner, if my man wanted to look at me like that… Who was I to stop him?
“We’ll be taking this,” I said with a smile. “And the cuffs, with the matching pull chain please.”
“There are earrings that match the neckla?—”
“She’ll take them,” Charlie interrupted, going pink as we both turned to look at him, tips of his ears flaming. “What? You deserve them both.”
“Okay daddy, damn. Make his pockets hurt.”
“You’re ridiculous,” he muttered softly, a pleased smile giving away his appreciation of the sentiment.
“I’ll get that rung up for you,” the shop girl said, moving to take the necklace from me.
I took a step back. “Actually, I’d like to wear it out, if I could.”
“Of course, miss.” she nodded, clicking away at her keyboard. “I’ll stick the box in the bag so you have it for storage.”
“Perfect.”
“Want me to help you with that?” Charlie asked, stepping up behind me with his warm fingers brushing the back of my neck.
“Please?”
He helped affix the necklace around my throat and I fluffed out my hair from where it’d been trapped, turning so he could see the effect in full.
“Thoughts?”
His eyes bounced from the glittering diamonds resting between my collarbones to my eyes.
“Absolutely stunning, babygirl.”
“Thank you daddy. Hey, why don’t we?—”
“Alright, miss, I have you rung up. How would you like to pay today?”
Charlie’s phone rang and he fished it out of his pocket, frowning. “It’s Jesse,” he mouthed. “I’m just going to grab this.”
I nodded, waving the alpha off as he put the phone to his ear, stepping out of the shop and into the hall to take his call.
“I’ll pay with debit, what’s the total?”
“Twelve thousand three hundred dollars and fifteen cents.”
A beat passed between us. The shopgirl, smiling at me placidly like that wasn’t the most insane thing she’s ever said to anyone in the history of the fucking planet, me trying not to hyperventilate.
“Ha, that's funny. Sorry, I’m having a bit of a day, I thought you said twelve THOUSAND dollars.”
“And three hundred dollars, fifteen cents,” she chirped. “You heard me correctly. It’s why we generally suggest you don’t clasp the necklace before it’s paid for… they can’t be removed.”
“What?”
“Yes, it's a special design, after it’s closed, they are irremovable, to show your level of commitment and devotion.”
I blinked, my fingers trembling as my hand flew into my bag for my phone to message Glitch.
Tarable: I spent more than I thought I would
Tarable: put on some insane rich people necklace that doesn’t come off.
Glitched_Attraction69: how much mistress?
Tarable: $12,300.15.
Glitched_Attraction69: lol, was hoping for more kitten.
Tarable: it’s not funny, do you have it or not?
Glitched_Attraction69: give me the number for the store.
It took me a couple tries with my trembling fingers, but I finally managed to send him the correct phone number after the fourth correction.
Glitched_Attraction69 : give me five minutes, kitten.
I hesitated, swallowing hard as I typed my next words.
Half the time, this was more money than I made in a fucking year.
The other half… well, it was Glitch .
But this is what he paid me for.
Tarable: make it 2.
Glitched_Attraction69: yes, mistress.
“Still on debit?” The clerk asked, green eyes expectant.
“Um… I… no…? I think…um…”
The phone rang, and I nearly sobbed with relief.
“So sorry, miss, one moment…” She moved to pick it up, a perfectly manicured finger connecting the call. “Yes, she’s here. Yes, sir… Certainly sir… I’m ready now.” she typed quickly at her computer for some time, laughing lightly to who I could only assume was Glitch on the phone.
I kind of wanted to ask her if he sounded old, curiosity about the man who was willing to spend a used car’s worth of money on a bit of jewelry mounting to an unbearable level. But then she was hanging up, turning to offer me a little teal baggie stuffed with tissue paper over the counter as Charlie rejoined me.
“Jesse’s hoping someone will drop him off a hot meal—he tried you first, but you didn’t pick up. I told him you were buying him something sexy,” the alpha said with a little laugh. “I think he's getting a little overwhelmed. Stream is going really well.”
“You’re all settled, miss, have a lovely day.”
I took the bag in awe, grabbing Charlie's hand to tow him out of the store with a rushed thank you.
“Let’s bring him something to eat then.”
“Whoa! In such a rush to bring him some pizza?”
“No I just—fuck it was so expensive, Charlie…”
“How much?” he asked curiously. “Like five hundred?”
“God I don’t even want to tell you,” I said with a shake of my head.
I was heading for the food court, but stopped short when a familiar trill hit my ears.
Not even a mini melt down about an irremovable necklace that was worth more than an all-inclusive trip to Mexico ten times over could get me to keep moving if I heard the music from the May 1980 Amazing Spiderman pinball machine.
“Oh, holy shit—” I towed Charlie inside the arcade, letting my id run wild for the second time today as I sought the machine out to give it an affectionate pat. “I was practically raised on one of these. I used to have to spend Saturdays at the laundromat with my mom, and when we had extra quarters between loads she’d let me play so I’d leave her to whatever trashy drugstore novel she’d picked up that week. I haven’t seen one in ages.”
“So what I’m hearing is, you want to play?”
“Think Jesse can wait for us? Five minutes tops.”
“Yeah, he can wait babygirl,” Charlie said, placing a kiss against my temple. “Let me go get you some tokens.”
“A pile,” I said sternly. “You need to catch up, right?”
“I think twelve thousand dollars of tokens for a pinball machine is a bit of overkill, they’d probably let me buy the damn thing for that much.”
I pulled a face. “No, thanks. I want everyone to be able to enjoy the machine. Not just me. It would be sad to make it leave somewhere where she probably gets played all the time.”
Charlie looked at me for a long moment, gaze affectionate. “I’ll be right back, mistress.”
“Don’t leave me waiting unless you want to be punished, puppy.”