Chapter 33
It’s hard to believe that Al is going along with this so easily.
I was all ready to butter him up with waffles and fresh coffee…
then I forgot that Paul got a new coffee maker and I haven’t figured out how to use it yet.
It’s that cool kind that can take little pod thingies for all kinds of hot drinks.
Though it does seem like it would be bad for the planet.
I think I read somewhere that you can recycle those things or…
compost them? But they’re made of plastic, so that’s not right.
I’ll ask Tiffany. Hopefully between me and her and Google, we can figure it out.
Still, things kind of spiraled. After I ran to my room to get some clothes and brush my hair, I couldn’t find the toaster for the waffles, ’cause somebody put it under the bottom counter, and I had to get down on my hands and knees to see it.
Then, I wasn’t sure if he wanted peanut butter, jelly, or syrup…
Or chocolate syrup. There are too many topping options, so I thought I’d just give him the waffles…
then he mentioned we have to come back to the kitchen, and I felt like an idiot.
He and Paul never treat me like I’m stupid, but I forget stuff sometimes.
Or I get overwhelmed with options and can’t figure out what to do.
That one happens a lot, and it’s why I keep a schedule for the gym of what days I do what exercises on.
You gotta let your muscles have an off day, or they might get damaged.
It’s one of the things I always stress to the people who want me as a trainer.
You can go in all gung-ho, but you gotta give your body time to heal, or you’ll end up with more damage than gains.
It usually takes about a week and a half for that to kick in—once everybody’s had time to do the main circuit and find out what feels good and what works, and how bad it hurts after a couple of days of pushing yourself.
It’s not like I want to discourage anybody; I just have to make sure they know what to expect so that they don’t get depressed when it takes a while.
Still, even though I’m glad that Al’s so smart and I didn’t have to come right out and say where I needed to go, it’s kind of embarrassing to go there without having an omega to shop for—and I don’t think he would understand that I want to get some colors for paint too.
He and Paul don’t go into the nest, but I’m using it as a canvas right now.
It’s not exactly a landscape, ’cause I can’t paint stuff like that, but there are lots of swirling blues and purples I want to try.
I’m hoping to make it feel like a twilight sky.
It has pretty sand-colored wooden floors, and I thought it would be nice, like lying out in the desert staring up at the sky…
or maybe the ocean? I’ll need a sound machine for that.
Even without an omega, it could be relaxing.
In theory, anyway, this is all kind of a work in progress to see what feels right.
But most of my life since my designation came in has been that way.
I’m always learning as I go, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Nests aren’t supposed to be just for sex; they’re supposed to make you feel cozy and safe enough to let your guard down.
It seems silly to have a room that’s just empty when I could make it something useful, at least until we have someone else who wants it.
I pop my own waffles out of the toaster while Paul and Al mutter over their coffee. He’s right, and we do still have a few hours before anything opens, but we could hit the mall first. The doors unlock at nine so we could just go and walk and stretch before the shops open an hour later.
Al doesn’t do a lot of physical activity, but I’m trying to trick him into being healthier.
Claire says tricking people into doing stuff that’s good for them is ok, but I’m not sure I should take her advice on that since she’s still in high school.
Tiffany also looked really irritated when she said it, but that might also be that Claire keeps trying to sneak spinach into the brownies when it’s her turn to make dessert. I think it’s spinach, anyway.
But this isn't just some ploy just to get him to exercise, it’s just…
like…an added bonus, making sure my pack are staying healthy and exercising.
I really do need to go to Nests-N-Stuff, I just also want to keep my people around for as long as possible.
My family is amazing, Paul’s family is cool too.
I don’t know too much about Al’s family, ’cause he doesn’t like to talk about his life before he moved here—but his mom is really sweet, and she always leaves me nice comments.
Which Hope says is a red flag, but she knows jack-all about packs, and is a manipulative bitch.
I don’t even remember how that conversation happened.
Regardless, I’ll be here when and if he ever wants to talk about it.
For now, as long as he’s safe and happy here, that’s all that matters… and healthy, can’t forget healthy.
Maybe I should ask Steve for some recipes for healthy meals.
Shit, who am I kidding? I can’t even boil water without almost setting the kitchen on fire.
Paul’s a good cook, though that wasn’t a surprise.
I mean, I’ve known the guy forever, and I know their parents made him and Josh both learn.
It means I can add cookbooks to my list of possible Christmas and birthday gift ideas for him now that we have a bigger place.
Unless that would be offensive. Would it bother him for me to give him that kind of thing?
Would he think it was a hint that I hate his food and he needs to try something else?
Shit…I guess for now I’m sticking with a new whittling knife and tiny paintbrushes.
Those at least I know he can use. Still, I’ve got a few more months till his birthday.
Plenty of time to figure out gift ideas.
People are hard.
That sounded awkward even to myself.
There are so many ways to screw up.
I’ve known Paul forever, but I still can’t always tell what works and doesn’t work for him.
Like wanting a mate.
I have a pretty good idea why he’s so against it.
But that doesn’t mean that it’s not frustrating.
Despite everything, he deserves to be happy too.
He doesn’t blame his scent match, and I don’t know if he should or not.
Like I said, people are hard…they’re complicated.
What makes sense to one person doesn’t make sense to somebody else, and fuck knows I overthink stuff sometimes, but I just wish my pack could be happy.
I know that technically alphas don’t need an omega; we don’t even need a beta, we won’t suddenly drop dead from lack of sex or companionship—and we have each other, though that’s hardly the kind of companionship I’m thinking about.
But it seems like it would be nice to have somebody to love. Like Mom and Dad have each other.
Somebody who doesn’t need me to take care of them, but would also be ok with me doing it.
Somebody to watch romantic comedies with.
Girls like that kind of stuff, right? Shit, not all girls—Kay and Penny would kick my ass for that one.
They always boycotted movie night when it was my turn.
Horror or action movies only for those two—how did they get so violent?
They need to be able to take care of themselves, ’cause Tiffany said I can’t follow them out on dates anymore, but Penny especially is gonna get herself arrested for tasing some guy who tries to take liberties.
Not that I think she shouldn’t, Dad got her the taser for a reason, but he got the one that can take down a raging alpha, and I’m pretty sure she only dates betas.
Well, she better not be dating anyone right now.
Nobody told me if she is. That’s something you tell your big brother, right?
Shit.
She’s totally dating somebody.
I’ll need to ask Paul to look into it once he gets back to work.
She’s like a sister to him too; I’m sure he’ll check it out.