40. Sarah
The cashiers don’t even give me a second glance as I walk back inside.
They probably have omegas with sensitive noses in here all the time, so I doubt I’m the first one that they’ve seen step outside to take a breather.
Greg has a tight grip on one of my hands, offering me security with his touch, and I pull out my phone with the other.
It’ll be easier to just call Teddy than try to track him down through text.
Plus, his phone ringing should be loud enough to help me find him.
Greg pulls me gently along, back towards the center of the store since he knows I’m most interested in the custom pillows.
My tummy does that little fluttery thing again, wondering if the alphas are still there.
Something about Moose, er Spence, really calls to me.
Not like my scent matches, like Greg or John, but something is just right about him.
Paul seems sad, and I feel like I should give him all the hugs, wrap him in a warm blanket and drag him back to my nest to purr for him until he stops feeling bad.
Despite being an asshole, Professor Miller gives me the flutters too.
Maybe it’s just his association with the big guy, or maybe he’s actually a really nice person who’s overprotective of his pack.
Or he could just be an dipshit since he glares at me when my voice rings out.
“Hey, Big Moose! Sorry about that. Teddy said you had something you wanted to show me.”
Spence is bent over, talking to a sales clerk.
His big body jerks when I make my exuberant reappearance.
No one can ever accuse me of being subtle, that’s for damned sure, and I just want these alphas to know me, the often loud, unapologetic, and overwhelming me that turns so many people off.
For some reason, I need them to accept that version of me, so that they can then get to see the softer, more laid-back pizza-and-a-movie me that likes snuggling up in my nest with a good book and cuddles and maybe ordering takeout so nobody has to leave the bed for more than five minutes to answer the door.
The version most strangers don’t get to see because it shows too much of my soft, vulnerable little underbelly.
Teddy knows about it; he used to be my TV and takeout partner.
Greg does too since he lives with me and I would go nuts if I had to have my walls up all the time—he brings the best pizza, even if we sometimes disagree on movies and never read the same books.
Adam and Lily have seen it a few times since they caught me off guard during my depression after Teddy left.
Most people only get the outgoing Sarah, and I think I want these big alphas to get to know the quieter version.
Still, they have to be ok with the loud version too, which is why it’s so funny to watch the professor’s face turn red with embarrassment as I saunter over.
“Sup, bitches? I’m back! I needed some air, but I have returned to grace you with my presence once again!
How goes the pillow hunt, my dudes?” Sure, I’m laying it on thick, and acting overly familiar, but we’re only here for a week.
Better to get all my bluster out of the way early to see if they run screaming in the other direction.
Spencer finishes talking to the clerk and turns his full attention our way.
A huge grin splits his face. It transforms him from rugged and mildly appealing into shockingly attractive.
His eyes crinkle, and I notice he has a chipped tooth, not directly in front, but one just to the side.
It probably isn’t noticeable most of the time, but his smile is so big that it becomes apparent.
His hair is a shaggy blond bird’s nest on top of his head, and my fingers itch to run through it and try to make some semblance of order.
Is it windswept or just naturally floofy?
He looks like he wants to close the distance, but his gaze goes first to Paul and then the professor.
Ugh, that name has got to go, it’s too long.
I refuse to call this man, who has never been my teacher, professor.
Oh, that’s a good one.
“Hey, Teach, Oak…Big Moose! So, Teddy messaged me about paint colors…?” I let my voice trail off, watching as Professor Miller gets even redder in the face when he figures out his newly dubbed moniker.
Yeah, I’m keeping that one. Worth it to either piss him off or embarrass him.
I could have technically gone with “the littlest alpha” for a full-on kid’s book vibe, but that was super long and kind of missed the point.
Teach raises his hand, only stopping his death glare to rub his eyes.
“What…what exactly did you just call us? That doesn’t even make sense.
Paul’s name is only one syllable so shortening it to Oak is superfluous.
Spencer is often shortened to Spence. I have no idea where you even got the concept of a moose; we aren’t anywhere near Canada.
And I am Alistair or Professor Miller, though Spencer mostly calls me Al. ”
Greg lets out a startled bark of laughter.
He’s looking at the small alpha, grinning like an idiot.
“Wait, your name’s Al. Like, seriously?” My beta is giggling fit to split, and I'm not sure exactly what I missed, but Alistair just glares at him. “So…can I call you Al? You can call me Betty.” It’s then I realize that we’ve stumbled across another one of my lover’s little random eccentricities when the man he’s speaking with groans.
I’m feeling a bit tired from earlier and really pushing the attitude so it’s easier to just smile and let it go. “Ok, Pretty Boy, just get it out of your system; I know you need to.”
Greg snickers again, and the smaller man looks him up and down before he speaks.
His voice is clear and calmer now, with none of the alpha dominance it held earlier.
“Though I hardly think you look like Chevy Chase, you probably have the height about right. Though Paul Simon is five-foot-three. I do have a similar build from his younger days, but I believe that’s where the similarity ends.
I don’t look nearly so…elfin. But fine, as the omega said, whatever this is”—he waves his hand up and down Greg—“just get it out of your system now. None of us want to be here any longer than we have to.”
Greg, for once, looks shocked that someone actually got one of his obscure song references, and apparently more than just the basics.
Seriously, I love this man, but the amount of useless jeopardy trivia he has about music is kinda fucking creepy.
Not that I’d tell him that. It’s also endearing as fuck, and makes him fun for trivia night at the omega center commons.
Instead of responding to Alistair, he starts whistling, and it takes me a few minutes to realize he’s going to finish up this bout of being completely random in the form of a song.
I drop my face into my hands and groan. I love his voice, but this isn’t the time.
Before I have a chance to gather my wits and push him out the door, I feel someone big move in behind me.
I don’t like people behind me. Turning quickly, I look up…
and up…I might need binoculars if this keeps going.
What the actual fuck. I can totally see up his nose from here.
Big Moose is on the move, and it looks like he wants a hug.
Oh good, I could use one right about now.