Hunter
Crawling into Evans bed had been a mistake.
I don’t know what possessed me. All night at that stupid house party I’d been watching him and Sadie.
Jealousy curling low in my gut as they wrapped around one another, sharing smiles and sloppy kisses.
When would he realise that she could never give him what he needs?
She didn’t care about him. Not the real him. She cared about what the football star and heir to Pembroke Holdings could give her—a life of freedom and luxury. She wanted someone she could manage.
Watching closely over the years, I’d learned that Sadie was a control freak.
She needed to be the puppeteer pulling the strings, and someone like Evans who shied away from confrontation, who needed everyone to like him…
Well, that made him an easy mark. To be honest, I was surprised he held out as long as he had.
If it was a weaker alpha, they would be engaged already and planning a summer wedding.
After smoking a joint, trying to go back to sleep and failing, I eventually make my way downstairs in search of snacks. I may as well start the day and then head over to the studio.
As I enter the kitchen, Blake is there in his workout gear, making his morning shake. He wasn’t like the rest of us, he wasn’t born into money, but he was determined to make it. Driven, he worked hard to maintain his scholarships, but it wouldn’t kill the guy to cut loose every now and again.
“Hunter, why is there a duck in my protein powder?” Turning to me, he’s holding a small pink duck in the palm of his hand. Shit, it must be one of the rogue ones that had yet to be discovered.
“Why is the sky blue? Why do anglerfish mate in a way that leaves the males nothing more than testicles fused with the female? Why are my feet always cold?” I say as I pour myself a coffee in a mug that reads ‘World's okayest cook’ and grab a box of Evans’ lucky charm cereal, shoving my hand in and eating a mouthful dry, “The mysteries of life, my friend.”
He rolls his eyes and tosses the duck at my head. “I’m pretty sure all those examples have answers. And wear some damn clothes and you won’t be cold.”
“Nobody likes wearing clothes.”
Today, against my better judgement and in an attempt to behave, I’m wearing a faded black band t-shirt and my favorite pair of worn denim shorts.
They were jeans once but I'd mutilated them last summer after getting a tear at the knee when I tried to skateboard off one of the library roofs as part of a drunken dare.
They were only going to get covered in paint and clay anyway.
“What happened to the roommate survey?” Evans mumbles as he shuffles into the kitchen, wearing only a pair of grey sweatpants and I’m too tired to even bother looking away.
Snatching the box of cereal from my hands, he digs in for his own handful before turning to Blake. “You still haven't sent me that by the way. Is there like a deadline it needs to be done by?”
“Ask Zale.” I say, as I steal the box back as he leans into my side, notes of bergamot spiking. He’s an athlete, I’m saving him from the carbs and sugar.
There is no survey. But I’m not going to enlighten him on that, and Blake doesn't seem to be in a rush either. Zale can deal with it, it can be his penalty for always being buried in his omega’s ass these days.
Goddess, I was becoming bitter. I’m just going to blame it on the hangover, lack of sleep and the giant crow we had to catch and release in the early hours of the morning.
The one that had shit on my sketchbook and tried to peck my new nipple ring.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and looking down, I smile.
While I hadn’t had a chance to take Ivii‘s friend, Percy, out for dinner yet, I had gotten his number. We’ve been texting on and off for over a week and last night, drunk Hunter had clearly ramped it up a notch if the picture he just sent me of him stretching in his ballet tights was any indication.
Between classes, dance practice and my projects there never seemed to be an ideal time for dinner. It was like the stars had aligned when we finally managed to lock in a date for lunch this weekend. It was well overdue.
And it seemed promising. Percy was funny and charming. He wasn’t shy about his body, and from the few flirty selfies he’d sent, it wasn’t hard to admit that the omega was very pretty, from his head to his toes.
I think maybe I wasn’t able to get into the right headspace with Callie and Soren, as my friends, they were too safe.
There was no real spark there or the thrill of the chase.
We hooked up because it was fun, but clearly the alpha side of me was looking for something…
more. I was hoping taking someone new out for dinner, romancing them a little, could perhaps relight something within me.
“Who’s got you blushing like that, bro? Blake asks, handing me a fresh mug of coffee before he pulls some steaks out of the freezer to defrost. It was his turn to make dinner tonight and I couldn’t wait.
I know the others hated it when it was my turn to cook. Evans wasn’t joking when he called me a one meal pony because all I ever seemed to make was beans and rice dishes.
It started off that way simply because I’d forgotten it was my turn and it was what we had in the cupboard. Then it became sort of an inside joke that no one else was privy to, the longer it went on, the stupider it was.
Part of me was also hoping that they would stop asking me to cook. The other part was enjoying watching them squirm each week, waiting to see how long they would eat dry beans and rice before one of them snapped.
“Are you seeing someone new?” Zale asks as he enters the kitchen. What was going on? Did we have a house meeting I wasn’t aware of or something? He nudges Blake with a wide grin.
“Weren’t you at Shiloh’s?”
“Yeah, but Bell is going through some stuff so I thought I’d give them some space.” He grabs a carton of eggs, and starts whisking up some breakfast. I decide to linger, just in case he feels generous and wants to feed me too. “They’re having a sofa rotting day.”
Evans wrinkles his nose, “That sounds disgusting.”
Hasn’t he ever spent the day curled up on the sofa binging films and doing absolutely nothing? No, I imagine growing up in his house there was always football practice, tutoring or some high society event to fill his time.
Blake leans back against the counter, mixing his shake. “Back to the gossip, you’re not getting out of it that easily.”
Rolling my eyes, I quickly fire off a good morning text to Percy and pocket my phone. “You’re like an old woman, you know that right?”
Zale just laughs, clearly in a good mood. “So…why are you grinning like the cat who got the cream?”
He pours the egg mix into the frying pan, and drops four pieces of whole meal bread into the toaster. Four means he’s sharing. Score!
“Isn’t it that omega? Soren?” Evans says, before opening the fridge and grabbing a carton of juice.
“Soren’s just a friend.”
Without looking at me Evans reaches past me and takes a glass off the shelf. His eyebrows are knitted together and his usual goofy smile is a scowl as he pointedly says, “Well, you seem to have a lot of friends.”
Zale slings an arm around his neck pulling him down and ruffling his hair while he protests. “Are you jealous, Evans? Are you afraid someone’s gonna come along and steal your little playmate?”
Shoving Zale away, his face has gone red. “Don’t be stupid. I was just saying.”
“Is the bromance coming to an end?” Blake teases, “Does that mean there’ll be no more ducks in my protein shakes?”
Leaning into the jokey atmosphere, I wink at Evans. “Evans is always going to be my number one. Nothing is going to change that, not even an omega ballet dancer.”
Evans swats me away, the tips of his ears turning pink before he takes a mouthful of apple juice.
“Oh man, you can’t say that and not show us a picture.” Blake had a soft spot for delicate little omegas and the occasional fragile beta.
Pulling out my phone, I find one of the more conservative photos of Percy as he stands in a ballet pose in a mirror, the light behind him shining down like a halo on his pale red hair.
Evans leans forward squinting, almost spitting out his drink. He wipes his mouth where it’s dribbled down his chin a little. “What’s he wearing? You can see everything!”
“I mean, isn’t that what most ballet dancers wear to practice?”
“That can’t be comfortable. One wrong move and his balls are out,” Evans grumbles. “That is a thirst trap, bro.” Zale says reaching out to zoom in on Percy’s face before zooming back out again.
“So what if it is a thirst trap?” I shrug. “Consider me the thirsty alpha who’s been trapped.”
I know I’m being petty, because it’s not hard to see Evans is agitated even if he’s in denial.
I just can’t quite work out if he’s annoyed because it means I might spend less time with him.
Or if he’s annoyed because it means another of his housemates could be in a relationship and leaving him behind or if it’s something else.
Something I don’t even want to allow myself to hope for, because that would be crossing the line.
And I’m ready to take that step away from the damn line in the sand.
“Anyway, I’m having dinner with him this weekend. We’re just going to take it slow and see where it goes.”
Zale makes a face, his eyebrows practically vanishing into his hairline. “Whoa, you must like him if you’re taking it slow. Aren’t you the king of pleasure? Sex, drugs, art and all that? And yet here you are, focusing on one person. I think that means they must be pretty special.”
“And I think that being mated is making you soft and romantic. I swear having a boyfriend and a baby on the way is melting your brain.” I flick him playfully on the forehead while he dishes up three plates of eggs. Blake never eats solid food this early.