Chapter 10
Saint
“Guess what I did last night.” Jasper smirked as he sauntered into the kitchen, where I was shoving some runny scrambled eggs into my mouth while leaning against the counter.
“Well, you’re swaggering around like you got laid, but I know for a fact that you didn’t leave the penthouse, and Spencer would rather jump off the top of this building than let a strange woman enter this place, so you’ve got me stumped.”
Jasper beamed as he pulled out a loaf of bread, slotting two slices into the toaster. “I got to hear the voice of a certain Maple girl!”
I stilled, watching my pack mate intently. “Excuse me?”
“We were both feeling lazy, so I decided to take a leap and voice message her, and she actually replied. God, Saint, she is most certainly a girl. Her voice is so sweet and soft and pretty. I could have spent all night listening to her.”
I had wanted to hear her voice for ages, so why did Jasper get to hear it before I did? Why had she chosen him to trust?
“What did you guys talk about?”
Jasper pursed his lips, tilting his head to the side as a slow grin spread across his face. “Selling pictures of hairy hobbit feet to weirdos on the Internet.”
I must have looked confused, because out of all the topics I imagined them discussing, that was truly baffling.
“Do you think she would be open to voice messaging all of us?” I asked intently, breezing past their interesting topic of conversation.
Jasper shrugged. “Maybe the main reason she started voice messaging last night was because she was really tired. And I said that I was tired, so talking was easier than typing. We hadn’t been talking long before she began to drop off to sleep.
It was clear as day in her voice that she was exhausted. ”
“She needs help, she can’t do everything on her own.” I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge as I spoke, turning to Jasper, who was leaning against the counter, with a thoughtful look on his face.
“Maybe we’ve been too hands off with her.
Every time she shows the slightest resistance, we back off, but maybe it’s time to push a little.
To let her know that we are here, we want to be around her, and we want to support her.
I mentioned that big nesting store we pass every day on the way to the rink, and she said it was out of her price range. ”
“Well, she is a student.” That was one of the good things about how we’d met her. We knew for a fact that she was a student at the university.
“I know, but she deserves the best of the best, and I want to spoil her. I get that she may not be the dream girl we’ve imagined in our heads, but she’s been a good friend to us for the past few years.
She dealt with you when you went through that phase where you were obsessed with German pop music.
She deserves all the expensive nesting stuff for that alone. ”
“She really sounded that cute?” I asked.
Jasper’s grin was almost comically big. “Oh man, the cutest.”
“Hey, I hear we are doing voice notes now? Talk to me—I’ll feel left out if you don’t!
” I spoke into my phone, opting to try a private chat with Maple first before the group chat.
I had waited until I was on my own to shoot my shot, sitting on my bed like an awkward teenager making his first call to a girl.
Those three little dots appeared at the bottom of the screen, letting me know she was typing.
Maple
Have you guys been gossiping like little old women?
S
J has been strutting around our apartment like a proud peacock all day. I think you made his year simply by talking to him.
Maple
Wow, he must have a really boring life if that’s what made his year.
S
Or he just knows you’re a freaking amazing girl and enjoys talking to you—same as me.
Maple
He’s fallen and hit his head. You should probably take him to see a doctor.
Grinning, I lifted the phone and clicked the record button.
“Maple, he totally has fallen. Fallen for you. When are you going to accept that we really like you?”
I waited patiently and almost crowed in delight when I saw her voice note pop up.
“That is the corniest joke I’ve ever heard. I’m sure you use those pick-up lines with all the girls.”
“I only have eyes for you, my darling Maple,” I said, my voice teetering on cheesy, but I was too excited.
Her next voice note started with a delicate snort. “Do you not remember sending me a photo of your chest? I have no doubt you’re talking to enough girls to fill a sorority house.”
I winced. I wasn’t quite sure how to approach that topic. Because, yes, I’d had more than my fair share of time with the ladies over the years. Though we hadn’t dated nearly as much since joining the Chargers, and I hadn’t gone on any dates at all since my time with that omega in heat.
I still occasionally thought about her. I had eagerly awaited her call and was let down when it never came, but I could understand, considering she was caught completely off guard when we fucked in the university rink showers.
While I was good-looking and aware of it, I wasn’t necessarily her type.
Or maybe she was seeing someone else. There were a million potential reasons why she had never called me back.
Between her and Maple, though, dating hadn’t felt right over the past couple of months.
“I am going to say that honesty is the best policy here. Yes, I’ve gone on dates, but I have never really talked to anyone the way I talk to you. I mean, you’re the only girl I’ve ever admitted that I hate ferrets too!”
“I still think that is rather bizarre. There’re such cute little fur noodles!” Her giggle was beautiful and I wanted to hear it again.
“I trusted you with that information, and I hope you never used it against me. But I’m being honest when I say, Maple, that none of them hold a candle to you because I’ve never really had much in-depth conversation with anyone else.
Most omegas just like me for my pretty body.
” I sighed dramatically. “It’s a curse, really, being this good-looking. ”
“Well, that’s awfully shallow of them,” she said, but her voice still held a giggle.
“Do you think I’m good-looking, Maple?”
“From the one blurry picture I’ve seen, I think you’re not terrible.”
My eyebrows rose, loving the way she was teasing me. I was a glutton for punishment, and I probably shouldn’t have asked, but I wanted to more than anything.
“Well, if the picture was blurry, then I guess it’s my duty to send you another one.
I can’t have you forming judgments based on a subpar-quality image.
Since you’re unwilling to meet in person, I will book a studio and get some high-def photos of my abs!
Then again, if J is to be believed, your true fetish is for feet, especially hobbit feet. ”
Her next message began with a cackle of laughter. “He told you about the feet? I assure you, my pleasures do not involve feet.”
“What do your pleasures involve? If I can be of service in any way, I am more than happy to oblige.”
She was quiet for a moment. Crap, was I pushing her too far?
I wanted to know everything there was to know about this girl.
Her fears, her kinks, everything. Only, I had to go about asking in a very specific way, because she was like a frightened deer that would bolt the moment she felt uncomfortable.
“I’m happy to go first if you want. I have a small obsession with chocolate cake…” I said, doing my best to lighten the mood.
“Chocolate cake is the best cake,” she agreed. “I have been craving good old-fashioned vanilla cake, though. It seems the baby has rather basic tastes.”
“Sometimes basic is what you need. What flavor of cake would you say you are?”
“Vanilla,” Maple said softly. I could picture her scrunching her nose as she said that.
“Nothing wrong with a little vanilla! Personally, I consider myself a fancy wedding cake, because I am a pretty boy!”
Maple’s giggle was stunning. “Okay, pretty boy. I like that.”
More than anything, I wanted her to like me.
“Okay, important question time. Favorite cookie?” I smiled as I launched into several food-related questions. I already knew half the answers, but hearing them in her sweet voice was the best thing ever.