Chapter Thirty-three — Trinity
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
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TRINITY
“Ineed to sit down,” I said, walking away from Cream Dream, a regular-shaped waffle in hand.
They didn’t start selling the X-rated ones until later in the day.
That didn’t mean the waffles were bad. They were still fucking fantastic.
And they rolled it into a tube with the fillings.
Perfection. “My legs are going to give out if I don’t. ”
“That good, huh?” Isolde joined me at the picnic table I snagged.
“You have no fucking idea.”
Ocean sat down beside me with her own waffle. “Now’s the time when you give us all the details you always beg for.”
My face turned hot. And it wasn’t from the sun. I cleared my throat. “Well… Aiden is a pleasure sadist.”
Isolde almost choked on her waffle. “A what?”
Which was how I told my best friends more details than they probably needed to know about my sex life. But I knew just as much about theirs.
“You’re right,” Isolde said. “I am jealous of that. But it’s okay. The guys have no problem taking their time until my body can get its shit together. And it is easier with them.”
“At least you didn’t squirt and think you peed,” Ocean muttered.
I snorted a laugh. “I thought they loved that.”
“They do, but I still remember those first few seconds of pure mortification.”
I’d gotten chocolate sauce and whipped cream on my waffle, and fuck it was good. There was too much chocolate, and it was dripping down my arm. Isolde was closer to the store. “Would you hate me if I asked you to go get me a napkin?”
“Legs too weak?” She teased.
“Yes.” I was sore. My pussy was swollen and puffy from the overstimulation, and I was definitely dropping. The sugar massively helped on that front.
When Isolde came back, she had a cup of water and napkins. “So you’re not sticky.”
“Thanks.”
“You already have Alphas to make you sticky.”
“Iz.”
Ocean cracked into laughter. “She’s not wrong, though. And it can be said about all of us. Especially you, Iz, with Rowan.”
“We’ve never actually mixed his chocolate with sex, but I’ll keep that in mind. He found a place for the edible dispensary, by the way. Dad is helping him work with the owners and making sure all the contracts are good.”
Isolde’s father was a lawyer. He’d make sure everything was perfect. I pointed at her. “As soon as you have an opening date, let me know, and we’ll run something.”
“I’ll do that.”
Once we’d finished our waffles and caught up on everything we needed to, I sighed. “I should probably go do some work. I’ve been slacking off.”
“At least it’s for a good reason,” Ocean said.
“That’s true.” I hugged them both before heading to my car.
The beach was full today, with everyone taking advantage of the holiday and soaking up the last few weeks of summer. Surfers and kids chasing each other, people sunbathing or reading beneath umbrellas. Others taking pictures and playing volleyball. It felt like the perfect day.
I took the long way to my car, walking along the beach at the sand line. If I walked on the sand right now, it would burn the hell out of my feet.
One of the photographers turned toward me and snapped a few pictures.
I waved and smiled. Photographers were common on this beach.
If you knew this beach, you knew there was a chance your photo would be taken.
Hell, the city had even put up those signs that said by being here you consented to photos.
The guys were all in the kitchen and living room when I got back. Logan looked like he was ready to surf. “Are you heading to the beach?”
“Thought I might. I need to get some wave time before the competition.”
“It’s really busy right now.”
“That’s all right. I’ll drive a little south. Better waves.”
Aiden stretched and stood from his seat. “Good waffles?”
“Excellent waffles. If you haven’t had them yet, we’re going to go.”
“I look forward to it.”
“Speaking of, I should check my blood sugar. I forgot to do it this morning.”
Aiden watched me toss my purse on the island and dig through it for my little kit. “My computers are close to cracking the drive. Probably later today.”
“That’s perfect. I need to do some more work this afternoon.”
“So, no stealing you?” Bastian asked.
“Not for a bit. I’ll let you know when I’m done.” Granted, I was still sore, but he knew that.
I pricked the side of my finger with the lancet, massaging the skin so the little bubble of blood pooled for the testing strip. My eyebrows rose when the little machine beeped. “What the fuck?”
The guys looked in my direction. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I twisted the insulin to the correct dose and injected it into my arm.
“My sugar’s just really high right now. More than double what it usually is.
It’s because everything’s been up in the air with my routine, and I forgot to take my meds this morning before I went and ate waffles.
Plus the ice cream last night. I’ve been inconsistent the last week, and that’s on me. It’ll be fine. I—”
“What?” Brooks stared at me from across the kitchen.
I shrugged. “It happens sometimes. This isn’t the highest it’s ever been. I’ll jump on the treadmill while I read some pieces for work, and it’ll help.”
“It shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”
I laughed once and glanced at Theo. “I know. But I’m human. Mistakes happen.” He’d been the one to say those words to me about training. Which I did do this morning.
“No, Trinity. Mistakes are not going to happen with your health,” Brooks said, voice louder.
Pausing, I felt more hesitant. What was I missing here? “It will be okay. I’m fine.”
Coming around the kitchen island, he glanced at the screen on the meter. “Are you fucking serious right now?”
“Brooks,” Bastian said.
“No. This isn’t fucking fine. If keeping tabs on your health is too hard for you, then we will absolutely take that over.”
Any joy I had drained out through cracks that had started to form in my soul. I hated how prepared for it I felt. In the back of my mind, I knew all this was too good to be true. “Excuse me?”
“Your health isn’t something you can brush off or ignore.
If you can’t be responsible for it, then we’ll do it for you.
I thought we could trust you with your own medication, but I guess I was wrong.
” He shook his head and pulled out his phone.
“I’ll keep it in my room and set a fucking alarm.
If this is how you manage your condition, it’s a miracle you’ve stayed alive this long. ”
Brooks reached for my med bag, and I took a step back, those cracks widening. “No.”
“This isn’t up for discussion. I’ll—”
“NO.”
He looked at me. “Trinity. Stop it. Don’t fight me on this. Don’t be difficult.”
“Stop what exactly?” His mouth was opening to respond, and I pointed at him. “I don’t think so. You already had your turn, and you said more than enough. I will not be spoken to that way.”
“That’s not—”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP.” The loudness of my own voice startled me, but the anger had already broken through.
There was no stopping it. “I will not be spoken to like that. If you’ve never forgotten a daily task, tell me now, and I’ll bow to your utter perfection.
But I know that’s impossible because you’re human too.
God forbid I forget something when I’m running late to meet my friends. The horror.
“You might be my scent match, but we have known each other for a week. It is not your place to come at me for a simple mistake when you don’t even know what it means or how it impacts ‘my condition.’ Our dynamic is sexual, so you are so far out of line you might as well be on the fucking moon.
“I work my ass off to control my diabetes so I can be healthy, and so if I do make a mistake, it’s not the end of the fucking world.
I don’t know where you get the audacity to assume you know more about this than I do.
It is my condition. It is my body. And letting you have access to it doesn’t mean jack shit in this situation.
Do you understand? Don’t ever assume you know more about my own medical condition than I do. ”
My chest heaved as I caught my breath, thick silence blanketing the room. All five Alphas stared at me, and icy terror crashed down on me.
Oh no.
No.
Fuck.
Fuck.
What did I just do?
Why would I scream at them? I knew what happened when I lost my temper like that.
I could have gone about that a better way. I could have been softer and deescalated it. I could have done anything else. Now…
Heat rose behind my eyes. Nope. Not here. Not in front of them. I grabbed my purse, keys, and meds and practically sprinted for the door.
The car door was barely shut before the tears erupted. Hysterical sobs that I couldn’t control. Driving probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do right now, but I’d already done the damage and ruined the best thing that had ever happened to me.
Me and my big fucking mouth.
Why can’t you just be quiet? No one wants to hear you, Trinity. Tell it to Cecil when he comes back. He’s the one who cares.
I always ruined it somehow.
Words were my salvation in my career and my downfall everywhere else.
Fuck.
I swiped the tears away as I drove, trying to keep myself together enough to make it to my apartment. It was a mess, but I still had enough things to stay there. I could make a makeshift bed from whatever was left of my blankets and pillows.
Alone.
The door stuck the way it always did. Forcing it open was the catalyst I needed to break entirely. I sat on the floor in my destroyed kitchen and cried. Loud, ugly sobs that echoed through my home.
It didn’t last long. Like dumping out a bucket. I would definitely cry again later, but it was done for now. And I needed to do something besides sit here. This place wasn’t livable, and if I was coming back, I needed to make it livable.