Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Kip
I slammed the cover of my book closed. My eyes were burning, and the words had begun to blur together. I reached up and rubbed my thumb and forefinger over the bridge of my nose.
“I am so done,” I muttered.
“You did better than me,” Mason joked. “I gave up an hour ago. I’ve been sitting here scrolling through my phone. By the way, you’ve got about thirty videos waiting for you.”
“Thirty? And how many are cute, fluffy animals?”
“Twenty-eight, including one where a cat is fishing. It’s so adorable and funny.
The other two were taken by someone at a frat party.
It shows a guy and girl slip-sliding around in a foam bath, grabbing on to each other.
The girl ended up losing her top, and the guy’s shorts were yanked down.
Lemme tell you, considering what he was showing off, I don’t think it did him any favors with the ladies.
Anyway, it was pretty funny. I’m surprised you didn’t go. ”
Oh, I’d wanted to. One of my buddies on the team said I had to go. That everyone was going to be there, including some sports bunnies who liked to have some horizontal fun time with the swimmers.
God, I miss horizontal fun time.
“I had too much going on.” It disgusted me just how weak I sounded.
Mason didn’t reply, which was enough to unnerve me. I turned and found him staring, open-mouthed. “You missed a party? You?”
I rolled out a deep sigh. This was the conversation I’d managed to avoid during our first year of school: we’d both been too busy trying to get into the groove.
Now seemed like a good time for us to discuss things.
I took a deep breath. “Do you wanna know why I was such a dog in high school?”
Mason’s eyes gleamed. “Hormones?”
I smirked. “Okay, that was part of it. It was mostly because my parents wanted me to experience life while I could, because once I hit college I was expected to buckle down, and get great grades. In high school I could do enough to get into an accredited college, and still party because when it was over, the whole ‘adult responsibility’ thing would kick in. But they made it clear: once I was in school, good was never gonna be enough.”
I wanted to protest, to say how unfair it was, but couldn’t.
My parents had been concerned about my future.
About the life I would create once I moved on.
My brother and sister had been made to buckle down because as the oldest, I would have a lot more responsibility.
At least they’d be able to slack off a little in college.
Not that I was jealous. No, of course not.
Well, maybe a little.
Before Mason could get a word out, I whined, “You know, I thought I was smart.”
“You are smart.”
“Then why do I feel so dumb on these questions? Like Identify the x-intercept and y-intercept of the line 4x – y = 12.”
Mason frowned. “Is that even English? And you’re here on a sports scholarship. Why would you need that?”
“Because sports won’t be my life. My folks wanted me to find a career that would support my family, and they don’t believe sports is the way to go.”
“Are you kidding? No one is better than you.”
I gave him a wan smile. “In high school I was good. In college? There are guys who are way better.”
“So what profession are you thinking about?”
I shrugged. “I haven’t made up my mind.” A lie, but it wasn’t as if I could tell him the truth.
You see, I’m expected to be the head of my family.
No, there were some conversations that were off-limits. The whole buckling down thing meant dates were in short supply. Who was I kidding? They were non-existent. I could see my future, and it looked both boring as fuck and daunting as hell.
And I couldn’t breathe a word about it to my best friend.
It seemed Mason had other ideas.
“Can we go back to the ‘adult responsibility’ part?” He frowned. “What exactly are we talking about?”
Maybe it was time to share a little.
The truth was, I had no interest in my father’s position.
I’d watched for years as he would get calls and have to rush out of the house at all hours because of a perceived ‘emergency’, or how people would come to him and ask for the most inane things.
Of course, Dad would have to drop whatever he was doing to help them.
Honestly, I was surprised Mom handled it as well as she did.
When I was younger, maybe seven, they sat me down and explained what my life was going to be like.
I was going to take over Dad’s job, and everything he’d been doing would become my life.
At first I was excited, because I would have been a big shot like he was, but then I started going with him on calls and realizing how sucky his life was.
I explained to Mason as best as I could, telling him why I had to buckle down now, and why I needed to make something of myself that would ensure my parents were proud of me. When I finished, he sat quietly, staring at his hands.
The expression on his face had my stomach clenching.
“What’s wrong?” I asked gently.
“Can I tell you about my life?”
I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like this conversation at all.
Mason
And I thought my life sucked.
Well, it did, but apparently I wasn’t the only one.
Kip and I had been friends for six years, and never once did I realize he was suffering too.
Now my stomach knotted as I understood that even though I was an Omega, the one who was supposed to be there for my people, I hadn’t been there for the one person who truly was ‘my’ people.
“My family… Well, more than just them—we’re talking about most of the original people who settled the town…
They practice an older religion.” I tried for a smile, but failed.
“We’re not followers of any of the newfangled ways you young’uns got.
We generally keep it pretty closed off, because most wouldn’t understand it. ”
Kip blinked. “Give me a for instance.”
I took a deep breath. “One of the things our elders believe in is arranged marriage.”
He scowled. “Like they can force you to marry someone?”
“Yeah, exactly. I have no say in who I marry, and my station means I would have to be submissive to them.”
Kip barked out a laugh, then his expression grew incredulous. “Oh my God, you’re serious. I thought you were joking.”
“I wish.”
“But I know you, Mason. you aren’t submissive to anyone.”
I’d fought against it my whole life, even though I knew one day it would be expected of me.
And look where that got me. Engaged to Jerome, of all people.
“Just before graduation, my parents informed me my husband had been picked out. Fortunately, he gave me permission to attend school.”
Kip’s eyes crinkled. “Gave you permission? What kind of bullshit is that?”
My question exactly. “What can I tell you? It’s the way of our people.”
“Well, it’s a fucking dumb way.”
Again, what I said.
“So who is this guy? What’s he like?” He stared at me. “You have met him, right?”
“Unfortunately, yes. His name is Jerome and he’s… he’s a douchebag.” I told him about our date, how Jerome had laid down the law, how he could have multiple partners, while I was stuck with his skanky ass.
Through it all, Kip looked horrified.
“There must be something you can do,” he said when I’d finished.
If only.
“Nope. Ordained and all that.”
That scowl was back. “I can’t believe it. I always thought your parents were good, reasonable people.”
“They are,” I insisted, needing to defend them. “It’s just… it’s always been this way, and they won’t go against tradition.”
“So why are you telling me this now?”
“Every time you suggest going home for a weekend, I beg off. This is why. I can’t take the chance Jerome will change his mind and insist I come home again.
It’s bad enough I have to call him on Sunday nights and tell him what I’ve been doing and assure him that no one is touching his virgin bride.
” I couldn’t keep the bitterness from my tone.
Kip’s eyes went wide. “You’re a virgin?”
Great. I hadn’t meant to say that part out loud. “Yeah. Please don’t tease me about it.”
He held his hands up. “Dude, no way. I think it’s admirable you’re saving yourself for someone, but if I’m honest, I’d rather it be someone you love.”
That makes two of us.
Kip let out a sigh. “So we’re both up shit creek. One of us has a paddle with holes, and the other’s is snapped in two.”
“You can have the one with the holes,” I said softly. “You seem to have a lot more experience.”
“Not as much as you might think,” he admitted with a rueful smile.
“Sure, I bedded more than my share in high school, but honestly it was more peer pressure than anything. I think that was one of the lessons my parents expected me to learn. I can still hear my dad: ‘You need to trust yourself and not bend to outside stimuli.’” Another sigh. “God, I miss high school.”
Well, duh. If I’d gone from getting freaky every week or so to cold turkey, I’d feel the same way. That had to suck.
Kip cleared his throat. “So what do we do about it?”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t want you to marry someone you don’t love, and I would honestly rather not take over for my father. So there must be something we can do to help each other stay sane and, maybe, find a way out of our messes.”
If only there was.