Chapter 22
“Rumor has it Mack Madden got engaged to a very pretty piece of cotton candy on the quad today,” Lainey sing-songs by way of greeting when I let her into my apartment later that afternoon.
Her arms are laden down with bags of lord only knows what and her smile is so wide I’m pretty sure I can see her molars.
“You remember that horror movie about a contagious smile that kills people? Those are the vibes you’re giving off right now,” I inform her drolly.
Then her words sink in and I shriek, “WHAT!” I didn’t realize McKenzie goes by Mack, but it makes sense.
I wonder if he got teased in school for his name like I did and that’s what made him shorten it.
My friend snickers, dropping her things onto my couch with a thud.
Amusement is thick in her voice as she tells me, “I heard about it from four different people in the last hour alone. People are buzzing that someone finally locked the infamous Mack Truck down. Do you know he’s never been seen with a woman before?
Or a man, for that matter. The dude is either extremely talented at being discreet or he’s never hooked up with anyone on campus. ”
It’s impossible to think over the thundering of my heart in my chest, let alone digest that little tidbit of information. “Can we circle back to the whole engagement thing, please?”
Lainey is examining her nails, seemingly unaware that she’s just thrown me for a loop.
“Hmm?” She mumbles before focusing on me.
“Oh, yeah. Well I heard the big guy got down on one knee and asked a question, though I couldn’t get a clear answer on what the question was.
And then he stood up, did a dance, and screamed ‘she said yes’ loud enough for the whole quad to hear. ”
Other than assuming it was a marriage proposal, the rumor is pretty spot on. Except… “It was two knees. Not one.” I mutter. Lainey squeals, rushing me and wrapping me up in a hug.
“Posey! I’m so excited for you! And a little bit jealous, Mack is seriously hot.”
A possessive growl rattles my throat, catching me completely by surprise. I gasp in horror, clutching my throat as I stare wide-eyed at my friend. “Oh my word, I am so sorry. I have no idea why I just did that.”
There’s nothing but mischief in Lainey’s smile.
“I do. Your omega just staked her claim.” She places a reassuring hand on my arm, any previous humor shifting into something more earnest. “I was just trying to get a reaction out of you. I promise I’m not attracted to your alpha and you have absolutely nothing to worry about with me.
Plus,” she smirks. “I’m pretty sure a man who willingly gets on his knees for you in public is completely enamored.
The entire female student body could offer him an orgy and he’d try to hide behind you.
” She pauses. “Well, that and I’m more into football players. ”
I almost growl again, but the thought of McKenzie using me as a human shield when I’m over a foot shorter than him is so comical I laugh instead.
“Okay, okay. Enough of that. Why do you have four million bags with you? I thought you were helping me get ready for my date and finally filling me in on your mysterious absence.”
After Mack walked me home this afternoon, where he sheepishly admitted to being one of the alphas next door and knowing who I was by my scent when we met, Lainey finally texted to let me know she is, in fact, alive.
Of course I immediately offered to come over, but when she heard about the date, she insisted on helping me get ready here.
“Duh. That’s what these are for.” She points at a large white bag with ‘Ryan’ stitched into it in neon yellow.
“That one is outfit options in case you hate everything you own like I do whenever I have a date.” A smaller orange and pink checkered bag.
“Hair tools.” And the smallest one of all, a white drawstring bag with teddy bears on it. “Makeup.”
I raise a brow at her. “You know I have all of that, right? We’re not even the same shade.” Where Lainey has pale skin with cool pink undertones, my tan skin has a distinctly warm undertone I get from my dad Tucker. Most of her makeup would make me look like a corpse.
Her lips twist into a scowl. “Oh. I didn’t think of that.
” She waves me off, “It’s fine, we’ll use yours.
” I watch, amused, as she makes herself at home in my bathroom and shouts at me to hurry up.
I have a feeling the next four years with Lainey by my side are going to be absolute chaos and for once, I can’t wait to embrace it.
Lainey left ten minutes ago, and I feel like I’m going to throw up.
Before he left me earlier today, McKenzie explained that while he wants a one on one date with me as soon as possible, he thinks my first official date should include both him and the twins.
I’ve never even been on a date with one guy, how the heck am I supposed to handle three at once?
I don’t have any more time to spiral because there’s a knock on the door, almost so soft I miss it at first. That knock is followed by a much louder, quicker rap.
A quiet giggle escapes, because that was so obviously Paxton at first, and I’m guessing McKenzie got impatient and decided he wanted to knock, too.
Answering the door and being hit by all three of their scents at once is so distracting I miss Parker advancing on me until his hand has tangled in my hair and tilted my head up to meet his achingly warm gaze. “I missed you, flower.”
My body sags under his touch. I don’t know how it’s possible to be so attached to someone I just met, but I am. I didn’t even realize how much I missed him until now, and it’s only been a few hours. I push up to my tiptoes and brush my lips across his, sighing at the contact. “I missed you too.”
Parker holds me for a few seconds longer before moving aside and then I’m face to face with his twin. My smile widens and I throw my arms around his middle, breathing in his sweet taffy scent. “Hi, Paxton,” I mumble into his chest.
Lean arms circle my shoulders, holding me to his chest. The smile is evident in his voice. “Hi, Posey. I was starting to worry I’d scared you off.”
The words are quiet, but there’s a truthfulness to them that makes my heart hurt.
Paxton was the first alpha I was ever attracted to, and meeting his packmates doesn’t take away from that attraction or how much I missed him.
I pull back, meeting his worried stare with a grin.
“Me, scared? Never. I’m more likely to go after something I’m afraid of with a baseball bat than run away. ”
He barks out a laugh, his face lighting up with relief and humor. “Good to know.”
“What am I? Chopped liver?”
Paxton goes to stand next to his brother in my entryway, leaving me face to face with the jolly gorgeous giant. “You.” I poke McKenzie’s chest with one finger. “Have some explaining to do. You let the entire school think we got engaged this morning?”
His face turns beet red, all the way to the tips of his ears. “I didn’t know they were going to think that,” he tries to defend himself, but I just raise a brow, because I would bet my bottom dollar he did know. “Alright, alright. I didn’t know for sure. But maybe I hoped.”
I shake my head, not really upset but wanting to make him squirm a little bit.
The massive alpha bends at the waist, putting his lips right next to my ear.
“Should I get on my knees for you again to apologize?” The words are a husky whisper, and slick floods my panties in response to both the words and the image they create.
Three matching groans ring out, and I turn to see Parker adjusting himself unabashedly. If there’s one thing I’m learning about that man, it’s that he has absolutely no problem showing me exactly how much I turn him on, regardless of our location.
“Maybe later,” I respond, equally as quiet.
My throat clears, and I turn to grab three small gift bags off the entry table.
Nerves skitter across my skin and make my fingers tremble as each alpha takes the bag with his initial on it.
For Parker and Paxton, I also wrote the color on the outside of the bag since I didn’t know who they were at the time that I made them.
“You shouldn’t have, sweetheart. It’s our job to spoil you.
” Paxton says sweetly. McKenzie is already tearing into his, and his enthusiasm quells some of the nervous energy inside of me.
“Holy shit!” His mouth drops open, hazel eyes wide and bright with excitement.
“I thought you were joking. This is the best gift I’ve ever gotten. ”
I watch as the twins pull out their scarves, matching awed expressions on both of their handsome faces. In this moment if Parker didn’t have his nose ring in, I’m honestly not sure I could tell them apart from just a glance.
“It’s nothing,” I blurt, wringing my hands together.
Gift giving is one of my love languages, and most of the time it’s something I’ve crocheted with that person in mind.
Watching the guys handle their scarves like I’ve gifted them precious gems and not just some tangled yarn makes my heart skip a beat.
I’ve never had someone look so… honored, by being given one of my creations.
“Posey,” Paxton sounds choked up, which shocks me. “You made these for us?”
My head bobs, heat suffusing my cheeks once again.
It feels like all I do is blush and perfume around these guys.
It’s like my brain goes offline and my omega takes the wheel, leaving me with only my baser instincts to rely on.
“It was nothing. I told you I crochet in my free time, and I had a lot of fun picking out colors for y’all. ”
Looking around, I see they’re all watching me. McKenzie looks like I just asked him to marry me, Paxton looks about half a second away from crying, and Parker is staring at me with hunger and appreciation burning in his eyes.
“Well alright,” I clap, ready to change the subject before I cry or turn into a puddle of slick on the floor. “Now that that’s out of the way, should we get this show on the road?”