Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
RIANN
The one thing I never considered when I decided to come to Boston was just how freaking bored I would be when I wasn’t at the Buchanan Center.
Hell, I’d probably be more bored if I was stuck there.
I’m sure there are plenty of things to do downtown, but the idea of traveling around an unfamiliar city makes me uneasy. It isn’t safe for an unbonded omega to wander around alone; that’s been drilled into my head since I started at the academy.
It’s just a few days, I remind myself, yet again. A few days of boredom for a lifetime worth of answers.
Plus, I get to see Dr. Morales again tomorrow.
That’s definitely worth my suffering.
I flip through the limited channels on the TV and try to lose myself in a cheesy romcom to pass the time.
It works for a while, but after an hour or so I abandon it and search for nearby stores online, curious if there’s anything within walking distance.
I want snacks, preferably something sweet, and there isn’t even a vending machine in the hotel.
I checked. Twice.
Ziel gave me a little extra money to pay for things aside from my plane ticket, which I argued against, but he wasn’t having it any other way. Now, I’m glad he fought me on it.
A smile curls my lips when I see that the closest store is only a couple of blocks away. I’m still nervous about walking around alone, but it isn’t hard to talk myself into putting on my least appealing outfit—pajama bottoms and my oversized hoodie—and heading for the elevator.
I haven’t even made it to the lobby before my phone rings, and I chuckle when I see Ziel’s name pop up.
“How’d you know I needed an escort?” I answer with a giggle.
“Escort?” The shock is apparent in his tone. “Excuse me, ma’am, what are you doing? Are you behaving?”
I shove open the front door of the hotel and step outside, a gust of frigid afternoon wind slamming into me and instantly making my teeth chatter.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.
“I always behave.”
He scoffs. Both of us know I'm lying.
“I'm sightseeing,” I say. “Checking out the city.”
“Riann…” He hardly sounds amused. “You're not serious are you?”
With a smirk, I press a button to request a video chat, and his face pops up a second later. He's wearing a beanie and sitting on one of the campus benches beneath a leafless tree. His cheeks are flushed red from the cold.
“Are you not freezing?” I ask.
“Aren't you?” He gives me a curious look. “And I know you're not sightseeing. What are you really up to? Shouldn't you be under medical supervision or something?”
“I go back for more tests in the morning.” I laugh. “Right now I'm going to the store to get snacks.”
“There it is.” Ziel nods knowingly. “That makes way more sense.”
I make a show of rolling my eyes. “Come on, you know me better than that. I can’t just stay cooped up in a hotel room the entire time without venturing out at least once.”
“Do you have enough money for snacks?” His voice takes on a concerned tone. “I can send you more if you need it. I don’t want you to—”
“I’m fine, Dad,” I say, the joke only stinging a little bit. “Besides, I’m not taking any more money from you. I’ll block you on everything, understand?”
He laughs and shakes his head. “Fine, but the offer still stands.”
Ziel quickly catches me up on what I missed today, which isn’t much, and we’re both giggling by the time I get to the store. The hot air hits me like a wall as soon as I step inside, and my limbs instantly begin to thaw as I grab a basket.
“Let me know if you find any eye candy to go with your sweets,” Ziel says loud enough for the nearest shopper to hear. “I’m bored.”
I turn down the volume on my phone, which I should have done several minutes ago. Ziel is many things, but he is not the friend I can put on speaker.
Taking my time, I stroll down the aisles to peruse the options. Maybe I’ll get a face mask or something so my skin will be glowing when I make it to the clinic in the morning. Or maybe I’ll see what kind of body sprays they have since my perfume clearly didn’t do the trick with Dr. Morales…
“Earth to Riann. Hello? Excuse me, I’m still here.” Ziel’s impatient voice rips me out of my daydream, and I grimace.
“Sorry, I was just thinking.” Heat prickles over my cheeks, and I can only hope the reception isn’t good enough for him to notice.
“Did you see someone hot?” He whispers, peering closer to the phone like he can magically see into the store. “Turn me around, let me see. Why else would you be blushing like that?”
Even with the volume turned down, he’s still way too loud.
“I’m going to hang up on you if you don’t stop embarrassing me,” I threaten, turning down the candy aisle. My eyes grow wide at the endless array of options. “And no, there is no one hot here. There is a very hot doctor at the clinic though.”
Ziel squeals and I shove him into my hoodie pocket to muffle the noise. “And you were going to tell me when? When you get back? What does he look like? He’s an alpha, isn’t he? Is he tall? I bet he’s tall. Riann Marie, you better give me the details right now!”
With a sigh, I drag him back out of my pocket.
“Okay, I’ll tell you.” I throw a wary glance over my shoulder like one of the afternoon shoppers is dying to hear my piping hot tea as much as my best friend. I’m the only person in this aisle. “The doctor is an alpha.”
His eyes widen as a grin splits his face. “Okayyy, what’s his name?”
My stomach wiggles at the thought of admitting my first girl crush to Ziel, but he’s going to find out one way or another.
“Her name is Skylar Morales.”
His jaw drops. “She’s a female alpha?”
I exaggerate a nod.
“Hold please.” I don’t even have time to argue before Ziel disconnects from the video call and leaves me on voice. I hear him shuffling around in the background but can’t fathom what he’s up to.
“What… am I holding for?” I toss a bag of gummy worms in my basket and walk further down the aisle. “Ziel, what are you doing?”
“Just looking her up to see if she’s as fine as you say—oh my god! Rie, holy shit!” His face pops back up on the phone as heat scorches my cheeks. I grab some more candy—tiny chocolate bears with little hats—and hurry to the end of the aisle. “She’s so fucking hot.”
“Right? And she smells amazing,” I swoon, remembering the way her crisp smoke-wrapped pine scent filled the exam room. “Too bad I don’t have a chance with her.”
Ziel is walking now, apparently back into his dorm building. The clank of a door closing and echoing footsteps comes through the phone. “What makes you say that? Is she bonded?”
I shake my head. “I don’t think so, but…
Oh, Z, I fucked up so bad. She was there, in the room with me, and I just went blank.
I talked about how I like winter. Winter.
It was so embarrassing.” I grimace as the memory replays in my mind.
“And then her scent was so much, too much. She had to open the door before I passed out…”
“Jesus, Rie, way to make a first impression.” He looks away, and I hear the faint beeping of buttons as he punches in the passcode to his nest. He steps inside, and all I can see is blue, his favorite color. “There’s always tomorrow, right?”
I groan. “Technically, but… what if I just freeze again?”
“Call me and put me on speaker,” he offers with a giggle. “I’ll play matchmaker.”
“Absolutely not.”
After wandering through the store and listening to Ziel go on about how he plans to settle in for a solo movie night without me, I make my way down the skincare aisle and stop in front of the body washes.
If I smell absolutely delicious tomorrow, Dr. Morales won’t be able to resist me. It’s a silly thought, but I can’t shake it as my eyes fall over the different scents.
What would possibly appeal to a hot female alpha, if not marshmallows? What would go best with her fresh, woodsy scent? Vanilla? Lemon? Eucalyptus?
I freeze when my eyes land on a forest pine scented body wash, and my stomach flutters.
“My turn to put you on hold, Z.” I stuff my phone into my hoodie pocket again without waiting for a response and grab the bottle of body wash off the shelf.
I pop the top and bring it to my nose, goosebumps already rising.
I inhale a lungful of the fresh aroma, and while it hardly compares to Dr. Morales’ sharp, smoky scent, it’s enough to make memories from the clinic come rushing back.
I inhale deeply once, then again, drinking it in, trying to imbed it in my sinuses.
I close my eyes, imagining she’s standing in front of me while I breathe her in. I want to crawl all over her, sniffing my way up to her neck and licking my way down.
My eyes snap open again, and I toss the body wash into my basket without a second thought.
Then I drag my phone back out of my pocket before heading to the register.
I pay, eager to get back to the hotel and drown myself in the soap, excited for it to cling to my skin throughout the night while I sleep.
It might not be Dr. Morales’ exact scent, but it’s close enough. My imagination can fill in the gaps.
“Can I ask one more favor?” I pause by the front door of the store and poke my bottom lip out, batting my eyelashes at Ziel.
“You need more money, don’t you?” He hardly sounds amused, but I snort a laugh at his reply.
“No.” I flash him an innocent grin. “I need you to talk to me until I get back to the hotel.”