Chapter 2
TWO
I tighten the leather strap around my shoulder, nervously fidgeting as I stand on the stoop. My hands are a sweaty wreck as it slips right out of my grasp. I huff out in frustration and wipe my palms on my pants.
The party roars behind me, pumpkins scattered across the yard and college students laughing drunkenly on the porch.
I try not to grit my teeth at how relaxed and carefree they sound.
My anxiety over tonight isn’t anyone else’s issue.
This burden is all my own, especially because I’m bringing it upon myself.
I take a deep breath. Tonight is the night. I’m finally going to tell Elsie that I’m in love with her.
I think about all the times over the years when I had the chance but not the courage: When we were twelve and our friends were trying to pressure Elsie into going to the seventh grade dance with Emil Keahi; when she broke her arm one summer and she saved a spot for my signature despite me being away at summer camp for two weeks; when grimy Ronnie asked her to prom our junior year and she said she was going with me instead.
Last year, when my casual relationship with one of the guys from the football team fizzled out and left me raw around every edge.
When she nursed me back to life when he left me high and dry after my latest heat and my hormones were out of whack.
When she held me and whispered to me and bled life back into me.
I never had the guts to step forward and declare my feelings.
The moment always felt slightly off-kilter, the motivation not pure.
Then there was always the chance that Elsie wouldn’t feel the same way.
Any hypothetical where Elsie was no longer my best friend, but instead a distant stranger or just someone I used to know, halted the confession in its tracks.
That sounds like the worst reality to be a part of.
I can’t think of anything worse than not being in Elsie’s life.
This tiny dose of courage didn’t just spring up overnight. I may be setting my deep-seated fears to the side, but it’s not without provocation. Last week, I was just as scared of the possibility of losing Elsie as I’ve always been, but then I overheard her speaking to Mavin.
“It’s not that I’m scared for my heat… it’s that I’m worried something will happen. I want Casey to be there, and if he’s not… I don’t know what I would do.”
I’m not proud of myself for eavesdropping, but I’m ecstatic that I did.
To hear from her lips that she wants me to be at her first heat…
healed something inside of me that I didn’t know was wounded.
All this time, I’ve been worried that she’ll only want alphas.
I know she wants a pack; we’ve discussed it quite a bit, but now I have a glimmering hope growing in my chest. Now, there’s a chance that she could see me in that pack, and I can’t get the possibility out of my head.
I could have completely misinterpreted her words, but I don’t even care. If there’s even a tiny chance that she meant it the way I heard it… I have to try.
We may be two omegas, we may have to worry about the idea that we need to one day find alphas that will accept both of us, but if we have each other, go through the tribulations together—all would be worth it.
A moment later, a car pulls up to the curb, and my mouth goes dry.
She’s here.
When she steps out of the cab, my stomach flips like a pancake.
Her petite frame is doused in dancing fringe, her legs peeking out from between the white panty hose.
Long, fake eyelashes fan out from her eyes, almost feather-like, and her deep red lips are a dark contrast to the white cascading down her body.
I gulp. She is a vision.
When she stands in front of me, she looks down at my outfit, a sparkle in her eye.
“Robinhood?” she asks, teasing.
I straighten my shoulders and walk forward with a bit more stride in my step. “What, this old thing?”
She snorts. “You’ve never owned an arm harness. Especially not one made of leather.”
I look at my costume, happy that I went with the slightly pricier option. “It looks cool though, doesn’t it?”
“You’ve never looked cooler. Except when you won that ice cream eating competition and got brain freeze for a week.”
I put my palm to my chest and scoff. “How dare you bring that up.”
She bites her lip, and my eyes snag on the movement. “Well, are you going to say anything about my outfit?”
My eyes trail back down her costume. Her waist is cinched, her headpiece sitting beautiful in her long, silky hair.
Hair that I want to run my fingertips through, feel its softness encapsulating me until I can’t breathe.
“You’re an absolute dream, Elsie Melnyk.”
Her scent blooms from my response, the candy apple sweet and bursting in the air between us. I suppress a whine, a bit of my self-control slipping before I rein it back in.
The need to wrap her up simmers under my skin.
Now that I’m prepared to throw everything into a volcano, my patience is wearing thin.
I want to tell her everything, scream how I feel from the rooftop, but I resist. She deserves romance, softness.
She deserves to know the full extent of the truth; not just the quick, rushed version of it.
This isn’t just about my feelings. I want Elsie to have everything she wants in life and more.
“Are you ready to head in?” she asks, her cheeks flushed.
I pause, checking in with my body. My heart pumps wildly in my chest, my hands clam up worse than before, but despite all that, excitement thrums in my veins, beckoning me forward.
“Yeah,” I sigh. “I think I’m ready.”