Chapter 11
Flora
Glowering at my fridge full of ridiculously healthy produce, I picked up my phone and dialed a familiar number. A rage unlike any I was used to was rippling through my skin—and I needed to do something to rebel.
“This is late for you to be calling,” Summer answered, her voice quiet and holding that hint of exhaustion I was used to hearing.
“Well, you have a baby, so you never sleep,” I said, leaning against the counter and crossing an arm over me so I could balance my elbow on it. It was taking a lot of effort to keep the rage out of my voice. I wanted to wring Spencer’s neck.
“Well, you’re not wrong.” Summer laughed, thick with sarcasm. “He’s been in a sleep regression and waking up every two hours lately. I swear there isn’t enough iced coffee in the world.”
Chuckling, I raised my eyebrows. “Better you than me.”
“Gee, thanks. So, what’s this call for?” she asked, her tone dry, tinged with playful annoyance. “Even though I’m happy to chat, it’s unusual for you to call so late. She whose days are child-free and easy.”
“Ha, ha. Is that offer to go out still on the table?” I spun around, leaning both elbows on the counter, restlessness itching at me. “I appreciate you might not have time to get a sitter. But…”
Summer was silent for a moment.
“Wait… you want to go out, like to an actual bar, and meet people?” There was obvious shock in her voice, and I scrunched up my nose.
I cast a stern glance at my fridge once again before my resolve hardened, and I nodded to no one in particular.
“Hell yes, I do.”
A high-pitched squeal escaped Summer, and I had to yank the phone away before putting it to my ear again once she’d calmed down.
“That is amazing! I’ll call a sitter right now.
I’m sure she can be here—she said she had nothing on tonight.
I’ll call you back in twenty minutes. Ugh, this is amazing. I need some baby-free time.”
Thirty minutes later, Summer was at my apartment, rifling through my wardrobe in a furious attempt to find me something decent to wear.
“There’s got to be something in here that works,” she muttered to herself, tossing things she didn’t approve of onto the floor.
Choosing my outfit for the night was her idea, yet I lacked bar-worthy clothes. She, on the other hand, was wearing a sparkly mini dress that made her legs look ten miles long and her boobs enormous.
She wasn’t going to be lacking attention, that was for sure.
I, however, didn’t own anything like that. I wasn’t one to stand out. Too much attention made my nerves prickle like I was having an allergic reaction.
“This might work,” Summer said, pulling out a small black dress.
“I usually wear that as a top with a skirt,” I replied, my brows up to my hairline.
“Well, it’s plenty long enough to be a dress. Come on, try it on.” She held it out to me.
Sighing, I looked at the garment and then at Summer.
I was starting to regret my decision to go out, but, deep down, I knew it was what I wanted to do, given the sheer fuckery that had been going on around me.
Plus, I knew I wouldn’t win this. When Summer put her mind to something, that was it.
Going along for the ride was my best course of action right now.
And hell, I deserved a little fun too.
When we arrived at the club, I was immediately struck by how electric it was.
I wasn’t used to the frenetic energy of a dance floor and the surrounding bar, hopping with people coming and going, drinks being slung across the gleaming bar top, right and left.
It was undeniably exciting, but it was a little overwhelming, too.
“How are you doing over there?” Summer grinned at me, her knowing expression getting under my skin, even if just a tad.
“I’m totally fine. Let’s go get some drinks.” Before she could say another word, I angled myself toward the bar and took off. I needed a shot of liquid courage, and I was ready to kick off this night, planning to dance my anxieties away.
Sure, there were still lingering concerns about the other night—potentially being followed, and not by the cute alpha who walked me home—but I was determined to make the best of my rare night out.
Classes would be there tomorrow, and I’d deal with the tiredness with a killer dose of caffeine. Maybe two or three.
Summer and I stood at the bar and quickly caught the bartender’s eye. I thanked her dress for doing the hard work of capturing the guy’s attention, and we promptly ordered two drinks: a fruity monstrosity for her and an Old Fashioned for me.
“I do not know how you can drink that stuff.”
Narrowing her eyes at me, Summer pointed at my nose. “For your information, this is very tasty.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, holding up my hands in surrender. “Well, enjoy your liquid sugar.” I loved sweets as much as the next omega, but when it came to alcohol, that was a different story entirely. Sweet alcohol made me feel all sorts of sickly.
Summer shrugged one shoulder, smiling to herself, and we took our drinks to a high-top table near the dance floor.
It didn’t have any chairs, acting as a place to set your glasses down, but neither of us cared.
We watched the dancers for a little bit, finishing up our drinks before summoning our courage and heading out into the sea of rhythmically moving bodies.
The alcohol started to do its job, a bit of a buzz, enough to have me flowing to the music without a care. Summer and I laughed like fools as we spun each other around, taking turns at playing the other one’s date.
After a few songs, Summer tapped me on the shoulder, leaning in to whisper in my ear, “I need to pee. I’ll be right back.”
“You’ll break the seal,” I joked, but Summer waved me off, calling out something about the seal being long broken already. All I could do was snort at the innuendo, dancing in a corner by myself and hoping to God no one came over.
“Hey, cutie.”
So much for that. Ugh.
I looked up, unable to keep myself from making eye contact with the alpha who’d come over to me.
I was always terrified of being rude, even if I wanted this guy nowhere near me.
His scent was definitely an alpha’s, but beyond that, it didn’t sit right in my nose, all bitter and a tad… hoppy? Like an IPA. Gross.
“Hello. I-I’m here with someone.” I said, trying to be firm but polite.
The tall man, probably about six feet with dark hair that was buzzed short on the sides and only a bit longer on the top, eyed me up and down. My skin crawled under his gaze, and I took an instinctive step backward.
“Is that so? I don’t see anyone.” He took a step forward, reaching out for my arm and grabbing behind my elbow. “Come on. Dance with me.”
No, no, no. Don’t like. I want you to go away.
My heart was hammering, and I tried to pull away, but the guy kept hold of my arm, squeezing slightly.
All my internal alarm bells were screaming at once.
This wasn’t the type of guy who’d take the hint and fuck off.
I could sense it. I needed to get the hell out of there quickly, but there were so many people around me.
Desperation clawed at me as I scanned the room, searching for an escape route.
The pulsating lights of the club felt like a barrage against my senses, and the cacophony of laughter and shrill conversations blended into a dizzying mix, only heightening my anxiety.
I could have screamed, called out for help. But it seemed like overkill. I mean, he was just being kind of pushy, right?
Then again, recent events had made me twitchy.
Opening my mouth, I got ready to call out when suddenly my arm was free, and there was a wall of a person standing with his back to me, firmly planted between me and the asshole alpha.
“She said no. Fuck off.”
For a moment, the alpha who grabbed me looked furious, and I half expected a fight to break out.
Thankfully, he shrank under the weight of this alpha’s attention, turned tail, and fled.
I was speechless, still trying to process the sudden shift, when the man who’d sort of rescued me spun around, his brow pinched together with concern, each line on his face deepening as he took in my wide-eyed expression.
My heart was racing, adrenaline still pumping through my veins as his presence seemed to settle the chaos that had erupted just moments before.
“Are you alright?”
Whoa, that voice. What is it with sexy alphas and voices?
“I-I’m fine. Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.
” I did my best to play it cool, actively telling myself not to ogle with my mouth open at the tall, blond alpha in front of me.
I swallowed hard, trying to shake off the remnants of fear that clung to me.
His bright blue eyes gleamed, though, even in the dim light.
And without thinking about it, without meaning to or knowing why, I took a step toward him, as if magnetically pulled to do so.
“Good. That guy was a creep. Sorry you had to deal with that.” I could listen to this man read the damn phone book.
And then I realized he was still staring down at me, his eyes flicking from what I had to believe was my mouth and then back up to my eyes.
His scent swelled—all sweet spice, like gingerbread—and something warm set up shop in my lower belly, and even lower still.
“Do you… Do you want to dance?”
I paused for a moment. Had he just asked me to dance? I didn't know what to do, whether I should go with him or run away and find Summer.
“You don’t have to. I know you were hanging by yourself. I can—”
“No!” I cleared my throat, biting down on the sudden need and excitement inside me. “Sorry, I was just… never mind. Yes, I would love to dance. Also, I'm totally not on my own; my best friend just went to the bathroom.”
The guy smiled, and holy freaking hell, my knees almost buckled. Alphas were attractive. That was just a fact of evolution, but this one? It was like he was engineered in a lab. I was pretty certain it was illegal to look that good. And here I was, about to dance with him.
Pinch me.
“It’s Chase, by the way.” That smirk only got cuter as he walked up to me, getting closer and testing the waters by holding my hand.
“Flora. My name is Flora.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Flora.”
You’re damn right it is.
Chase’s hand wound around my waist, pulling me closer. When the other alpha had touched me earlier, I had wanted to recoil in revulsion, but this one… he was enthralling. Those blue eyes drew me in, his deep, spiced scent making me shiver with delight.
Our bodies shifted and swayed, led by the rhythm of the music.
We were so close, pressed right into each other, and before long, I lost myself to the feeling of being up against the wall of muscle that was Chase.
With his arm still firmly wrapped around my waist, we let ourselves be carried away by the music.
His fingers shifted downward, brushing the hem of my dress.
Fire coursed through my veins, and I couldn’t stop the breathy sound that escaped me as Chase nuzzled into my neck.
This was wild. This was thrilling. But it also felt terrifying.
What was I doing? The rational part of me fought hard to resurface, whispering warnings about the risks of being vulnerable around someone new.
I didn’t do that. I wasn’t a one-night stand kind of person.
I wasn’t a go-out-and-fool-around-with-a-guy-I-just-met type of person.
And somehow, there I was, doing just that.
Only I couldn’t deny the way being around Chase made me feel. It was so exhilarating and potent, way more intoxicating than any drink. I hadn’t felt so drawn to a person since that alpha who had walked me home. But there was no way of knowing if I’d ever see that guy again.
Actually, I didn’t know if I’d see this guy again, and something about that didn’t sit right with me. I couldn’t put it into words, but it was as if I needed to at least have this one moment with Chase. If all I could get was one time, I was sure as hell going to take it.
“Do you want to get out of here?” I asked, leaning in close.
I turned to look at Summer, who was standing at the bar, nodding enthusiastically at me.
I was throwing caution to the wind, but I couldn’t stop myself. It felt surreal, like I was watching a stranger operate my body. This wasn’t me; I was the cautious one, weighing every decision carefully. But tonight was different. Tonight was full of firsts. First, the dress, and now, Chase.
“I was about to ask the same thing.” He smiled at me again, and fuck. I was a total goner.
It didn’t take long to get to the shitty part of town, where my apartment was. We navigated through the traffic easily in Chase’s car, and the entire drive was filled with playful words that could only be taken one way.
We knew exactly what we were about to do.
Maybe I was going crazy, getting in a stranger’s car, but I was so desperate to get home. A small part of me was also excited at the idea that I was sticking it to Spencer. That nut job thought he could claim me? Nope. I refused.
At my door, I unlocked it and pushed the thing inward, sweeping my arm out in a large gesture.
“Well, come on in, Chase. We can get… comfortable.”