16. Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Fifteen
Scarlett
After a whole night spent prepping for the interview with Chaos Burning, I slip into bed in my sister’s comfy clothes and I sleep through until close to noon on Friday, smiling when I realize I’m in the city so I can head out down the street to grab a coffee and something sweet for breakfast.
This is the life.
A centrally located apartment, easy access to everything the city has to offer, right on my doorstep. Well, Sapphire’s doorstep, I guess, but since we switched places, that makes all of this mine, for now, and I’m definitely going to make the most of it.
I take my time getting ready for the easy day ahead, picking out a bland outfit from my sister’s closet and wondering if I could get away with shopping for something a little more revealing to wear while I’m on my weeklong work vacation with the world’s favorite band.
I probably shouldn’t. Not while my sister’s promotion is at stake.
My approach needs to be professional, and it’s got to stay that way.
Standing in front of the mirror on Sapphire’s dresser, I start trying out different hairstyles until I find the right up-do for my polished reporter aesthetic. Once I find it, I know all I need is to pin it up and keep it in place with some hairspray.
I look around, but surprisingly, Saph doesn’t seem to own any hairclips.
Okay, I guess I’m writing a shopping list.
Lucky for me there are plenty of notebooks lying around my sister’s apartment.
I pick up the one on her nightstand, and I rip a clean sheet of paper out of it, placing it on top of the pad while I grab a pen and scrawl down the first item I’m going to have to go out and buy.
The second item that goes on the list is underwear.
I’m commando today and I’m cool with that in general, but it’s not going to work while I’m pretending to be a reserved professional around four of the most desired men in the music industry.
Not wearing underwear is too liberating.
Naturally, I’m gonna want to flirt with them.
The more I feel like me, the more I’m gonna want to behave in ways that might sabotage my sister’s chances at that promotion she’s been chasing.
So, underwear shopping is a must, but it’s not like they’ll see that, so I can buy the kind I like.
I’m trying to think about what else I might need when I hear a buzzing sound and I realize it’s Sapphire’s phone vibrating on the nightstand.
I drop the pen and pad on the bed, and I move over to the phone, wondering who could be calling.
Oh, it’s me.
Shit, I hope Saph isn’t having a terrible time in Silver Valley.
“Was it awful?” I ask as I pick up the call. “I’m so sorry. Those guys are so annoying.”
There’s a pause before she talks, and I can’t help worrying that it’s because she’s upset.
“Why didn’t you tell me they’re Alphas?” she asks.
Huh. She sounds tired, rather than upset, and that seems like a weird question.
“Oh. I don’t know. I didn’t really think about that. They’re four guys who own a house in a rich neighborhood. I kind of just assumed you knew, I guess. Sorry, Saph. I honestly didn’t think it mattered.”
She sighs. “Of course it matters. I’m an Omega, Scarlett. If I forgot my suppressants …”
Oh. Right. I didn’t think about that.
“But you didn’t, did you? You never forget that stuff.”
“I didn’t, but I could have. Then, what?”
Okay, now she sounds annoyed. Damn.
“Then, maybe you find out you’re never going to perfume like me, or maybe you have a fun week with a bunch of Alphas you’ll never have to see again?” I ask, as I move back over to where I dropped the pad and pen on the bed.
“Are you kidding me, Scarlett?”
Ugh. She’s doing that thing where she clamps down her anger.
I can hear it restrained in her tone, and I can practically see the familiar tense expression I’ve witnessed way too many times in the past. She’s pissed at me, and I probably deserve that.
Still, I can’t help but think she’s being a bit too rigid right now.
“You could use a little fun, Sapphire. Especially after …”
“They’re in love with you!” Her voice rises as she goes on, “I’m not going to sleep with a bunch of Alphas who wish I was you, Scarlett. I might be hopeless when it comes to men, but I’m not that desperate.”
“What? They’re not in love with me.”
They can’t be. They don’t know me.
I’ve barely spent any time with them, and I’m pretty sure I’ve given out disinterested vibes whenever they’ve tried to engage me, because leading guys on isn’t something I would ever do.
“Of course they are!” She exclaims. “Why the hell do you think they made that bet with you in the first place? They’re seriously into you, and I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this was the real reason you didn’t want to come out here.”
“The real reason? I don’t know what you’re talking about, Saph.”
“Just … Tell me you don’t have feelings for any of them.”
Oh, hell. She really likes them. I thought she might, just not in a serious kind of way.
I should have known. She’s not a casual encounters kind of person.
“I don’t,” I assure her, feeling like an asshole for putting her in this situation.
“Sapphire, I’m sorry for however they’re acting, but I’ve never shown the slightest bit of interest in any of them, and there’s a good reason for that.
They’re not my type and they never will be.
I don’t care how boring I get, I’ll never in my life get so dull that I would ever think about settling for the Alphas next door. ”
“Well, it doesn’t seem like they’ve gotten that message,” she mutters, clearly upset that they seem to like me when she likes them.
This is awful. Clearly, I’ve put her in a position to get hurt when all I’d wanted was to cheer her up. I shouldn’t have suggested this switch. It was a bad idea.
“Then they’re dumber than I thought, and I’m sorry you’re stuck with them,” I start, wishing I was there to give her a hug. “Do you want to drop this and come home?”
She’s quiet for a second, and I can tell she’s thinking it through.
I’m ready to grab a bus home the second she says she wants that, but my instincts are telling me this isn’t going to be that simple. If she’s developing feelings for Pack Bishop, she’ll probably want to stay where she is, even if they’re making her think they like me or whatever.
How did this get so complicated so quickly?
“I don’t know,” she groans.
“It’s okay if you want to come home, Saph. I’ll still go to that resort for you if you want me to, either way. Or we can forget the whole thing. That’s okay, too. I’m fine with whatever you decide. This is your rodeo.”
She sighs and I give her a few seconds to think it through.
“I don’t know what my stupid neighbors have said or done to upset you, Saph, but they don’t love me, okay? If they’re attracted to how I look, well, then, you need to take a look in the mirror and remember we’re identical. They don’t know enough about me to love me, or even to like me, really.”
“You’ve lived beside them for three years, Scar.”
“And we’ve let them come to what, four parties in all of that time? That’s nothing, Saph. They mean nothing to me. Like, seriously. They don’t even like Chaos Burning. Who doesn’t like Chaos Burning?”
“A bunch of firefighters who maybe don’t like the message that band relays?” she asks.
I laugh, because her answer is too funny. “I never thought of that. Because I don’t think about them. At all. Okay? You know what, you have my permission to go makeup free and dress how you want to for this if you even want to keep going. They’re not going to notice. I promise.”
“If you’re still cool with taking that flight for me, I’m still okay with cleaning for you,” she says, sounding a bit more like her usual level-headed self.
“Are you sure? Take your time, Saph. Maybe it isn’t the best time for you, and I’ll be fine with that …”
“I’m all good,” she assures me.
“You’re more than good. You’re the best sister ever, and I promise, after this week, I’m going to take some time off work and we can go do something cool together. Whatever you want. It doesn’t have to be my kind of cool. Okay?”
It’s been way too long since we spent any real time together.
“That sounds great.”
She sounds so much happier.
“Good. I’m looking forward to it already.”
We say our goodbyes and I put the phone down on the bed, picking up the pad and pen, and tapping the pen on the page while I try to remember what I thought about adding to the list while we were talking.
It takes a few seconds, but when I think back through the call, I remember she mentioned suppressants.
I hesitate to write it down.
It feels weird that I’m about to go into a pharmacy and admit, at least on paper, that I’m an Omega. I’ve been living as a Beta for so long, and my perfume has never been triggered.
Being around Alphas didn’t do it.
I guess I’ve been careful about getting close to them, if I’m honest, but I also haven’t been attracted to any of the Alphas I’ve been around, and it never happened with any of the Betas I was kinda into for a hot minute.
Surely, it would have happened by now if it was going to.
That defect of my Omega-ness just makes my choice to live as a Beta feel even more like the right path for me. Without perfume, I don’t have any appeal as an Omega.
What Alpha would want an Omega who can’t perfume in his presence?
It’s never gonna happen, so I shouldn’t need suppressants to make sure.
I can picture Sapphire shaking her head at me for being stubborn and taking an unnecessary risk. It’s her rodeo, I remind myself. That’s what makes me finally put pen to paper.
With three items on the list, I slip it into Sapphire’s purse, and I make a mental note to remember and pay her back for whatever I end up spending today.
I’m being responsible for once.
My twin would be proud of me.