Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Siobhan
So far it’s going… okay. I don’t know what Jayce’s problem is. He seems unhappy to be here and it’s making my inner omega restless. I want to straddle his lap and scent mark the delicious bonfire-smelling alpha, but as it is I’m simply trying not to pout at the grump.
Hayden is as charming as I expected them to be, so at least there’s that. Ultimately, though, I’d like for them both to relax and show me who they truly are underneath all the bravado.
The maple bar was truly delicious though, and if nothing else, I’m glad I came for that.
“So, I take it you speak Spanish?”
Hayden tears their gaze from Jayce’s retreating form. The crease in their brow relaxes and their lips curl into a sensual smirk that has my lower abdomen clenching.
“Sí, amorcito, hablo Espanol. ?Te gusta?”
The words go straight through me and I squirm in my seat, clenching my thighs together in a desperate hope to prevent my perfume from exploding around us. I nod, embarrassed when it’s jerky, and Hayden takes pity on me.
“I’m happy to speak Spanish whenever you’d like, or even teach you some, if you want.”
I clear my throat, but my voice is still more raspy than usual when I answer, “Sure, I think I’d like that.”
Jayce stomps back to the table and sits like he’s readying for war. I eye him warily, still not sure how to get a read on him.
“I think I’ll try the chocolate croissant next,” Hayden says, snagging the flakey pastry from the box. “Jayce? What looks good?”
He glares at the box like it’s personally offended him, and I roll my eyes while neither of them is looking. Then he sighs and grabs a flat, glazed cookie with tiny black specks throughout, which there are four of in the box.
“What’s that?” I ask, intrigued.
“Masala chai sugar cookie,” he grunts, then shoves the whole thing into his mouth.
I blink at him in shock, but before I can figure out how to reply, the door swings open with a gust of chilly air. I glance to the side, doing a double-take when Sage and Riley stroll in, their arm slung around her neck as he tugs her up to the counter.
They both see me looking so I give a small wave, only for both Riley and Sage to shoot back beaming smiles and two obnoxious thumbs up.
Riley’s eyes roam over the two alphas and my inner omega prickles with displeasure, but thankfully Sage seems to have better manners.
Then I realize they’re probably just seeing who I’m with, not checking them out.
“Friends of yours?” Hayden asks, dabbing the corner of their full lips with a napkin and drawing my attention there. I nod, and they glance up at the blue and purple haired pair. Then that slow, devastating grin sneaks out again. “They’re cute.”
I immediately sit up straight. My smile drops and my stomach plummets, while my pride has me bristling at the fact that they’d be looking at another omega while I’m sitting right here in front of—
“Together, I mean!” Hayden rushes to explain, seeming to catch their error right before I explode on them. “Not to me. I wouldn’t notice, just that together they seem happy, like a pair, with the bright hair and all. That’s all I meant.”
I’m fuming, breathing heavy through my nose and my scent has turned bitter. Like tea steeped far too long and then left out at room temperature. I swallow hard and attempt to rein in my possessive reaction.
“I’m sorry, Siobhan,” Hayden says. They lean forward, earnest brown eyes peering at me through round tortoise shell glasses. “That was a thoughtless, insensitive comment. You deserve better. From both of us.”
I lean back in my chair, wondering if this is how it’s going to be. One alpha acting a fool and apologizing, only for the other to take up the mantle. I pinch my lips together and cross my arms, debating whether I should get up and leave.
“Please,” Jayce says, speaking for the first time in ages.
“Give us a shot. We’re both nervous, this is a big deal to us.
” He pauses to clamp a hand around the back of his neck and suck in a deep breath.
“I mean, I’m glad I’m not the only one who messed up—makes me feel a bit less like an idiot—but we’d be honored if you’d let us make it up to you. Please.”
I crack a smile at his wry comment, appreciating the vulnerability in his words. He drops both hands to his lap, and I sense they’re holding hands under the table. It makes my heart do a tiny swoop in my chest.
I nod slowly. “You haven’t scared me off. Not yet, anyways.”
Jayce slumps in his seat with a bewildered looking smile, while Hayden’s grin is warm and broad, pushing those round glasses up their cheeks.
“So, Jayce,” I say. “What do you do for work?”
“I’m in construction.”
I wait for more, but he doesn’t provide it.
“And…?” I say. His eyes flit between mine, growing wider with every second that passes. “What does that mean, exactly?”
“Oh.” He clears his throat, then takes a sip of water. “Well I’m the foreman, so I’m in charge of the job site. I make sure everything is running smoothly, and I step in wherever is needed.”
“Wow,” I say, genuinely impressed. “That sounds like a heavy mental load. And hard physically, too.”
“It’s honest work. What do you do?”
I fidget, twisting the turquoise ring around my pointer finger.
This is the moment of truth. Too many times I’ve been belittled for my profession, my interests and skills.
I suppose this will be the final test. I take a deep breath, then square my shoulders and glance between them.
Hayden’s eyes narrow slightly, dipping over my straightened posture.
They tilt their head and sit up straighter as well.
“I’m a content creator.”
Silence.
“And…?” Jayce finally replies.
My hackles immediately rise and I lean forward, ready to throw down. “What do you mean ‘and?’ I’ll have you know I make good mon—”
“Whoa, whoa whoa,” Jayce interrupts, throwing his hands in the air. “I was teasing, pretty omega. I don’t know what that means, so I was throwing your line back at you.”
I blink at him once, twice, and then deflate back into my chair.
“Oh,” I say, frowning at my reaction to his playful rebuttal. “Sorry.”
“All good. So… What is a content creator, exactly?” he asks, his tone carefully neutral.
He only looks more confused as I explain, so I pause in the middle of it. “Do you not have social media?” I ask, rattling off a couple that most people use.
Jayce shakes his head, glancing at Hayden as though for help.
“We don’t really have an online presence,” they say with a shrug. “What kind of content do you create? I’d love to hear more about it.”
Once again, I’m taken aback. These alphas keep throwing me for a loop and it’s getting hard to keep up with the whiplash. Maybe part of that is on me; I’ve been making assumptions of them left and right.
“Yeah, well, I mostly do tarot readings.” I stop and look pointedly at Jayce, waiting for the snarky ‘and’ but instead, he leans back in his chair, mimes zipping his lips, then folds his massive arms over his chest.
I reluctantly quirk a smile, and his eyes twinkle in response.
I roll my eyes, giving in. “Tarot reading is where you use a deck of cards to help guide your intuition. It’s different for each person, but it’s not like telling the future—not for me at least. I use it as a reminder of my values, things to be mindful of or keep an eye out for, that type of thing. ”
“Fascinating,” Hayden murmurs. They have both elbows planted on the table and are staring at me like they’ve never seen anyone like me before. “Can we see one of your contents?”
I snort the most unattractive laugh I’ve ever snort-laughed. Then I slap my hand to my face, mortified that such a horrific sound came from me, but I can’t stop laughing.
“Did you just say…” I gasp out, “that you want to see one of my contents? Like, plural?”
“I…” Hayden glances at Jayce, who shrugs, then looks back at me. They square their shoulders and tip their chin up. “Yes.”
“Yes?” I say, still chuckling between words. “Okay, well. The content I create is mainly videos, some pictures here and there. I can show you a video of a reading I did recently, if you’d like.”
“Mhm sí. That, por favor. We’d love to see a video, exactly as I said,” Hayden says with a wink and a cheeky grin.
My smile feels silly and crooked on my face as I pull out my phone, find a short video, then pass it across the table to them.
They watch it silently, eyes trained on the screen, and I take the opportunity to check them out.
Hayden is wearing soft-looking jeans and a charcoal tee with a black leather jacket that strains across their broad shoulders.
Their glasses are cute in a hot sort of way, very confusing as I’ve never much noticed glasses on anyone before.
Their dark brown hair is longer on top, big loose curls that beg for my fingers to run through them, and their dark facial hair is neatly trimmed, emphasizing a sharp jaw and cheekbones.
They have golden bronze skin, a pretty contrast to Jayce’s lighter coloring.
My eyes trace the many freckles decorating his skin, leading me from his face and ears down his neck where they disappear beneath his clothing.
He’s also wearing worn jeans and a simple, tight white tee, although his looks like it might bust a seam if he so much as stretches the wrong way.
He has a classic red plaid flannel on top, unbuttoned so I can see every dip and ridge of his chest. It looks so cozy, and my inner omega wants to steal it for her nest. Although I don’t love the color…
I wonder if he has a forest green version?
“Huh,” Jayce says, leaning back when the video ends. “So you somehow… know what every single card means? Just like that?” He snaps his fingers in emphasis.
I shrug and nod, because yeah. I’ve been doing this so long that it’s second nature at this point.
“And there are how many cards?” Hayden asks.
“Seventy-eight in a standard deck.”
Jayce whistles. “Impressive.”
My inner omega preens at the compliment, and my defensive walls start to crack.
“Alright then, pretty omega,” Jayce says. “What’s your favorite card?”
Pretty omega? I scoff. I look like a wreck and am nowhere near pretty. Won’t be for at least another week, maybe two. I roll my eyes, but when they come back to meet his, Jayce’s hazel gaze has narrowed on me.
“What’s the sass for, pretty omega?” he says, voice an octave lower than it was before.
I huff. “You don’t have to call me that.”
He doesn’t so much as twitch. “You don’t like it?”
“No, that’s not—” I say, flustered by his new intensity. “It’s just that I know I’m not pretty right now.” I gesture to my face with a grimace, but he doesn’t react the way I expect him to.
His eyes darken and he clenches his jaw. I glance at Hayden to see they’re nearly as rigid, both of them on the edges of their seats like they’re ready to leap up and flip the table or something.
“What—”
“You’re gorgeous,” Jayce all but growls. “Bruises or no, injured or not. You’re absolutely stunning.”
My lips part and I stare at him.
“Do you need proof, pretty omega?” Hayden suggestively runs their hand up and down what I am sure is not Jayce’s leg under the table.
My face flushes and I swallow hard, then shake my head in a quick jerk. “N-no.”
“Is it okay if I call you that, then?” Jayce says, brow creasing, and I regret protesting in the first place.
He clearly means it; I shouldn’t have assumed the worst. I’m so used to false platitudes and empty compliments from followers and admirers that I didn’t take a second to really think about it this time.
“Yeah,” I whisper. “It’s okay.”
He nods decisively, then plucks a purple macaron I was eyeing from the pastry box and passes it to me before snagging another chai cookie for himself.
The date flows better after that, with some light-hearted joking and many appreciative looks exchanged all around.
They seem to loosen up a bit, with Jayce smiling more and Hayden relaxing into their seat.
I let myself imagine what it would be like with them, to have a pack—the thing I’ve always dreamed of—with these two.
My mind immediately flashes to Aury, and my heart twists.
I have no idea why I agreed to his idiotic idea to see how this date goes before finalizing anything with him.
No date is going to change how I feel about him.
But will he want to be with these alphas, and would they want to be with a beta?
It’s too much to risk, too soon. So naturally, I avoid doing anything about it entirely.
“Thank you for agreeing to this,” Hayden says, a soft smile on their full lips.
They nudge their glasses up with one knuckle, then swing their arm around Jayce’s shoulders and squeeze him into their side.
Jayce grumbles under his breath, but we can all tell he doesn’t mean it.
“We’ve loved getting to know you, and I think I speak for both of us when I say we’d be honored if you’d consider a second date. ”
Jayce straightens at that, dropping the grumble and nodding in agreement. His hazel eyes glow in the sun streaming through the window, and I wonder what they’d look like first thing in the morning, or how different they’d look under moonlight instead.
“Mmm,” I say.
Hayden tilts their head, and their smile turns mischievous. “Is that a yes, Siobhan?”
My name on their lips snaps me from whatever spell Jayce had me under, and I refocus on Hayden. “Yeah, yes.” I clear my throat, recentering myself. “I’d really like that.”
“Great. If there’s anything you want to do, let us know, otherwise I’ll get something planned for this week, if that works for you?”
A date again this week is moving fast, making my omega perk up inside. “I’ll text you if something comes to mind,” I say.
They walk me to my car, Jayce insisting on carrying the box of pastries while Hayden keeps one hand protectively on my lower back. Then they open my door for me, which has my independent streak bristling.
When I go to slide into the seat, Hayden puts a hand on top of my head, as though afraid I’ll bump it, and that’s the final straw.
“I don’t need coddling, you know,” I gripe. “I’m not some helpless omega, so if that’s what you’re looking for, I’m sorry to tell you that’s not me.”
“No,” Hayden murmurs, dark eyes piercing me. I want to fidget under that thoughtful gaze, but I force myself to sit still. “No, you’re quite fierce. Aren’t you, little witch?”
Little witch?
My lips pop open, but I don’t know what to say to that.
Hayden leans forward to drop a kiss on my temple. “See you soon, amorcito.” Then they close the car door and are gone before I can think of how to respond.