23. Chapter Twenty-Three
The car slows and the tires crunch over gravel as we pull into the driveway. Warm golden light spills from the porch, pooling across the wide wooden steps and wrapping the front of the house.
The night air carries through the open window, the familiar layered scent of cedar and storm, the same one that has been settling over me all evening, now mixed with the cool damp of late September grass.
My head feels pleasantly fuzzy and I lean into the solid weight of Alex’s arm still looped around my waist in the back seat.
Before anyone moves to open a door I hesitate, fingers tightening around the end of my jacket sleeves. The house looms solid and inviting, but the thought of stepping inside makes something flutter nervously behind my ribs.
“Is anyone else home?” I ask, voice quieter than I mean for it to be.
Alex turns his head, pale gray eyes fixed to mine. His thumb brushes a tantalizing circle against my side through the thin fabric of my dress. “Chase and Adrian are inside,” he says, calm as ever, the low rumble of his voice easing something inside me even as my pulse picks up. “Is that all right?”
I bite the inside of my cheek, tasting the faint sweetness of the last sip of beer I took at the party. The words slip out before I can stop them. “I just… Chase doesn’t seem to like me very much. I’m nervous to be around him.”
Jamie twists in the driver’s seat, one elbow draped over the backrest, his blond hair falling across his forehead. The grin he gives me is pure mischief wrapped in warmth. “Oh, sweetheart, that’s not dislike. That’s Chase having the hots for you so bad it’s making him grumpy as hell.”
Alex starts to speak, something diplomatic already forming on his lips, but Jamie talks right over him, eyes sparkling.
“Nope. Alex is about to give you the careful version. I’m giving you the truth.
Big guy inside is fighting his instincts like they personally offended him. It’s adorable and painful to watch.”
I glance between them, Alex’s serious, thoughtful expression and Jamie’s bright, unfiltered one. The contrast is so ridiculous, so perfectly them, that laughter bubbles up from somewhere deep in my chest and spills out before I can catch it.
“Alphas are crazy,” I say, shaking my head, still laughing as I reach for the door handle.
The cool night air rushes in the second I push it open, brushing over my bare legs and clearing some of the haze in my mind.
I slide out of the car, the gravel cool beneath my boots, and start toward the porch steps.
The guys catch up quickly, their footsteps noisy on the gravel behind me. Alex’s arms slide around me from behind just as Jamie reaches the front door, drawing me back against the solid heat of his chest.
His cedar and pepper scent wraps around me, rich and full bodied, sinking straight into my bones. I lean into him without thinking, letting my head tip back against his shoulder as the cool night air brushes over my bare legs beneath the short hem of the dress.
I turn my face just enough to speak against the collar of his shirt, intending for my voice to come out as a whisper, but it’s loud enough to carry on a giggle. “We should get Jamie drunk,” the words spill out light and tipsy. “So he stops being so self-righteous.”
Jamie’s laugh rings out from inside the open doorway, bright and immediate. “I heard every word of that, and I think it’s a fantastic idea. We can even play a drinking game.”
The sound pulls another giggle from me. I twist out of Alex’s hold just enough to dart forward, the wooden porch boards creaking under my boots. Alex stays right behind me, close enough that I feel the brush of his jacket against my back as we cross the threshold together.
The moment I step inside, the house folds around me in a strangely comforting embrace, like my body remembered it. Lamplight spills across honey toned floors and deep leather furniture, carrying the faint shared undertone of sun-warmed skin and charged storm air that belongs to all of them.
It eases over my shoulders, easing the last nervous flutter in my chest as the door clicks shut behind us.
A deep voice rolls down from the top of the stairs, rich and teasing at first. “Is the star lacrosse player home already?”
The words cut off sharply the moment Chase’s gaze lands on me. He stands frozen at the top of the staircase, one large hand resting on the banister, his bulky frame silhouetted by the hallway light behind him. The easy tone he started with vanishes completely.
Alex’s arm stays secure around my waist as he chuckles, the sound sending tingling vibrations down my back. “Brought home a stray from the party,” he says, voice light with amusement.
Chase starts down the stairs, each step measured and heavy. His deep brown eyes move from Alex to me and linger for a moment. When he finally speaks, his voice comes out tight, almost pained around the edges. “Hi, Elodie.”
The way he says my name sends a strange flutter through my stomach. The cool fabric of the slinky blue dress shifts against my legs with every movement. The alcohol buzzing pleasantly in my veins makes me bolder than usual.
Instead of shrinking away, I lift my chin and march straight past him toward the kitchen, where I can already hear Jamie opening cabinets.
“You have to get drunk too,” I announce over my shoulder, the words loud and a little unsteady as the short hem brushes my thighs. “No excuses.”
I keep walking without waiting for his reaction, my boots clicking against the hardwood, heart beating fast with a strange mix of nerves and unexpected excitement.
Jamie stands at the open refrigerator, the harsh white light spilling across his face and catching in his hair. He glances over his shoulder as I step into the kitchen, his blue eyes light up with that easy spark I’m starting to recognize.
“Vodka?” he offers, one hand resting on a bottle. “I’ve got lots of mixers.”
I shake my head, the movement feeling pleasantly loose from the beer still humming through me. “I’ve only ever had beer,” I admit. The words feel small in the tight space, but the alcohol makes them easier to say.
Alex’s arm slides around my waist from behind, drawing me gently into his side. The solid heat of him presses through the thin fabric of my dress and settles something restless inside my chest.
“Then we’ll stick to beer tonight,” he murmurs near my ear, the suggestion wrapped in care. “Keep things easy for you.”
Jamie grins and reaches lower in the fridge, pulling out a cold six-pack.
The bottles clink as he carries them to the large wooden table that fills the space past all the cabinets.
We ease into the chairs around it, the wood smooth and worn beneath me.
I stay tucked under Alex’s arm, letting his presence anchor me, Jamie snuggles in on my other side, Chase sitting across from us.
Footsteps sound from the hallway, and Adrian appears in the doorway looking wonderfully soft and sleepy.
His brown hair stands in messy tufts and his wire-rimmed glasses sit slightly crooked on his nose like he just threw them on.
He wears gray pajama pants and an old Rosewood University t-shirt that’s seen many washes.
He pauses when he sees me nestled against Alex, blinks once, then pads over and drops into the chair beside Chase.
Without a word he reaches for one of the bottles and cracks it open.
“So,” he says in that calm, precise voice, still a little husky from sleep, “just because you’ll be hungover tomorrow does not mean you are getting out of our library study session.”
A giggle slips out of me, false outrage mixed into my voice. “I would never miss a study session,” I promise, leaning a little more into Alex’s side. “Cross my heart.”
Jamie laughs under his breath, the sound full of affection. “Nerds,” he says fondly, shaking his head at us both.
I wrap my fingers around the bottle in front of me and feel the gentle buzz in my veins mix with the layered scents of all four of them surrounding me.
The kitchen feels warmer than I expected, safer, like the house itself is alive and breathing around us. I take a small sip and wait for the drinking game Jamie promised to begin, my heart beating with curious excitement.
We start playing almost immediately, the rules simple enough that even my sort of fuzzy mind follows along without trouble. Jamie goes first, leaning forward with a playful glint in his eyes. “Never have I ever ditched and then stalked a pack,” he says, voice teasing as he looks straight at me.
I laugh and lift my bottle, taking a small sip.
The cold beer slides down easy now, warming my stomach in gentle waves.
“I had no idea you would all be at the lacrosse game,” I admit, the words slipping out before I can stop them.
“I only went because Sophie dragged me along to get my mind off… everything.”
Jamie’s grin widens, bright and mischievous. “Oh, you missed the best part then. Alex here is kind of a big deal on the pitch. Captain of the team, the guy everyone watches. Campus fame and all that. People wear his jersey to games like it’s a religion.”
Alex chuckles beside me, the sound deep and weighted against my side. His arm tightens just a fraction around my waist, thumb brushing idly over the fabric of my dress. The touch sends little sparks of heat across my skin, but it feels nice, safe even.
Someone, I think it’s Adrian, asks the next question, but the conversation drifts naturally from there.
The bottles clink against the table between turns, and at one point I tilt my head, curiosity winning over the tipsy haze.
“Why is your house so far from campus, anyway?” I ask, glancing around at all of them. “It feels like a long drive every day.”