Page 13 of Toxic

"There’s nothing to say except I don’t like the dude. I’m not dealing with him."

"Not even a handie?"

A pause. "Not even."

"Okay, sorry to bother you, but I need to know these things. Don’t wanna look stupid in front of the new patron."

Alvin hung up and looked at me with an amused expression. "So, there you have it, you're a creep, and he doesn't like your vibe. No hj for you."

I stared at him for a moment. "I wasn’t even that creepy! Sure, he probably figured out I’m into him, but I introduced myself normally, didn’t follow him around, didn’t sit next to him in class. I kept it chill. No idea what’s his problem."

"Well, we’re not finding out now. Might be a lost cause. Better move on, maybe hit up Tim or Stephen."

I sighed. "Honestly, I’m over it for now. Got a ton of studying to do, and I suck at Python."

"You’ve probably taken on too much—extra courses, catching up on stuff your college didn’t offer, and you’ve got things going on with Soren too. What else?"

"Don't forget about my work! My brother Rain is on my case every day if I mess up the code."

"You both still work for your cousin's startup?"

"Yeah, Rain’s full-time, I’m just part-time, small things."

My cousin Nathaniel had a family business, and we helped him with that. Alvin would also occasionally work for him, but only for less demanding gigs.

"I wouldn’t wanna work full-time at such a tiny software company. Too risky if things go south. I’m aiming for D-Project!"

D-Project was a significant player, a serious competitor to DevApp, and considered the next big thing in terms of software development. But I just like the flexibility I could have with smaller gigs. Besides, Nathaniel was a good boss and a responsible businessman, even though he was only half a year older than me.

"Good luck with that." I shrugged, wanting to quickly end the convo. "Anyway, I gotta go finish this task Nathaniel gave me before Rain loses his shit. Ever since his divorce, he’s been a real pain in the ass, always complaining." I hesitated and added, "So, no fuck for me then. Definitely not from Soren."

I got up with a grumpy face and walked toward my bed to pull out my laptop from my backpack. Alvin watched me for a moment.

"Why Soren? I don’t get it. He’s so weird. I’m not saying he’s ugly, but he’s got this sharp, wildcat look, you know? Pale skin, those slanted, hostile eyes. Like fucking arrows, aiming to kill you."

I paused for a second. To me, Soren was beautiful. Flawless. Perfect.

"I dunno, no specific reason."

I didn’t say anything else and just got back to work. Alvin watched me for a bit longer but didn’t push it. There wasn’t much more to add anyway. We all went back to our screens.

SOREN

I quickly copied the long chunk of code Liam had sent me. I could see his little face in the Messenger video call window, and he was giving me this weird look.

"Come on, spit it out. I can tell something’s bugging you—you’ve been frowning all day."

I glanced at him, not really in the mood to talk. I just sighed, but eventually muttered, "It’s that new dude. Alvin brought another alpha patron into our group."

Liam’s face scrunched up even more. I knew what he thought about all this. He’s always said it was a mistake, but I really didn’t feel like going over it again. We’ve already discussed it a million times, and we’re both out of arguments. I haven't changed my mind, although I'll admit there were moments when I almost let him talk me out of it.

"So, what’s the deal with this new alpha? I mean, you don’t even do alphas as clients."

"He doesn’t seem to get that I’m not interested; he’s super fixated on me."

"He’s got plenty of other options, and he’s hung up on you? Maybe it’s just out of spite; some alphas get off on chasing something hard to get."

"That’s probably it, but he was eyeing me even before he joined our group at the start of the year. He tried introducing himself and making small talk a few times, but I shut that down real quick." I gave an unpleasant grin.

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