Page 49 of Bonding with the Beta

I nod.

There is a knock at the door that stirs Ava’s attention away. “Ah, that’ll be Kayleigh.”

“I got it,” I say as she moves from her seat.

“Thank you,” she says gratefully.

As I walk to the front door, I adjust my hoodie and swipe a hand through my hair before opening the door. Kayleigh stands on the other side with curly blonde hair and a bright smile. She’s wearing a pair of light blue denim jeans and a white crop top thatflashes off her stomach and that sparkly navel piercing that has cherries dangling from the bar this time.

My chest tightens at the sight of her.

Her smile falters a little when she realises it’s not Ava answering the door, but she still continues to beam. “Hey,” she says.

“Hey,” I respond, trying to ignore how her eyes give me a subtle once-over. “Uh, come in.”

“Thanks,” she murmurs as she slips by me, her hand brushing mine accidentally.

She pauses and looks down before looking up at me with those big blue eyes. I internally groan at the expression on her face. “It’s good to see you,” she whispers.

My brows raise in surprise. “Really? Would have been better if you actually came to see me.”

“Well, best friend duties,” she hums. “Besides, I don’t recall you asking to see me.”

Before she can walk into the kitchen, I reach for her wrist, tugging her back. Her chest is almost flush against mine as a soft breath falls from her pouty little lips. “My mistake,” I drawl. “Remind me to pencil you in every week.”

Kayleigh’s eyes narrow, but she doesn’t attempt to move from my hold. “Weekly is a little unconventional,” she comments.

“Daily then?”

“Kayden–”

A lock of hair falls in front of her eye, and I gently brush it away, smiling down at her as she swallows slowly. I press my finger to the edge of her chin, tilting her gaze to mine as my other hand falls to the wall behind her. “Still holding out for that date.”

Kayleigh folds her arms over her chest and stares up at me with a scowl. “We’re not going on a date.”

“You keep saying that,” I murmur. “And it breaks my heart every damn time.”

“Is everything a joke to you?”

My eyes soften a little, but I continue to smile at her. “I might joke about a lot of things, but I’dneverjoke about this.”

“What on earth is taking you guys so long?” Ava’s voice booms down the hall, and we both take a sudden step apart, but we’ve been caught. “Oh–”

I remove my hand from the wall and run it down the back of my neck as Ava flicks her eyes between us suspiciously. Kayleigh shakes out her shoulders and walks straight towards her. “Hey,” she says cheerily. “How are you?”

They hug, and Ava stares at me over Kayleigh’s shoulder.

“I’m good,” Ava responds. “Journey okay?”

“Yeah, all good.” They pull away. “My car’s been making this weird noise, but I’m sure it’s nothing.”

I walk towards them, shaking my head. “Wait,” I interrupt their greeting, and Kayleigh turns to look at me. “What do you mean your car is making a weird noise?”

“Like I said, it’s probably nothing.” She laughs hesitantly.

My arms cross over my chest, not finding the situation funny in the slightest. “If your car is making a noise, it’s probably trying to tell you something is wrong.”

“Yeah, Kayleigh,” Ava pitches in. “That doesn’t sound safe. You need to get that checked out.”

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