Page 73 of Bonding with the Beta

Kayleigh sighs, and I lean forward, my hand stretching across the table, but I don’t take her hand.

“I can’t afford this, Kayden,” she whispers under a breath. “It’s way too much.”

“You don’t have to pay for anything.” I shrug and lean back in my chair, my fingers running around the edge of the glass.

Her pretty mouth falls open as she leans into the table. “Have you seen how much this stuff is? That bottle of wine alone was over three hundred pounds!”

“I am well aware.” I grin. “But thank you for pointing it out.”

She glares at me with panic behind her eyes.

“I saidIwas going to takeyouon a date; it was my choice.” I raise my glass off the table. “So stop worrying.”

Kayleigh squirms in her seat, still reluctant to pick up her own glass. “But I can’t repay or top this, I–”

I slip my hand under the table and cup her knee, which I already knew was bouncing. She holds my stare for a long moment before taking a breath. “You’re a student, Kayleigh. Of course I don’t expect you to pay for this. But it’s not about that; it’s on me. So please, just enjoy it.”

“Okay.” She swallows once despite the look of resistance.

I raise my glass towards her. “Cheers to our first official date,” I say as she raises her own, and they clink in the middle.“Cheers to becoming Godparents. Cheers to a good night that I don’t want to end.”

“Cheers,” she says after a few moments and rolls back her shoulders, slowly meeting my eyes. “Cheers to us.”

22

KAYLEIGH

Our laughter fills the car park as we stroll towards Kayden’s car. He catches his breath as he clutches my phone in his hands, his eyes crinkling at the sides from his heavy laughter. “I can’t believe that’s what you used to look like.”

“Hey,” I scold, attempting to hide my own smile.Damn my body for betraying me.“I didn’t look that bad.”

His chuckle echoes around me as he hands me back my phone. “I’m sorry. The gothic phase got me. I had no idea you had that inside you, blondie. You’re full of surprises.”

“I had an identity crisis, okay?” I snatch back my phone. “And besides, it was the cool thing to do at that time. I was experimenting with my style.”

“If you say so,” Kayden snorts.

As we reach his car, he opens the door for me, and I thank him. After drinking most of the red wine because he’s driving, my footsteps have been a little wobbly since standing up.

“It’s your turn now,” I say as Kayden climbs in the driver's seat.

He huffs out a breath. “I don’t think so.”

“What?” I slam my hand down on the seat. “No. Not after what I just showed you. Come on. Be a team player and not let me drown in this embarrassment.”

Kayden groans and removes his phone from his pocket before scrolling through his photos. I grin, the waves of alcohol taking over the fluidity of my body.

I hear him snort before he holds his phone to his chest, and I gape.

“Show me right now.”

Kayden clears his throat and adjusts in the seat, slowly turning to face me before forcing a smile. “I’m going to show you this for approximately three seconds.”

“I’m ready.” I beam with excitement.

He turns the phone around, and my eyes almost evaporate at the photo. I try to suppress my laugh, but I can’t. It barks out of me like I have no self-control.

I push myself forward, snatching the phone from his hands to get a better look at whatever ‘bad-boy’ phase he was going through with his buzzcut, eyebrow slit, and ear piercing.

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