Page 2 of Choosing Me

“You better believe it. I wear that badge with pride.”

I pull the hair tie off my wrist, taking my time to put my hair up in a messy bun. No, I’m not procrastinating, I'm simply thinking of how much I wanna tell my brother. Totally different.

“There’s this guy.” Connor starts cooing at me and I glare at him. I cross my arms over my chest, making sure my eyes are asdoneas I can manage. He gives me the universal gesture for keep going. Part of me thinks about clamming up just to spite him but I decide against it. Might as well rip it off like a Band-Aid. “He’s the security guard for the building I work in.”

Connor hums. “Usually I’d say it’s a bad idea to mix sex with your job but you’re kinda the exception to the rule.”

I snort in surprise, smiling over at my brother. I’malmostsurprised he would bring up my porn star job.Almost. “You can say that again. Kinda hard not to mix those two things when your literal job is fucking.” I shake my head in amusement. “Not that I get to fuck Mr. Wilson. I just see him at the entrance every time I go in,” I tell Connor, letting out a wistful sigh.

“You sound like you have a proper crush.”

“Oh mygod! I do not. Take that back right now!”

Connor rolls his eyes at me. “You act like I haven’t known you for the last twenty two years. I know what you sound like when you have a crush.”

He’s a liar. A dirty, dirty liar. As much as I enjoy flirting with Mr. Wilson and yes, I’ve thought about fucking him, doesn’t mean I have acrushon him. I’m too goddamn busy for a crush or dating or anything like that. Crushes are gross anyway, why would I wanna deal withfeelingswhen I could deal with sweaty bodies instead.

“I don’t,” I tell him seriously. “And even if I did, which I don’t, I don’t havetimeto do anything about it. Between my job and school I’m completely booked up. So instead I will continue to flirt with him as I pass by and hope someday he gives me an opening so I can invite him into my bed. Nothing wrong with a good time with a sexy alpha once in a while.”

Connor looks at me for a long moment before he’s sighing. “You’re so weird.”

I smile. “Yeah, but you still love me.”

“I ask myself why every fucking day,” he murmurs before letting out a giggle, hushing himself when we hear a noise over the baby monitor. Once we realize the twins aren’t waking up we go back to talking, thankfully steering away from whatever resembles my love life.

I love days like this, just spending time with my brother without worrying about any of my own bullshit. Tomorrow I have work in the morning and class at night but for now, I sink further into Connor’s couch and enjoy the sound of him telling me his plans for this summer’s family vacation.

Chapter Two

Wilson

I humto myself as I write out the caption for my post. ‘Monday morning feels’. There we go, that’s perfect. I upload the picture of Frederick, my grey cat. He’s lying on the couch on his back, his head dangling off the cushion with his tongue hanging out as he sleeps away. It’s adorable if I say so myself.

“And posted,” I whisper with a grin, placing my phone down on my desk. About a year ago I started up an Instagram account dedicated to my cats, Frederick and Theodore. It started as a joke so my mom could see updates on them, claiming she missed her fur-grandbabies even though she sees them around once a week. Somehow along the way it turned into so much more than that.

My cats are what the kids would call ‘viral sensations’. They’re internet famous. Owning internet famous cats is weird. People message the account weird shit, I get offered sponsorships, and somehow I’ve managed to stay completely out of the spotlight which is exactly how I want to keep things. The only people who know are those closest to me and they don’t make it a big deal thankfully.

There’s a reason I work security. I like staying in the shadows and not drawing attention to myself. I like being the person that stands guard and makes sure other people are safe. Maybe that has to do with my inner alpha coming out, or maybe it’s something that’s justme. It’s easier in the shadows, there’s no expectations here and if I’m being honest, I’ve never been good at being the center of someone’s attention. It’s far too nerve wracking.

The click of someone unlocking the door draws my attention. Seeing the person behind the glass makes my stomach fill with butterflies. I readjust in my seat, making myself look professional as he walks inside. I just barely keep from rolling my eyes at myself. Shit, I really need to get a grip.

“Good morning,” Calvin says with a wide smile as he walks inside, coming to stand right in front of my desk. He slides over a coffee and my poor, helpless heart flutters. It’s not often I develop crushes on people, but unfortunately I’m one of those alphas that fallshard and fastwhen I actually do.

“Good morning, Calvin. How was your weekend with your brother?”

Calvin runs his fingers through his wavy blond hair that never fails to remind me of warm beaches, sunshine, and surfing. “It was really good. I love catching up with him and seeing Benny and Barbie. I cannot stress enough how much I do not like kids but those two? They somehow weaseled their way into my heart.”

“It always feels different when they’re family. Or so I hear.”

“That must be it,” he says with a nod, sipping at his water, a tell-tale sign that he’s filming this morning, otherwise he’d have his own coffee. It makes me feel special, knowing he stopped to get this coffee just with me in mind. He’s good at that, making me feel special. It’s a real problem for my pesky little crush.

The thing is, Calvin flirts with everyone and it’s no secret he’s not one for dates. If that was the end of it, I would befine. I’d be able to push this little crush into the back of my mind until it fizzled itself out. The real problem? Sometimes he looks at me and I feel like just maybe he’d make an exception for me. I can’t tell if that’s really what’s happening here or if it’s just my inner alpha being hopeful.

The door unlocks again and after a moment, Bryce and Jeremy, the mated alpha couple who owns the studio, are walking through the door. “Morning Bryce. Morning Jeremy!”

Jeremy smiles wide, his phone in his hand. “Oh my god, Wilson, that picture you posted this morning isadorable.”

I feel my cheeks heat up, especially when evenBrycecracks me a smile. The alpha is usually grumpier than Satan himself so to see him smile is a real treat.

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