Page 2 of Whisker Me Away

I quite literally never win stuff. Every time I’ve bought a scratch ticket, it’s like I’m tossing two dollars into the trash. Every raffle I enter leads to nothing. I’m not sure if I’ve just got the world’s worst luck, or if something else is going on like the universe storing up all my luck so they can deliver it all at once.

Maybe all those losses were building up to give me one grand prize instead of a bunch of little things.

Five days on a train to a vacation destination, five days at the destination, and then five days on a train back. This prize includes a personal sleeper room on the train along with all my accommodations once I get to my destination.

I felt bad leaving the grocery store for that long, but they’ll get on without me, I’m sure of it. Suzie is more than capable of handling everything while I’m gone.

Maybe. Hopefully. She’sprobablyfine.

As the customer service manager, it’s my job to make people’s schedules and oversee all of our cashiers. I made sure everyone knew I would be gone. I made sure all the schedules were put out in plenty of time. There’s enough staff to cover in case anyone is sick or calls out. They’ll befine.

The best thing I can do is simply not think about it. If I don’t think about it, then it can’t affect me and ruin my vacation. That’s how things work, right?

Walking up to the ticket inspector, I pull mine out along with my ID. He scans the barcode, makes sure my ID matches the name on the ticket.

“You wanna head towards the back of the train. Our First Class Attendant will help you find your room and make sure you have everything you need, including your room key. His name is Matthew.”

“Thank you so much!”

I carefully pull my rolling bag up off the ground by its handle before stepping aboard the train. Because of my ticket, I’ve gotten priority boarding so there aren’t many people on the train yet. I nod at some of the staff who’re all wearing dark green vests and matching hats.

Despite this being a train, everything feels so spacious and fancy. There’s even a second story at the front of the train called the observation deck where people can just sit and watch the environment outside pass by. I have a feeling I’ll be sitting up there at least a little bit during this trip. I want to see and experience everything this vacation has to offer.

Normally, I’d want to get my money’s worth but this vacation is paid for by someone else! For once I can just sit back andfully enjoy myself without the constant nagging in the back of my head telling me to make this all worth it. For once I’m allowed to just relax.

I find the part of the train that holds the personal cabins, looking around in awe. I’ve never been on a train like this before. It feels incredibly fancy. Probably far too fancy for someone like me, but hell, I’m not going to let that stop me from having the best time possible!

“If you’ll let me see your ticket, I can show you which cabin is yours,” one of the workers says. I have a feeling this must be Matthew.

I hold out my ticket and he gives me a wide smile. “Perfect. You’re right over there,” he says, pointing at a door with the number 3 on it. “Your partner is already here and has the key to your cabin.”

I start to walk away but freeze. Turning back, I ask, “Sorry. Partner?”

Matthew looks startled for a moment. “Yes. I’m sorry if I misspoke. You’re sharing a personal cabin with someone so I just assumed. Allow me to rephrase, the person you’ll be riding with is already here.”

“I’m not riding with anyone. This is a single ticket.”

“I’m sorry, but the cabin you’ve bought is shared with another gentleman.”

My stomach feels like it drops out of my ass. I stare at the guy for a long moment before nodding. “Okay,” I say slowly, doing my best to keep myself calm.

Was this some sort of prank? Telling me I’d won a vacation only to have someone else be the actual winner. Or worse, is this some sort of social experiment. The two of us are stuck together while a camera watches our every reaction.

Leaning in close, I whisper, “Is this some sort of prank? Are there cameras hidden or something?”

Matthew leans away, a startled look on his face. “Absolutely not. We would never allow something like that here.”

“Okay,” I breathe out, feeling just a little bit lighter. “Okay, that’s really good to know. I’m sorry, I’m just really confused. I actually won this vacation, but they never mentioned having to share with someone else.”

“That’s rather unfortunate. I’m sorry, but based on both tickets, you will need to share with him. If it helps, he seemed very lovely when I met him just now?” Matthew says with a wince. “Or I could see if there are any other available seats?”

“No, no. Don’t trouble yourself. I’m sure we can make this work.”

I step away from Matthew towards the door that’s mine. Well,ours, I guess? I take a few seconds just to catch my breath. There’s a delightful scent in the air and I’m not sure where it’s coming from, only that I really like it. Something like a library filled with well loved books. It takes the edge off and I feel my body relaxing.

I knock on the door and a moment later, a man opens it. That wonderful scent smacks me right in the chest. He’s taller than me, lithe and thin, with shaggy brown hair, pretty brown eyes, and a look of surprise across his face. His scent doesn’t only smell amazing, but there’s something about it that tells me he’s some sort of shifter and if I had to guess, I’d say he’s also an omega, just like me.

“Hi,” I say, putting on my best smile. “This is actually kinda awkward but I’m also staying in this cabin.” I hold up my ticket in explanation.

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