Page 30 of Knot Gonna Give You Up

“Thanks, looking forward to spending some time together,” Vic answers.

I give a non-committal grunt.

Henry shows us to their living room and grabs drinks for the three of us. We chit-chat lightly and sip at our drinks until the doorbell rings again.

“That’ll be the rest of them,” Henry says, still smiling, before getting up.

I lean over to Vic, “He smiles too much.”

“He doesnot, you just don’t smile enough around other people,” Vic rolls his eyes.

“If you could not be right about things, it would make my world a whole lot easier.”

“Tough luck, babe,” Vic lands a quick kiss on me.

I can’t help but smile at him. He’s just… him. It makes me all gooey inside. Footsteps draw my attention, and I see Henry coming back to the room with two people in tow. Holy shit, these twoarethe ones I saw looking at the cafe before we opened. The guy is tall, like an Alpha is, with blonde, messy hair. He looks somewhat open but incredibly aloof. He’ll probably answer questions, but won’t engage on his own. I can relate.

The girl, though, the girl is who gets me. I knew Josie was coming and it would be our first time meeting, but I didn’t expect her to floor me like this. She’s tall, with long auburn hair and a friendly, open face. Her scent wraps around me, and I stifle a groan. It’s so much better up close than it was outside. Belatedly, I realize this is Josie, and I almost laugh at the absurdity of all this. How is it possible that we’ve all met before? It feels insane. It also feels so right that I’m terrified.

“In case you guys haven’t met, this is Josie and Jesse,” Henry introduces the two.

“Hey Josie Girl, Jesse it’s nice to meet you,” Vic has manners and actually stands to shake Jesse’s hand.

I give a small wave because I’m a chicken-shit and don’t want to find out if Josie is a Match on accident. Jesse gives a knowing smile when he sees my wave and does it back. I’m glad he understands that I’m not trying to be a dick. Josie stares at me for a moment, her jaw slightly slackened. Maybe she remembers me? The moment passes, and she gives a small wave in return.

“Nice to officially meet you, Simon,” she says.

Whelp, I’m a goner. The way my name sounds in her mouth is just too good to pass up. I’m not sure I’ll be able to stay away from her just from that one word. Small talk takes over while we sip on drinks and talk about basic topics, like the weather. Before we head to the dining room, Henry decides he’s going to bring up the whole Pack idea.

“So, I would like to take a moment and talk through how our group is forming and functioning,” he says.

“I don’t think we’re quite functioning yet,” Josie says with a teasing smile.

“We can fix that,” Vic chimes in.

Henry chuckles, “What I meant was we should start the conversation to see how everyone is feeling about any Pack Pulls or potential Matches. Josie, I remember saying you struggle tolet others touch you, so before we go any further, I want to acknowledge that we only know of two Matches so far.”

Josie blushes, “Sorry for springing Jesse on you last minute, but I couldn’t leave him behind.”

Jesse gives her a soft smile and a kiss on her temple. Lucky bastard.

“It’s no problem,” Henry says gently, “It’s nice to have him here. I am actually feeling a Pack Pull, but I don’t want to speak for Jesse. Vic, Simon, and I have already discussed the Pull between the three of us.”

Clearing his throat, Jesse has a very soft-spoken tone, “I think we can all be honest enough to say that the four of us have a Pack Pull, and Josie is our Match, or at least an Omega we’d want to pursue.”

I like that Jesse doesn’t mince words. There’s an awkward moment after his comment as we try to get situated in the dining room. It’s hard to figure out who is going to sit where, which it really shouldn’t be. I just make sure I’m sitting next to Vic and call it good. Another moment of quiet settles in when Henry steps out to grab the food from the kitchen.

“Um, Simon, right? You own the coffee shop?” Jesse asks.

I look up in surprise, “Yeah, I do. Just opened it.”

“Right on. It’s great coffee. I’m not sure if you source it locally or what, but it’s really good. I think a lot of places it all tastes the same, but not yours,” he says.

“Thanks, man.” A smile spreads across my face at the high praise.

Before I can ask anything about him, his cheeks flare red as though he said something embarrassing, and he looks away. Huh, must be really shy. I give him the reprieve and stay quiet.

Once Henry comes back with food, we dish it out and spend a few minutes confirming Pack Pulls and interests in Josie. I do my best not to sound over-eager and freak her out, becausehonestly, I’m freaked out enough on my own. Deciding to try some Pack outings that also include courting Josie, we wrap up our meal and go our separate ways. Secretly, I’m already counting down the minutes until I get to see her again.

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