Page 135 of Finding the Forward: Part Two
“Go for it. Though, I’m jelly. Season won’t be over yet.” She fake pouted. “I want to go to Greece with you.”
“We’ll do a fun sister trip over the off-season. Are you doing okay with our living situation? I ask mostly because student housing emailed me asking if we wanted to be moved because repairs are going to take a long time.” I took a picture of me with my drink and sent it to Dean.
“They’re decent guys. Jonas and AJ make time for me, which is nice. Having my own space upstairs helps. If we end up staying there, I think I’ll be okay.” There was hesitation in her voice.
“I sense abut.We can move out,” I assured her. As much as I enjoyed living with the guys, her comfort was important.
“Can we get an air filter for the living room? I got a little one for upstairs and it’s helping. Sometimes you all are a lot. There’s also no door in the hall like back home to help block off your bedrooms from the living areas.” Her expression went pained.
Two women came in and started working on our feet. We weren’t getting a pedicure as fancy as what I’d gotten with Dean, but we were getting manicures, too, so we’d be ready for the Squire Foundation Gala tomorrow.
It took me a moment. “Oh.” Embarrassment coated me. “I didn’t even consider that. That’s a good idea.”
“Scents are becoming a lot,” she admitted. “Not only there, but everywhere. Hale says it’s normal. How am I supposed to function?”
“It’s a lot. Do you need a class or a tutor?” I asked, understanding what was happening. It was usually a sign of an alpha getting close to awakening.
I never had a young alpha stage to start getting used to the strength, senses, and feelings. One day my body went,whoops, we should be an alpha by nowand jumped right into it with no warning. It was part of why I was overwhelmed by my alpha. Especially since the parents didn’t want me to take alpha classes–even the ones everyone had to take in high school.
Mercy thought for a moment. “I don’t know.”
“We can stop at the drugstore after this,” I added. “There’s this cream you can put in your nostrils to make scents less. I never use it because it gives me nose zits, but it might work for you.”
“Gross.” Mercy made a face. “But yeah, I’ll try it. Everything’s getting to be a lot. Today I broke the punching bag.”
“I’ve done that a few times.” I tried not to laugh as the pedicurist rubbed my feet because it tickled.
“Um, I apologize in advance if I’m accidentally mean. The mood swings are a bitch. I made Gwenifer cry. I didn’t mean to. Kaiko said my privilege was showing and that I have no idea how the world works.” She looked away.
Salty sadness wafted off Mercy, her look full of regret.
“Did you say you’re sorry?” I asked.
Mercy sighed. “I apologized. But I still feel bad.”
“There’s a big world out there. As much as the parents bitched about money, we’ve led a pretty privileged life compared to a lot of people. I made a lot of mistakes when I was at university, especially when I tried to be funny,” I admitted as the pedicurist set my feet on the footrest and dried them off.
I continued, “Please ask me whatever you want. There’s so much I never knew about being an alpha. Like no one told me when a lady alpha lives with a male omega, her period gets worse because her uterus chooses violence given she’s living with a walking baby maker and hasn’t gotten knocked up yet.”
“Oh, my fuck.” Mercy laughed. “I was wondering what was up because you ate more chocolate than usual.”
“Do you have any other concerns about the guys?” I asked tentatively. “If you’re okay with living there, I’d like to not wait until the off-season to bite Grif.”
While I’d already been seriously considering it, Grif being in the hospital had pushed me over the edge.
Mercy gave me a look. “Bite one, bite them all. I don’t actually care. They make you happy and I know you won’t let them be mean to me. If I get tired of you kissing all the time, I’ll move out when I turn eighteen.”
“You’re okay with it. Good. I won’t have the wedding until summer. I like Grace’s idea of having it on an island in Greece in a field of flowers and certainly with my schedule it would be nice to have planning help.” Relief coated me.
“When you go during spring break to Greece, you can do wedding recon. Look at places, taste food. Maybe Grace will go with you,” she told me. Her nail tech painted her toes dark green.
“Good idea. Look at these pin boards she keeps sending me. It’s like she knows me or something.” I sent them to Mercy.
Mercy scrolled through them. “This is amazing. So, did you propose? Do alphas propose? I remember when Dad proposed to Harry.”
“Baba proposed to Mama. Though she’s beta, so they had to get married for their relationship to be legal–like Dad and Harry. I think it’s mostly,hey, we registered our mating, do you want a party? Oh, you want a wedding too? Okay, darling, anything for you.” I adopted a thick, indulgent accent.
Mercy laughed. “I love that accent. Propose with that.”
