Page 36 of Patiently Yours
I get the feeling that Kendall doesn’t get annoyed very easily, so this is amusing to Ciro.
“Then you can stay here and listen to Bradley speak about it, and Stacia and I can head outside,” Kendall counters before interlacing his fingers with mine.
Ciro tsks at him and then looks at me with a hopeful expression. “Why don’t we let our omega choose for herself?”
Our omega. My stomach flutters.
I choose not to get involved and become pliant. “I amnotgetting in the middle of this. I’ll go wherever I’m dragged.”
Kendall nods once. “Good, so it’s my way then.” He looks over at the beta who was discussing bees and gives him a friendly smack on the shoulder. “It was good talking to you, Bradley.”
I realize Bradley must be on his way to being drunk, because he doesn’t notice the dismissal and turns to Ciro.
“Anyway, we don’t really trust others to transport the honey, so we?—”
Ciro’s panic is notable, his amused smile turning into a grimace. “Nope. I was only joking, man. I don’t really care. How about you go talk to…” He looks around before pointing somewhere. “Thatpretty girl about it.”
I don’t see what Bradley does because Kendall is now dragging me out the back door. When Ciro catches up to us, he’s shaking his head.
“That was your own fault, Ci,” Kendall laughs, and I’m happy to see his famous smile back and bigger than ever.
“I didn’t know you’d actuallyabandonme with him.” He looks at me, “Bradley is a new Alpha Xi member. He’s always talking about his family’s bee farm. Sam didn’t want to give him a spot, but being ‘too passionate about bees’ isn’t a good enough reason to refuse him one.”
The laughter that escapes me is borderline unattractive, but I can’t help it. That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.
We make our way over to a firepit, but there’s no more seats, so we venture out further. We end up in a solitary spot behind a tree and sit down in a circle. We’re pretty far away from the party now, the music blaring inside seeming much quieter with the distance.
“Hey, Stacia,” Ciro says, and I crack an eye at him as I cross my legs. He pulls out a cigarette holder, silver and compact. As he opens it, I think he’s about to offer me one, but instead he pulls out something that I recognize all too well.
“Is that what I think it is?” I ask, my eyes wide with excitement. I realize too late that I must look panicked, because Ciro’s own eyes widen in horror.
“Oh fuck, you don’t like weed, do you? Shit, let me put it away.” He goes to put it back in the casing frantically, but I snatch it out of his hand before he can.
“No, silly.” I inspect it and give the joint a sniff, loving the familiar scent that wafts through the paper. “I absolutely love smoking. I just haven’t done it in a while. Maybe since the night I met you, actually.”
The frantic look falls away and only leaves behind a grin. “So… you want to smoke with me?”
There’s a small amount of emotion peeking through when I remember how Derek reacted to weed. But now, here’s this enthusiastic beta whowantsto smoke with me. It’s what I always wanted in a partner, someone who likes what I like.
I put out my hand. He knows without me asking, and sticks his lighter in my open palm. I look at it and grin, seeing the Sagittarian symbol in the middle.
I put the joint in between my lips and light it, inhaling the contents as a beautiful dose of smoke invades my lungs. The sigh that follows is one of sincere contentment. I hand the joint back to Ciro before looking over at our blond alpha.
“Do you smoke?” I ask with a tilt of my head.
He shakes his head. “I did in high school, but not since being on the team. We can get drug tested whenever, so it’s better to not risk it.”
I try to imagine a younger Kendall, spending his days more carefree and wild than he does now.
“You and Atlas grew up together.” I remember that tidbit, so I offer it as a statement. “Was Atlas the same?”
“No. I’m sure in another life he would have partaken, but hockey is so important to him, even back then. I’ve never thought about going pro, by graduation I’ll have skated my fill.”
Ciro hands me the joint back. “Derek didn’t like that I smoked. He said I was already too much of an airhead.”
I remembered being distraught and caught off guard. Now, almost five months after that horrible night, I have so many memories of him saying similar things that they all blur together. It never surprised me anymore, like he was desensitizing me. For what purpose, I’m not really sure. But the insults came and went, just like the days between them.
I hand Ciro the joint back just as he goes to speak. “First off, you’re not airheaded at all.” He hit the joint. “Second, he justkeeps getting worse than we thought. I’m sorry he ever made you feel like that.”
