Page 68 of Patiently Yours
Kendall comes into view in my periphery. He leans down to give Stacia a kiss, too, which makes her balk at us.
“You all share a singular brain cell, I swear,” she huffs, which causes Kendall to laugh.
“Have you been teasing her, At? She seems a little frustrated.”
“I am frustrated, because all four of you are neanderthals.”
He looks at me with a confused smile, trying not to laugh. I shrug before whispering, “She’s not used to PDA, so kiss her every time you see her.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” He goes back to kiss her again, but she smacks him with her textbook.
“Just point me in the direction of someone who understands anatomy so I can get this over with.”
“You’re here for tutoring?” Kendall’s eyes widen with delight. “What subject?”
“Biology,” I tell him, which makes him beam even brighter.
“Sick! You’re with me then.”
Stacia rears back at him. “You’re good at science?”
I laugh and mutter ‘if you can believe it’ under my breath. Kendall punches my shoulder hard.
“Come on, sweetheart. We can make it fun. I offer serious services to everyone else, but with you, I might be open to a bit of roleplay.”
She laughs. “Andyou’rethe professor in this scenario?”
“It’s always a bit fun to mix things up from the status quo.” Kendall looks around before leaning forward so only she can hear. “Besides, we both know you like it when I take control.”
Her face becomes beet red as she glares at Kendall. She puffs out a frustrated sigh. “Now who’s teasing me?”
The smirk on his face is diabolical. “Always, Omega. Let’s go.”
I watch them scurry off, and I feel a mix of emotions. Stacia makes me, and my pack, so unbelievably happy. But I’ve also been feeling guilty ever since she opened up to us about her relationship with Derek.
The night I smelled her for the first time was the same night her world turned upside down. I should have told my brothers about it, I should have looked for her. Maybe I was deep indenial because I was afraid of being wrong and hurting my pack in the process, but Iwasn’t. I was only wrong to not do anything about it, and now it’s months later and our scent match has a ton of shitty memories and trauma to work through all because I couldn’t do my job as a prime and get my shit together.
I’m not sure how to move on from that guilt.
THIRTY-SIX
Playing: it’s not u it’s me by Bea Miller
“I literally never thought I’dsee the day where you willingly step foot inside a hockey arena,” Rory huffs before almost colliding with someone. She maneuvers around them with a sneer.
“That’s not true. I used to come all the time at the beginning of the year.” I tut at her, taking her hand before leading us to our seats. I spot Ciro already sitting there, reserving two seats beside him with his leg. The gesture is quite clever. And cute.
“You missed my obvious use of the wordwillingly.” She says her next words softer. “Dickwad made you feel bad for missing his games. Your pack hasn’t. They just want you to be happy, which is why we’re here on a Saturday instead of at home under cozy blankets and watching Rent.”
“Don’t call them that,” I say in a whispered panic. We’re still a good distance away from Ciro, but it’s not nearly enough for this conversation.
Rory laughs in response. “I won’t buy into your delusion. You’ve been hanging out with them for weeks now. This thingwith them is not casual. You’re going at your pace, yes, but it wouldn’t hurt to finally add the label.”
She does have a point. We’ve settled into a routine these past few weeks. Atlas walks me to class, we all text almost all hours of the day, Kendall tutors me even outside of tutoring hours, so we’re together every weekend, hanging out and getting to know each other better.
It’s been heaven.
Which makes my brain think it’s too good to be true.
