Page 30 of Begrudgingly Yours
His eyes widen the slightest amount, but surprisingly the judgment still doesn’t come. He looks like he’s thinking again before he says, “Is there any particular reason?”
I shrug. “I didn’t make the best first impression. I’m pretty sure she hates me.”
Everett lets out a breath. “That’s some strong willpower, dude.”
I nod. “It’s been fucking torture, to be honest. And we have a film class together this semester and we were both cast in the play so we’ve been working togetherconstantly.” I inhale. “The other day I accidentally mentioned her favorite drink. She’snevertold me about her favorite drink. It was such a stupid move. I don’t want her to act weird around me, especially now that we’ve been given this opportunity to spend some time together.”
“So, she’s aware that you pay attention to her.” He angles his head in thought. “That may be a good thing, though. Women normally like that kind of thing.”
“I guess, but I normally play thispartaround her. Gosh, this sounds really fucking weird to say out loud, so bear with me. I kind of play the part of someone who annoys her.That’swhat’s familiar to her, not the lovesick side of me that’s obsessed with her.”
He looks at me with understanding. “That’s true, but this slip-up might have been a blessing in disguise. Maybe she’ll be thinking about it, realizing that you’re not the guy she thinks you are.” I shrug again just before he pats my shoulder. “What’s the end goal? You do want her, right?”
My eyes snap to his. “More than anything. But it’s been so long, there’s no way she’s going to take this lightly. She’s a firecracker on a normal day.”
He cracks another smile and I realize he’s getting a lot of amusement out of my situation, which is a step up from disappointment. “Maybe she’ll surprise you. That’s something to think about while you mull it over.”
“I don’t have much longer to figure this out,” I try to say casually, but Everett is smart. He picks up on my implication immediately.
“You went off the blockers,” he says it as a statement, but I still nod a confirmation anyway. “Dax told me that blockers are unpredictable, there’s no way to tell when someone’s natural scent will come back.”
I nod again. “It’s true. It’s been like two weeks and I’m shitting bricks.”
My scent could come back at any moment, and I’m not only afraid of the repercussions of my lie to Rory, but also to smell the rusty amber scent again that isn’t completely mine. It triggers horrible memories, ones that I’ve locked away for years ever since my doctor could legally prescribe the blockers to me without a parental signature. The inevitable curse of it seeping back into my skin, following me around. It makes me feel sick.
We sit in silence for a few moments. Everett clears his throat, and when I look at him, he’s looking at me with an expression I can’t decipher.
“I hope things work out with your scent match. I’m sorry it’s gotten so out of hand,” he says sincerely. “Maybe we canhang out sometime this week, take your mind off it for a little bit. We could party, or sit around and play video games.”
I can’t stop the unexpected smile from taking over my face. “Shit, really?”
“Of course, man. It’d be fun.”
“We don’t have to hang out at the frat house, do we?” I grimace.
Everett laughs. “What? You don’t want to meet my fraternity brothers?”
I let out a joking smile. “I honestly didn’t even think I was going to likeyou, so, maybe we can start slow. Like meeting your best friend.”
That makes Everett laugh harder. “Oh, definitely not. He’s the definition of a frat boy.”
I push his shoulder, amused. “Fine. Maybe he’ll surprise me as well. He sounds like a good dude from everything you’ve told me.”
Everett scrunches his face jokingly. “He’s alright.”
I’m in a much better mood after talking about the situation, so we go back to studying. As the time flies, I realize that I don’t have to be alone anymore. I can find a soft place to land when it all feels like too much.
Especially since my scent match is going to hate me sometime soon.
“Alright,everyone, settle down. Today we’re going to start with Act 1 Scene 5. We’ll go through the blocking and see if we can get through it at least once without stopping.”
I internally groan. When I don’t make any sudden movements from my unusual seat in the back, Chapman asks me if I’m ready to get started with a no-nonsense tone. I grumble myagreement but still drag my feet to the stage, trying to prepare myself for what Rory and I have been avoiding in our private practices: the first kissing scene.
Rory catches my eye and gives me an encouraging smile. I think she’s trying to show how casual she is about this, but I can see the hesitation in her gaze. It’s small, but I’m her scent match, and I bet that slight tang in the air is her scent tattling on her from afar.
We should have gone over this scene when it was just us in her living room, but I was stubborn. My alpha feels unsettled about our first kiss being behind the masks of our characters. I agreed with him, I want it to be real in every way, but now we’ve run out of options. It was always going to come to this, but it could have happened in a more intimate setting. Not in front of our peers, and especially not in front of Nicole or our professor.
Luckily there’s a bunch of other people in this scene. We go through the blocking first with the servants, myself, and the entrance of the Capulet family. I stay in the background, observing as Capulet speaks high with grander, projecting his voice with just enough grit that he sounds older than he is. I’m actually in awe of it, how Gabriel commands the stage with arrogance instead of reverence. It’s such a subtle play. I give my peer silent praise as Professor Chapman continues to direct us and call attention to tiny details that—I will admit—make a difference with stage work.
