Page 50 of Thorns That Bloom
Sam stares at the small, round object wrapped in baking paper in my open hand.
“Cookies. I made them when I was stuck at home. Well, my pop and I did. I helped as much as I could,” I say with a grin, hinting at my hand. Sam looks like a cautious feral cat, but opens it to reveal three chocolate chip cookies. “It’s black and white chocolate bits. The center should be soft, though…I’m not sure how it’s held up after sitting in my pocket all day. Anyway, it uh…I didn’t do it just for you. I had extras. I thought you might like it. Pregnant people have cravings and stuff, right? I mean, who doesn’t crave cookies, even normally?”
My god, I want to shut that door into the room with my head in it.Stop rambling!
Sam’s tight-lipped chuckle makes me all wobbly in the knees. With a crooked smile, he rests the cookies in his lap. “Do you bake often?” he asks.
“Er, sometimes. I enjoy cooking more, in general.”
“That meal you brought me. Did you make that?”
Heat rises to my cheeks again. “Mhm, yeah. Did you…did you like it?”
“I did,” he admits. I have no idea if he knows how velvety his voice sounds when he does. Before I can freak out about what it does to me, I watch him take a bite of one of the cookies, his lips parting to reveal those pearly white teeth. His brows shoot up after a few moments of chewing. While humming andmmm-ing, he starts nodding, covering his mouth with his hand as he eats. “Oh. That’s good.Reallygood.”
I could get used to his praise. It feels so nice. Dangerously so…
“My pop did most of it, honestly.”
Sam keeps smirking and glancing at me. I’m glad I at least distracted him from those negative emotions. “An alpha who bakes and cooks, hm?” he asks playfully, almost like he’s teasing me.
I offer a similarly lighthearted response while I rest my arms crossed over my chest. “Oh?You think an alpha shouldn’t be able to enjoy cooking? A bit stereotypical, no?”
Sam takes my jab well. The same warmth stays in his eyes. He takes another bite, and I wait for him to enjoy it, relish it.
“I suppose you’re right that I’m being close-minded. Myparents are betas, so I think some of their more traditional, gendered preconceived notions might have rubbed off on me subconsciously,” he says lightly.
Everything around me lights up like I’ve uncovered another part of a treasure.
“Both of them? That’s pretty unusual,” I say.
“I was adopted. They expected to get a regular little beta infant when they got me. It was what they were supposed to get from the beta orphanage, anyway, but clearly…whoever brought me in lied, or wasn’t fully aware of their lineage. Either way, my parents were thrown for a bit of a loop when I got my first heat at fourteen,” he says with an amused huff. “Especially my father.”
More. Please, feed me more.Every word’s like a delicious sip of the most tantalizing wine. He must notice me staring at him like he’s the gods’ gift to Earth, because he quickly clears his throat and puts the rest of the cookie in his mouth.
You’re being too much. Too weird. Quick, reel it back in.
“While I was home, getting bored to death, I…I thought about something. About what you said in the car.”
Sam’s demeanor immediately shifts. His face turns more serious. He pulls back his shoulders and waits for me to continue.
I clasp my hands together, gulping. “You…were right. I won’t push any of that fated mates stuff anymore.” I leave out my absolute inability to even think about a relationship with someone else. That’s not important right now. “If it makes you uncomfortable, I will try to let it go, but can I— I know it might be too much. And I promise you, I swear on my life that there won’t be any ulterior motives behind it, but could we at least… Could we be around each other as friends? Just two people. Nothing more. Maybe I could continue bringing you food when I make some.”
My entire body feels like it’s on fire again. I can’t keep my damn voice firm enough not to sound like some nervous, insecure pup.
“There’s this balcony tucked away on the other side of this floor. No one ever uses it, really. I could show you, we…could go there to eat lunch, so you’re not just locked up inside this little room all day. It’s busy enough there. Near Accounting. And I would— I promise, only as friends. I will never overstep that boundary. I swear, Sam.”
Oh, I came off absolutely desperate just now, didn’t I? I wish the ground would open up and swallow me whole.
Sam stares at me with wide eyes, his chest still. He’s clearly struggling to comprehend the rambly mess of thoughts that I just unloaded at him, and I don’t blame him.
When he finally breaks free with a snort, I worry it’s going to be followed by him telling me how pathetic I am, but instead, he glances up at me with a guarded smile. “You know, my…um, my therapist told me it’d be good for me to have ‘positive alpha role models’ in my life.” He says, as if he finds it amusing, though I’m not exactly sure why. “And as silly and persistent as you are, you’re also”—his gaze grows serious once he meets mine—“the only alpha I really feel comfortable around. For some reason, I can handle your pheromones without being too on edge. So I guess…I guess it wouldn’t be so bad. What you’re proposing. As friends,” he adds firmly.
The feral, primal part of me wants to jump up and down and kiss him because of how happy I am, but that isn’t veryfriend-like behavior.
Squelching that tempting but deeply counterproductive urge, I nod, smiling widely at him. I allow myself that, at least. If I can’t kiss him or bounce with joy, I can dothis. And to my utter delight, he responds with an unrestrained, adorable smile back.
It feels like I’ve gotten everything I could’ve hoped for, but there’s one more thing gnawing at me.
