Page 19 of Coffee Shop Cupid
“Earth to Chase.”
I blinked several times, then realized that Lowell was talking to me. “Sorry, what was that?”
“Your turn to deal?” he prompted.
I looked at the table to see the deck of cards in front of me. “Sorry. Um… five card stud, nothing wild.”
“Damn,” another friend, José, said. “Tell me you’re not interested in playing, without telling me you’re not interested in playing.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?” I growled.
He snorted. “Physically? Maybe. Mentally? You’ve been checked out all night.”
I flipped him the bird.
“Oh baby,” he teased. “I thought you’d never offer.”
“He’s right,” Frankie said as I started dealing. “You’ve folded more times than I can count tonight. I mean, I’ll take your money if you’re giving it away, but it almost feels wrong at this point.”
“It’s just not my night,” I snapped.
“Enough!” snarled another member of our group, Alan. “Something’s on your mind, that’s obvious. You don’t need to take it out on us.”
“It’s an omega, isn’t it?” José asked.
“Definitely an omega,” Frankie responded before I could. “Only time I’ve seen Chase like this is when he’s got a man on his mind.”
I sighed. “Give it up guys.”
For a blissful moment I thought they’d move on, then Lowell spoke again.
“I heard something interesting when I went to pick up Sean yesterday,” he said.
“Oh?” José asked.
“Elaine was telling me about how she’d seen a cute omega running out of Chase’s coffee shop in tears last week, then Chase running after him.”
I growled low in warning, but Lowell continued anyway.
“Well… she said she went in for an afternoon coffee yesterday, and saw the same omega sneaking out again. She’d thought it odd, but when she got inside she said you were staring at a table with an untouched cupcake like somebody had broken your heart.”
I slammed my hand of cards onto the table, stood, and headed towards the door. I was halfway there when José stopped me.
“Out of my way,” I snarled.
“No.” He crossed his arms over his chest to emphasize his stance, even though I had a couple inches on the other alpha. “We’ve all been friends far too long for this bullshit.”
“That’s right,” Frankie called from the table. “We’re the outcasts, remember? The geeks who played tabletop games rather than sports. We stick together, even when things suck.”
José pointed to the table. “Get your ass back over there, so we can discuss it.”
“And if I don’t want to?”
He scowled. “Look, I get it. You’re hurting. But shutting us out won’t help.”
“Hell yeah,” shouted Lowell. “I might not be mated if it weren’t for you assholes.”
I sighed and trudged back to the table, where Frankie was putting away the cards and Alan was counting chips.
