Page 7 of Knot That Serious

As Eli made her way back across the apartment, she heard Jack chuckle, and peered over her shoulder to find him focused on his phone, grinning.

Her stomach dropped, and she ignored it, retreating to her room.

Eli completed her nightly ritual, which wasn’t a ritual at all–it was just basic hygiene–but in Jack’s mind, she must be casting spells or some shit in her bathroom. Clueless was a good word for Jack.

Eli returned to the main room, finding Jack already sitting, grilled cheeses and soups plated on the small round table.

His smile was lit by the low glow of his phone screen, again.

They were halfway through dinner, half of Jack’s attention hogged by whatever was happening in his phone, before Eli found a decent segue into what’s been on her mind. “Jack, can you do me a favor?”

Smooth.

“Anything, what is it?”

Eli tried to sound casual. “Can we get some extra weed delivered?”

Jack arched a brow. “Are we out?”

“No, but… my heat’s coming up, and I’m gonna be smoking a bit more. Is that… okay?” she asked, sliding her gaze from her plate to her alpha roommate.

Jack’s face scrunched up. “You don’t have to ask, you can smoke as much as you want.” He grinned suddenly. “You also bake the best snacks when you’re high. I love Eli with munchies.”

Eli rolled her eyes. “You just love cookies.”

“And brownies. Those cupcakes,” he sighed dreamily. “Ooh, and remember when you made chocolate pastry cream and let us eat it with a spoon?”

A chuckle bubbled up out of her and she smiled at her roommate, remembering the night spent over the stove while Jack sat on the counter listening to her ramble about temperatures and why you used cold butter at the end. Bringing him a spoon to taste and watching his face light up as he smacked his lips.

Once it had cooled, they’d ended up eating it like a tub of ice cream.

Totally worth the stomachache afterward.

Her heats usually weren’t such a big deal. Mellow cravings, maybe a little irritability, but all in all, life went on as normal. Any other time, she’d work through it.

This wasn’t any other time, though. She didn’t have her suppressant, which could pose a very serious problem for her alpha roommate.

Eli doubted she’d be making pastry cream during this heat.

“Also… I called the pharmacy today,” she offered, swirling her spoon around the soup.

Jack, her favorite idiot, just stared at her. “Okay,” he said.

Eli tapped her spoon against the bowl. “They’re out of suppressants. There’s a nationwide shortage, apparently.”

Now Jack looked more worried. “Oh, shit.”

“That’s exactly what I said!” Eli hissed. “Do you think your guy has access to other stuff, like, off the market?”

Jack shook his head. “Arlo is just a consultant. We tell him our needs, and he recommends products and delivers from the dispensary. I can mention your heat and see if he has any suggestions, but he’s not the underground market, Eli.”

She sighed, letting her spoon tap against her bowl. “Yeah, that’s what I figured.”

“But I’ll make sure to get some more cannabis—you can have your own stash, if you want.”

“Thanks, I’ll send money to the app for you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jack said with a wave. “Consider it my apology for being so shitty lately.”

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