Page 8 of Knot That Serious

“Jack, we share the same bank accounts,” she drawled, trying not to sound as hopeless as she felt.

He squinted at her. “Right. I definitely knew that.” Then his gaze dropped to his plate, eyes wide, and mouthed, Did I know that?

“Anyways… I-I cleaned!” Jack announced. “How’s your grilled cheese?”

Eli rolled her eyes, affection ballooning in her chest. “I noticed, thank you. And it’s great, of course.” Hers had to be better than the blackened sandwich Jack was chomping through. She arched a brow at him as he bit into the too-crispy bread, and his cheeks flushed.

They finished dinner quietly, and Eli narrowed her eyes at Jack when he checked his phone again, lips twitching as he fought a grin.

“So, back to the heat thing,” Eli hedged. “We need to figure something out. Or, I guess, I do.”

Jack, for all his obvious distraction, slid his phone into his pocket and looked across the small table at her in concern. “What are your options?”

“Well…” Eli hummed. “The heat’s going to be intense. Probably more so because this will be… the first.”

Suppressants had been a part of Eli’s life since she’d experienced the twinges of her first heat, eighteen and fresh out of high school.

“Oh. I didn’t realize that,” he said, blinking down at the table. “Do you know what to expect? I mean,” Jack chuckled dryly, “all I know is you get, like, super horny—ouch! Okay, sorry, sorry!” He winced as Eli kicked him under the table, glaring.

He rubbed at his knee as he met her gaze. “Not the time for jokes, got it. Are you worried? What’s the worst that could happen?”

The worst that could happen was… well, actually, she’d rather not think about it. “I know what to expect,” she said instead. “And it’s gonna be intense. So, option one: the Omega Center.”

“Why’d your face pinch like that?” Jack asked, pointing at her with his spoon.

Of course Jack could read her so well. “Because the Omega Center just sedates you, but the thing is, I’ve heard it sucks. The only appeal about it is I won’t go throwing myself at the first alpha that crosses my path.”

“So… you want a ride to the Omega Center, then?” Jack guessed.

Eli scowled at him, and he lifted his hands. “Hey, I mean, unless…” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Unless you want to ride me through it—”

“Ugh, stop,” Eli whined. She didn’t appreciate Jack’s sarcasm at the moment. This was serious!

She huffed a laugh that even to her sounded strained.

At the very least, maybe Jack could heat sit her, make sure no unruly alphas broke in while she was vulnerable.

Jack might joke about it, but there’s no way he would really ever help her through something like a heat. She wouldn’t let him. There was too much on the line.

But… What’s the worst that could happen?

Her, ripping the bedroom door open and tackling Jack on the couch, begging him to knot her. Him, taken aback by the force of the heat, and turning her away out of some misplaced goodness to keep from ruining their friendship.

She wiggled uncomfortably in the plastic chair. God, there’s no way she could risk it. Being turned away at the peak of a heat, she couldn’t think of anything more humiliating. She’d never be able to look him in the eyes again.

Or even worse, what if Jack said yes, in the heat of the moment? What if he regretted it later? What if it was weird?

It would ruin their twenty years of friendship, and the bakery, and then her mom would be so upset with her, and her brother, who fucking loved Jack.

And Jack’s family? His older brother and dorky dad? She’d never be able to face them, either, and then this year’s reunion would be awkward, and—

“Eli,” Jack said, and she blinked to find he’d switched chairs and had his hand on her knee.

The heat of him burned, even through the fabric of her sweats.

She lifted her gaze to him.

“Breathe,” he said, voice soft and low, burrowing into her skin.

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