Page 36 of The Denver Alpha

His cheeks go crimson as he looks over at Shay sheepishly. “Yeah, well…”

“Well what?” I cut in, my own curiosity getting the best of me.

Eddie throws his hands up with a sigh. “It’s not that easy, okay?!”

The other guys laugh at Eddie’s expense while I roll my eyes, pointing my fork in his direction. “It’s okay to admit you like her, ya know.”

“Well of course I like her,” he grumbles, stabbing a chicken cutlet on his plate with his knife. “I wouldn’t have started things up with her if I didn’t.”

“So what, you were just trying to get out of committing?” Shay scoffs. “Typical male.”

Eddie scrubs a hand over his face in annoyance. “It’s just complicated, okay?”

“It doesn’t sound that complicated to me,” I shrug. “You like each other, so you made things official.”

Bryce makes a whip cracking sound and the guys all dissolve into laughter again while Shay and I exchange glances, rolling our eyes at them. I’m sure Kylie’s version of this story will be completely different- it always is with her and Eddie. I’ll bet the truth lies somewhere in the middle of their stories. Those two have the strangest dynamic; I’m not sure I’ll ever understand it.

I take another big bite of pasta, reaching for my napkin as I feel sauce start dribbling down my chin, and of course that’s when Sam and Cole walk into the kitchen. Cole’s eyes meet mine, catching me red-faced in more ways than one.

Great.

The corner of his mouth lifts in the faintest hint of a smirk and I look away quickly, staring down at my plate as I wipe my face with my napkin. I’d hoped to look a little cuter when we saw each other for the first time since last night, but go fucking figure I’d have a mouthful of food and sauce on my face.

And now I’m being all weird and bashful about it.

Ugh.

“So how was your study day?” Tobias asks, and I’m thankful for the distraction.

“It was alright,” I shrug. “I thought I’d get a lot more done, but some of the material is really dense, so it took longer than expected to get through it. Have you done the reading yet?”

He shakes his head, swallowing down a bite of food before responding. “Only about half of it. I’ll probably try to get to the rest this week. Let me know if you want a study buddy.”

Someone clears their throat on the other side of me and Tobias’ gaze flickers up. He blanches when he sees who it is, and even if I didn’t already smell him- clean soap, spice, and cedar- I’d know it was Cole by Tobias’ reaction alone. They may all live here together, but it seems like everyone walks on eggshells around their Alpha.

I turn to see Cole setting down a plate of food one seat down from me, at the head of the table, while Sam takes the chair to his left beside Shay.

“Hey babe,” Shay greets cheerfully, and Sam wastes no time in slinging an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in, and planting a smooch on her lips.

Meanwhile, Cole’s dark eyes haven’t left mine. He takes his seat, forearm muscles rippling as he grips onto the edge of the table to pull his chair in.Damn I’m a sucker for forearms.

The noise around me fades to a dull buzz as Cole and I remain locked in a staring contest for a prolonged moment, neither daring to look away. I’d hoped to run into him at some point today to test the temperature between us after last night, but I didn’t see him around the packhouse whenever I left my room to wander. And if I thought what happened between us in that office would alleviate some of the tension blooming between Cole and me, I was very, very wrong. It’s the opposite; suddenly it has ramped up from a hundred to a thousand. The air around us feels thick, supercharged with an invisible energy that makes it difficult to breathe. My heart beats faster, my brain short-circuiting.

“Did you still need to borrow my bio chem textbook?” Tobias voice shakes me from my trance and I whip my head around to face him, blinking.

“Huh?”

He cracks a smile, pushing a lock of auburn hair back off his forehead. “Bio chem. You still waiting for a copy to come in?”

“Oh, right,” I breathe, shaking my head to dispel my confusion. “I actually got a call from the campus bookstore that it’s in already, I just haven’t had a chance to go get it yet. Wanna give me a ride there tomorrow to pick it up?”

“Yeah, no problem,” Tobias answers- but at the same time, Cole speaks up for the first time since he sat down, talking over Tobias to say, “I can do it.”

I swivel my head back and forth between the two of them, my lips parting as I search for how to respond.

Cole beats me to it.

“Meet me in my office around noon and I’ll take you over there,” he says firmly, leaving no room for argument.

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