Page 35 of The Denver Alpha

I fuckingwish.

14

The scent of Italian food wafts from the kitchen as I step through the doorway to enter, my stomach immediately responding with a loud grumble in protest. I skipped lunch today in favor of buckling down and getting some of my required reading out of the way before classes start. I’ve only got two weeks left to tackle all of it, and as interesting as I find the material, I’d like to get it done sooner rather than later so I can enjoy the last couple weeks of summer before diving into my studies.

And yeah, maybe immersing myself in my textbooks was a distraction tactic, too. If my mind isn’t busy, it starts to wander back to last night and I either start overthinking everything that happened between Cole and me or I get hot and bothered all over again and end up rubbing one out.

Seriously.

I’ve already gotten myself off twice today thinking about what we did in that office, no shame. It was the hottest thing I’ve ever experienced. Not that I’ve done much to compare it to, but I’m basically living my sexual revolution right now, learning what I like and exploring that side of myself in ways I never could back home. And what Cole did last night, pinning me to the desk and ordering me to touch myself while he watched? Idefinitelyliked.

I expected him to take things further after we came home, but I guess he’s sticking to his guns about the whole ‘no touching’ thing- which, after what we did in the office at Jokers, seems like more of a technicality. He still got me off, so doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the rule against touching? The man’s just being stubborn at this point.

Not that I’ve ever minded a challenge.

“There you are,” Shay chirps as I wander toward the buffet table to check out the dinner spread, sidling up beside me and bumping me with her hip. “I was gonna come find you earlier, but Tobes said you were studying or something.”

I nod halfheartedly as I survey the dinner options. Tobias and I have a couple of classes together and I reached out to him this morning to get a copy of the syllabus for one of them.

“Girl, how are you studying for classes you haven’t even started yet?” Shay teases, bumping me with her hip again to capture my attention. “Overachiever much?”

I roll my eyes, chuckling as I reach past her to grab a plate off the stack. “We have a bunch of required reading we have to do in advance,” I explain.

“Ugh, sounds awful,” Shay grimaces. She grabs a couple pieces of garlic bread out of a basket, her fuchsia-streaked hair swishing around her face as she spins around. “Come sit with me, I wanna hear all about your first night of work!” she calls over her shoulder as she heads toward a table.

I toss a thumbs up in her general direction, all my focus on the heaping trays of food in front of me while my stomach gives another loud grumble. Italian food is on the menu tonight and it all looks amazing. I immediately start loading my plate with a little bit of everything- lasagna, chicken cutlets, mostaccioli, fried eggplant- and then, as an afterthought, I fill a small bowl with salad, because I should probably have something green to offset all these carbs, right?

Balancing my salad bowl, a roll of silverware, and my embarrassingly full plate, I carefully make my way over to where Shay’s seated at one of the large tables, claiming an empty spot across from her. The table is only halfway occupied so far and it’s just the two of us at our end.

“Damn, girl,” Shay comments, her eyes widening at the sheer volume of food piled on my plate. “Where do you put it all?”

I grin, picking up a piece of garlic bread and taking a big bite. “My ass, mostly,” I reply, winking as I chew.

Shay laughs and takes a bite of her own bread, though she actually chews and swallows like a damn lady before speaking again. “We didn’t even see you at the club last night, what happened?”

“Jason had me working up in the VIP section,” I provide, unrolling my silverware and digging into my dinner.

“Ahh,” she nods in understanding. “Well how was your first night?”

I swallow down the bite of lasagna I’m chewing, giving a little sigh in response. “First and last, actually.”

Shay blinks. “What? How come?”

“It’s not a brother approved activity,” I say with an exaggerated eyeroll.

“Since when does that matter?” Tobias asks as he approaches with a heaping plate of his own, stealing the open seat beside me. “What happened to your rebellious streak?” He smirks, bumping his shoulder against mine.

I turn to smile back at him, blushing. “Choosing my battles, I guess.” I nod in greeting to Eddie, Bryce, and Mike as they fill in the chairs beside and across from Tobias at our table.

“Ed, aren’t you going to share your good news with the girls?” Bryce snickers, elbowing his friend.

Shay takes the bait. “What news?”

Eddie’s face reddens as he stares at his plate.

“He and Kylie made things official last night,” Bryce provides, elbowing Eddie again and chuckling. Eddie elbows him back hard, shooting him a death glare.

“Wait a sec, weren’t you just trying to break things off with her last week?” Shay questions, tilting her head and squinting at Eddie.

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