“I’m not doing that,” he snorts. “No one is going to give me a straight answer. If anything they’ll probably lie on purpose.”
“I don’t think so. I think more people would be sympathetic than you realize. We all have our bunnies now, and they will recognize it’s a shitty position to be in.”
“No, I’ll never find it anyway, so it’s just a waste of time.”
I stare him down for a second, my mind churning. Maybe it was time to knock the school king down a peg. “I’ll tell you what: I’ll help you look for it. We’ve got an hour before dinner, and I bet we find it.”
Beau heaved a sigh, as if I were asking something incredibly difficult of him instead of offering to do him a favor. “We can do that if you want, but we won’t find it.”
“I’ll take that bet.”
Beau’s eyes twinkle. “Oh, an actual bet huh? So what are the stakes?”
“If I’m right, and we find it, I want you to drop to your knees and beg for forgiveness, and return the bag I’ve been missing since I got here.”
“Wait a minute, I don’t—”
“I’m fairly certain you have it, but if you don’t, I know you can find out who did and get it back. So that’s what I want—your apology and my stuff back. Deal?”
Beau watches me for a moment. “And if I’m right?”
I shrug. “I’ll tell you so, and I’ll share my bottle with you so your bunny can eat. It’s not her fault you’re an idiot.”
“Hey, no need for name-calling. But deal, I accept.” He holds out his rabbit. “Bunny bump instead of a shake?”
Snorting, I lift my own rabbit and tap his nose to Killer’s. “Deal. Now let’s go find that bottle.”
ten
AMBER
We spend nearly the entire hour traveling through the halls of almost every campus building, including out to the gymnasium and the practice football field. I waited outside the locker rooms for Beau to do his own checking there—no way in hell I am exposing myself to that trauma.
Even though it’s not very deep, we manage to have a decent conversation for the majority of our walk. My bunny is once again tucked into my crossbody bag, and Beau’s rests in an expensive leather fanny pack draped across his chest which seems to be the ‘cool’ way to wear them now.
Finally we are down to the spot before I give up: Omega Studies class on the second floor.
When I flick on the light in the classroom, my eyes immediately drop to scour the floor. I spot a suspicious bit of plastic peeking out from behind the professor’s desk, and I move for it quickly.
“Aha! I shout in triumph. “Look what I found!” I hold the tiny bottle aloft.
Beau grins in excitement and steps forward to claim it. “Nuh-uh, we had a deal.” I settle myself into Theoden’s chair as if I’m seated upon a throne and stare imperiously at him. “You must first drop to your knees and beg my forgiveness, and return my missing bag, then you’ll receive the bottle.”
“Forgiveness for what? And come on, it’s almost dinner time. Let me at least feed Killer before I figure out who has your bag.”
“Forgiveness for being such a dick since I got here. And fine, if you do that you can have the bottle so she can eat. But you still owe me my bag. And that apology had better be good.”
I sit back in the chair and do my best impression of man-spreading. Wearing shorts exposes a lot of my thighs, but I’m no omega and I’m not backing down now. I’m going to sit in my power and he is going to recognize it.
Beau chuckles, but he seems on board with my little dominance display. He approaches with a wide bow, then sinks to one knee directly in front of me and dips his head. “Oh fair Amber, pretty please with a cherry on top, would you forgive me for my behavior of the last week?”
I pretend to consider it, then shake my head. “Nope, doesn’t feel sincere enough. Try again.”
Beau’s eyes glint with mischief. He scoots forward and presses large, warm hands to my legs while lowering his head to the floor.
My pulse begins to speed up at the touch of his rough hands on the tender flesh of my thighs. “My sincerest apologies, oh Fair One, for the indignity to which you were exposed due to my behavior. If you could ever find it in your heart to forgive me, I would be most grateful.”
“Hmm…” I stretch out the sound. “How grateful, exactly?” My core pulses with sudden desire, and my teeth pinch my lower lip as I attempt to fight the onslaught of hormones.