“No, not that type of happy.”
She nods her head and Emmett fills her glass with more liquid courage. I decide to break out of my comfort zone and ask more about Emmett.
“What about you, Emmett? You have an Alpha.”
“I do, her name is Shyla,” he says proudly. “She is the prettiest, fairest Alpha in the land. She likes the beach, pantsuits, and ropes.” Kelsey laughs while my eyes are wide.
“And what do you do for work?”
“Currently just living the dream,” he says, and I furrow my brows.
“He is a trust fund baby. He has margarita machines and a sailboat. No cocaine allowed on the sailboat though,” Kelsey says, and Emmett splashes her with water. “You can’t tell me you got arrested for cocaine and wound up with your lawyer and not have me joke about it.”
“Fair enough,” Emmett says.
I want to be as jovial as the both of them, but I keep finding myself feeling out of place—insecure.
She floats on her back, with the assistance of Emmett’s hands. “Such a fine summer day, being in the pool with the hottest Beta and Omega I’ve ever met.”
I laugh, because clearly she’s drunk and doesn’t know what she’s saying. She frowns at me.
“Emmett, I think Cameron thinks I’m lying. Should we tell him how hot he is?”
“Where should we start? His pouty lips?” he says.
“Or his perfect golden brown skin, or his beautiful curls?” Kelsey says and I can’t help it as heat creeps up my cheeks. It’s already hot as hell outside, but with these two complimenting me, I don’t know what to do. I stand there like a deer in headlights.
“Oh, you can’t forget about his scent, sugar. I’ve been hard this whole time between your two scents.”
“He also has beautiful eyes, and I love his nose ring.”
“Okay, I get it. You’re not lying,” I say.
Kelsey walks over to me, my back pressed against the tile of the pool. Her hand is cool and gentle as it touches my jaw. She looks at me, really fucking looks at me. “Cameron, you’re beautiful.” She leans in and gently kisses my cheek. My blush is ridiculous at this point as I look at her. “Dom is lucky to have you,” she says. I would usually worry about someone being condescending, but the look she gives me is pure and I smile back.
I drip my heated body further into the cool water, warming my overheated skin. “It feels like the opposite, like I’m the lucky one.”
Kelsey’s eyebrows furrow. “I’ve felt like that before. If I didn’t know Dom, I would probably give you a stern talking to about knowing your worth. But I have a feeling that he has been helping you with that.”
I swallow thickly and nod my head. It’s like she gets it. I wonder what she has been through. How does she seem so happy and put together? Dom said she’s been through something and she seems to be holding it together just fine. Meanwhile, I’m barely hanging on while having one of the best partners I could have imagined.
“I think we could be friends, if that’s something you would like?” she asks me.
“I’d really like that. I haven’t made that many connections since moving to the area.”
“Oh, you don’t have any family or anything here?”
I glance away for a minute before looking back at her, giving her a tight smile. “No, I uh, don’t have any family left.”
I expect Kelsey to give me a pitying look. She does the opposite and smiles. “Emmett and I are orphans too! We can be the orphan squad or something. It can be our summer of orphanism.” I can’t help it when I laugh. A real laugh, not something I force out of me to feel normal. A true, genuine laugh. I watch as Kelsey’s grin widens as she hears the sound.
“I don’t think orphanism is a word.”
“That’s okay, doesn’t have to be a real word. It will be our club. A place where you two can get away from your Alphas and we can just be ourselves.”
“You know both said Alphas want to be your Alpha too?” Emmett says.
I shrug my shoulders, not wanting to snitch on Dom’s feelings. He should express them, not me.