“In this, yes,” she says, placing a kiss on the corner of my mouth.
“Thank you,” I say, grabbing her face. Her hair is thick and soft under my touch as we kiss. The way Shyla and Emmett make me feel is unlike any relationship I’ve been in. Not that I’ve been in many, but they make me feel like my opinions and needs matter. Not to mention that they both treat me like a princess. Who doesn’t like to be treated like a goddess by beautiful people.
I just need to figure out where I stand with Dom. Can I really have it all? It might be selfish, but I’m going to make this all work. I picture a life with no heat suppressants, lovers always by my side and in my bed. I’ve wanted a big happy family since I can remember. It feels like it’s at my fingertips. I just have to reach out and grab it.
I wind up staying another night over at Emmett and Shyla’s house. Being with them is just so easy. Both of them put me at ease and make me feel cherished. However, it’s Friday and I need to plan a dinner for Cameron and Dom. Emmett reluctantly drove me home and now I’m planning the evening. My stomach is in knots and it’s the opposite of how I felt about my date with Emmett and Shyla. While I’m still excited, I also feel nervous. The sense of rejection is a real possibility, and I’m not sure how to handle it.
My crush on Dom has been festering for a while. Even though he and Shyla are both Alphas, they couldn’t be more different. Dom is gentler with his Alpha nature. Besides his sheer size, he has a way of making me feel like he could make anything bad in my life go away. Maybe it’s because he was there in my worst moment, but I just know Dom would take care of me.
Cameron, I don’t know well enough. I’m attracted to him, and he seems to feel the same way about me. I know he instigated the date, but am I encroaching on his territory by not being able to let his Alpha go? If Dom loves Cameron as much as I think he does, I know I could care about him in the same way. Does he even want that?
I park my car in front of the grocery store and take a deep breath. I rarely go places by myself, but it’s a fucking grocery store. What’s the worst that can happen?
Once inside, I pull up my notes app. Pasta Bolognese is what I went with. It looks pretty foolproof, and that’s exactly what I needed. I don’t know why I thought I needed to impress them in this way, but I did. Like I need to show them what a good Omega I can be.
One thing I didn’t take into consideration is I don’t know where most of the things are in the grocery store. I keep finding myself going down an aisle and then having to go back to another one. I pass the pastries and see a tasty-looking cheesecake. I go to grab it when another hand goes over mine.
I look up, and my heart sinks into my stomach. “Vernice?” I say, looking at her, feeling completely gutted. Her perfectly manicured nails leave the cheesecake as her blue-green gaze looks at me with disgust. She’s a Beta, but I still feel intimidated by her. She’s a huge reason why everything happened the way it did. I wouldn’t say I hate her, okay, maybe a deep-rooted part of me does. Oh, fuck it, I’m not lying to myself.
I hate this bitch.
I look around behind her. I can’t find my voice to ask her about Meera when I see her an aisle over. She’s not even looking over here, she’s picking up a loaf of bread. My heart beats loudly in my chest, it’s like my hearing goes out. I feel like I’m going to die. My breathing is labored as I look between Meera and Vernice. Vernice might be trying to talk to me, but I can’t hear anything. Is the room spinning?
I ditch my shopping cart and run to the bathroom. It’s sticky and messy in here, but at this moment, I don’t fucking care as I lock myself in a stall and sit on the floor. I can’t catch my breath and tears are running down my face. My arms tightly wrap around my legs as I try to make my body as small as possible.
Help. I need fucking help. I don’t know how to leave this bathroom. She’s out there. Just casually grocery shopping with her Beta as my heart and soul carries around what she did to me every day. I rub against my chest, I need my heart rate to go down.
I think about calling Shyla, but this is too much for her to see. She and Emmett are so interested in me, if they knew how fucked up I really was—if they knew what happened and what I did—they wouldn’t be interested anymore.
In and out, I tell myself. Attempting to regulate my breathing. My hands shake as I dial the number. He answers on the second ring.
“You aren’t canceling on me, are you?” Dom asks.
A gross deep sob rips out of my body as I hold the phone against my face.
“Baby, what’s wrong?” I can’t speak. Words don’t come out. He cares. I can hear it in his voice, but how many more times will he put up with me being pathetic and helpless?
When I don’t answer, I hear a low growl. His Alpha bark carries through the phone. “Where are you?”
“The… the Safeway off Richmond highway,” I finally get out.
In and out, I keep telling myself.
“I’m on my way. Stay on the phone with me, okay?”
“Okay,” I say.
“Did something happen, Kelsey?” he asks and the tears start again. ‘“Hey, it’s going to be all right. We will talk when I get there. I’m not far, just a few minutes. Are you breathing for me?”
“Trying,” I reply.
“That’s so good. You’re doing good. You’re going to be fine. I’m going to be there soon and I’m going to take care of you.”
“Okay,” I croak. Swiping my tears away. Great, another time he’s going to see me looking an absolute fucking mess.
“I’ve been really excited about tonight. I still am. I understand if you don’t want to do dinner, but you best prepare yourself to have to deal with me all night.”
I smile against my arm. Thankful that no one else has come into the bathroom. I wonder how long it’s been and if Meera and Vernice are gone. It’s been three months, I didn’t think I would react this way at the sight of her. I’m going to need to call Robin and let her know what happened. As much as Robin is in my corner, I hope she doesn’t feel as disappointed in me as I do. This feels like a major setback, like weeks and months of her investment into me is receding.