Why am I like this?
“Everything okay?” Sable asks, and I quickly nod.
I know she can tell something is off with me today, but I really don’t want to talk about it when I can’t tell her the truth. As much as I really fucking wish I could, I can’t, so I’m just going to suffer silently because there’s no one I can talk to about any of this.
“What’s Colter donating?” I ask, trying to distract her from my sour mood. The grin that lights up her face at the change in topic is both sweet and oddly mischievous.
“That was my idea. The box he’s holding? There are calendars in there.” I glance forward and snort when the woman running the booth blushes bright red as she confirms the contents of his box. Now I can guess why my bestie is grinning so mischievously. “There are ten more boxes already set up at their booth.”
“Magnificent.” I chuckle, imagining the very stoic alpha posing with a fire hose in place of his… er,hose… Snorting, I shake my head. I just know she saved half of the images for herself.
“I wasn’t allowed to supervise the full photoshoot, but I do know that the photographer had a fucking blast. She’s a mated beta in her sixties.” Sable giggles, and I grin, just imagining the men of our fire department prancing around her half naked. “There’s a very lovely variety in there, but I was only allowed to see October,” she says before adding in a whisper, “Colter’s month.”
“Allowed?”I ask, frowning. Sable shrugs, cheeks turning pink.
“Well, allowed in the sense that I was tossed over Colter’s shoulder after his pictures were done, and he… um, kept me occupied,” she explains, and I wrinkle my nose.
“Oh. Ew.” That’s another mental image I could’ve lived without.
“I was also told that if I picked up a calendar there would be consequences. They were teasing, of course, but I can’t say I didn’t enjoy the outcome of my rebellion…”
“Oh my god. Please stop, I beg you.” I tilt my head to the side, trying to use my shoulder to plug one ear because my arms are full.“Lalalala,”I chant, making her crack up, letting out a maniacal giggle.
“Are you being naughty, Angel?” Colter asks her as he turns around. In order to avoid watching my friend make out with another of her mates, I take his place and step up to the table as her scent blooms around us like a damn pumpkin farm.
“If you were already assigned a booth, fill out this form,” the older omega, Mary, says while her event partner, Tiffany, glares at me.
“I did. These are the items.” I show them the box.
“Great, go ahead and fill it out while Tiffany takes a look at the donations.” Mary offers as she hands me a pen after I set the box down in front of Tiffany. She lifts a brow, glancing from me to the box.
“Is this everything?” she asks.
Surely I’m just imagining the sneer in her voice. Tiffany might be a bitch most of the time, but she’s working right now. She’s got more class than that, right? Oh, who am I kidding? It’s Tiffany. She doesn’t care that I worked incredibly hard on these ornaments.
“Yes. They’re small, so they all fit in one box,” I mumble, feeling ashamed.
Will everyone think I don’t care? That I made so few because I didn’t take this seriously?
“Mmm.”She nods, the look on her face saying more than her words need to. She’s judging me. Something that never used to bother me, but right now? Fuck, what is happening to me?
When I’m done filling out the form, I head over to my booth and set up my little display. Sable had to head to her booth, with Rhian at her side to help her sell her homemade candles, while his brothers handled their booth.
The event is only supposed to last for three hours, but my measly twenty ornaments sell out in the first hour. I feel so pathetic that I head to Sable’s booth to help her. Somehow, she managed to get over three hundred candles ready for today, and she’s selling them for twenty bucks apiece. It’s only a five-dollar discount, but her candles are very popular.
They’re selling fast, and the line for her booth is long. Staring at the line, I can’t help but feel more than a little inferior about it. I should’ve worked harder, been less distracted. I could’ve made more.
“Guess what?” Sable whispers, leaning my way as she wraps a candle in paper for Benson. I’m actively avoiding making eye contact with him as I count and separate the cash box.
“Hmm?”I hum questioningly, pretending I don’t feel his eyes on me.
“Frosty Fir was inspired by your scent.” She wiggles her brows at me when I glance at her, and she hands the bag of candles over to the alpha. Looking up at him, our eyes meet, and he winks at me.
“Thanks, Sable. This one’s my favorite so far,” he says to my best friend, keeping his eyes locked on mine.
“Obviously,” Sable replies, wiggling her brows at the man as he blows me a kiss and struts off. “Nick bought six before you got over here. So, between the two of them, if they burn one candle a month, they’ll have your scent all year long.”
“What?” I hiss, grabbing a candle. I pop the top off to sniff it as the next person in line holds their cash out to me while telling Rhian their order. It smells so similar to my scent that I’m actually shocked. I don’t know why; Sable is amazing at what she does, but damn, this is impressive. “So the entire town is stocking up on my scent? Fantastic,” I grumble, shooting her a wink so she knows I’m teasing. Honestly, I’m just trying to pretend like the alphas didn’t buy twelve between the two of them.
