Shiv takes a seat beside me, and we studiously observe the interactions of the other couples. I don’t receive any more explanations. Now it’s what I’ve come here for—to observe and absorb. Shively remains just as silent and transfixed as I do.
Our meet-up lasts a total of four hours. We finish eating, and the boys take care of the food and dishes while we move the tables out of the way again. Emmett brings out some board games and sets them on the ground. The boys return and sit on their cushions. I spend a while observing more Dom/sub interactions, and I enjoy the casualness of it.
They’re given permission to play board games, and I get a glimpse of what it means to be a Little as Caelum almost de-ages in front of me. That’s not a word, but that’s what it looks like. I canalmostsee a six-year-old where he sits. I also catch glimpses of bratty Nika. I’m amused when Shively glances at me with horror a few times.
By the time we leave, we’re silent. Our hands are clasped together as we walk down the road toward the ferry. It isn’t until we’re on the dock that I blink into the present and pull Shively against me.
“So? Was it as terrifying as you were anticipating?” I ask.
Shively shakes his head.
“Thoughts?”
He shakes his head again. “Input overload.” A few seconds pass before he raises his eyes to mine and adds, “Alpha.”
I grin and kiss his lips. His eyes flick around briefly, but he remains relaxed. We’re beyond the electronic checkpoint now. We’ve gone through “security,” so everyone on the docks is without a means to snap a picture or record our presence, together or otherwise, in any way.
“I agree. I think we just sit on the information we’ve gathered and digest for a couple days.”
There’s his wariness again.
“Wewillhave a very long, thorough discussion before leaving Kala, Shiv. I promise. No more open endings. You will know exactly what’s expected of you at every single minute of the day. Okay?”
I take pleasure in seeing his tension release at my words. “Okay. I trust you.”
“You don’t want to write another paper, do you?”
“No, Alpha,” he says, shaking his head. “Not at all.”
“I don’t think I’m supposed to let punishments go, but I think I’ll forgive the two outstanding ones. I don’t think it’s fair to wait so long for a punishment, and we didn’t have parameters of punishments set up. The slate is clean.”
Shively nods. “Thank you, Alpha.”
The ferry arrives, and we find a spot toward the front against the railing. I wrap around him, hugging him tightly, as we watch the islands pass us by. I don’t unload us when we reach Nyoka, though, and Shively doesn’t ask. Instead, we remain on the ferry and take another loop through the islands.
“I want you to thrive,” I say after a while. “Out of everything I learned today, that’s my biggest takeaway. It’s not how to be a good alpha for you but what I see for us in the future. What that boils down to is that I want you to thrive.”
“But what do you want for you?” Shively asks.
“I don’t know,” I answer, chuckling. “I suppose the easy answer is that I want to thrive as well, but I think before I can make a true detailed plan of what growth looks like for us, I need to have my own plan for the future. Not just a vague ‘hockey’ plan, you know?”
“You imagine playing hockey for the rest of your life?” Shiv asks teasingly.
I laugh. “No, and Idohave ideas for after hockey. This is one of the reasons I think I personally need to sit on what I’ve learned from today’s visit. The only thing I know for sure is that whatever future I plan, I want you in it.”
The way he smiles at me simply melts my heart.
CHAPTER 28
SHIVELY
I love wakingup to Dasan. A warm breeze ruffles through the room, grabbing my hair on the way by. I press my face into his ribs and take a deep breath. He smells like sex and… Dasan—an earthy smell, though I don’t necessarily know that I can identify it. Interestingly, he doesn’t smell like hockey at all, which is rather impressive and wonderful. Hockey isn’t a good scent.
Dasan hums and rolls to his side, bringing me to him. My nose drags along his flesh since I’m pressed so snugly close. His hand tangles in my hair at the back of my head to keep me tucked up tight.
I love this feeling. I love everything about it.
“G’morning, omega,” Dasan murmurs.
