“I’ll meet you up front.”
She turns on her heel and walks to the locker rooms. I do the same, the fond memories of finger fucking her in the shower playing through my head as I watch her go. While I wish I could do that again, this seems more significant, the step that I’ve been wanting to take with her. I need her to feel more beyond the physical with me, and getting time alone is the only way to do that.
Both of us take the time to dry our hair with how brutal the weather is outside. She smiles at me when we leave, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.
The walk to the diner is a quiet and cold one. I’m not sure where to start. What can I say to show her that I’m not just all jokes, that I’m serious about her, about us becoming a pack? I’m not stupid enough to bring up Owen, all in due time.
The diner is fairly empty when the hostess leads us to our table and puts the two menus down. Piper glances at it before putting it down. She orders a coffee, pancakes, and a side of bacon. I stick with water, an omelet, and toast.
“How were your away games?” she asks, breaking the silence first. Every ounce of me wants to blurt out how the Beta we both seem to be drawn to is an Omega and it’s a sign from the universe that he should be ours and we’re meant to be a pack. But I stick with a simple answer instead.
“Good, we only lost one.”
“Is Owen filling Anders’ shoes?” she asks, taking a sip of her hot coffee when the waitress drops it off. I smirk at her and take a sip of water before answering.
“He’s nearly there. Just needs a little more confidence, I think,” I answer truthfully.
“I could see that. He seems really hard on himself.” Should I enjoy this conversation as much as I am? Both of us talking like we want to make our Omega’s life better gives me a deep thrill.
“What about you? How’s work?” I ask. As soon as the words come out, I wish I could swallow them back up. Piper’s eyes meet mine, and she doesn’t cry, but there’s a slight glassiness to her eyes. She shakes her head like she doesn’t want to answer, and I’m not sure if I should be blunt with her or continue pussy footing around the subject. “Piper, you can talk to me. If not me, you should talk to someone about it. Every time I ask you about work, you seem to shut down.”
She sighs and looks out the window. Small white flakes are falling, and she tracks them with her gaze before looking at me. Her green eyes bore into mine, like she’s trying to assess if she can trust me or not.
“I just haven’t voiced it to anyone yet. I feel like if I say it out loud, I’m a failure, or maybe that I’ll actually do something about it.”
I sensed that she didn’t like her program, but the thought of her ever thinking that she’s a failure is absurd.
“You’re not a failure, you never could be. You’re the smartest and kindest person I know,” I say. She blinks at me and looks back through the window before looking back at me.
“I was always going to be a surgeon. It’s what my dad wanted. He funded my education, and he pays my rent so I can focus on my residency. The only thing he has ever been proud of is that his daughter is going to be a neurosurgeon. It has always been this way. It’s what I was meant to do.” She takes a moment and sips her coffee before looking at me. I’m not sure if she is expecting judgment or what, but whatever she finds in my face makes her continue.
“I don’t think I’m cut out to be a surgeon. It’s not even the long hours or the training, it’s the emotional side of it, and I know that if I told my dad, his disappointment would be palpable. It’s just so impersonal, the act of doing surgery. The losses seem to cut me deeper than anyone else in my program, and I don’t know why. It makes me feel weak.”
“You’re not weak for caring about people. If anything, it makes you a better doctor. Could you switch programs?”
She gives me an unbelieving smile. “I’m already almost two years in, so it would be time wasted if I switched now.” She sighs and rubs her hand through her hair. “I think family medicine would suit me better, but I would have to start a whole new residency, extend my timeline even further. Not to mention I know my dad would cut me off if I left surgery.”
I want to punch Piper’s dad.
The possessive part of me I can’t seem to control when it comes to Piper is telling me to pack up all her shit and have her live with me. I have more than enough money to support a pack and to support her while she lives out her dream. But I know if I said that, I would spook her and we would be right back at square one. The fact that she’s confiding in me at all is more than I can ask for at this point.
“What does Charlotte think?”
Her cheeks turn a delicious shade of pink, and she hides behind her coffee cup. “I haven’t told her.”
Now I feel more like a caveman. I know something that not even her best friend knows.
“Why not?”
She shakes her head, and the waitress drops off our food. Piper collects her thoughts and in between eating, she explains.
“Even though Charlotte isn’t my Omega, she still is in our own way. I have this need to protect her and take care of her. She has so much going on between three Alphas, Katie, and the twins on the way. There’s no way I can dump my bullshit on her.”
I give her a look that says she’s full of shit. And she scoffs. “I think if you told her, she would tell you to leave the program, and that makes it harder for you.”
Piper glares at me, and I know it’s because she knows I’m right. While I don’t doubt that she doesn’t like to burden her best friend, the bigger part of this is dealing with her own feelings on the matter.
“Maybe, but it’s not that simple. It doesn’t matter anyway. It’s the middle of the year. New programs wouldn’t open up until the summer.”
