“Are you okay,liefje?”
“What does that mean?”
Bram clears his throat and rubs his mouth with the back of his hand.
“The Dutch aren’t the fondest of pet names, but it roughly means darling, someone you care for.”
I swallow heavily.
“I like it.”
He pushes my hair back as Ethan washes his hands and starts putting the mascot costume back on.
“You went down on Ethan,” I say lamely, and Bram shrugs his shoulders.
“He seemed to like it.”
“I did like it, but I’m still very confused how the fuck all of this even happened,” Ethan says with furrowed brows as he slides his arms into his uniform.
“How did this happen?” Bram asks.
I shrug. “I was just feeling needy,” I say, wondering if he can tell I’m holding back the whole truth.
The Alpha puts his hand on my forehead and seems pleased that I don’t have a fever.
“No running into bathrooms by yourself anymore, okay? If you’re not feeling great, you come get one of us. I don’t like the idea of your scent attracting other Alphas.”
I sniff my shirt. “I have deodorizers on when I work.”
“Well, whatever was going on, your scent’s strong as fuck right now. They aren’t working.”
My cheeks heat, and Ethan has Finnegan’s head under his arm.
“I’ve gotta get back out there and take some more pictures with the kids. We can… uh… talk about this later?”
I nod, and he leans down and kisses me softly. He glances at Bram, and I smile as the two of them briefly kiss.
Ethan unlocks the door and leaves me and Bram here on the counter.
“What happened?” he asks, brushing my hair off my shoulders.
I don’t know why, but the question makes me cry.
Fuck.
Bram grabs the back of my head and rests it on his chest. Surely, whatever happened between him and Max isn’t completely irreparable. I need them both, so I’ll just have to figure out a way to make this work.
He rubs my back soothingly, and I start to calm down.
Bram uses his thumbs to wipe from under my eyes.
“Let’s get you home.”
“But I was supposed to be handling the live for the event.”
“They’ve already met the funding goal. I’m not going to have you out there smelling like this. Also, your makeup is a bit?—”
I turn around in the mirror, and I look like an absolute disaster. I can’t believe Ethan wanted me, runny mascara and all.
