“What’s wrong?” she asks as she settles on the bed next to me, drawing her knees up and propping her arms on top of them. She watches me with those blue eyes of hers, and something inside me loosens.
“My dad’s being a jerk again,” I say, focusing on her teddy bear as I make it dance across my lap.
She sighs, her legs dropping as she reaches for my thigh. Her touch is electric, zipping straight through me. My musk reacts immediately, much to my embarrassment—pouring out like a dam has broken. Her chest moves as she inhales, and I know she smells me: old leather and citrus that makes my own mouth water, mixed with a spice I can’t quite place.
I shift away, or at least I try to, but her hand tightens ever so slightly on my leg. “What did he say this time?”
“Basically that I’m not funny,” I mutter.
What he really said was, “Xayden, your stupid jokes aren’t clever—they’re just your way of hiding your weakness! You’ll never be anything. You’re nothing but a burden, a constant reminder of everything I regret!” But I can’t say that out loud. I can’t repeat it. It hurts—and what if it’s true?
“You are funny,” she says, cutting into my thoughts again.
I force a half-smile as I bring my gaze back to hers. “You don’t have to say that. I know you think my jokes suck.”
She laughs. “I do not.”
I hum a non-response—I don’t want to talk about my dad anymore.
“But my tickling, on the other hand,” I say, holding up my hands in a mock threat of tickling her.
Her eyes go wide, and she immediately shifts away. I follow through with my tickle threat, capturing her beneath me as I mercilessly force laughter from her.
“Shh, you’re going to wake your parents,” I scold, my tickling slowing. My body suddenly becomes hyper-aware of her soft curves beneath me. She falls silent too, her eyes drifting down to my lips, and her sweet strawberries-and-cream perfume calls to me like it always has since she presented as an omega. I don’t stop myself—I kiss her.
“You good?” Todd asks, his voice a little quieter now, dragging me out of the sweet memory.
I blink, startled. “What?”
Todd’s eyes narrow, as if he can see right through me. “You seem… off. Not in your usual element, man.”
The truth is, Todd’s right. Being around Ashlyn brings up so many memories I’ve shoved down deep. She’stoo close, but not close enough. I want to make her laugh, or smile, or…something. Anything that would make her look at me like she used to. But every time I try, she just gets harder to read.
“I’m fine,” I say, flashing another grin. “Just thinking about how I’m going to rock this runway.”
“Yeah, well, you better do it quick,” West chimes in, “I’m getting impatient.” He looks over at the makeup artist. “Can we get him out of that chair? He looks like he’s been dipped in product.”
I roll my eyes but stand up, cracking my neck as I look around for some kind of mirror. “If I can pull this off,” I mutter, “I’m the best thing to happen to the fashion world in years.”
“Sure,” Jake says, not even bothering to hide the amusement in his voice. “Don’t forget to walk like you own the place.”
“Don’t worry I’ll show you how it’s done,” I tease back.
I adjust my jacket one more time, smoothing down the fabric. Todd slaps me on the back. “You’rekillingit, man. But seriously, try not to look like a deer in headlights when you hit the runway.”
I chuckle, but it’s hollow. “Don’t worry, I got this.”
Still, I glance around, the edge of unease curling in my gut. I find a mirror propped against the wall near the lights, half-blocked by garment bags and a rack of shoes. I step around it, ready to check that everything’s in place—and freeze.
My hair.
Holy hell.
It’s like someone took a time machine to a Bon Jovi concert and brought back a can of maximum-hold hairspray. My curls have been teased, fluffed, and sculpted into a dramatic swoop that defies both gravity and dignity. There’s shine. So much shine. I touch it carefully, half-expecting it tocrunchunder my fingers.
“What the—” I whisper, stunned. “I look like I lost a fight with a wind tunnel.”
Behind me, West snorts. “You look like the poster boy for a hair metal revival tour.”
