“Why don’t you stay in one of the pack houses? There are lots free and most of them have furniture and whatever else you need,” said Jules.
“Yeah, Dalton offered, but I’d rather stay here,” she replied.
“Why? We’d have the best time if you were at the homestead with us.”
“Nah.”
“Why not?” His voice adopted a mildly nasal tone. I felt sanctimonious. I’d never seen him nagging like that. I felt a smug sense that my stock was going up and his was going down. He’d come on strong, but I was ready to play the long game.
“Don’t wanna ’cause your alpha’s a douche.”
“What?” Jules was agog. “What do you mean? Dalton is great. He comes from good sto…”
“Easy now, don’t take it personally, dude. All alphas are douchebags. It’s part of the job description or something.”
I was pleased to hear her calling Jules dude. So pleased, I stifled a laugh. She gave me an unimpressed little look that made me suspect that my stock had just taken a dive.
It was Saturday afternoon. Storm was attending a workshop with a local artist in town. Jules and I were at my place, waiting for the day to pass so we could head into town to take her out for dinner.
“I need you to back up, Sully,” he said out of nowhere.
“Huh?”
“I’m serious. I need you to give me some space with Storm and stop cockblocking me.”
“Oh yeah? Well, I needyouto stop cockblockingme.”
“Come on, we both know how this is going to play out.”
I was instantly livid. “Really? Is that a fact? Why don’t you tell me how this is going to play out?”
“It’s not personal, Sully. It’s just that you know I’m better at talking to girls.”
“Mm-hmm, is that right? Well maybe you should think about the fact that I get all the girls I want without even talking to them. That’s for one thing, and for another thing, Storm isn’t human. I havenoproblem talking to her. I guess you would have noticed that if you weren’t so busy acting like a piss-ant puppy dog.”
“Sully, I’m serious. I’m not playing around. I want her. I want her for real.”
“I want her, too.”
His mouth twisted in annoyance. “I’m not going to let you have her.”
“Good. Don’tletme have her. But just so you know, this time I won’t let you win.”
“When have you everletme win anything?”
I’d had it to here with Jules and the whole stupid conversation. I fixed him with a stare that bubbled with rage. I didn’t try to hide it. He got up and walked out of my room, slamming the door on his way out.
9
Twohourslater,Iwas still stewing in my bedroom. I was furious with Jules, and I felt sick about it. It was the first serious fight we’d had since we were kids. When we were kids, we got into fights now and again about who got to ride the red bike or who got to choose what to watch on TV. When we were little, our fights broke out suddenly. They were explosive but blew over as quickly as they’d erupted. As I lay on my bed, I felt as upset and angry that I was fighting with Jules, as I felt about what we were fighting over. When we were kids our fights felt big, but looking back, they weren’t. Not really. This was the first time in our lives we were having a fight about something that mattered. About something that could get in our way and change things between us. My chest felt heavy and hollow at the same time. I wished Storm had never come to Clearwater Valley. I wished we didn’t both want her. And I wished I hadn’t said anything to Jules about letting him win.
Just then, there was a soft knock at my door and Jules was standing in my doorway, halfway in and halfway out of my room. He stood there for a few minutes, and we looked at each other without saying anything. I didn’t want to be the first one to say anything, and he didn’t seem to want to either. After a while, he came in and sat back against my dresser, fiddling on his phone until I heard the first strains of “You’re Still the One” by Shania Twain.
I rolled my eyes and started smiling despite how hard I was trying not to. It was an old song, but my parents loved it and I’d grown up with it. It was my ultimate guilty pleasure song. It’s a great song, okay? I’d loved it since way before I realized guys are meant to feel embarrassed about liking sappy love songs. No one in the entire world but Jules knew that about me. No one. He got a ridiculous look on his face and curled his hand up in front of his mouth, as if he was crooning into a mic. He started passionately singing along with Shania.
“There’s something very wrong with you, Jules,” I said, but I couldn’t help laughing. I was laughing so much my eyes were watering. When the song finished, we were silent again.
“Storm’s a great girl,” he said.
