Grant slammed his fist on the table, startling everyone.“Hell no!I am not having this conversation about my best friend.”
Omha preserve him, but Grant was adorable.While Chase snickered and Kain eyed Lucky with renewed interest, he tried his hardest not to blush.
“How will you…do that?”Phoenix whispered, cementing him as the poster-boy for unusual conversations.
“One at a time, I hope.”He was only teasing, but Chase cleared his throat.
“I promise you, Ford is already getting inventive about how we’re gonna tag-team you,” he whispered, with a look that made Lucky weak at the knees.
“Why don’t you just climb the fucking table?”Grant muttered, tearing a page from his notebook.
“Maybe I will.”Chase drank from his bottle and opened his books.
There was a quiet lull in conversation as everyone ate lunch or worked on their papers.Lucky smiled, looking around in amazement at how well the two groups of friends had managed to integrate in such a short time.
Grant popped three peanuts into his mouth.Neko bit into a slice of pizza, while Kain stole a slice from his box.It was quiet, contented companionship, with no expectation of conversation.Which meant it was inevitable that someone would break the silence.
Closing his notebook, Phoenix huffed a breath and grinned across the table at Lucky.“I can’t believe we’re invited to an ORT event.”Phoenix looked embarrassed but excited, no doubt thinking about the alphas who would be there and how it might bring him closer to his true mate.
Lucky agreed, excited to properly introduce his friends to Ford.
Kain rubbed his hands.“I am so ready!The ORT have the hottest alphas.”
“They really do.”Lucky licked dressing from his finger.When Chase shared a smile, he could barely contain the beating of his heart.Then a sight behind his alpha made it beat triple time.
“You better be talking about me.”Ford slid his hands over Chase’s shoulders and down his chest.
“Hey, darlin’,” Chase replied, soft as a whisper but with that distinctive purr that always came out when he and Ford were together, the one that said his flirty side had been activated.
Ford hummed and cupped his jaw to tilt his head up for a thorough kiss.He broke away and slipped between Grant and Chase to lean over the table to Lucky.“You got one for me?”
Lucky stood up to meet him halfway.“I missed you.”
Ford hummed and straightened up.“Seeing my boys is the best part of my day,” he said, then looked over his shoulder.“Come on, monster.Stop draggin’ your feet.I promised you lunch with Lucky, and you’re miles away,” he called back, chuckling when Pip approached the side of the table.
“Hi, Imse.”
He would never get tired of hearing that word.Lucky beckoned Pip closer for a hug.“Hi, sweetheart.”
He beamed bright and touched Lucky’s ponytail, hanging over his shoulder.“You look pretty today.”
“Thank you.”Lucky’s cheeks heated at the innocent compliment.“Are you boys hungry?”
Chase grabbed a packet of cigarettes from his bag and lit one.“Not for food, he’s not.”
Ford grinned in silent agreement and pointed a finger at Pip.“Pip is hogging the food,” he mentioned, walking around to where Lucky had slid into the gap between himself and Kain to make room for Pip.Ford took the space and lifted the bag Pip had set on the ground when they hugged.
A bucket of fried chicken appeared from inside and instantly had Kain and Caroline leaning over to steal a piece, until Grant and Chase smacked their hands away.Grant looked horrified, like he couldn’t believe he’d had the audacity to touch an omega.
“Guess we’re not mates then,” Caroline quipped.
It took Grant a moment, then he dropped his head into his hands and groaned.He probably had no idea what a close call that was.
Pip looked around the table, where Chase, Grant and Phoenix filled the other side of the bench, while Kain sat beside Lucky, with Neko and Caroline at each end of the table.Ford had filled the last space.“Where do I sit, Tauri?”
Something fell to the table and everyone froze.Kain apologised and quickly picked up the set of keys that had fallen from his pocket while he’d been reaching for chicken.
“Hmm, I dunno.We’re one seat short.”Ford made a point of looking around the table and counting.“There’s only one thing to do.”He wrapped an arm around Lucky’s waist to effortlessly lift him onto Ford’s lap.
