Madison bounced out of her seat and locked her arms around me. “That sounds so fun! Thank you.” She squeezed extra tight on the last two words.
“Finish up those waffles and pack some tiny shorts so I can appreciate how perfect your butt is.”
Madison laughed, but quickly disappeared into the nest to pack.
Alve tapped my wrist. “I’m not sure how well we’ll do being separated all day.”
“I thought of that. Everyone is meeting us for lunch, I cleared it with all your jobs.”
The pack blinked back at me.
“You really think of everything, don’t you?” Jude slid out of his seat and straight into my arms. “Pretty hot how good you are at taking care of us.”
I purred. “Is that so?”
“Mhmm.” He met my mouth and I indulged myself until Madison returned, a tote bag slung over each shoulder. Jude smiled widely at her. “You’re only going for a few hours.”
“I need to be prepared. What if I get sweaty? I don’t wanna be gross all day.”
Goddamn, she was cute.
I reached into the bag I dropped by the door before everyone got up today and pulled out a tie, a bandana, and a silk scarf, passing the tie and bandana to Madison and the scarf to Alve. “Scent mark these.”
Madison rubbed the tie along her throat and Alve did the same with the scarf, swiping it against each of his cheeks for good measure.
“Perfect, now swap and make sure Leo gets in there with the scarf, too.”
Once he’d scent marked it as well, I tied the pink silk around Madison’s neck and her eyes widened, then I turned, battingAlve’s hands off the tie and finishing it up myself, before tying the bandana around Leo’s upper arm.
“Everyone say, ‘Good job, Nathan.’”
My pack laughed, parroting the sentiment.
I wanted Madison to enjoy her day out, and if her recent bonds might interfere with some one-on-one time, then this would hopefully help. Each of them could carry the scent of the other until I reunited them at lunch. But for now, I needed to take Madison on a proper date.
“Ready, Freddy?”
“Yep!” Madison beamed at me and made a circuit through the pack, kissing each one before hooking her arm through mine. “Lead the way.”
Our first stop conveniently allowed Jude to join us. He clocked in at Best of Nests and I made myself the designated cart pusher, so I could watch the cuties in the wild.
Both were experts and had the store memorized, which made the process impressively smooth. It was impossible to miss the pointed stares from the staff when they saw Madison’s hand in Jude’s. I suppose they’d have been privy to his pining over the years. Hopefully they were happy about this change.
“You guys are giving me cute aggression over here.” I parked the cart and hugged both Jude and Madison, the plushie she’d picked up sandwiched between us.
“Sorry, not sorry.” Madison tipped her face up for a kiss I happily gave her.
“Also sorry, not sorry,” Jude added, “but probably not professional to get kissed at work. Especially with how hard the staff are eyeballing us.”
“Okay,fair.” I sighed. “But know that I’m thinking about it anyway.”
Jude gave me a soft smile. “Me, too.”
Madison’s plushie wiggled its way up my chest. “Do you want any for your room?”
“If you find one you think suits me. My room could use a touch of whimsy.”
She grinned and slipped away to grab a set of teddy bears dressed in primary-colored shirts. “Okay good, because I saw this and I definitely think each of you needs one in your room.”
