"And I'm cool heading home," Indi said, their trademark grin back in place. "I'm not really up for dancing anyway."
I turned back to Tara, finding those big, ridiculously hot puppy-dog pouting eyes fluttering her lashes at me. "Pleeeeeease?"
It was so, so clear why her pack was wrapped around her finger.
"Okay, yeah, fine!"
"Yes! And Jason can drop Ivy off to hang out since she's off now," Tara added, grinning smugly. "It's girls' night!"
"Girl's adjacent," Jesse corrected. "I may not be a man, but I'm not a girl either."
I tuned out Tara's over-the-top drunken flirting, glancing at the alpha beside me. "Really, though, invite Ivy. It'll be fun."
"Yeah, for sure, whatever," Jason muttered, using his credit card to pay for our tab. "See you online, everyone."
"Moody prick," Charlie said out of the corner of his mouth to Indi as Jason stalked off. "I'll go get the car."
"Are you good to drive?" Indi asked, a hand landing on Charlie's shoulder.
"Yeah, I've only had soda. Hop on to play later?"
"Maybe," Indi said, glancing my way. "Hey, Eva?—?"
Before they could finish, Tara grabbed my arm, towing me for the door with Jesse on my other side, the pair of them chanting, "Dancing! Dancing! Dancing!" I was out the door before I knew that happened.
It didn't matter anyway—if it was important, Indi knew how to contact me.
I just hoped that they would.
I carefully putmy shower shoes into their plastic drawstring bag, trying unsuccessfully to avoid thinking about how many germs were likely crawling around the soles.
It didn’t matter how many times I had to do it—using the communal gym showers never got any easier. The damn things were a breeding ground for bacteria, but I couldn’t stomach the idea of sitting in my car in sweaty clothes, so some battles needed to be waged.
I just wish it didn’t have to bedaily.
Perhaps there was more merit than I’d originally considered in adding a home gym above our garage. The project would be expensive, but it would eliminate this unpleasant experience from my life…
Buzz, buzz.
My germophobia-fuelled considerations were interrupted as my phone began to rattle its way along the bench beside my bag, Charlie’s contact photo lighting the screen.
I swiped my finger along the tempered glass, the call connecting to my headphones as I continued to pack away the rest of my belongings.
“Cameoooooo—” Charlie half-whined into my ear before I could get a greeting out. “Tell me you aren’t busy tonight. I’ve been left todie.”
I bit back a sigh. Dramatics were never my favorite, but Charlie seemed to thrive on them. Though the alphahadcalmed down a little since he’d packed up. At the very least, I listened to a whole lot less pining about a certain beta now that they were bonded. And I consideredthata net positive.
Luckily for him, it was Tuesday. Usually, this was game night with the rest of my pack. But with Indigo and Joon busy already… I was free to do what I pleased.
“I could be,” I hedged, my mind already on a night at home enjoying the quiet solitude of my bug room. I’d recently acquired a new giant peacock moth specimen that I planned to pin and dry before it, since it needs to sit for a few days. “With the right motivation.”
“My wife has left me,” Charlie sighed, heavily, “and took my husband with her.”
‘Wait—” I said quickly, tossing the strap of my bag over my shoulder and walking quickly out of the locker room to head to my car. “Charlie,che cazzo!Are you okay?”
My mind was going a mile a minute. To my knowledge, separation between scent-matched and mated packs was deeply uncommon, and my friend turned business partner hadn’t mentioned any issues in his relationship, much less one that was serious enough to lead to a separation.
“No,” he groaned. “You should’ve seen the dress I dropped Tara off in, it was diabolical. A crime against me specifically, and then Jesse?—”
