“Now,” I stressed. “There’s nothing holding us back. Right?”
“Not a damn thing. The safety chain is totally off. No life jacket.”
“You make dating sound so dangerous.”
“It is kinda dangerous,” they said, pulling out of the driveway and starting off down the darkened street. “I care about you, Eva. I don’t want to fuck up our friendship if this goes south.”
I hummed. Until now, I’d been so wrapped up in the hope of it all that I’d hadn’t considered the very real possibility that this ended with me having their pack's baby and then being politely told,"Thank you, now get out.”
And then where would that leave us?
I shied away from the idea. I hadn’t even gotten to experience what it was like to be with Indi yet, and here I was catastrophizing about our breakup. I just needed to chill.
Seriously.
Indigo chuckled, giving my arm a playful shake. “Let’s talk about something a little less serious, okay? I’m sure you’ve had enough doom and gloom for one day. Besides, this place has like a hundred flavors. You’ll need to start planning now if you don’t want to panic and order something boring.”
“Boring? Like what? Strawberry?”
The look the alpha gave me as we stopped at the red light heated my entire body. “Naw, I don’t think there’s a damn thing boring about strawberry, Eva.” They reached with their free hand to stroke my cheek, and I leaned into the touch. “It might just be my favorite.”
The milkshake place was actually an old-school drive-in burger place.
Indi took us around the drive-through, ordering a root beer milkshake for himself with a healthy dollop of whipped cream, and I chose raspberry cookies and cream. They handed over the cold paper cup, circling back around the building to find a place to stop in the far corner of the parking lot.
“You’re not in a rush to get home, right?” they asked, ripping the paper off a straw and sticking it into my cup before repeating the motion with their own.
“No,” I said, offering them a smile. “I want to hang out… I just needed a break, that’s all.”
Indigo chuckled, leaning their head back against the seat. "Marcus can be a real dickhead, can't he?"
I nodded, narrowly avoiding jutting my lip out in a pout. "I know he's just being protective... But I don't see the point. Obviously, I don't want to hurt you."
"Oh, you're a real sweetheart for that," the alpha teased, chewing on the end of their straw. "The last time my pack tried to shack up with an omega—not Joon, obviously—it didn't go so hot. She really did a number on Marcus and Cam. I know they don't seem like it with all the, you know, being absolute fucking freaks?—"
I laughed so hard that I threatened to have a bit of milkshake come out of my nose.
"—and all. But they're pretty traditional guys. I know it's hard for them that Joon doesn't want to be courted the proper way. Without all their rules and routines, they just..."
"Feel out of control?" I offered helpfully, the picture piecing itself together in my mind.
With Marcus, he was so stiff, like if I approached too quickly, he was going to startle like a wild animal. Cameo was a little less skittish, but only because he had a clear path for what he wanted, his focus interest holding a single note along with his focus. Give us a baby and be on your way. Joon seemed on board with theplan; at the very least, he wasn't planning on having the baby himself, so that left an opportunity for this conversation in the first place.
And then there was Indi...
I leaned against the door of their Jeep to watch them, finding that they were already doing the same, from their seat, a long arm stretching over the center console to wrap a hand around my thigh.
"Yeah, exactly that." They said softly. "You're damn good at making an alpha feel like they're losing their fucking mind."
"Can I ask you something?" I asked, though I was finding it hard to think about anything with Indigo's warm fingers trailing along my inner thigh.
Suddenly, all I could think about was the way Indi's hips had felt grinding against mine. Their hands on my ass.
"Anything, yeah?"
"Why didn't you fuck me during my heat? It's clear you like me, Joon did, and everyone else..."
I didn't want to admit it, but there was something in my omega hindbrain that just couldn't let go of the slight.
