“I don’t know,” she admits. “It’s kind of nice that they aren’t worried you’ll bite their heads off.”
“You’re confusing me for Abbott,” I tease her. “He would burn the shop down if they’re mean to you.”
“Cassidy!” she hisses, making me chortle.
Yeah, I’m having a really good fucking day.
“We can’t help ourselves,” I say honestly.
My phone rings, and I answer it, half expecting it to be Abbott.
“Hello,” I drawl, enjoying his growl. I make sure not to have it on speaker, because his reaction can be unpredictable.
“Listing your exploits without context is a wonderful way to push my buttons, Cassidy,” he says.
“I know! That’s why I do it,” I tease him. “Do you have any questions about my lovely list?”
“Yes, but they’re for Winter.God, if I didn’t know that you spontaneously orgasm when spanked, I’d threaten you with it.”
“It was just one time,” I complain, hiding my smile as I pass the phone to Winter.
Her lips part at whatever he says next, and I wince. I’ll need to warn him the next time I do that.
“Hello?” she squeaks. “I have no idea why butt plugs are fun during dinner.”
Clamping my hand on my mouth, I hold back my smile as her lips twitch in amusement.
She talks to him as we walk to our next destination. There’s a new theater that opened nearby, and I want to see if there’s an open casting call for their productions. I worked up an appetite over the last hour and a half, so I’ll take her to one of our restaurants to see it and eat.
“Do you want to tell Abbott anything?” she asks, glancing at me.
“Ask him if he’s up for dinner at La Bohéme at five-thirty, please.”
Winter bobs her head to show she heard me before asking Abbott about it. Hearing her reassure him that she was not only happy, but had also asked for my bite to bond with her helped me know for sure she was good with it.
It’s so easy to spiral after such a big event. While they talked, I was starting to worry if Abbott would be upset or think I rushed it. Hearing Winter’s side is helping settle my concerns. As long as she’s fine with it, the rest will figure itself out.
“Bye,” she says, handing me the phone. I had kind of drifted into my thoughts while she was talking with Abbott, so I’m grateful when she adds, “He said dinner sounded good, and that Bell should be finishing for the day by then.”
“Good,” I say, checking the time. “We have time for one more stop.”
“Oh?” she asks, looking relaxed and happy as she lifts her face to the sun. She reminds me of a flower looking for the sunlight, and she’s glowing from today’s win.
“Mmhmm. It could be fun,” I offer her without context.
Winter merely shrugs, happy to go along for the walk.
The theater comes up a couple blocks later, and her steps slow as she sees a flier.
“Bell used to read me Shakespeare all the time,” she says with a wistful smile. “I loved it. It started when I was having trouble understanding King Lear my senior year of high school. He helped make sure I passed the class, and then it just became a thing we did together.”
“That’s a very cool thing to bond over,” I murmur, checking the date. It’s in a couple of weeks, and happens in the park near our house. Taking a photo of the flier, I send it to Abbott, asking him to find tickets for us as a pack. “I’m going to have Abbott get us tickets.”
“Just like that?” Winter asks, looking at me as if I’m the insane one.
If my omega tells me a story in relation to an event, I’m going to make it happen. There’s clearly no other option.
“Of course,” I tell her. “That’s just how it is.”
