“Ben just texted,” Josie said, fiddling with her phone. “He’s wondering if we can pick up some things at the grocery store.”
I glanced over, trying to sense her emotions through the bond. What was Ben thinking, asking her to get groceries? We weren’t far from Trader Joe’s, but Josie was still nervous about being around people. I didn’t want to push her into anything, especially after therapy.
“I can drop you off at home and then come back out,” I offered.
She bit her lip. “That seems silly.”
I squeezed her thigh. “It’s not a big deal.”
She took a deep breath, placing her hand on mine. “No, we should go. It’s just a few things.”
My chest tightened, but I couldn’t sense any panic through the bond, so I took the next right turn into the Trader Joe’s parking lot. My hands felt clammy as I pulled into a spot towards the front. Shit, maybeIwas the one who was nervous about this. It was hard to know when I was being too protective after everything we’d been through.
Josie was quiet, and I was about to call off the trip and head home when she broke the silence.
“Should we role play?” She was looking out the window, staring at the store entrance.
I raised my eyebrows in confusion.
“You know, I’ll walk in ahead of you. You can stare at me from the car and follow me into the store.” She turned towards me, a smile tugging on the corner of her lips. “I’ll even pretend to faint so you can be all heroic and carry me out.”
I choked on a surprised laugh. “More likely I’d be arrested.”
I shifted in my seat to discretely hide my hard-on. Fuck, now I kind of wanted to consensually stalk her.
Josie’s eyes filled with delight as she glanced down at my crotch. “Wow, I was joking, but now I’m into this idea.”
“Not here,” I said with a scowl, knowing I couldn’t let her out of my sight in public. “But maybe we can do something like it another time,” I muttered, her laughter following me as I exited the car.
Josie waited for me to open her door, which my alpha fucking loved. She was so fiercely independent and capable, and we were learning how to better support her without stifling her. But she was also getting better at leaning on us and letting us do things for her.
I reached out my hand, but she hesitated.
“Should I use de-scenter?” she whispered. “I know you don’t like it—”
“No, no, what I want doesn’t matter,” I said, cutting her off. “You should do whatever makes you most comfortable.”
I lifted her chin so she met my gaze. She gave a little nod and bit her lip as she processed what she wanted to do.
It put me on edge when she wore de-scenter, but even more than that, I hated that it still wasn’t safe for omegas to move around alone in public without it. Even though laws were changing, society would take a long time to catch up.
I caressed her face, forcing myself to be patient.
“Does it look crowded?” she asked.
I glanced up at the store. The parking lot was only half-full and there usually weren’t a lot of alphas shopping here, anyway.
“Doesn’t look it,” I said.
“Okay, let’s go.”
She hopped out of the car, leaving the bottle of de-scenter in the seat. I pulled her in for a tight hug, sending the surge of pride and love I felt through the bond.
Josie hung onto my hand tightly as we walked to the entrance, but there was a bit of a bounce in each of her steps. Maybe Ben had been onto something. We all wanted Josie to feel more confident.
“Oh!” Josie exclaimed, waving.
I followed Josie’s gaze and saw Westin walking out of the store, pushing a cart with a few paper grocery bags. She smiled when she saw Josie but looked pale, with dark circles under her eyes. I felt oddly protective of her. She was Josie’s friend, and I knew she didn’t have much support. At least she wasn’t being threatened by the device anymore.
