“I would’ve thought he was head over heels for you,” Willow added. Jackson didn’t act like a guy who just wanted to be friends with Luxe. Letting his Pack member be a bodyguard for a friend of a friend without compensation or a favor of any kind was a huge tell he had feelings for Luxe.
“It was years ago.”
“Has he smelled one of your farts? Cause the shit you let out be deadly,” Flora joked, trying to lighten up the mood.
“Flora!” Luxe nearly shouted, covering her face with her hands. “He hasn’t fully rejected me; he says it’s not the right time.” She looked out the window, her ‘girl in love’ gaze following the clouds outside.
“Darling, I’m sorry some men don’t know a good thing standing right in front of them,” Flora said with a sigh.
“Yeah, maybe he uses a two-in-one in the shower or something,” Willow commented, pushing her glasses down her nose. Willow had never talked or showed interest in men, or women, literally anyone before.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Luxe asked.
“That should go without saying, Luxe,” Flora giggled. She subconsciously looked for the wavy-haired man behind her.
“Why do you separate shampoo and conditioner?” Willow continued on, suddenly serious.
“Because they do different things?” Luxe said.
“So how could they be in the same bottle, but wash and condition hair at the same time?” Willow asked, confusion written all over her face. “Something’s wrong there; how clean and conditioned could someone's hair really be if they used a two-in-one?” Willow elaborated, frustration filling the edge in her voice.
“Oh, you know what? You're so right,” Luxe agreed. Shaking her head, she continued, “But no, Jackson uses a shampoo and conditioner — no two-in-ones.”
“So there goes Willow’s logic. Maybe Jackson’s just crazy.”
Flora didn't believe that puppy dog-in-love sitting a few booths over hadn’t made his move yet. It wasn’t like an Alpha to not take what they wanted. Flora turned back to glance at Jackson to see his head turned toward their booth, an eyebrow raised in confusion.
“I forgot about super hearing; let’s change the topic.”
“So, Willow, is anything going on with you, girly?” Flora asked. Nothing was ever really new with them since they talked nearly every day, but filling the silence was a terrible and uncontrollable habit.
“It would be better if I knew you were safe and staying with me.”
“That’s not necessary; you know protecting me is Dylan’s job, not yours.” Flora met her friend's concerned gaze. Willow had brought this up before, but Flora rejected the offer. Though it might have sounded like a good idea before she ‘hired’ Dylan, now that they were together all hours of the day, she deemed it unnecessary to put Willow in potential danger like that. More than she already had anyway. Who knew what her attackers already knew about Flora?
“Is Dylan staying in the apartment with you, cause if he’s not...”
“Yes, actually he is,” Flora cut Willow off from beginning her rant of worry. Dylan actually agreed to stay in her apartment recently, but if she could just get him to eat her food, or at least let her pay for his own...
“Where is he sleeping?” Luxe suggestively asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
“On the couch, smartass.” Flora blushed suddenly, wishing the questioning would stop. Thinking about Dylan was something she did all the time but was definitely not what she should be doing just then. The whole point of this lunch was to get some separation from the guy. Now it seemed not only could she not stop thinking about him, but her friends also couldn’t stop talking about him, either.
“Is that all?” Luxe urged from the other side of the dull, white table. Rolling her eyes, Flora crossed her arms, and glanced back at her friend.
“What more could there be to tell?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe if this is turning out to be some romance movie where the girl falls in love with the big strong guy protecting her...”
“Yes, because it is totally realistic to be falling in love while at the same time being targeted and attacked by an unknown psycho. Love and intense anxiety go hand-in-hand,” Flora teased, earning a chuckle from both the girls. The real fact of the matter was that they weren’t too far from the truth and that scared her shitless.
11
DYLAN
“How has it been going? Not too difficult protecting Flora and managing your job at Lust Lane, is it?” Jackson asked. Dylan’s eyes stayed trained on Flora as she made her way to her table, taking his seat only after she took hers. She needed space and he’d give her as much as he could. A space surrounded by her friends and his. He would focus on the space they occupied together, not the words that flowed from her mouth or the way she’d rest her head on her hand.
Dylan ran his hand through his hair; this was supposed to be separation time for them, but it seemed like all he could think about was the woman a few booths away.
