But I shouldn’t push it. Just because I kissed people I wanted to casually fuck didn’t mean that she did.
I’d casually fuck her if she wanted.
I’d uncasually fuck her if she wanted.
We surrendered the foosball table to somebody else and Ashton excused himself to go to the bathroom.
She full-on cuddled herself into me and I wrapped my arms around her as we continued to sway to the music. I tried to determine if she wanted a kiss, but she rested her head on my chest, like she was trying to steal all of my cuddles and put them in a reservoir to keep them for later.
I’d let her.
“He was a dick and you’re worth so much more than that,” I assured. “At some point, you'll find a couple of alphas who absolutely deserve you, because I feel like you need a couple of alphas.” Yeah, he was selfish to not share her.
“He said we’d find a pack later, maybe pick someone up in our respective doctoral programs.” She looked up at me. “His mom keeps finding ways to message me. She claims he was lying about staying on the island and that he was returning to the East Coast. She also sent me a bunch of things indicating that he was actually getting back together with his old prep school girlfriend, an omega from one of those families that just sounds rich. Apparently, I was just a placeholder.” She looked down. “And I was all wrong for him.”
I tipped her chin up. “Yeah, he’s a massive dick. That also means that little sidepiece is even less than a placeholder,” I replied, not sure if that would actually make Kai feel any better.
“You’re right. It doesn’t really hurt anymore. I just feel stupid that I believed him when he said we were forever.” Kai sniffed. “I wasted so much time and effort on him.”
I hugged Kai to me. “You’re not stupid. You’re human. You’ve got time, you’ll eventually find the right people.”
“Why don’t you and Ash have an omega? Or are you content to just be the two of you?” she asked.
“When we were rookies, we were kind of used by an omega. We thought it was love, she was trying to steal information from the team with her actual boyfriend. We’ve been a little wounded. We’re about ready to get back into the game. We’ll just have to be picky. Someone who wants us for us and not our careers. It was really hard for Ashton. He was head over heels for her,” I explained.
“I’m so sorry that happened. And I understand. Everything was fine when we were just dating and he didn’t talk to his family much. But he reconciled with them over the summer. After we moved in together in the fall semester, Logan's mom was completely convinced that I was after his money, even though I paid for him a lot and he never got me expensive things,” she confessed. “It was hurtful, and then him doing what he did to me, which seemed to come out of nowhere, but there were signs, wounded me, too. Do you date at all?”
“We’ve hooked up a few times, but it never meant anything and it wasn’t generally as fun as we thought it would be. Well, maybe it was fun at the moment… I don’t know if I’m explaining myself right,” I replied.
“You don’t have to. I was just being nosy.” Kai shrugged.
Ashton came back out and saw that we were right where he left us. He wrapped his arms around both of us. “Maybe tomorrow after the zoo we can watch a movie? It’s getting a little late. Don’t want the aunties hunting you down.”
“Yeah, I don’t want the aunties to be mad at me. But we’ll absolutely snuggle you if you need it.” I grinned.
“I like options,” shereplied with a smile.
We went to Ashton’s truck and drove Kai back to the hotel.
“Wear comfortable shoes again. I’ll text you with the exact time and any other plans I make, or options we might have, so you can dress accordingly,” I told her, not wanting to stress her out.
“Thanks. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me too,” Ashton said quietly, music playing in the background.
We pulled up in front of the hotel. As soon as we stopped, I hopped out and went around to the door to open it for her, taking her small hand in my large one.
I gave her a big hug. “See you tomorrow.”
“I can’t wait.” Kai grinned at me.
Ashton got out of the truck and came to give her a hug too. “I had fun.”
His fingers traced the necklace around her neck, then he booped her on the nose and both of them started laughing hysterically. I had no idea if that was some inside joke or if that was just a random moment.
But I was here for it.
Kai gave us a wave as she entered the hotel. I climbed back into the truck.
