Lia:Oh, no! What’s going on? Is she sick? Running a fever?
Eli:Not a fever, no. She says her stomach hurts and she’s moving pretty slow this morning. I told her I’d call her off school so she could rest for the day, but I still have to go in for work.
I’m not able to pop off a response before another message rolls through.
Eli:Walker’s dropping off some soup for her before he gets to work.
That makes me smile as another message arrives.
Eli:Knox said he’ll swing by on his lunch break to check in.
I feel like he’s building to something, so I finally get a message in.
Lia:Anything I can do to make her feel better?
Eli:Well, actually, Amber was wondering… if you really are feeling better… she wanted to know if you’d come hang out with her today.
I blink at the screen. Amber wants to hang out with me? The thought makes me smile. I must be taking too long to respond, though, because another messages pours in quickly.
Eli:No pressure at all, by the way. But if you’re tired, you two can crash in the guest room. There’s a TV in there. Or you can use the kitchen if you need to do any baking stuff today. I’m sure Amber would love to be your taste-tester.
My gaze drifts to my planner sitting on the counter. But I already know what my schedule is: empty. The next week and a half is blocked off for one reason and one reason only.
My heat.
I text back before I can overthink it.
Lia:Of course. Let me eat this breakfast Walker sent me and I’ll get over there.
Three dots appear immediately.
Eli:She’ll be thrilled. And take your time, I’ve got someone covering my first period, so I don’t have to be at the school until 9:45.
I glance down at Pickles.
“Field trip?” I ask him.
His tail thumps against the floor as his mouth quirks into something resembling a smile.
An hour later, I’m knocking on Eli’s front door with Pickles sitting patiently beside me. The door opens almost immediately, and I can’t help but notice that Eli looks tired.
Relieved, but tired.
“Hey,” he says quietly. “Glad you could make it.”
Pickles barks as he squeezes himself into the house like he owns the place.
“Hey,” I say with a smile as I release Pickles’ leash.
“Pickles!” Amber squeals.
I can hear the tiredness in her voice, though.
“Come on in, Amber’s tucked into the guest bedroom,” he says as he steps to the side. “She’s already got her favorite movie queued up and waiting.”
“Sounds like the perfect place for an icky-feeling Omega to be,” I say as I make my way inside.
“She’s been asking every five minutes if you’re here yet,” he says as he closes the door behind me.
