“Thank you.”
Ryder hummed, still rubbing soothing circles with his hand. “He did good.”
“Yeah.”
“You did too. Getting your omega friend to call me. That was the right move.”
Ash didn’t want to think about that right now—the panic and the pain and the anxiety of a strange alpha trying to move in when he wasn’t wanted. “No more talking,” he ordered.
Ryder pressed a kiss to the side of his head. “Okay, baby. No more talking.”
12
SPENCER
This was wrong. All wrong.
It was Friday night, already past ten p.m., and Spencer was stuck at home. Alone and bored. So bored.
Noah and Chase had told him they were going to be with their forever boyfriends for the night, and Spencer hadn’t heard from Ash and Ryder, so he’d decided to embrace the pain and get solo with style. He’d thought he was going to be super chill with it, too—like, look at that personal growth, everyone, Spencer’s not being a needy fuck tonight. He was going to do a night workout, watch an action movie or three, and then pass out on the couch when he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore. Totally cool. Copacetic as fuck.
But he couldn’t do it, actually. He just wasn’t born that way. Or maybe he was too wired. Too … energized. Spencer needed to be around people. Needed to chat and laugh and soak up funky collegiate pheromones.
He tried to distract himself; he really did. He paced the living room. He found a random tennis ball tucked under achair—where the hell had that come from?—and threw it against the wall for a while. He concocted a new smoothie, one with chocolate protein powder that looked like someone took a dump in his blender. He cleaned out his desk and stashed some of his extra school supplies in Chase’s massive closet. He texted his mom,What’s up, Mumsie?and tried not to be surprised when she never responded.
But it wasn’t working, and it was all just the worst.
And Spencer knew where he could go too. Carter Bishop was having one of his shindigs, and it was probably just getting good right about now.
It wouldn’t be the first time Spencer went to a party alone. He was an old hat at it, especially when he was looking for someone random to spend the night with.
But randoms weren’t allowed right now, even if Spencer had been craving one, which he most definitely wasn’t. So that left one option:
Be annoying as fuck.
Spencer pulled out his phone.
Spencer: Bored.
Ryder responded immediately.
Sucks to be you.
Followed by Ash’s slightly less hostile,
Come over.
Spencer: What are you guys up to?
Ash: Chilling.
Spencer: I want to go out.
Ryder: Sucks to be you.
Spencer: Please. Please please.
There was no response to that one. Spencer frowned and tried again.
