Page 99 of All Packed Up

“After he agreed to help with the studio, we settled into kind of our life… I mean…” Tate rolled his eyes, heat rushing to his cheeks that had nothing to do with the slowly burning logs in the fireplace. “How could I not fall in love with him?” he asked, motioning a hand in Arlo’s direction.

He grinned wider than Tate had seen in a while. “He’d been the one to ask to move in together, and to ask about the investment together, so I wanted to stake a claim on the proposal.”

Wendy awed and clasped her hands together. “You proposed? That’s so sweet I’m gonna have cavities. You guys are so cute.”

“It wasn’t like a big show with a photographer and fireworks or anything, calm down now,” Arlo warned.

Tate recalled that night so vividly, even though there wasn’t anything inherently… spectacular about it. What made it so special was Arlo.

I’m such a simp.

With a chuckle, Tate leaned on his palms that he stretched out behind him and shared a lopsided grin with Arlo.

Nic cleared his throat. “How come you didn’t wait for a pack to get mated?”

“Well, we weren’t sure we’d find a pack, but I knew I already had Arlo.” Tate let his lips curl in a half smile as he stared at Arlo.

“It’s just that you don’t hear of alphas mating each other often,” Grif said with a tilted head.

“I know. But I know I love Arlo and want him in as much of my life as possible. And that includes a pack, if one were to find us,” Tate explained.

“What he said,” Arlo agreed. “Like, if we found a pack? Cool. Just because we’re mated doesn’t mean there’s not more that exists for us. But on the same hand, we’re doing pretty well on our own.”

“Hell yeah we are,” Tate cheered softly.

The spotlight eventually moved off of him and Arlo and to the others. Wendy requested snacks, and Griffith and Arlo returned with arms stacked high with things they’d gotten on their trip out.

“To be fair, we did skip dinner,” Nic interjected as their laughter echoed around the living room.

Griffith finally let a grin crack his exterior and chuckled. “We didn’t skip dinner, what do you call all this?” he asked, spreading his hand out to the spread of snacks. “We can only do so much without power.”

They definitely snacked like stoners, and Tate just knew they’d end up having to acquire more food for their stay. Who would be the chosen runners?

Arlo definitely had taken a liking to the big alpha, and Tate tried not to grin too hard at the idea. Griffith was hot, he had to admit. And they both already knew they were attracted to Nic. Any time they’d seen the guy while they were smoking outside the apartments, neither of them had been secretive about checking out his ass and thick thighs. They’d stare, and then meet each other’s gaze, trying to catch the other in the act. It always ended in a shared burst of laughter, a poke in the ribs.

As they readied for bed and cleaned up their snack mess, Tate pondered their words from earlier. They were doing pretty damned well on their own, but now the possibility of that more they’d always discussed might become a reality. Was Arlo ready for that?

Hell, was Tate?

Wendy was the first to get settled in the little nest, head by the couch and feet closest to the fire. Tate crawled in beside her, tugged Arlo next to him. Wendy beta-napped Nic as her cuddle buddy, and Griffith… curled right up next to Nic.

Tate wanted to laugh at the way Nic stiffened. Oh no, he thought in Nic’s direction. The alpha you clearly still have the hots for is lying next to you. A terrible fate.

With a half smile, Tate rolled over to his own fate and found Arlo. The fire crackled in the background, and with the warmth from its natural heat and Wendy’s ripe plum scent curling around him to mix with Arlo’s smooth earthy smoke, the cocktail was… heady.

But he kept his dick in his pants because he wanted to make sure him and his mate were on the same page. Sure, the bond was nice, but it didn’t tell him words. He still couldn’t read Arlo’s mind, and even after all their years together, Tate was a king at misinterpreting Arlo’s desires.

So. Speaking it was.

“Hey,” he whispered a long while and several slow blinks later. A gentle snore sounded from behind him, and Tate wondered if it was Nic or Griffith.

Arlo peeked an eye open at him and squinted. “Hey.”

Letting the bond open a bit wider, he let some of his curiosity and concern pluck at their strand.

“What’s up?” Arlo asked, voice low and husky in that way that was so very Arlo.

But Tate didn’t let it distract him. He shuffled closer so their words wouldn’t carry to anyone else.