Page 38 of A Farmer’s Guide To Gamers

Tillie grinned as she sat up, though Aiden didn’t move from where he was laid out on the blanket.

“Oh, Kai! That looks delicious,” she gushed, her stomach growling as I put the stuff down. “This is going to be perfect since it’s still so hot out.”

“My thoughts exactly,” I said, swallowing down the jealousy now that her attention was on me.

I could feel every one of our pack watching me. Subtlety was not my strong suit even when I was trying hard to hide how I felt.

Everyone else made their way inside to wash up then made their own plates. We all settled into whatever seat we could find. Aiden, Jack, and Tillie on the blanket, Dean on the tailgate of his truck, me on the porch steps. The sun was dipping below the horizon now, casting the evening in a warm glow.

I hated that I was letting my own insecurities get in the way of truly enjoying it. This, having a pack, was what I always wanted.

The issue was that I wanted Aiden, too. I have for a long time and it seemed that I was destined to watch him fall in love with our omega while not sparing me a glance.

Dean sauntered over with an empty plate. He made a show of gathering seconds but his attention was on me.

“You know we all see it, right?” he hedged, finally meeting my eyes. He was being careful and kind, and it made me feel far too vulnerable.

“See what?”

He let out a humorless laugh. “Don’t play dumb with me, beta. You both are stubborn as hell and if I’m being honest, Aiden needs things laid out before he considers them. If you don’t grow a pair and talk to him, this is all you’ll ever be.”

With those harsh, little nuggets of wisdom he walked away like he hadn’t just dropped a bomb on me.

Fuck.

I hated that he was right. Aiden was so many things, but observant when it came to emotions wasn’t one of them.

Tillie stood and stretched, not realizing she had all of our attention. She tossed her plate in the bin before glancing around.

“I should head back and put the animals up.”

“Do you need help?” Dean asked.

She considered it then shrugged. “If you’re up for it, gamer boy.”

“‘Gamer boy?’” he countered with a rumble. “You do remember I grew up around here, yes? I can handle things just fine.”

I looked back and forth between the alpha and omega, completely aware that Dean wouldn’t be coming back tonight. Given how Tillie blushed and said something about them taking her truck they were both on the same page.

I rolled my eyes at Dean’s swagger toward the truck with a grin back at us and a wink. The guy was such a fucking pain in the ass, reading me like a book and then just heading out for one-on-one time with our omega.

“Guess we should prep stuff for tomorrow. We need to make some progress on our own game and not just patches if we want to start our own studio,” I commented after Dean and Tillie had driven off. “Once he’s back we need to lock in.”

“I’ve been working on more art concepts,” Aiden said as he gathered the blanket and his trash. “My plan was to work on a few more tonight, so I’ll make sure I get at least the sketches done so we can all look at them.”

“I’m gonna grab some drinks and work more on the script tonight.”

“We could just set up the living room and all work together?” Jack proposed as we walked inside. His nose wrinkled as he sniffed his shirt. “But after showers. For all of us.”

“Are you saying I stink?” I asked, mock-affronted.

“You do,” Aiden commented after he sniffed in my direction.

“Says the guy who was snuggled up to Tillie and not working,” I joked, a slight edge to it that even I heard. It had me immediately feeling like shit since he just had a panic attack. Not wanting to make more of a scene, I turned and walked towards my room. “I’m going to shower then go get some drinks to fuel us. If you want anything just text me.”

I felt Jack and Aiden’s gazes weighing heavy on me as I walked.

Sometimes my mouth really did get away from me and I stuck my foot in it. But damn, I just didn’t have it in me to lay it all out there for Aiden right now.