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Alden

Good idea. I’ll save that for next time.

Elliott

Next time?

Alden

What if I don’t pass your test? I’m a terrible test-taker. My parents got me a tutor and everything.

Elliott

Please don’t bring your tutor to my heat.

Alden

Noted.

“What’s that smile for?” Noel asks, eying me from his reflection in the mirror over the back of our door.

I lift my head from my phone. “Huh?”

“Let me guess. You’re talking to your alpha, again?” Noel scoops pomade out of the container. “What’s his name again? Al-something. Albert? Alfredo? Alfonso?”

“Alden. Like All-den,” I correct. Again. “Stop making fun of his name.” I pluck a spicy Cheeto from the bag with my chopsticks, and pop it into my mouth.

“Hey, it might not even be his name.” Noel tousles his hair. “For all you know, he’s using an alias.”

“He’s not. You have to take a photo with your ID when you sign up.”

“ID cards can be faked. What if he’s a sociopath and abducts you?”

I shrug and eat another Cheeto. “It’ll make for an entertaining article.”

Noel scowls. “Not funny.”

My roomie needs to take a break from the true crime podcasts. But I secretly love that he worries about me. It’s a sign of care I never received from my workaholic parents, or an alpha.

“I’ll meet him in a public place, then. I can’t review the app without testing the safety and privacy measures they claim to have. Besides, I’m not stupid.”

“Your omega is, though,” Noel says.

I toss a spicy Cheeto at his head. It lands in his hair. Bullseye.

He inhales a gasp straight from the telenovelas he loves to watch with his sisters. “How dare you?”

He crosses the room and swipes the chopsticks from my hand faster than I can react, then turns them on me and pinches my arm.

“Ouch.” I swat him away. “Okay. Okay. I’m sorry. I’ll never touch your hair again.”

Alden

If you could have the perfect heat, what would it be like?

Elliott

Safe. Quiet. Private. I don’t need much.