Page 205 of Alpha Mates

“It has so many lenses!” he gushes, excitedly rifling through the box beneath it full of eyepieces and a hundred other little parts I don’t have a chance of telling apart.

“Well, go ahead. Look into it,” I say.

He peeks through, adjusting the knobs with careful fingers, making fine-tuned adjustments before he gasps. “I can see the moon.”

His smile is large as he stares up at the sky, which was supposed to be clear—apparently, there are times and special days and shit to see a nice sky, so I had to plan this well. I’m glad to see Mother Nature has kept up her end of the deal.

“It’s beautiful,” he whispers, melting as the wind wafts around him.

“Sure is,” I murmur, looking at him until my chest aches.

“Come look,” Jewels demands, barely uttering the words before he pulls me towards the cylindrical eyepiece.

Sure enough, the sky is sizzling with billions of twinkling stars, seen and unseen, but to me, none of them shines like the one beside me. Still, Julian makes it his duty to show me all the visible constellations and planets he knows, passion brightening his eyes, and I listen, loving him more for it. But I’m not quite done with my surprises yet.

“Jewels,” I say, cutting him off before he could tell me about Orion’s Belt. “Remember how I said I skipped lunch? Can you feed me before you show me the next one?”

“Okay,” he says, blushing a little as he follows me down onto the blankets. “Sorry, I got excited.”

“And I’m glad,” I tell him. “I want to hear all about it.”

He eyes me doubtfully, and I narrow mine.

“Why would I lie to you, Jewels?”

Smiling begrudgingly, Julian nods. Growing up as enemies first, there’s no harsh truth I’m too afraid to tell him. I mean my words, and he knows it.

I pluck some grapes free and toss one into my mouth. Julian grabs some too, and one look tells me what’s coming. Breaking it from the stem, he tosses a grape into the air; I dive forward to catch it in my mouth.

He laughs, and does it again, and when it bounces off my nose instead, that laughter doubles. The rest of it we eat without making it fly. I prepped sandwiches and some fruit since I’m not the great cook Jewels is, but he scarfs it down without complaint until there’s nothing left.

“That was really nice,” he whispers as he sprawls himself across the blanket.

“I’m glad,” I say, glancing at the paper tucked beneath my thigh. “I still have one more surprise, though.”

Julian immediately sits back up, so fast I chuckle as I grab the envelope from its nook and hold it out.

His eyes light up before he even snatches the envelope from my hand.

“You didn’t!” he exclaims. Somehow, he already knows. “Aiden, you didn’t!” He tears the seal before he pulls out the certificate with trembling fingers. His eyes fill as he stares at it. “You bought me a star?”

“I named it Jewels.” I grin. “I hope you don’t mind.”

A trickle of tears escapes Julian’s eyes, splashing on the certificate he can’t seem to look away from.

“I can show you exactly which one it is later, or at least try to,” I mumble. The process was weird enough; I’m not sure I could pick it out from the actual sky.

Julian lets out a half-sob, half-laugh and dives into my arms, slamming into me with a force to match the happiness crashing into our bond. “Aiden, thank you!”

I hug him back, holding on tight while everything good seems to ricochet inside me, demanding to be let out. I’m scared to let it, terrified, until Julian pulls back, and in his crystal eyes, I see the one person who makes feeling this way anythingbutterrifying.

“I hate you,” I say but continue quickly before those words can cause him any pain. “I hate the fact that you can cook and clean every day and never complain. I hate that you don’t like most people, and yet you check on them every day to make sure they’re fine.”

Julian’s eyes soften as I card my fingers through his hair, holding him close.

“I hate that you feed those squirrels living in the tree next to us every single morning, even though you know I want them gone.”

He laughs, and so do I, but it fades as I look at him—really look at him.