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thirteen

SIMON

Currently, I’m in my office, pretending that I’m doing financials and important paperwork.

In reality, I’m thinking through the interaction Vic and I had with Henry.

He seems like a nice enough guy, but he’s already implying he wants to Pack up, and I don’t know if I’m ready for that.

I’m finally comfortable with the idea of a Pack Pull to Vic, now I have one for an Alpha that I barely know.

Who else is going to show up with one? A random customer in my store?

I don’t want to be ambushed, but it’s not like I can control when the pull shows up.

A face comes unbidden to mind, and my eyes go wide, realizing that I did meet another Pack Pull and didn’t recognize the feeling.

Before I opened, that couple was peeking in, and the blonde guy was in it.

The woman he was with had an amazing cinnamon scent, and I played it cool, but I was ready to drool over her.

Wiping my mouth to ensure I haven’t started drooling over her memory, I stand and head out to the floor to check on things.

My baristas are still working at top speed, which makes me happy to know we’re doing a lot of business.

I’ll make sure they’re getting their breaks, too; I’m sure they’re tired from all the movement.

Seeing some orders sitting on the counter, I pick them up and begin calling names.

There’s not a huge wait queue, so maybe someone was in the bathroom or has earbuds in.

A few people come when I call their names, and a few don’t.

My fears of a new Pack Pull are realized as I call out for “Jesse” and see the tall blonde walking toward me. Same guy from my memory.

“You called for Jesse?” he asks.

“Uh, yeah, looks like this is yours,” I tell him, still a bit dumbstruck.

“Thanks, had my headphones in. You… you okay there?”

“Yeah, fine, totally fine, all good.”

There’s a moment of awkward staring between us before I snap out of it first.

“Have a great day,” I tell him, before turning around and walking back to my office like my ass is on fire.

I just had to manifest that shit, didn’t I?

Pushing thoughts of this guy, Jesse, to the back of my mind, I focus on my job.

When the day ends, I head home, looking forward to some time with Vic.

I need that stability right now with all this shit stirring in my head.

Should I be okay with being potentially Pack with two strangers? What about cinnamon girl?

Vic said that Josie smells like cinnamon dessert, but it couldn’t be the same girl.

The chances are just too slim. Henry honestly seems like a decent guy, but there’s no way to know if it’s a facade or not.

For all I know, the moment we go to bond, I’ll get kicked to the curb.

Again. My mind turns to Vic’s words of “one day at a time”, and I try to repeat them in my head.

Once I’m home, I kick off my shoes and stride into the house, looking for Vic.

I need him more than I’m willing to admit to myself, or him.

When I finally get eyes on him, Vic’s sitting on the bed we’ve been sharing and talking on the phone.

He’s got that look on his face, telling me that he’s talking to Josie.

I walk around the bed and flop on my back, my face near Vic’s thighs and my feet hanging off the other end of the bed.

“Wow, I can’t believe it. Are you sure?” Vic says. He looks down at me and smiles softly, gently running his hand through my hair as he speaks.

I can faintly hear Josie, so I settle in to eavesdrop in plain sight.

“Yeah, I trust that he’s telling the truth. I’m sorry to tell you this over the phone. It’s just so much, having two Matches. If I end up with more, I would be happy to experience that, but it’s also a lot of pressure.”

“There’s gotta be a reason for you to have the Matches you do. I believe it’s a good thing. Speaking of good things…” Vic teases.

After a big pause, she starts begging, “What? What? What? You can’t leave me hanging like that!”

Vic chuckles, alternating between running his hands through my hair and caressing my face. I close my eyes in pleasure, basking in the feel of his touch as I listen.

“I found another Pack Pull. You’ll never guess who it is.”

She scoffs, “How would I know? We don’t have anyone who overlaps with the two of us. At some point, I hope to meet Simon, but I know he’s hesitant.”

“He’s got some shit to work though, don’t take it personally,” Vic says gently.

“I know, he just means so much to you that I hope he and I can get along. So tell me your Pack Pull!”

“So… it’s this guy named Henry.” Vic teases one tidbit of information at a time.

“Henry?”

“Yup. Apparently, he knows you.”

There’s a pause before Josie all but screams, “Oh my God, you met Henry!!”

Vic chuckles, “Yeah, he came into the coffee shop while Simon and I were there, and it hit me. So we all met up the other day.”

“This is so wild! Ah! I’m excited and terrified!” Josie lets out a high-pitched, nervous giggle that comes through quite clearly on Vic’s cell.

“What do you think about having dinner with us? Simon, Henry, and I. Henry offered to host one if you’re interested.”

I miss the rest of the conversation because I immediately realize that Vic didn’t ask me first. Is he just expecting me to follow along like a good little Packmate?

There’s no way I’m going, I can’t just do whatever Henry and Vic say.

Vic is my rock. Is this the first sign of him abandoning me?

He promised he wouldn’t do that. Why would he invite Josie before telling me about it?

I suppose since she’s his Match, she comes first now. That’s going to be hard to get used to.

“Want to talk about it?” Vic says, sounding way closer than he did before.

I open my eyes to see him lying down, his head right next to mine, surprising me since I never felt him move. We stare at each other for a moment before I gather my thoughts.

“It’s going to sound really petulant,” I confess.

Vic just smiles and grabs one of my hands in his, holding them just under our chins.

“Why didn’t you tell me about Henry inviting us for dinner?” I ask, my eyes darting away as I speak.

Vic waits for me to look at him again before speaking. “I had just finished texting with Henry when Josie called. I didn’t have time to let you know. I’m sorry that you heard about the dinner in a way that made you feel badly.”

I huff with a small smile, “Could you please stop being so mature and wise?”

“Okay, poopyhead,” Vic grins at me.

We both laugh through the tension I was holding and enjoy the silly moment.

“There is going to be uncertainty,” Vic says, his thumb rubbing back and forth on my knuckles, “but promise me that you’ll try to give me the benefit of the doubt? I’ll do my best to make sure I communicate with you.”

“Okay, I promise… I do have another thing,” I say to Vic. He nods to show he’s listening. “I think I met another Pack Pull. I’d seen him once before but forgot until I saw him again today. I didn’t get his number or anything, I ran pretty fast.”

“If it’s meant to be, we’ll get another shot. Don’t worry about it for now, just focus on us. Maybe Josie and Henry, too,” Vic replies with a wink.

It’s finally dinner night, and while I’m trying to be optimistic, I’m actually incredibly nervous.

I still don’t feel like I deserve any kind of Pack, nor do I trust the idea of a Pack.

Are they really that special if one group can kick me out the way they did?

I know we were dumb college kids, but the Pack is supposed to be a serious thing.

Will Henry kick me out? I know Vic said he’ll always be here for me, but I can’t deny him the chance at happiness with a Pack.

Steeling myself, I try to remember that it doesn’t help to worry about the future.

If I say it enough, it’s got to stick. My head is so fucked up.

Vic knocks at the door as I stand next to him, my eyes all but glued to his ass.

He really has a great one, and his dark wash jeans display it well.

His casual long-sleeved shirt suits him well, and when he catches me looking, I give him a wink.

Henry opens the door right as Vic is about to say something, and smiles widely at the two of us.

“Come on in! I’m glad you guys were able to make it.”

“Thanks, looking forward to spending some time together,” Vic answers.

I give a non-committal grunt.

Henry shows us to their living room and grabs drinks for the three of us. We chit-chat lightly and sip at our drinks until the doorbell rings again.

“That’ll be the rest of them,” Henry says, still smiling, before getting up.

I lean over to Vic, “He smiles too much.”

“He does not , you just don’t smile enough around other people,” Vic rolls his eyes.

“If you could not be right about things, it would make my world a whole lot easier.”

“Tough luck, babe,” Vic lands a quick kiss on me.

I can’t help but smile at him. He’s just…

him. It makes me all gooey inside. Footsteps draw my attention, and I see Henry coming back to the room with two people in tow.

Holy shit, these two are the ones I saw looking at the cafe before we opened.

The guy is tall, like an Alpha is, with blonde, messy hair.

He looks somewhat open but incredibly aloof.

He’ll probably answer questions, but won’t engage on his own. I can relate.

The girl, though, the girl is who gets me.

I knew Josie was coming and it would be our first time meeting, but I didn’t expect her to floor me like this.

She’s tall, with long auburn hair and a friendly, open face.

Her scent wraps around me, and I stifle a groan.

It’s so much better up close than it was outside.

Belatedly, I realize this is Josie, and I almost laugh at the absurdity of all this.

How is it possible that we’ve all met before?

It feels insane. It also feels so right that I’m terrified.

“In case you guys haven’t met, this is Josie and Jesse,” Henry introduces the two.

“Hey Josie Girl, Jesse it’s nice to meet you,” Vic has manners and actually stands to shake Jesse’s hand.

I give a small wave because I’m a chicken-shit and don’t want to find out if Josie is a Match on accident.

Jesse gives a knowing smile when he sees my wave and does it back.

I’m glad he understands that I’m not trying to be a dick.

Josie stares at me for a moment, her jaw slightly slackened.

Maybe she remembers me? The moment passes, and she gives a small wave in return.

“Nice to officially meet you, Simon,” she says.

Whelp, I’m a goner. The way my name sounds in her mouth is just too good to pass up.

I’m not sure I’ll be able to stay away from her just from that one word.

Small talk takes over while we sip on drinks and talk about basic topics, like the weather.

Before we head to the dining room, Henry decides he’s going to bring up the whole Pack idea.

“So, I would like to take a moment and talk through how our group is forming and functioning,” he says.

“I don’t think we’re quite functioning yet,” Josie says with a teasing smile.

“We can fix that,” Vic chimes in.

Henry chuckles, “What I meant was we should start the conversation to see how everyone is feeling about any Pack Pulls or potential Matches. Josie, I remember saying you struggle to let others touch you, so before we go any further, I want to acknowledge that we only know of two Matches so far.”

Josie blushes, “Sorry for springing Jesse on you last minute, but I couldn’t leave him behind.”

Jesse gives her a soft smile and a kiss on her temple. Lucky bastard.

“It’s no problem,” Henry says gently, “It’s nice to have him here. I am actually feeling a Pack Pull, but I don’t want to speak for Jesse. Vic, Simon, and I have already discussed the Pull between the three of us.”

Clearing his throat, Jesse has a very soft-spoken tone, “I think we can all be honest enough to say that the four of us have a Pack Pull, and Josie is our Match, or at least an Omega we’d want to pursue.”

I like that Jesse doesn’t mince words. There’s an awkward moment after his comment as we try to get situated in the dining room.

It’s hard to figure out who is going to sit where, which it really shouldn’t be.

I just make sure I’m sitting next to Vic and call it good.

Another moment of quiet settles in when Henry steps out to grab the food from the kitchen.

“Um, Simon, right? You own the coffee shop?” Jesse asks.

I look up in surprise, “Yeah, I do. Just opened it.”

“Right on. It’s great coffee. I’m not sure if you source it locally or what, but it’s really good. I think a lot of places it all tastes the same, but not yours,” he says.

“Thanks, man.” A smile spreads across my face at the high praise.

Before I can ask anything about him, his cheeks flare red as though he said something embarrassing, and he looks away. Huh, must be really shy. I give him the reprieve and stay quiet.

Once Henry comes back with food, we dish it out and spend a few minutes confirming Pack Pulls and interests in Josie.

I do my best not to sound over-eager and freak her out, because honestly, I’m freaked out enough on my own.

Deciding to try some Pack outings that also include courting Josie, we wrap up our meal and go our separate ways.

Secretly, I’m already counting down the minutes until I get to see her again.