Page 17

seventeen

JOSIE

V ic has been bugging me for weeks to come and visit his rental house.

Now that I’ve met Simon, I feel a little more comfortable doing it, but I’m still pretty nervous.

Simon seems great, and I can understand why Vic likes him so much, but I’m not sure Simon likes me very much.

The last thing I want is to get between him and Vic.

Vic may be my Match, but if Simon is uncomfortable with me, I will do my best to keep the peace.

Do I want Simon to be comfortable with me?

Absolutely I do. I want him to assume that I’m always going to be there, and to be happy about it.

I want him to look at me the same way Vic, Henry, and Jesse do.

I want to explore every inch of his body.

If I’m being honest with myself, I want a night with him, Vic, and myself enjoying each other’s bodies.

My Omega perks up at that, ready to tangle with both men at the first opportunity.

I tell her to simmer down and take a few cleansing breaths.

I can’t show up there smelling like slick, I need to at least pretend I’m not secretly super needy.

I grab the container of pre-made brownies I bought and hop into my car.

It’s not a terribly long drive, but I haven’t been to this side of town before, so I take in the scenery as I go, wanting to remember the route.

Hopefully, it becomes second nature to me quickly.

My anticipation grows as I get closer, and I swear, I can almost smell Vic and Simon.

I was surprised this time around with Vic when his scent hit me so hard.

I don’t remember noticing it before, but I got so caught up in the excitement of seeing him, then the panic of touching him, that I didn’t register his scent.

In the past, I’ve been so focused on maintaining distance that I never entertained the idea of us having Match potential.

His scent absolutely draws me more than any of the previous assholes who faked a Match.

Maybe… just maybe the other guys are Matches, too.

Henry and Simon both have amazing scents, but I’m not sure Simon is even interested in me, so I remind myself to curb that line of thinking.

I don’t need to be a clingy Omega when a hot Alpha comes around.

I need to make sure to stay strong since I’m at a disadvantage where touch is concerned.

It’s been magical to snuggle with Jesse and Vic without feeling drained, and I won’t take that for granted by throwing myself at the others.

Unless Henry buys me another blanket, I might throw myself at him for that. That blanket is heaven.

Pulling into the driveway of their adorable rental house.

It’s not huge like Henry’s mansion, and I’m okay with that.

I assume it has two or three rooms, and plenty spacious to have people over.

My hands grab the brownie container before opening my door, and I take a steadying breath.

Hopefully, Simon will be welcoming tonight.

It was hard to tell with him at the dinner Henry hosted, and I’m so nervous about coming between him and Vic, even with the Match between Vic and me.

Well, nervous about one kind of coming and excited about the other kind.

The door opens almost immediately after I knock, and Vic’s face takes up all my focus.

“Josie Girl!” he exclaims and pulls me into a hug.

My natural reaction is to tense, but I quickly relax into him and wrap my arms around his torso. I’ll never be able to feel the electrifying Match Touch, but his scent wraps around me, and his arms feel like home. It’s enough.

We part, and he pulls me into the house, where I promptly remove my shoes and hand off the brownies.

“I wanted to bring dessert, but wasn’t up to baking today. I know for a fact that the brownies from this store are delicious,” I promise.

My eyes roam the house as I follow Vic into the kitchen.

Their decor is minimal, which is what I would expect from a male Beta and Alpha, but there’s this sense of home as well.

They’ve well saturated the place with their scent, and there are small knick-knacks and pieces of trash that got forgotten lying around.

I pick up a rubber band from the floor as I walk.

Holding it in front of me, I raise an eyebrow, “Gettin’ kinky in here?”

Vic turns to see the rubber band and laughs.

“Nah, my hands are too big for this little thing,” he boasts.

I give him my best placating agreement and shoot the rubber band at him.

He ducks and chuckles as it flies over his head by centimeters.

Grabbing the rubber band, he aims and fires back at me.

I move out of the way quickly, and hear a masculine “Ow! What the fuck?” sound from behind me.

Turning, I look in semi-horror as Simon holds the rubber band in one hand, his other touching his cheek to check for bleeding.

Of course, my now-playful brain decides to egg Vic on.

“Vic! How could you? Poor Simon is minding his own business, and you just fling a rubber band at him?”

My eyes flit from Vic over to Simon, and when I raise an eyebrow at him, I can see the mischief appear in his eyes. He sees my game, and from the look I get from him, he’s in. Almost instantly, his face transforms into sorrow, a little hurt thrown in there as well.

“Seriously, Vic? What the hell did you do that for? I can’t believe you’d ambush me like that!” Simon laments.

Vic smiles for a moment, then slowly starts to frown, trying to decide if Simon’s playing around or if he’s being serious. I straighten up and walk over to Simon, trying to look concerned for him.

“Are you okay? Looks like it hit you hard. Can you show me?” I ask him, my voice dripping with concern.

Simon turns his face to the side, and I gasp as if his skin has completely fallen off. The mark isn’t even that big or that red, just a small splotch that indicates something irritated the skin.

“Is it bad?” Simon asks me, voice wavering

“I’m sure it will heal up just fine!” I assure him.

My voice is wavering with contained laughter, so I try to push out a few tears to make it sound more like I’m crying. Hopefully it’s convincing. Simon rolls his lips in, and I suspect he has the same problem I do at the moment.

“Is it bleeding?” Simon asks, a little panic infused into his question.

“Only a little!” I assure him.

Vic moves closer, his face now full of worry for his friend.

“Shit, Simon, I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize I snapped it so hard. I didn’t see where you were standing!”

I look up to see if Simon wants to try to keep it going, and he shrugs ever so slightly. Apparently, it’s up to me. Poor Vic has suffered enough, and I’m not sure how we’d even keep this up. Without thinking, I grab Simon’s chin and turn his head so Vic can see the rubber band mark.

“He will never heal!” I exclaim.

Vic frowns, looking at Simon’s perfectly fine cheek, then looks at me. I can see it dawning on him that I started the whole shebang, and a teasing smile comes over his face.

“Oh, I’m gonna get you for that one!”

I let out a very undignified shriek and dart away from him, scrambling to put their dining room table between us, hoping for a buffer. Vic braces himself on the other side of the table, and we scuttle back and forth, each trying to outmaneuver the other. I hold my hands up in surrender quickly.

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry! You win, you can tickle-torture me later after we eat. I’m so hungry,” I tell him, panting.

Vic smiles in triumph and agrees before turning to Simon.

I follow his gaze and realize Simon hasn’t moved from his spot since I showed Vic his face.

The blood in my face drains as I realize what I did.

Oh my god, I grabbed his face. Fuck, I touched him without asking.

I freeze in horror, unsure what I may have inadvertently done.

If he didn’t want to touch me to discover if we’re a Match, I completely violated that right.

What if he’s mad at me? What if I just fucked things up between them?

My breathing starts to speed up, my eyes glued to Simon, and his eyes snap to mine.

The edge of my vision starts to get fuzzy as I breathe faster, trying to get some oxygen in.

My vision goes unfocused as I try to figure out what’s happening.

Why can’t I get oxygen in? Why is it so hard to breathe right now?

Is this my punishment for touching him? The inability to breathe.

Fuck I think I’m gonna pass out, but I can’t stop trying to breathe.

Suddenly, there are hands holding my face and a pair of bottomless brown eyes looking straight into mine.

“Breathe!” the eyes command.

Funny joke, eyes, I can’t! Brown eyes continue to fill my vision, and I notice that my hand has been moved to something that’s slowly rising up and down.

It feels nice, I can focus on the feel of the movement while I drown in the brown eyes.

So slowly that it’s almost painful, my breathing slows, and I finally feel like I’m getting oxygen again.

“That’s it, baby, slow and steady,” the eyes tell me.

My vision starts to expand beyond the brown eyes, and I realize they’re attached to a face I wasn’t expecting. That’s right, I’m at Simon and Vic’s. Oh. Simon. What did I do?

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he assures me.

“Oh, did I say that out loud?” I ask.

His smile almost knocks me off my feet. It’s bright and beautiful, and it should always be on his face.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper.

“For what?”

A tear rolls down my face, “I didn’t ask before I touched you. I always ask first, and now you might have felt a Match, but I can’t feel that, and I’m scared I’ve trapped you into something you didn’t ask for. Maybe I didn’t, but the possibility that I might have is killing me.”

A small part of me withers at the idea that we might not be Matches.

His scent is something I’ve been dying to experience again, but it’s not like I’ve had a chance to get to know him.

Why am I so nervous that he might not be a Match?

Shit, I need to focus and stop thinking.

Simon has been quiet for a good minute now, but I wait for him to talk.

“I… I never thought I wanted a Match. I’ve not wanted a Pack in a long time, so I never thought about a Match.

Now, though? I don’t think I can go a day without you.

Feeling the Match is… life-changing. I’d like to hang around a little longer, if you’ll have me,” he says, conviction laced throughout his tone.

I feel the smile take over my face before nodding at him.

“I would really love that,” I confess.

We stand like that, my hand still on his chest, and my face still held in his hands, both of us smiling.

His eyes flit between my lips and my eyes, so I try to make it easier for him by leaning closer.

Simon takes the bait and claims my lips, caressing them slowly, softly, savoring how our mouths move together.

It’s slow and sensual, and over way too soon.

A separate pair of arms wrap around us both, and I remember Vic is still in the room. Oops.

“Fuck, this makes me so relieved,” he says, holding us both close.

“Group hug!” I declare and turn my body so I can hold both of them, their bodies pushed as close to me as we can get them.

My stomach has decided we’ve waited too long and lets out an embarrassingly loud grumble.

I can feel the blush on my face, and I apologize for the noise.

I get rewarded with laughter, and we move on to the food portion of the evening.

Once full, we all collapse onto their sofa, resting and trying to decide what we should watch.

“Can we talk more about all this?” I ask tentatively as Simon flips through the movie options.

“Sure,” Vic says easily, “Where do you want to start?”

“Well, I have three Matches now, and I know Jesse is a bit anti-social, Simon, you’re not sure you want a Pack, and Vic, you’re always so easy going that sometimes I’m not sure what you’re thinking. What do we do?”

“What do you want, Josie Girl? I think that’s the most important.”

I think about his question a moment before answering. “I want a Pack that loves me for who I am, not necessarily for a Match. I want to experience life as a unit, always there for each other, and sharing joy. Maybe even kids someday, I don’t know.”

Vic and Simon are both quiet for a moment, thinking through my words. I’m more worried about Simon’s response than Vic’s. Predictably, Vic answers first.

“Honestly? I want the same. If it never happens, I’m also okay with that. I don’t want to force anyone into choosing Pack life, but I can see the life you’ve described, Josie Girl, and I like it,” Vic says.

Simon hums before answering, “I don’t know if I want Pack, honestly. I know I want both of you?—”

“Excuse me, are you guys together together?” I interrupt Simon.

“Is that a problem?” Vic almost sounds angry with his question.

“No, no, just expanding my imagination is all. Maybe plans for later, too.” I hurry to soothe any insult he may feel.

Chuffing a laugh, Simon continues, “I want you two, but that’s as far as I can go right now. I’m open to talking about Pack, but I just don’t know if it’s something I can really commit to.”

I’m disappointed with Simon’s answer, but I also recognize that I don’t necessarily know him as well as I want to. If he’s willing to talk, I’ll take that for now.

“Okay, maybe the three of us and Jesse can talk about it?” I suggest.

“You’re forgetting someone,” Vic chides me.

Henry’s face pops into my mind. I haven’t forgotten him, not by a long shot. But, I don’t know if we’re a Match, and I absolutely am with Simon and Jesse. It doesn’t seem fair to include him without a Match.

“What if he’s not a Match?” I ask quietly.

“Does it matter?” Simon challenges.

I give him a small smile, “I suppose not, in the end. What matters is how we treat and love each other.”

“Damn straight,” Vic agrees.

He pulls me into a snuggle as Simon finally picks a movie, and Simon snuggles in on my other side. This moment feels pretty damn perfect.