Page 5

five

JOSIE

I fidget again with my hair, trying to decide if I should bring a coffee cup or just get a paper one at the shop.

I know bringing my own is more responsible, but it feels silly to carry an empty travel mug.

Grabbing my mug, I shake my head at myself.

I need to stop overthinking everything. Jesse has been really wonderful via text, so I’m sure today will go just fine.

My phone is in my hand, so I take a second to re-read our messages for today.

Not that I haven’t done this several times already.

Jesse

I still can’t believe you’re an 80s music fan.

Me

Better believe it! So many of the best songs written are from the 80s!

Jesse

Okay, so what’s your favorite song?

Me

How can I even pick? That’s just cruel asking for only one favorite.

Jesse

Okay, okay, how about one of your favorites? I will hereby attest to the fact that you have multiple, and this in no way reflects your absolute favorite.

Me

LOL

You’re too funny. Ok, one of my favorite songs is “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”

Jesse

It’s been burnin’ since the world’s been turnin’.

Me

Is it too soon to say I love you?

Jesse

Well, I need to take you on a date first.

Me

I could be persuaded into a date…

Jesse

Do you like coffee?

There’s a shop downtown that I’ve heard good things about.

Me

Sounds like we better check it out.

Jesse

Indeed. Our opinion is very valuable.

I smile at the exchange, and my stomach gives a little flutter.

He clearly likes me, or he wouldn’t flirt and text so much, right?

I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t. From what I remember, men don’t put in the work if they’re not interested.

Granted, I haven’t dated in probably eight years, but it can’t change that much, right? Right.

Stepping out of my house, I turn my face up to the sun, enjoying the warmth on my skin.

My ears catch the sound of Jesse’s door closing, and he walks over to me, cutting across our shared grass.

My body instinctively turns toward him, and my smile is wide and excited.

Then his scent hits me, and I almost buckle and fall to the ground.

I have never smelled something so wonderful in my entire life.

His eyes widen, and I wonder if he’s caught my scent as well.

It’s been a while since I’ve paid attention to it, but my scent is like a cinnamon dessert.

Sweet, decadent, and swirled with cinnamon.

Jesse, though, smells like fresh rain. Full of new opportunities, a fresh start, the underlying scent of petrichor lacing it to build a beautiful scene in my mind.

There are scents that call to each other when you Match with someone, but there are also scents that are just wonderful to smell.

So, the key to finding a Match is touch.

Something that I’ll never be able to experience.

My past means I can’t feel the zing of a Match.

I stopped dating when I realized guys would tell me they felt the zing after realizing I couldn’t.

It soured things for a few years, but I thought I was ready to jump back in.

Now, as we stare at each other in awe, I wonder if I’m not quite ready.

Maybe I should head back inside my condo and wrap myself up in my nest and hide.

There’s something that keeps me here, though, the hope dancing in his eyes.

Jesse told me that he’s an introvert, and considering I hadn’t seen him before my purse incident, that supports that.

He keeps to himself. So, if he’s hopeful for this, maybe I should give it a shot.

He clears his throat, finally breaking the silence that cocooned us for a minute.

“You look great,” he tells me with a smile.

“You smell fantastic,” I breathe.

His smile grows, and I realize what I said, my cheeks heating with mortification.

“I mean, you look nice too, I didn’t mean—I don’t want?—”

“It’s fine,” he cuts me off before leaning in like he has a secret, “you smell fantastic too.”

We grin at each other before moving to Jesse’s car and hopping in.

Normally, I’d drive separately, but we already know where each other lives, so it seems silly to drive separately to protect that.

Jesse finds street parking, and we pay the meter to get us through a couple of hours while we wander and enjoy each other's company.

As we walk into the coffee shop, Jesse puts his hand gently on my lower back, and I almost swoon.

It makes me feel dainty and cared for, two things I don’t feel very often. I turn my face to grin at him. “So, do you drink your coffee black or do you get super fancy drinks?”

He chuckles, “I like cream and sugar, but sometimes I’ll get a super fancy one, just because.”

“What’s today calling for?”

“Today feels like a special day.” He grins at me.

“I agree.”

We put our orders in and move to the side to wait.

“So, um, tell me about your family,” I say, wanting to avoid awkward pauses.

He goes quiet for a moment, and I worry that I’ve now created an awkward pause.

So, like the smooth Omega that I am, I try to fix it.

“I mean, only if you want to tell me, you don’t have to, it’s not like everybody has a good one, or even likes their good ones!

Sometimes what’s good isn’t, and sometimes what can seem bad is good… and I’m rambling.”

Jesse just grins at me. “It’s adorable.”

My face flushes from equal parts embarrassment and pleasure. “Sorry, I just wanted to avoid any awkward topics.”

Our drinks get set on the counter in front of us, and Jesse grabs them before we leave the cafe. Belatedly, I realize I left my travel mug in the car, but it’s too late now to worry about it. I take mine from Jesse, and we stroll down the street, doing some window shopping as we do.

“I suppose family is never an easy topic,” Jesse comments.

“True. Okay. What if we ask simple questions? No details.”

“Can we pass if we’re uncomfortable?”

Thinking of my own family history, I nod. “Absolutely, I want to get to know you, not make you feel bad.”

“Same. So, do you have siblings?”

“I don’t. What about you?”

“I have two extremely social sisters.” He sticks to minimal details, and as much as I wish I could ask for more, I want to respect his boundaries.

“Do you have lots of extended family?” I ask.

“Not a ton, maybe 40 people on both sides of the family. I don’t go to family reunions much. I don’t like dealing with a lot of people. Do you? Have extended family, I mean?”

Pausing, I kick myself mentally for my original question. I wanted to learn about Jesse’s family, not talk about mine. Or lack thereof.

“Uh, nope, no family for me.”

Instead of replying, Jesse cautiously takes my hand, and my fingers eagerly thread through his. Belatedly, I realize we’re touching, but he hasn’t reacted at all. Before I can remove my hand out of panic, he starts talking again.

“Favorite kind of music?” he asks, glossing over my family comment.

“The 80s, duh!” I say with a grin.

He turns and gives me a furrowed brow. “Really? I mean, I knew you liked the 80s, but that’s your favorite?”

“We just texted about it! It’s only the best music decade ever!”

He chuckles and leads me to a bench nearby and we sit down to continue the conversation. “I don’t know about the best music decade…”

“How can you not agree? Your name is Jesse, and there is a literal song about your girl.”

“If you knew how many jokes I heard growing up, maybe you wouldn’t love the song quite so much,” he tells me with a small smile.

I groan in acquiescence, “Ugh, fine, you have a point there.”

We continue back and forth, and I find out that he actually prefers movies and TV that avoid overly technical things.

He hasn’t met a food he doesn’t like, and he struggles to talk about himself.

Listening to him talk, I can tell he feels a lot more than he lets on, and it’s clear he does care about other people, even if he doesn’t like being around them.

He talks about some of his family on occasion with a smile, and even admits he doesn’t mind his co-workers, he just doesn’t know how to talk to them.

Coffee cup empty, I stand and toss mine in the nearby public disposal, grabbing Jesse’s to toss for him. We stand next to each other for a moment before I grab his hand again and pull him down the street.

“I heard about this new coffee shop going in and I feel like we need to do a walk-by,” I tell him as we go.

“Oh? What are we evaluating on this walk-by?”

I tap my finger to my chin as I think. “I don’t think it’s open yet, so I say we evaluate the general vibe.”

“General vibe, huh? Not sure how we can do that if it’s not done, but I’m up for a challenge.”

I turn and grin at him as we walk. On the next block, we almost pass the shop.

It’s fairly unassuming, no sign up yet to tell the world what it’s becoming.

Through the window, we can see construction tools strewn about the edges of the room, and it’s easy to find the customer counter, plus a few tables placed around the room.

Almost like someone is trying to block the space and see how things will look.

There are even boxes placed around as if they are benches that could be installed.

“Wow, it looks really open,” I say as we peer in the windows.

“Yeah, not bad. Too social for me, but if the coffee’s good, I would venture in. It’s not too close-spaced.”

“What colors do you think they’ll use?”

He hums for a moment, thinking. “Definitely dark greys and blacks. Full emo vibe.”

I can’t help but laugh at the idea. There’s no way this place is going to be an emo hangout.

“I vote bright neon colors. Well, bright if not neon. Put some weird squiggly lines on the walls and it’s perfection.”

Jesse chuckles, “I doubt it’s going to be an 80s lounge either.”

“We’re actually going to go with wood floors, a medium gray wall, and pops of color with art and plants.”

I squeak and spin at the deep voice behind us. Jesse turns, sans squeak, and holds his hand out in front of me. The fact that he’s trying to protect me makes my inner Omega swoon. Talk about a worthy Alpha. We’re on a first date, and he’s already showing he’d protect me.

The newcomer holds his hands up, “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I’m renovating this joint and overheard you talk about the interior, so I wanted to hear what you thought.”

My eyes take in this new Alpha, and I can’t deny that my interest is piqued.

His curly black hair is long enough for the half knot that sits on his head, but the other half of his hair brushes the tops of his shoulders.

He’s got caramel brown eyes that I could easily stare at all day.

The small scar on his right eyebrow makes me curious to know how he got it.

Jesse relaxes a tad when he realizes this new guy isn’t going to attack us, but he still stands close to me just in case.

I can tell his Alpha instincts are riding him to protect, so I rest my hand on his upper back to reassure him that I’m okay.

My hand may or may not have checked my chin for drool as I moved it to Jesse’s back. I admit to nothing.

The new guy is just standing there, staring, and even though I’ve already checked myself for drool, I make a point to ensure my mouth is closed.

He is a cool drink of water on a hot day, and I feel guilty feeling like that while I’m already out on a date with Jesse.

I know there’s going to be multiple men if I end up in a Pack, but these two aren’t Packed up.

Something about this guy tugs at me, but I can’t put my finger on it, and I’m not sure I want to try while I’m on this date.

“So, when do you open?” Jesse asks, and the awkward moment breaks.

“Oh! Uh, hoping to open next month,” the guy says.

“It looks great,” I add.

He smiles and I’m ready to swoon, “Thanks. It’s my first satellite shop, so sometimes it feels like things are under a lot of pressure.”

“Oh wow, I bet. Maybe we’ll have to stop by and grab a coffee once you’re open.”

He nods, “Absolutely, I don’t have any business cards on me, but I’m Simon. Mention me and I’ll make sure your first drink is on me. For both of you.”

Jesse nods back at Simon, a look of appreciation on his face.

Looking at Jesse’s face, I can tell he’s really uncomfortable, so I make excuses to leave.

I promise Simon that we’ll come back to try the coffee and turn us to walk back the way we came.

One glance over my shoulder shows Simon still watching us walk away, a stunned look on his face.

Biting my lip, I look forward again, wondering how to navigate this.

I’ve never had this problem before—being attracted to two people, I mean.

It’s almost like the start of a Pack, but I’ve never really considered that I’d have one.

Jesse hasn’t ever mentioned one, and it seems like it’s way too early to broach that subject. Especially since they’re strangers.

“Looks like we’re VIP,” Jesse comments.

I look up at him, startled, “What do you mean?”

“We know the owner now, and we’re gonna get free coffee. We should demand an entourage follow us around to signal how important we are.” Jesse’s face is set in a mischievous smirk, and I can’t help but giggle and play along.

“Oh yes, we may even need to hire security. Only if they wear sunglasses and talk into their wrists, though, no walkie talkies for us.”

“Exactly.”

I could definitely handle more time with this man.