Page 33 of Roommates' Alpha

“Kinda surprised it took this long,” he muttered from where his face pressed against my chest.

“Oh? Why is that?”

“Getting sick often is kinda expected when around kids all day.”

I blinked. “I thought you said you worked at the science museum.”

He chuckled. “I do, in the kids’ section. I teach hands-on immersive science to school groups.”

I groaned. “How did I not put that together? You’re always talking about groups coming through.”

“I thought you knew.” He laughed, then coughed. “I should move. I don’t want to make you sick too.”

“Not a clue. And you’re fine where you are. I know the risks. If I get sick, that’s on me, not you.”

“Thank you,” he said softly.

I looked down to see his eyes closed, face peaceful where it rested against my chest.

Even sick, he was beautiful.

Part of me expected him to fall asleep, so I was surprised when he spoke again.

“I love working with kids,” he murmured, voice a bit scratchy, but sounding better than it had before I’d given him the tea. “I considered becoming a teacher, but there’s too much bullshit. Working at the science museum felt like a good compromise.”

“How so?”

“People go to science museums to learn. It doesn’t matter how old they are, there’s always something to discover. I started on tours for the general public, but kept my eye out for a spot in the kids’ science section. As soon as one opened up, I applied.”

“And got in?”

He smiled. “Yeah.”

He coughed, sat up, and reached for the tea. Once he’d taken several sips he turned back to me, but hesitated.

I opened my arms, and he settled against me again with a sigh.

“I got sick so many times my first year working in that section,” he murmured. “Kids are germ magnets.”

He laughed. “Everybody told me that I’d be fine. Alphas don’t get sick as much. But I can tell you that’s some world-class bullshit right there. Us alphas get sick too, we just can’t admit it.”

I chuckled. “Which is bullshit in its own way.”

“Yeah.”

He sniffled, and I glanced around for a tissue box, then remembered they kept it in the bathroom—which was odd to me, but it was more their space than mine.

He sighed. “It’s gotten a bit better each year. But I expected to get sick the first time a few months ago. So I don’t know why it felt like such a surprise to wake up and feel like garbage.”

“Probably because as much as you know it’s likely to happen, you don’t know when it’ll actually be.”

“I guess so.”

“Is it everything you hoped for?” I asked after a couple seconds of silence. “Working with the kids, I mean.”

He smiled. “Yeah. Probably even better.”

“What do you mean?”