Page 40 of Roommates' Alpha
Crow stood, walked over, and gestured at my lap. “May I?”
I blinked up at him. “Um, sure.”
He perched himself on one knee and leaned against me as I wrapped an arm around him.
“We’re here for you,” he said softly. “Please don’t disappear on us.”
“What do you mean?”
He sat up, looked into my eyes, and cupped my jaw. “What were you going to do before I came into the kitchen?”
“I came in to grab a beer, then I was going to go downstairs, drink it, and sleep.”
“And think about you and Ryan,” he said softly.
“Yeah…”
“Talk to us instead,” he insisted, leaning against my chest again.
“I don’t want to burden you all with my problems.”
“You’ve been a rock for all of us,” he argued. “You listen to us and give us advice. Don’t hold it in when you’re hurting. Let us be there for you too.”
He sighed. “We’re a team.”
I leaned my head against his. “I’ll think about it.”
“Ok.”
We sat there for a few more minutes before he sighed again and stood. “I have to get ready for work. Try to have a good day?”
I gave him a smile. “I’m going to sleep first, but I’ll try.”
Crow leaned in and kissed my forehead. “We’re here. You’re not alone.”
He walked around the corner to his room, leaving me sitting there wondering what exactly had just happened.
∞∞∞
It was late afternoon when I woke, and my brain felt like it was filled with fog.
I patted the end table until I found my glasses and slid them on. Then I felt around for my phone, checked the messages, and saw I had one from Ryan.
Hey Owen, Figured you’re probably sleeping. We’re home. But… is it ok if we just have the family day you mentioned? Maybe we could do something later this week?
My heart broke a little, but I was proud of him at the same time.
Enjoy your day. I’m free Friday and Saturday night. Give Mini-Bug plenty of kisses for me.
An acknowledgment came back a minute later, including a photo of him kissing Raphael’s little head. I sent a heart emoji, then flopped back on my futon.
All I could do was stare at the ceiling. What was I supposed to do now?
I looked for that familiar ache in my chest, the one that appeared when I thought about Ryan being happily mated. But I realized that it had dulled. It was still there, but it wasn’t the raw pain it had been in the days after his mating.
Now it was more akin to nostalgia for something not long gone. And when I thought of his warmth in my lap, I also thought about Micah—purposefully squirming to get my cock up—and Terry—trusting in his sleep. I remembered Crow perching himself on my knee that morning, and the way Xavier’s arms had wrapped around me that day he’d teased that I should join them at night.
I scrubbed a hand down my face, unable to reconcile my emotions.