Page 82 of Knot Their Starlet

Leo

Taking care of an omega is just what should happen.

Wow.

I toss my phone aside, and roll over, burying my face in the duvet covers again. It takes everything I have not to kick my feet like a stupid girl.

He’s just a friend.

He’s just coming over because I’ve had a hard day. He’ll come over and see that I’m alright, and then I’ll send him on his way.

Andi

I’m a wimp

So, not normally big on spicy food, but I can try

Leo

Perfect, I’ll be at your place in an hour

CHAPTER 18

Leo

LA traffic fucking sucks. Truly. It’s the pits of hell.

Why is there always traffic literally all the fucking time, too? I’d maybe be okay with it if it were confined to a general sort of rush hour, but this is ridiculous.

I wince as I shove my phone into my pocket. I’m 30 minutes late. Hopefully, Andi doesn’t mind the wait. My detour to the Asian grocery store took me a little longer than I’d anticipated.

Hauling the bags of groceries I bought for dinner in one hand and my supplies in the other, I take the elevator up to her apartment.

My breath catches in my throat for a split second when she opens the door, her hair tossed into a messy braid over one shoulder and her face scrubbed clean of any makeup. The sleep shorts she’s wearing expose her toned legs in a way that has me purposely maintaining eye contact.

I like her like this. It feels... more like her than when she’s airbrushed and magazine-cover ready.

“Hi,” I breathe out. “Sorry I’m late, had to make a quick pit stop before coming over.”

Her eyes go wide as she glances down at all the stuff I’m carrying.

“A stop for... groceries? And is that a pot?”

“Yeah,” I say, chuckling under my breath. “It’s stuff for hot pot. When... when I was growing up, whenever there was a big event, my dad would come back home with stuff for hot pot.”

“Really? That’s so sweet.” Her lips quirk up in a fond smile.

“He wasn’t the warmest guy, and he never really did the grocery shopping, but maybe that’s why hot pot nights stuck with me.”

She steps aside and waves me into her apartment.

“Wow... thank you for sharing that with me. I wish I had things from my childhood I could look back on like that.”

Her words make something twist in my chest. I wonder what her childhood must’ve looked like. Bad, probably. That’s certainly no question.

“Are you celebrating anything?” she asks, leading me to her kitchen.

“Yeah, you,” I say, setting down the groceries on her kitchen counter.