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When I remain frozen, I get my first glimpse of Micah’s confidence starting to slip.
“Hey. Sorry. I didn’t mean to ambush you.” He frowns. “Mason told me not to come over here, but I’ve seen you around, drawing, and I just had to come say hi. He mentioned you aren’t super comfortable with strangers, but since you’ve met him, and he and I share about fifty percent of the same DNA, I figured I’d take a chance.” He shrugs sheepishly.
I’m not getting a bad vibe off him. The opposite, in fact. His scent is strong for a beta; hints of nutmeg and coffee reach me even through all the other scents swirling around. It’s very different from his brother’s, but it has the same calming vibe and mountainy undertone.
Realizing I’ve been silent for an awkward amount of time, I try to shake off my nerves. “Yeah. Yes. I’m Espy. It’s, er, nice to meet you.”
His grin returns as he slides into the opposite side of the booth. “This okay?”
I nod. I have an escape route still. It’s fine.
I’m not sure why he’s here, though, and not knowing what to do with my hands, I pick my pen back up and start twirling it around with my fingers, biting at my lip nervously.
“I-I don’t want your friends coming over,” I burst out suddenly.Dios mío, that was so rude! My face burns in humiliation. “That was— Sorry! I don’t mean to be a bitch, it’s just—”
“Hey, no worries!” Micah cuts in, not looking offended in the least. “I’m the asshole here, coming over and bothering you out of the blue.”
“Why ... umm ... whydidyou come over here? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“Like I said, I’ve seen you drawing.” He gestures to my notebook with the now slightly wonky alien peacock. Darn, I’ll have to find a way to incorporate that errant line somehow. “Can I?”
I hesitate for a second before handing over my sketch pad. There’s nothing private in there, per se. What’s the harm? Then, as the silence starts to stretch between us while he flips through the pages, I realize the harm is in my embarrassment. I’ve just been playing around, doodling really. What if this cute boy is about to make fun of me or thinks I’m weird?
“Wow.”
Finally, he speaks!
“Wow? Wow like ... I’m a crazy person and need help?” I joke, still nervous.
“Wow like, this is super-cool. You’re super talented, Espy.” He sounds so sincere. It’s hard for me to look away from his eyes, which are now laser-focused on mine.
“Thanks,” I finally manage to murmur. Blushing, of course.
“Where do you get your ideas from?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “They’re just things that pop into my head. I guess I like to play around with familiar things and, I don’t know, jazz them up a bit. Do you draw?” I have to get the conversation away from me before I make a fool of myself.
“Nah. That’s actually what brings me here.” His grin splits his face once again. “I’m in need of some artistic services.”
Well. That manages to pique my interest. I raise an eyebrow as I finally smile back at him. “Tell me more.”
10
Micah
Be cool. Be cool, be cool, becoolbecoolbecoolbecoooooooooooooooool!
My brain feels like it’s about to short-circuit. Or for a better, more crass metaphor, I feel like a two-pump chump, about to blow my load at the first taste of heaven.
Honestly, that’s a pretty good description of what being around Esperanza Alvarez feels like:heaven.
I didn’t think much of it when Mason came home a few weeks back babbling about some omega chick he’d met. He had pizza and I was in the middle of a gaming tournament—nothing really registered past that. I’d met Leo a few times but didn’t know him super-well. It sucked that his sister had been put in such a shitty situation, from Mason’s telling of it, but I didn’t spend too much time dwelling on it.
Our pack had talked about looking for an omega last semester, but it didn’t feel as if any of us were in a rush. We went to a few events put on by the Pack Council and even tried a non-university-sponsored one as well. We met a few omegas who seemed like they had potential, but in the end, no one caught our eye enough to make us want to pursue them further. I did meet this one omega who was super into gaming like I am. He and I still online play every now and then.
Maybe it’s because I’m a beta, but I just haven’t felt that pull toward anyone yet. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve run into some super-cool and, okay, super-hot women here at River Valley, but none who scream “pack” to me. I’ve wondered sometimes if Mason and Cabe feel a different pull, being alphas. I know finding an omega can be deeply instinctual for them. But so far, they seem to be just as happy as me to focus on school and hobbies. Or sports, in their case.
They’re both seniors this year, though, so I wasn’t too surprised when Mason brought up this girl again. We were all walking to class a few days after he met her and out of nowhere he stopped and got this moony look on his face. Said he was just remembering the way she smelled. I was almost worried he was going to start stalking the poor girl, but before he could get to that point she popped up out of thin air.
