Swallowing my embarrassment, I shook my head. “I’m fine. Really.” My pride was more bruised than anything. Though he hadn’t laughed when I’d fallen. That was the reaction I was used to from my teammates and any other racer around when I had a clumsy moment. Utahn truly looked concerned.
I pushed up to my feet, brushed off my knees then held out my hand to help him up. “Let’s get to my dorm and pretend that never happened.”
He grinned as I helped him stand. “You’re so cute. Completely adorable.”
Yeah, that was exactly what an alpha wanted to hear from the omega they hoped would one day be their mate. Why couldn’t I be sexy? Or hot? How was I supposed to prove I could take care of him when he thought he needed to take care of me? Stars, I was getting way ahead of myself. We were still only friends. Nothing else. Didn’t matter that he liked me. At the rate I was going, I doubted we’d ever progress past the friend zone.
We made it to my dorm without any other mishaps. I scanned my wrist over the sensor and gestured Utahn inside as soon as the door slid open.
My stomach sank as soon as I glanced in the common room. Of course, every one of my teammates had to be there, sitting on the furniture as if they didn’t have anything better to do. Funny, since they’d all scattered with excuses of obligations when I’d asked if any of them wanted to come with me to the spaceport for moral support.
I cleared my throat as I stepped inside behind Utahn. “Hi, um, we have a guest staying with us for the weekend, if you don’t mind.” I guess I should have asked first, but it wasn’t as if we hadn’t had other racers spend the night on our couch after a few drinks. Plus, the one-night stands I hoped wouldn’t be mentioned at all while Utahn was here.
Ret stood and faced me with a sly grin. “What happened to the hotel?”
Gods, was he really going to make a big deal about this? My brother has known Utahn as long as I have. Would he really make him stay elsewhere? “The hotel double-booked his room and had no others available. I told him he could have my bed, and I’d sleep on the couch.”
“This couch?” Ret lifted his drink, probably a protein blend, and poured it all over the piece of furniture I’d planned to sleep on. “Oops! You can always sleep with me in my bed tonight. Though I might have company. It is family and friends weekend after all.”
“I…I can’t believe you did that.” Why was he trying to sabotage this for me after telling me to invite Utahn in the first place?
Ilam snuck away to his room while Qé located the suction tube then tossed it at Ret. While he could clean up the mess, the wetness would remain.
Ret shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “Why don’t you sleep in the same bed as Utahn? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”
I clenched my fists and took a deep breath. As much as I wanted to punch my brother in the face, I couldn’t do that in front of Utahn. “You think it’s okay to take that choice away from him? You really went too far, Ret.”
Utahn tucked his arm in mine and tugged me away from my brother. “It’s okay, Genj. Why don’t you help me get settled in?”
I turned to him, confused as to how he could remain calm after everything that had happened since he’d arrived. After another deep breath, I took my guest to my room before some other catastrophe happened. I could only hope the rest of the weekend went much better than the short amount of time Utahn had been on Eurebly. The last thing I wanted was for him to leave early and never talk to me again.
Chapter Four
Utahn
Crawling behind Genj on the bed, I rubbed his shoulders. He was still mad about Ret dumping his drink on the couch. Honestly, Vawn would have done the same thing had he been here. Though I don’t think Genj would find the humor in it at all.
My arrival on Eurebly had a pretty rough start, but I hoped things would get better from here. We’d gotten a quick bite to eat, but Genj refused to be anywhere near Ret, wouldn’t even share the goodies I’d brought with his brother. So, we’d left the dining hall and returned to the dorm. Now, we were supposed to get ready for bed.
Except I couldn’t relax. I was going to be in bed with the alpha I’d fantasized as being my mate since I knew what a mate was. And yet he seemed on the verge of sleep. Or maybe he was already sleeping, with the soft, steady breaths coming from him.
I rested my hands on his shoulders and leaned forward, tempted to kiss the back of his neck. Would that finally prove to him I wanted him? “Genj, you still awake?” As much as I’d thought about throwing myself at him, I wasn’t absolutely sure he wanted me the same way. Especially since he was concerned about us sharing a bed. No other guy had ever tried that hard to keep me from sleeping with him.
“Uh, sorry.” Genj leaned against me. “Your hands feel really good on my body.”
He quickly sat up. “I mean… Sorry. You just…give a really good massage.”
I sighed. What did I have to do to get him to take me? Was he going to be like this all weekend? “How about we get under the covers and go to sleep?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Good idea.” Jumping up, he scurried around to the other side of the bed and pulled down the covers. On me.
“Genj!” I scrambled out from under the blankets and pulled his arm, yanking him onto the bed. “Would you get in here already?”
He fumbled around until he lay beside me, completely stiff.
I lay on my side and rested my palm on his bare chest. “Genj, seriously. Relax. It’s me. You’ve known me forever.”
He shuffled around before resting his hand on mine. “Sorry. I’m finding it really hard right now.”
