Kit just grins. “I’m not even mad. It smells like happiness.”
Milo is already rummaging through a cabinet like a man on a mission. He emerges victorious with a giant can of scent-neutralizing spray and starts wielding it like a weapon, misting the air in dramatic sweeping motions. “Sorry, sorry, sorry! Quentin and Iris had a very enthusiastic lunch break, and I haven’t aired the place out yet. Well, I was there.Obviously.But, fuck, sorry. Hold your breath, everyone.”
The spray hisses loudly as he circles the living room, laughing the whole time. “This is what happens when you live with an Alpha who can’t keep her hands off of us. Or well, I just want to be around her all the time. Coach hates it.”
I have no idea why Iris’father, their coach, would have a problem with it.
Harlow drops onto the couch, still fanning herself. “You’re one to talk. Theo and I almost broke the desk in the team office last week.”
I sink into the oversized armchair, cheeks burning, but I can’t help smiling. These four have become my people, my safe, chaotic, ridiculously supportive Omegas. Milo hands me a bottle of water and flops down beside Avery, legs thrown over the coffee table.
“Okay,” Milo says, clapping his hands once. “Auction is tomorrow. Show us the war chest.”
I pull the thick envelope out of my bag and start counting the cash onto the coffee table. Twenties, fifties, even a few hundreds, I borrowed from my library job and every friend who’d listen. My hands shake a little as I stack the bills.
“Two thousand five hundred,” I say when I’m done. “That’s everything. Every shift I could pick up, every favor I called in. It has to be enough.”
Harlow leans forward, elbows on her knees, all business now that she’s in team-bookkeeper mode. “Most bids don’t even hit two grand. You’ll be fine. Especially for Fox. People know better than to go up against you three at this point.”
Avery reaches over and squeezes my wrist. “You’ve got this. We’ve all been where you are, terrified it’s just casual until it suddenly isn’t.”
Kit nods, kicking his feet up. “Exactly. You’re going to be fine.”
Milo grins. “Hey, so I heard Carolina has been gunning for those two since last year. She’s been telling everyone she’s going to ‘claim the hot pitcher-catcher duo.’”
I freeze. “I’ve literally never heard of anyone going after Fox before.”
The entire room explodes with laughter.
Kit points at me. “Because you’ve got goo-goo eyes for them, Parker. They’re hot as fuck. Just don’t tell my Alpha. He might go and bully me again.”
Milo punches Kit in the arm before falling back in his chair. “Something tells me you guys use that shit for roleplay.”
Harlow snorts so hard she almost falls off the couch. “We’re getting you that dinner, babe. And if we fall short, we already talked about backups! The team’s been planning that car wash fundraiser for months. It’s time to put it in motion as backup. I already asked for a permit to use the south parking lot. We’ll close the twenty-grand gap one way or another. The team isn’t dying on our watch.”
I stare at the stacks of cash, my heart still racing. “I just… I need to win him. Not because of the team stuff. Because he’smine. Both of them are. I don’t want anyone else even thinking they have a shot.”
The room softens a little. Avery’s voice is gentle. “How are you feeling about them, really? Not the auction. The forever part.”
I swallow hard. My scent spikes again, nervous citrus cutting through the peach. “I want more than this semester. I want… forever. I want to wake up between them every morning. I want to sit on their laps at team picnics. I want the bites. The claiming. All of it.” My voice cracks. “I’m so gone for them it’s embarrassing.”
Milo’s grin is soft now. “You’re not embarrassing. You’re in love. And from what we’ve seen, they’re just as gone.”
Kit nods. “They look at you like you hung the moon and painted the stars. Hearing them talk about you...” I glare at Kit, wondering how he could have possibly heard anything. He throws his hands up in jest. “Hey, a lot of the Alpha athletes hang together toward the end of the semester. We’re all graduating soon and it just kind of meshes together.”
Harlow reaches over and squeezes my hand. “You’ve got an entire Omega horde behind you. We’re hyping you up tomorrow. You’re winning that man.”
The sounds of keys in the door makes us all jump. It swings open, revealing Milo’s Alpha, the real owner of this apartment. She pokes her head fully into the living room, zoning in on me. “I caught a stray Alpha in the parking lot.”
Arlo steps in right behind her, looking unfairly good in a loose tee and jeans, eyes immediately finding mine. The other Omegas whistle and catcall. I flip them all off, cheeks burning, but I’m already smiling.
Arlo crosses the room in three strides and pulls me up into his arms. One hand immediately goes to my ass, the other cups my cheek as he kisses me thoroughly, the kind of kiss that makes my knees weak and my scent bloom.
I’m blushing so hard when he pulls back that I can feel it in my ears.
“You disappeared on us after lunch,” he murmurs against my lips, thumb stroking my cheek. “Fox got worried, so he sent me.”
My eyes widen. “Wait…” My eyes dart to the still open apartment door. Arlo smells like he bathed in Fox’s scent, which can only mean one thing. “Is Fox out in the car?”
