Jaeyong raised a dark brow. “I take it you do?”
“I’m nothing if not prepared. Also Tara and I had a girls’ night last weekend and drank two bottles of champagne.”
“Somehow, she still managed to make a spreadsheet.” Tara shook her head. “It’s a masterlist of every singles event for the entire month of May, and a few for the last week of April.”
“Oh.” Jenna turned and smacked Tara’s arm. “I signed us up for that paint night. It’s on Wednesday.”
Tara groaned good-naturedly. Strands of her blonde pixie cut fell into her eyes as she made a lunge for the snack bowl. “I’m so bad at painting.”
“What about us?” Aureli demanded.
“It’s a females-only event,” Jenna said, taking a swig of seltzer. “But there are tons that are male-only, or mixed. Want me to send you guys the spreadsheet?”
Aureli and Jaeyong eyed one another. Then, with a defeated sigh, they nodded.
“Not me,” Grayson muttered. “I’m on a no-date ban.”
“You could still come to hang out,” Aureli argued. “No one’s saying you have to go home with someone.”
Grayson sipped his cider, thinking.It can’t hurt to meet new people. And it might help me overcome this stupid fear of Alphas.
“Okay, fine,” he said aloud. “Give me the spreadsheet too.”
“Yay!” Jenna whipped her phone from her back pocket. “Wait ‘til you see, it’s a masterpiece.”
As time ticked by, and the five of them grew steadily more tipsy, Grayson found himself signing up for a whole slew ofthings he never would have agreed to sober—pottery, book club, cooking classes, midnight swimming—
“Ooooooh,” Jenna slurred. “There’s a shibari workshop.”
Grayson furrowed his brow. “What’s that?”
Tara tittered, clapping a hand over her mouth. “There’s a kink club here?”
Grayson saw Jaeyong’s face redden. Aureli, on the other hand, leaned over Jenna’s shoulder to take a closer look at her phone screen. “Where is it?”
Grayson leaned over to Jaeyong and muttered, “Do I even want to know?”
“It’s uh… an artistic form of bondage. From Japan.” He didn’t meet Grayson’s eyes.
Grayson could feel his own cheeks flaming. “Oh.”
Jaeyong cleared his throat and turned away.
“Well, I’m definitely going to that,” Jenna announced, tapping at her phone.
“Add my name, too,” Tara called from her new position flat on the floor. “I wanna get tied up.”
“Me three,” Aureli said, grinning. “For educational purposes of course. It’ll be interesting to learn how to work around a tail.”
“Mhmm, education, sure.” Jenna glanced over at Grayson and Jaeyong. “You guys are so red. I take it you’re not coming?”
Jaeyong ran a hand through his hair and mumbled, “I think I’ll pass.”
Grayson nodded hastily. “Same. Pass.”
Jenna shrugged. “That’s fine. It’s not for everyone.”
“Maybe we should call it a night?” Jaeyong said, eyes on Tara. “I think she’s out.”
