“I read whenever and wherever I can.”
He lifted his book and revealedA Thousand Splendid Sunsby Khaled Hosseini. She remembered seeing the book on Summer’s shelf and the sticky notes poking out.
Sonnet wasn’t great at reading thought-provoking literature. She was proudly a consumer of romance. She couldn’t help it and didn’t try. From monster smut to romantasy to tragedies, she consumed every one of them like it was her last meal. Give her mafia, give her morally grey, give her friends to lovers, give her smut or even clean reads. Give them all to her.
She looked up at Felix and frowned. He didn’t seem like the type of reader who had ever picked up a romance book. What would he think of her?
She smiled and leaned closer to him, snuggling into his sweater which was softer than the blanket Zayden gave her.
He doesn’t seem like the type to judge me.
None of them seemed like she had imagined. Their onstage presence was different from who they were away from their fans. Despite being the lead vocalist and the leader of his pack, Zayden was more reserved and humbled than she had expected, almost like he didn’t like dishing out his dominance. Which, wasn’t that the point? That the lead alphalikedto lead?
Felix, who always had a mysterious charm to him, turned out to enjoy hobbies completely opposite from what she had expected. He was known as the band's pretty face, which was why he appeared in more magazines and runways than the rest of them. Sonnet couldn’t help but assume a pretty face meant not much else was going on, but she was embarrassingly proved wrong. Every day, she learned about another of his hobbies. He liked to go antique shopping, cook, bake, garden, read, and more! She couldn’t wait to learn it all and, hopefully, learn to be part of everything he enjoyed.
Sonnet’s eyes moved back over to Jude, and she grinned. On stage, it always seemed like Jude went somewhere else when he drummed. He was a part of every beat he played, moving his head violently to the beat, but there wasn’t a violent, aggressive thing about him. He was like a giant puppy, the happiest and silliest guy ever, and she loved that about him. He made her feel right at home.
Kai was the most like his stage presence. The moodiness and attitude correlated with his bad boy reputation, but he was otherwise detached and deflated. When he sang and played his guitar, he owned the stage. He was a star that shone the brightest. No, Kai didn’t just shine; he stole every spotlight possible. He sang as if it were his last chance and performed tricks to captivate the audience. But at home, in this jet, he just seemed like a lost, sad alpha who needed the biggest hug ever but didn’t know how to ask.
Kai had made a point when they got on the plane to sit as far away from them as he could. He popped open a beer, collapsed in his seat with his back facing them, and continued listening to whatever was playing on his phone. He refused to speak to the flight attendant who just wanted to ask if he’d like lunch.
Which was pretty annoying. He could be mean to Sonnet or whatever, but to someone just doing their job? Sonnet didn’t like that. Whatever was going on with him, he needed to figure it out.
She was one to talk, though. She and her omega weren’t exactly on speaking terms.
Dr. Avery said things could get messy within her. Until they were all officially bonded, Sonnet would go through potential emotional turmoil and from the sounds of it, it wouldn’t be easy without her omegaorher alphas. Which, hello! BOTH WERE A MESS!
Felix snaked his arm around Sonnet’s waist and tugged her closer to him. He didn’t say anything, but she could read his eyes. He was asking if she was okay, but she wasn’t, and the jet smelled like it.
Stupid rotten strawberries and burned sugar.
Stupid omega with her twisted emotions.
No, she’s not stupid, but I am.
“I just hate the feeling of the plane landing,” she lied, checking the clock. Thirty minutes left.
“Me too.” Zayden shifted uncomfortably in his seat and put his laptop away, gripping his armrests tightly. He closed his eyes and began to focus on some breathing exercises, but Jude’s foot kicked out and planted itself into his groin. “Jude!”
“Hmm?”
Sonnet laughed and grabbed Felix’s offered hand as the flight attendant cleaned up the area, locked in everything, andtook her seat. The pilot made his announcement, and soon the plane began to descend.
Butterflies filled her stomach, and it took Sonnet everything not to laugh more, because the thing was, shelovedit when the plane landed.
Chapter 18
The landing of the plane was fun for three minutes, until an unbuckled Jude flew out of his seat, kicking Zaydenhardin the nuts and landing on the center table, where he smacked his knee and head. Sonnet didn’t laugh. She wanted to, especially when a hickey-like red mark appeared in the middle of his forehead, but his pout made her hold it back and hold him, which he took advantage of and hadn’t let go of her since.
Sonnet didn’t have the time to even think about being shy or awkward from Jude’s clinginess. Her eyes were glued on the prize, which was the coastal town they were on their way to.
The summer air was crisp with saltwater and seaweed as they transitioned from the jet to the rental car. Zayden rolled down her window before she even had to ask, and it took everything in her not to stick out her entire head like a dog.
Flashbacks from her first trip to the ocean smacked into her like a semi-truck packed full of nostalgia. Mom and Dad took her to the ocean for her tenth birthday, and she cried the firsttime she saw it. Now she felt like she was going to cry all over again.
“What town are we staying in?” She asked, leaning against Jude’s chest so she could look at Zayden in the rearview mirror.
“Maddox found a beachfront rental somewhere in Capitola. Have you been?”
