Page 54 of Knot Their Starlet

“Thank you for saving me,” I murmur, relief washing over me now that there are fewer eyes on me.

“You shouldn’t be alone with him,” Andi says before pushing open the door to the dressing room with her hip. “Hi, could we have the room, please?”

Her expression softens when she’s talking to the beta stylists. She even offers them a small smile. This is why I didn’t understand Stuart and the creepy photographer when they kept shitting on Andi.

She’s a good person.

They made her seem like she was ridiculously difficult to deal with.

The moment the door clicks shut behind the two stylists and Andi turns to look at me, my heart falls through the floor.

“I—I’m so sorry about earlier. Are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay.” I rub my clammy hands on my jeans. “I feel so bad, I shouldn’t have—shouldn’t have⁠—”

Wow, I’m really freaking out right now.

This is when I hate my designation. I feel so fucking out of control of my own emotions. It’s like all my higher brain functions are being overwritten by this twisted version of myself. A version of myself that’s needy and fucking pathetic.

My burnt caramel scent turns bitter with emotion. I can practically taste it at the back of my throat. I don’t know how Andi is able to control her perfume so well.

“Hey,” she murmurs softly, reaching for my hand and giving it a tight squeeze. “Breathe.”

I’m struck by how similar this moment is to the one I shared with Eli earlier.

It’s nice being comforted. Don’t get me wrong, I love being the one to offer comfort, but there’s something so calming and steady about Andi’s presence.

“Sorry,” I say, shaking my head and taking an unsteady breath.

“It’s okay,” she murmurs, squeezing my hand again. “Nothing to apologize for.”

I swallow past the lump in my throat, closing the distance between us. We’re so close that if either of us breathes too hard, our chests will touch.

It reminds me of the feel of her tits pressed up against me earlier. God, I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.

If her scent hadn’t been bitter and twisted in the moment and stressed about what Eli would think, I don’t know how I would’ve been able to prevent a boner.

“Tell me, have you ever taken any of the classes at any of the Omega Centers? The OCN offers free classes—well, not that you’d need free classes since your career has gone crazy.” She shakes her head, an adorable noise of flustered frustration leaving her lips. “Sorry, that came out wrong.”

“No, I got what you meant.” I reach up with my free hand, massaging some of the tension out of my neck. “I haven’t. I was a late bloomer, so I didn’t take them in high school or anything, and I didn’t go into pre-awakening. So it was kinda just like, one day I was a beta, the next an omega. And then after that...”

“Your life blew up,” she says, nodding in understanding. “Your social calendar must’ve been packed, especially after you signed with your label.”

“Yeah, it’s been a lot,” I say, letting out a soft huff of laughter.

“Well, I think it’d be useful to try going. They’ve got some classes on emotional regulation, which should help you with your scent and stuff like that. Seems like the de-scenters they use aren’t as effective on you.”

“Really?” I ask, lifting up my arm and sniffing myself.

She lets out a small wince before shrugging.

“Yeah, and that’s okay. A lot of omegas don’t go a day touching any de-scenter, especially if they bond early.”

“But they’ve taken these... classes.”

“Mhmmm,” she hums, giving my hand one final squeeze before dropping it and grabbing a mist bottle of de-scenter on the table.

I feel the loss of her touch immediately. It takes all the willpower I have not to reach for her and bury my face in her neck to soak in her soothing chamomile scent.

“Here, I think you should use this,” she murmurs softly, handing me the bottle. “This set... I don’t think it’s the safest place to be telegraphing all of your emotions.”