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This should be a nice distraction.
April 15
Morning
Lennox
"It smells awful here, how long do we have to stay?" Tristan asked, holding his nose. Lachlan's stomach rumbled for the fifteenth time, but he just waved us off.
"My inner bear is hungry," he whispered, trying not to laugh. Me? I was focused on my second favorite part of the zoo, the penguin exhibit. Otters were definitely my top choice, though.
They kept it nice and cool in here, and they even had an overhead tank, so you could walk underneath where they swam. The zookeeper came out with a fresh bucket of fish, only making the smell worse, but the happy noises that followed had me giggling and moving to get a better view. Warm arms encircled my torso as I stepped up on the small ledge that let the little kids see better. I looked back at Aeson and smiled happily, quickly turning back to the cute little penguins dancing around for their dinner.
"You're adorable when you get excited," he hummed, leaning down to nuzzle into my hair and kiss my neck. This time, my stomach started to growl, since the muffins were hours ago at this point. "We can come back again. Come on, babe, let's get some lunch." I gave a defeated sigh, before nodding my head and hopping off of the ledge when he moved away.
"Come on, my sweet bear. Let's get you some proper food," I joked, taking Lachlan's hand and heading out of the exhibit. A giant map was located right outside, so we stopped to pick a restaurant from the few they had sprinkled throughout the place. A grin spread across my face as I spotted The Grizzly Bear Cafe. Do bears react to him the way fish react to me? I’ve gotta see this. "I want to go here."
"Good, I wanted to see the chimp exhibit, and that's on the other side of the bears," Tristan said excitedly. They could tease me all they wanted to, but their smiles and lighthearted laughs were just as adorable today, all thoughts of being followed and Citrine Knights were out of their heads.
The Grizzly Cafe was adorable. Everything was set up like a cabin in the woods, the tables and chairs carved from thick wood, and the deep red walls highlighted the wood accents perfectly. There was even a kids climbing zone to the side that had a climbing tree carved in the center and fake turf underfoot. The sounds of squeals and laughter echoed through the high ceilinged room along with the quiet chatter of the adults. Scanning the room, I spotted a long table in the back and hurried for it, dropping into a spot to claim it.
"I'm going to order some food and drinks. Aeson, Tristan, why don't you help?" Calev said quickly, leaving Lachlan and Evander to guard me and the table. Though the way his eyes scanned the room, it was more to guard me.
"Alright, Doll, where are we going on our date?" Evander asked with a smirk, trying to rile Lachlan up.
"Nah, I got first dibs. Wait your turn, pretty boy," Lachlan said, a hint of a growl rumbling in his tone. There's that possessive bear again. I wonder if sirens are possessive in nature, because I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel like they all belong to me. Ugh, still so much to learn about myself.
"We can do whatever. I'm pretty easy to amuse, and I'm hardly high maintenance," I said with a shrug, trying to end the conversation and distract myself from the sudden twist in my stomach. This will never work. I can't date five guys that are clearly all alphas in their own way. Eventually, they'll rip each other apart, and I can't be the reason they stop being friends.
"Hey, why the frown, Darlin'?" Lachlan asked, his mouth quirking down as his eyebrows dipped in concern. He studied my face as I tried to find the words.
"I just don't see how this can work," I said quietly, not wanting to bring down the mood, but also wanting to be honest.
"Keeping you safe? I promise we've got it under control," he reassured me, his hand taking mine. Evander reached for me under the table, resting his hand on my thigh.
"That's not it," he said, his tone gently coaxing me to continue.
"No, he's right. This... us. There's no way. Jealousy keeps popping up, and you guys were with each other way longer before becoming friends with me. I don't want to ruin that, I'd never forgive myself," I explained, looking at the rough edges of the wood and avoiding their eyes.
Evander was the first to speak, squeezing my leg slightly before explaining. "Doll, we aren't friends with you, we're your boyfriends. Let's just make that clear first. Second, we do have those instinctual, possessive sides, but that doesn't mean we want to fight over you, caveman style. You aren't ours to possess. You're not an item, you're a person. We may tease each other, or get a bit jealous, but that doesn't mean we'd throw away a friendship or walk away. Adults face problems and talk them out. Plus, at this point, we're all goners, not one of us would be willing to walk away. Fuck, I haven't seen Calev smile like that in all the years I've known him. Trust me when I say that we know each other’s limits, and we promise to never cross them just to get an edge with you."
"He's right. It's hard not to feel that pang of jealousy, but the way you look at each of us is the same. I can tell you treat us and think of us equally, and that is what makes this work. We're in this already, don't worry about problems we may or may not have. Just live in the moment, we've got this," Lachlan said as he teased the hair hanging down my back.
"Why the long faces, what's wrong?" Aeson asked as they walked up with trays full of food and cups.
"She was worried we'd stop being friends, or being with her, because we couldn’t handle the inevitable jealousy," Evander summarized.
"Oh, no worries. We get possessive, but not out of our minds jealous," Aeson said quickly, waving off the concern. He slid the only non-paper cup in the group toward me. A smile spread across my face as I took in the cute picture of an otter along with Obsidian Cove Zoo printed on it. My heart warmed at the sweet gesture.
"Thanks!" I said happily, taking a sip of the cool liquid. The drink only made my stomach rumble more, and I stared greedily at the selection of food, but paused when nobody moved.
"Ladies first, duh," Tristan teased at my confusion, my hand resting in midair over a basket of fries. I gave a shrug and picked up the fries, before grabbing one of the cheeseburgers. The others snatched what they wanted as soon as I started adding ketchup to my plate.
"So, who gets next date?" Calev asked, clearly enjoying my panic. The guys all started talking at once, before I glared at them to stop.
"Let's settle this like real men," Aeson challenged, holding his fist out. What the hell is he talking about?
"Rock, paper, scissors," Tristan said with a snort. All the guys narrowed their eyes, holding their hands out and ready. Calev was enjoying it far too much, not even bothering to hide his laughter at the sudden seriousness around us.
