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Looking around at the room, I found that I was sitting in a nice-looking guest room outfitted with comfortable furniture. Little flashes of the night before filtered into my head, and I could remember throwing up in the bathroom while they talked around me, before crawling into Rio’s lap and being carried to bed. I also remembered asking him to stay with me.
I was embarrassed to say the least.
I pressed my hands to my hot cheeks, and looked anywhere but at Rio. “Icanremember, and I’m super embarrassed, I’m sorry that you guys had to go through all of that for me.”
I started to get up, but warm hands stopped me. “Madeline, it’s okay...hey look at me.”
I wanted to be stubborn and continue to stare at my hands, but something in his voice made me look up at him.
“Never apologize for something that you had no control over. I’m just glad that we were there to step in and help.” He said it with a ferocity that surprised me. I had never seen this side of the amiable alpha before and, well, it was kind of hot. Which was a completely inappropriate thought to be having while we were having a serious discussion like this.
I didn’t have any clue what to say next, so we just stared awkwardly at each other, the sound of someone honking in the street down below was the only noise in the room.
I was just about to slip out of the bed, to do what, I don’t know, when Rio slid his hand into mine and blurted: “Will you get coffee with me some time?”
Coffee? I got coffee with him every morning technically. Was he just asking me to continue to get coffee at his store? Did he think that I’d stop coming because of last night?
“...We get coffee every morning, Rio.” My words came out slow as I tried to crank through my brain about the hidden meaning behind the alpha’s words.
Rio scrubbed a frustrated hand over his face. “No, what I mean is...man am I shitty at this.”
He muttered something under his breath before he met my eyes again, “what Imeantwas, would you like to go out on a date? With me, I mean.” His cheeks darkened and I caught, for the second time in twenty four hours, a blush on the tops of Rio’s cheeks just above his beard.
“You want to go on a date with me?” I asked, sounding a bit stupid. I had an absolutely dismal track-record when it came to dating. I had dated a total of three people in my life, and they practically had to shout their feelings at me in order to get me to understand them.
“Uh...yes? It’s just you and me in here, right?” Rio looked around like he was looking for another person in the room and when he didn’t find anyone, his eyes returned to me. “Unless you don’t want to? It’s okay if you don’t, it was probably a bad idea to bring it up right now anyways....”
“No! Yes!’ I blurted, my brain working much faster than my mouth.
“Uhhh....” Rio’s mustache twitched as he frowned at me, clearly confused.
“What I mean is, no it wasn’t a bad time to bring it up and yes I’d like to go on a date with you.” I didn’t add that I’d been waiting for him to ask me out for three months, or that I’d been nursing a fat crush on him for almost as long as I’d known him. Just the thought made my cheeks burn, and I broke eye contact again.
“Oh, well, good. Awesome. Go team?” Rio held up his closed fist, and it took me a second to realize that he was waiting for a fist bump. Surprised laughter bubbled out of me as I bumped my fist with his.
“Can I use your bathroom to clean up, and can I also get a ride home?” I asked as I stood, willing my suddenly rubbery legs to hold me up.
“Yeah, sorry there isn’t any nice body wash in there, but feel free to use mine.” I shot him one last smile before closing the bathroom door behind me.
As I turned towards the shower, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and had to swallow a surprised gasp. I looked, for lack of a better word, like shit. My makeup was smeared and rimmed my eyes, giving me a decidedly raccoon-like look. The dress, which I had been so proud of, had stretched on my body while I slept, and hung on my frame like a black stretchy bag rather than the sleek body-con dress that it had been only last night.
I wiped off my makeup with a warm washcloth, getting it off as best as I could. I wished that I had my makeup remover, but I would have to make due with what I had. I silently promised myself a professionally done facial in the very near future as I stripped and stepped underneath the hot stream of water before immediately groaning.
The water pressure from Rio’s shower was the best that I’d ever felt. It pelted into my back and shoulders, and worked out the stiffness there. I stood under the stream for longer than I probably needed to before uncapping a shampoo bottle and giving it a hesitant sniff. It was scentless, which I should have expected. Most alphas and omegas hated scented bath products that they needed to rub on their bodies. They were scent motivated, so I was sure that covering up their scents wasn’t something that they went out of their way to do.
It didn’t really matter to me either way, I just wanted to be clean. I made quick work of my hair, doing my best to gently untangle the strands while I let the conditioner marinate on my head.
Finally, when the heat of the shower started to make me dizzy, I turned the water off and stepped out of the glass stall, pulling a soft gray towel off of the hanging rack on the wall. It was a huge towel, more of a bath sheet than a regular towel. I was completely swathed in it as I sat on the toilet and tried to figure out what to do next.
I didn’t really want to put the dress back on, and I didn’t think that I’d ever be able to wear it again. Just the idea made my stomach do little flip-flops.
Luckily, I didn’t need to think about it much longer because someone knocked on the door.
“Madeline?” It was Rio’s voice, “I’ve got a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt for you. I figured you wouldn’t want to put the dress back on.”
I secured the towel more firmly around my shoulders, and opened the door a crack. Rio was there with a sheepish expression as he handed me a bundle of clothing.
“Thank you. I was just thinking about how much I didn’t want to put the dress on, so you are a lifesaver.”
