Chapter 5

Chapter

Five

Ijust ran into the cutest little beta I'd ever seen.

"I think it's your turn." I gestured next to her as the barista asked her for the second time what she wanted to order.

The beta jumped in place before her eyes widened at the barista. "Oh, right. Thanks."

I chuckled, letting her go.

"Can I have a chai latte, please?" she asked.

The barista dipped her head. "Twelve or sixteen ounces?"

"Twelve is fine." The beta in front of me picked through a change purse for loose cash. Her brow furrowed as if she was thinking something through.

Before she could strain herself, I had my wallet out and handed the patient, yet rudely glaring, barista my card.

"I got it. I'll have a sixteen-ounce dark roast with room for extra cream please," I said easily. I turned to look at the girl again who had wide eyes as she stared at me as if I did something completely unfathomable than purchase her a five-dollar chai. "Do you want anything else?"

Her mouth opened, but nothing came out as she searched for whatever words were rattling around in there.

I smiled as her pink lips puckered around nothing.

"We'll take two bagels with cream cheese too. They look fucking fantastic," I said.

"What kind?"

"One everything and a… blueberry?" I looked down at the girl.

She blinked. "Cinnamon raisin."

"Cinnamon raisin it is then."

The barista swiped my card and handed it back to me. The beta next to me still looked in shock over the entire transaction. Her lip now quivered and light gray eyes squinted at me.

She almost looked like she was about to cry.

A line formed between my eyebrows as I carefully led her a few steps to the side to wait for our order. "Hey, are you okay? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, it's fine. I mean, I had it. It wasn't a big deal…"

I raised my eyebrows.

She shut her eyes and let out a deep breath. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," I said.

"I can pay you back."

I shook my head. "I don't want you to. If you want, you can consider it my penance for nearly running you over with the door back there. Did you have a stressful day?"

"Not really," she wavered. "Kind of."

That made sense.

"Did you?" she asked after a second.

I shrugged. "My day isn't over yet. I have to get back in a little while but needed to re-caffeinate."

"Ah."

"I work in security. Cameras and that kind of stuff. I didn't finish a project and wanted to make sure it got done before the weekend coming up soon," I offered up, explaining what I did the best I could.

She didn't need to know the specifics and to be honest, I couldn't share them.

The barista pushed across our bagels and our drinks.

The beta watched as I reached for the cream, pouring what my pack would call an obnoxious amount in until it turned a light caramel color.

She softly giggled.

I looked up, delighted by the sound.

I almost wanted to put another cup of creamer in it just to hear it again. "I'm Cal, by the way."

"What? Sorry. I'm a little out of it. I started a project today and I'm still not…" she waved a hand around her head. "All here, I guess."

"That's alright. My name. It's Cal. Or, Calvin, but I haven't answered to that in years unless my mother is calling me. Too stuffy, ya know. So it's just Cal."

"I'm," she paused. "I'm Ella."

"Nice to meet you, Ella. So you like raisins."

"There is nothing wrong with raisins."

"They are the sad wrinkly attempt at chocolate chips when in baked goods."

"You can't compare a raisin and chocolate chip."

"So, you agree," I said.

She shook her head, but I saw a smile as she bit her bottom lip, as if she didn't want to. But I'd get it out of her.

"Want to sit for a minute before we have to head out?"

"I…" Ella looked like she was going to decline, looking over her shoulders as if in search of some camera crew and I was pranking her.

She was an odd one, wasn't she?

"Okay," she agreed. "Just a few minutes though."

"How did you know that I wanted a bagel," she asked, opening hers up. She looked at it adoringly.

"I saw you looking at that other person's when you came in like it was going to solve world hunger."

"Only mine," she attempted to joke.

I barked a laugh.

God, she was cute.

I didn't plan on spending a lot of time at the shop before I headed back home to work late, but now, I took my time opening my wrapped bagel. Lifting it like a sandwich, I took a large bite.

I moaned. Damn, that was good too. Everything was just amazing suddenly.

"Have you ever been here before?" I asked.

Ella raised her eyebrows. I knew how it sounded, but I still wanted to know.

"No. I mean, it's near where I work but I never stopped in. I wanted to but…" She shrugged. "Have you?"

I nodded. "All the time. Coffee is lifeblood."

"You said work around here?" Even more wild that I hadn't seen her until now.

"At the university," she said quietly.

"That's awesome," I said. "Are you a professor? Grad student? I hear there is a real tightwad in the linguistics department right now."

She shook her head. "I work in the library. Sort of."

"Sort of?

"I'm just a library assistant."

I cocked my head. "I have no idea what that means."

She chuckled. It was a great sound. "It's like below a librarian. I help though in the archives department for a few years."

"You should ask for a promotion."

Again, she shook her head. "No. I can't."

"Why not?"

"You kind of need a degree."

I blinked, looking at this girl.

"I don't even have a diploma," she said quietly.

She had to be kidding. For some reason, she practically oozed kindness and intelligence. I didn't judge. For the longest time, I never thought even I would make it out of high school let alone college. The only reason I did was because my pack insisted even though I was making just as good money without a silly piece of paper.

"Do you want to go back to school?"

Ella paused, reaching up to twist a piece of blond hair behind her ear. "You're the second person who asked me that today."

"And what was the answer."

She met my eyes. "I don't know."

"Something to think about," I said quietly. "You've been in the city for a while though?"

"Six years."

"Wow." That was about as long as our pack was together. It felt like we had been all bonded together for longer. For forever. Not in a bad way. I don't know what I'd do without those assholes.

I was about to tell her that when she looked down at her phone. "You need to go?"

"Checking the time. I should probably get home though soon. I have a project I should be focused on for work and I picked up a few books I wanted to read."

I smiled. "Well, I can't distract you from whatever the next great American novel is you have in your bag."

Her cheeks blushed a delightful pink. "They're… romances."

"I love a good love story," I said.

I watched her eyes light up as she told me about the few she picked up as if she couldn't help herself.

She did love books. It was shocking that she managed to find the perfect line of work for herself, diploma or not.

I smiled as she gushed about authors and old books all the same, nodding when appropriate and trying not to stare at the gentle pick flush that lifted from her neck to her cheeks as she rambled, getting comfortable.

I made jokes and she laughed easily until both of our bagels were gone. When I set down my coffee cup next to hers, we each heard the hollow clunk of the container.

Ella looked from the cup, back to her chai. It was also empty. "Thank you again, for everything."

"Hey, Ella?" Cal said. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

"Oh." She bit her bottom lip. "I shouldn't."

"I'd be happy to."

She paused as she studied me. "I just met you. I don't…"

Usually, do this kind of thing? I had heard that one before, but for some reason when she started to say it, I truly believed that.

"I promise." I patted my chest. "I'm not a serial killer."

She huffed a laugh but then, to my relief, nodded as she stuffed the last bite of her bagel in her mouth and grabbed her things. Her tote bag looked heavy over her shoulder. Probably from all her steamy romance books. "Okay. But I'm pretty sure that's exactly what a serial killer luring me to my death would say."

Either way, we both walked back up past the university campus and a block over. It wasn't a long walk until we stopped in front of a slightly run-down housing unit pressed between two others that looked even worse.

Did she live here?

"Are you okay?" she asked, reaching into her bag for her keys, though she didn't move towards the door.

I shook myself out of it. I'd been living with the others for too long.

For most of my life, I lived in places like this, just because I wasn't used to them anymore didn't mean that it probably wasn't perfectly fine inside.

"I don't know," I said. "I think that was a pretty good first date for on the fly, don't you?"

Her light brown eyes flared. "Date?"

"Or half date." I conceded, joking. "You're right. We probably shouldn't count that as date number one. It wouldn't be a good story for the kids."

When Ella didn't move, caught in shock, I continued. "I guess what I'm trying to ask is if you'd like to go out with me?"

"You want to go on a date with me?"

"Why do you act so surprised?" I laughed.

Only, she clearly was.

"You're beautiful and nice... I want to get to know you more, Ella. Plus, you'll have to tell me what happens between the omega and alpha rake you were talking about."

She blushed.

"You act like you've never been asked out before," I teased.

Opening her mouth, her eyes looked me over again from the top of my head downward. Then, she nodded. "Okay."

"Yeah?" I grinned. "Here. Put your number into my phone. I'll send you the details then. Are you free this Friday?"

"Um, I should be, I think."

"Then let's aim for then."

"Okay," she whispered, handing me back my phone after her fingers stumbled over the touch screen.

I swiped my fingers across the screen, listening as her phone buzzed somewhere in her bag.

I dipped his head in confirmation. "Have a good night, Ella."

Turning away, I headed back in the opposite direction. Might as well pack up my stuff and head home now that it was late. I'd finish the project in the morning because, for some reason, I really needed to get home. Especially when I looked over my shoulder and saw the adorable beta still standing in the middle of the sidewalk.

I waved and it spurred her back into motion, heading towards the door and then safe inside.