Chapter 90: HCA - What Are We?
We stopped at a hotel called the Rosie Rose Hotel. It was a decent place, tucked away from the main road. While Princess and the coach were busy at the front desk booking the rooms, the rest of us just hung around the lobby waiting for our key cards. The air in there smelled like old flowers and floor wax, it felt welcoming..
Sasha came up to me almost immediately, flashing her white teeth in a massive grin. She looked like she was about to burst with a secret.
"So... are you and Princess an official item now or what?" she asked, leaning in close so the boys wouldn’t hear.
"I don’t really know what we are, but we’re definitely not an item," I said. I tried to sound sure of myself, even as I started wondering about it in the back of my own head.
What exactly are we supposed to be?
She called me her mate-friend yesterday. I still had no idea what that was even supposed to mean.
She didn’t ask me to be her girlfriend, and I wasn’t exactly planning on being anyone’s item or property. But then there was the mark. She marked me, which in our world means I can’t be with anyone else but her. It’s like a permanent lock.
So what does that make us? Mates as friends? Or are we mates as lovers? My brain was starting to knot itself just thinking about it.
"Come on, Faye. You have to know what you are. I mean, just look at you two back there on the road. Kissing like that in front of everyone," Sasha said, nudging my shoulder. "And don’t even get me started on what I saw in the school bathroom that day."
Did she really have to bring that up now? I felt the heat rush to my cheeks. I was already embarrassed enough without her narrating my life.
"Do you want my honest opinion? You two actually rhyme together. I’ve seen Princess and Kiara together for a long time, and trust me on this. All their moments looked staged. Like some scripted act for the cameras," she added. She turned her head toward Malo, who was busy tapping away on his phone.
"MG, what do you think about it? Faye and Princess?"
"Sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Malo sang quietly under his breath. He was shaking his head like he was disappointed in us. Then he paused and slowly looked up, his eyes darting between me and Sasha.
"See? Even MG knows you two are in love. If even he can see it, then everyone knows you’re an item," Sasha laughed, clearly enjoying herself.
"No, I don’t. I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t know anything about Faye and Princess," Malo said quickly. He went back to his phone, but he looked like someone who definitely knew something and was trying to hide it. And that act of his has been lingering in my mind quite often....
I ignored both of them and looked over at Princess. She was still talking to the clerk. I’ve never actually dated anyone before. I don’t even know what dating is supposed to feel like in the real world. Everything is happening so fast that I can barely catch my breath.
What would it even be like to date someone like Princess? A girl who has everyone watching her every move?
The logical part of my brain told me the only reason we’re this close is because I’m carrying her pups. That’s the bond. But then I thought about what she said. She said she marked me to claim me. She wanted me to be hers. She broke up with Kiara because I told her to do it. And lately, she’s stopped saying my pups and started saying you.
So are we dating without even realizing it? Is that how this works?
The coach finally started handing out the room keys. He had booked an entire floor for the team and the staff. Everyone was getting their own private room on the 7th floor. I stood in line, waiting for my turn. I watched as he gave everyone their key cards, one by one. When I thought he was finally about to give me mine, he just walked right past me like I wasn’t even part of the group.
I stood there feeling stupid until someone wrapped their arms around my shoulders from behind.
"This is our key card," Princess said. She held up a single gold card right in front of my face.
Damn it. She had planned this from the start. She planned for us to share a room.
After we got upstairs and settled in, I realized the room was nice, but there was only one bed. One very large, very soft-looking bed. The first thing Princess did was drop onto it, stretching her arms out and relaxing like she was home.
I just stood by the door staring at her. I was thinking, what the fuck is she doing?
I didn’t want to think about it. I really tried to push the thought away, but it came anyway. Did she bring me all the way here just so we could...?
No. I shouldn’t go there. I shouldn’t let my mind wander.
But still, it was hard to ignore. Everyone else on the team got their own separate rooms, and I’m the only one sharing with her. It didn’t feel like an accident.
Princess tapped the mattress beside her, smiling up at me. When I didn’t move, she did it again.
"What?" I asked, my voice sounding a bit more defensive than I intended.
"Come on, Omega. Join me," she said.
"Why do you want me on the bed? I can just sit over there on the couch. It looks comfortable enough," I said, gesturing to the corner of the room.
"Come on. We’ve shared a bed before and we didn’t have a problem at all. Just come here," she said, tapping the bed a third time.
We only shared a bed that time because we both fell asleep after having sex. It wasn’t planned. It just happened because we were tired. Was she trying to start something up again?
The thought slipped into my mind again, the one I was trying so hard to kill. Did Princess bring me here because she wants me to have sex with her?
Fuck. My mind is going wild. I could feel my heart thudding against my ribs just looking at her lying there.
