Running with the Alpha's Son, page 11
“Oh,” she says, glancing up from where she’s peeling the foil off a platter of chicken wings. “I’m sorry. I’m sure he’s called though.”
My face screws itself up into a weird formation.
“What’s that face about?”
“Jasper’s been really great at communication this last month—all year, even. But the last week or so…he’s been sorta hard to get in touch with. He hasn’t even messaged me today.”
“Not even to wish you happy birthday?”
“Nope.”
Katie shuffles over on her knees and gives me a best-friend hug. “I’m sorry. I’m sure he’s just been busy.”
“Yeah,” I say with a quick sigh. “You’re probably right.”
“What’s up, party people?” Katie and I look up to where Troy, in loud Bermuda shorts and an open shirt with a bucket hat and large sunglasses, is heading across the grass, waving. Aisha is beside him looking super freaking chic in a tank top and denim shorts, also with massive sunglasses and a very wide-brimmed sun hat.
I wave back and run to meet them. Troy gives me one of his signature confusing handshakes and I hug Aisha. We haven’t spoken much since the day we hung out on the High Line.
“How are you?” I ask.
“Right as rain,” she says, a touch of steel in her voice. “Happy birthday, dude.”
“Yeah, happy birthday, man.” Troy slaps me on the back, making me splutter. His eyes lift over my shoulder to where Katie has ripped the Saran Wrap off a large plastic bowl. “No way. Is that potato salad? This picnic is about to be lit!”
Troy heads over to, I guess, ogle the potato salad, and Katie enlists his assistance hanging paper ribbons.
“How is everything?” I ask when Aisha and I are alone.
She lowers her sunglasses just enough so I can see her eyes. “Things are great, Max. I’m hella focused on my dancing, things with Troy are great. Forgetting about the pack was the best decision I ever made.”
“I’m glad. Hey, um, have you…?”
“Heard from Jasper?” she asks, finishing my question.
“Yeah.”
“No, sorry.” She brushes past me before I can ask any follow-ups, which I think is sort of cold, but I try not to dwell on it.
I follow her back to where Katie and Troy have started blowing up balloons.
“I love this song,” Troy says, jumping up from the rug to dance along to the music blaring from Simon’s portable speaker.
Evening is settling in, the sky turning pale, orange and pink at the edges. Other people are packing up, leaving the park, but my party is still in full swing. My parents are sitting on a separate rug from the rest of us, Katie’s mom having come and gone already to a previous engagement, leaving Mom and Dad as the sole adults present. From the way they’re canoodling I don’t think they mind. Happy birthday to me!
Aisha jumps up to join Troy, and Katie, Todd, Simon, and I watch on, laughing and picking at the remaining corn chips and gummy bears.
My phone buzzes on the rug nearby and I snatch it up. I hate that I’m just a little disappointed.
Mason: Hey birthday boy! Don’t have too much fun without me.
Mason: But actually have the BEST day you sexy beast!
Mason: xxx
I fire back a couple of super witty thank-you texts and finish up with “Wish you were here!”
Then I click through to my thread with Jasper. His last message was sent yesterday. Nothing at all today.
“We might have to make a move soon,” Katie says, leaning in so only I can hear her. She glances up through the trees to where the sun has pretty much all the way set. The sky is darkening, the stars popping into existence like faraway lights being switched on one at a time. “Still up for karaoke?”
With a sigh I drop my phone, which lands dangerously close to the almost-scraped-clean potato salad bowl.
“He hasn’t said anything yet?” she asks.
“Nope.”
“I’m sorry.”
I lift my head. Aisha smiles at me as she and Troy continue dancing, Todd and Simon are fighting over the last Cheeto, my parents are laughing at some private joke, and Katie is here, and it feels like things between us are back on level ground. This would be the perfect birthday, except for one glaring absence.
“Okay,” I say, rising to my knees. “Better warm up those vocal cords.”
Todd loses the Cheeto battle and looks over.
“What’s that?”
“Time to go,” Katie says, slapping his shoulder.
“Sick,” he says. “Time to show off my amazing voice.”
Simon cracks up. “Time for us to invest in earplugs.”
Todd shoves him in response and the two of them topple over, wrestling on the rug.
“Are we heading off?” Aisha asks.
I glance across the grass one more time, then with a breath I say, “Yep, let’s go.”
As I say those words, however, a warm familiar presence emerges from the deepening shadows, and I spin hopefully, not quite believing my eyes as they find Jasper, wandering across the grass, waving, looking fresh as hell in black jeans and a white tee. He smiles and waves, and the grin stretching across my face is so wide it might break my face.
Instantly I’m on my feet running toward him.
“Oomf!” He grunts as I crash into him, but his strong arms hold me as we kiss hello.
“Where have you been?”
He grins mischievously. “I wanted to surprise you.” He lifts his eyebrows. “Surprise.”
I press my lips together trying to act unimpressed but too happy to stop the grin.
“You bonehead,” I say.
He licks his lips and says, “Happy birthday,” then plants a serious kiss on mine.
When he’s done wishing me happy birthday in a physical sense, I take his hand and make to head over to the group. “Come on, we were just about to pack up and head downtown.”
“Wait up.” He pulls me back to him with one hand while the other retrieves an envelope from his back pocket. “This is for you.”
He hands me the blank envelope. I glance up at him questioningly, then pull out two airline tickets.
“What is this?” I ask, studying the destination. Jasper has given me two tickets for a flight departing from JFK and landing at LAX. “California?”
“My family has a house out in Joshua Tree. The nearest neighbor is miles away. I thought we could take a couple of weeks to hang out there, just us—away from everything else, like you said. We could go camping, hike, sleep out under the stars.”
“That sounds…” I’m too bewildered to finish my sentence.
“What?” he asks, looking suddenly worried. “Is it okay? If you don’t like it we can go somewhere else. This is just the most peaceful place I know.”
“No,” I say. “I—I love it. This is perfect.”
“It is?” When did he get so adorably unsure?
“It is,” I say. “Let’s run away.”
THE TALK
“Absolutely not,” Mom says, looking up at Jasper and me from where she and Dad are still sitting on their picnic rug.
“What do you mean?” I ask, face flushing with embarrassment.
“You’re not running to the other side of the country unsupervised.”
“Are you being serious right now?” I ask.
“Deadly,” Mom says.
I groan performatively, doing my best to communicate how freaking annoying they’re being. “Dad?”
“I’m with your mother on this,” he says, completely useless.
“Mr. and Mrs. Remus,” Jasper says, his voice a little shaky. “I promise we’ll be safe. I won’t let anything happen to—”
“You didn’t find him passed out in the woods a month ago,” Mom snaps back.
Seriously, why are they being so ridiculous?
“Is it really that big of a deal?” I ask. “You were more than happy for me to go camping without you around last summer.”
“At the Blue Moon Festival?” Mom asks. “There were hundreds of other wolves there.”
“So? It’s not like we haven’t been away before.”
“When you went running into a den of dangerous rogues?”
Aisha shifts uncomfortably in my periphery. Our little argument has put a dampener on the picnic party vibes. Katie and the others are all sitting quietly, pretending not to listen. I don’t get it. After everything I told my parents about needing some peace and rest, why are they blocking this?
“It won’t be like that,” I say. “Come on, this is what we talked about. It’s what I need—some time and space to, I dunno, clear my head?” I don’t know why it comes out like a question. But the upward slope of my intonation has Mom raising a brow, as if she’s just as uncertain.
“If it helps,” Jasper interjects once more, “I can have a couple of pack security guards positioned nearby. If anything does happen they’ll be there to intervene.”
Mom and Dad share a look. Has the promise of additional wolf-muscle convinced them?
“The thing is,” Dad starts unsteadily, as if he’s searching for the exact right phrasing, “we’re not just concerned about the danger of you two running off together, it’s…”
Is he? Is my dad blushing? Oh…oh no. Oh my freaking moon gods, no.
“It’s that going away with someone that you’re”—he clears his throat painfully—“that you’re with is—is a big step.”
I run a hand over my steaming-hot face.
“And your mother and I are concerned about—uh—about…”
I can’t believe this. Are my parents trying to have the talk with me now, at my birthday party, in front of my boyfriend and all my friends?
Mom slaps a hand on Dad’s knee and takes over. “We just don’t want you rushing into any decisions before you’re ready.”
“Moon gods!” I say, clutching my face.
“And we also want to make sure that you’re prepared.”
This is not happening. This can’t be happening. Jasper is motionless at my side, most likely as devastated as I am.
“It’s important to know—what you’re doing and how to do it safely,” Mom continues. “And it’s not something we’ve spoken about before, so your father and I think it would be better if we all took a minute and talked about—”
I’ve heard enough. I let out a huff, throw my hands up, and storm away. I don’t even know which direction I’m walking in, I just need to get away from the abject torture of hearing my parents discussing my possible future sex life. All I want is to spend some time with my mate without the burden of thinking about how it affects the pack, without being scared my head is going to explode. I haven’t even thought about if we’d…
My feet stop moving of their own accord. Somehow I’ve made it halfway across the bridge that crosses the lake.
Have I been naive? Should I have been thinking about sleeping with Jasper? Should I have assumed that’s what would happen if we went away together? Things have changed a hell of a lot since the first time Jasper and I shared a bed at that dingy motel, back when Jasper was still trying to pretend he hated me. And the time we stayed in the tent in the mountains, neither of us were in a particularly sexy mood. Will this trip be different? Are we different? Am I? And is that something I’m ready for? I place a steadying hand on the railing as footsteps approach behind me.
“Hey,” Jasper says, arriving on the bridge. “You okay?”
I turn and face him, my cheeks still warm, and find him looking strangely bashful, his head bowed, his eyes darting from mine to the ground.
“I didn’t mean to suggest that we’d—I don’t want to pressure you into—we don’t have to—”
With a single step I come to stand an inch in front of him and slip my hands into his.
“Honestly, it hadn’t even crossed my mind until my insane parents brought it up. I mean—I don’t mean it never crossed my mind. Believe me that has definitely crossed my mind.” Where am I going with this? “What I mean is I didn’t think that’s what you were suggesting. Not that I wouldn’t—not that I wouldn’t like to, at some point.”
Finally, his gaze settles on mine and I force myself to hold his stare.
“You would?” he asks, his voice low, with just enough gravel to it.
I bite my lip. “Yeah, I mean, yeah. I would. Would you?”
His smile reaches the corners of his eyes and he nods. “Yes.”
For a moment we’re locked in a never-ending expanse of time. The stars reflected in the calm surface of the water twinkle and rise like fireflies all around us. The wind rustling in the branches of the willows is a gentle whisper, a hum, singing some romantic tune. If this was a rom-com the camera would be circling us as we drift closer together, closer and closer, until we kiss.
When the rom-com moment ends I pull back, stifling a laugh.
“What is it?” Jasper asks, his forehead grazing my bangs.
“I can’t believe how awkward that was,” I say. “I’m sorry.”
“They’re just being good parents.”
I sigh. Jasper is right and in a way that’s sort of comforting. In a sea of wild emotions and dramatic events, my parents wanting to awkwardly discuss sex with me is a wonderful island of normalcy.
“How are we going to convince them to let us go?” I ask.
“We could…make it a group thing? See if Aisha and Troy want to tag along? Katie too?”
“Sort of betrays the point of getting away, no?”
Jasper’s shoulders slump forward. “I guess.”
As much as I want to get away without anyone else, to spend some serious one-on-one time with Jasper, his idea has merit. Maybe making our solo trip into a group hang is the only way to convince my folks to let us go.
“It’s worth a shot,” I say.
“It won’t be too disappointing?”
I shrug. “It’ll be fun.”
We head back to the picnic site hand in hand. The sun has fully set and the park has grown dark. The rugs have been packed away, the food and cups stashed in bags and a cooler. Everyone is standing in a line, waiting for us, ready to leave.
“Hey,” I say to my parents, letting go of Jasper’s hand and stepping forward. “About the trip. We were thinking maybe if everyone is free it would be okay if—”
“Max,” Mom says, stepping forward. Dad follows closely behind. “Your dad and I have had a little chat and…”
Mom pauses. I glance across the faces of everyone present. Aisha has a cheeky grin and Katie is swaying from side to side with a knowing smirk.
“Well, you are seventeen now and in some wolf cultures that makes you an adult. Your father and I met when we were fifteen and sixteen.”
Dad joins in. “And we certainly didn’t wait to—” Mom coughs, stopping him before he says way too much. “What I mean is,” Dad says, course correcting, “you’ve been through a lot and we know we can trust you—”
“So, we would be happy for you and Jasper to go on this trip”—oh my moon gods, what? This is too good, this can’t be happening—“on one condition.”
Oh. My stomach drops. Of course there’s some random condition. We can’t just have a good time.
“You need to check in with us every day,” Mom says, issuing her decree. “Let us know immediately if anything goes wrong. We need to be in the loop. No radio silence like the last time you ran off.”
I rub the back of my neck. So far so good. “Okay, I can do that.”
“And Jasper, you mentioned a couple of security guards,” she continues.
Jasper nods. “Yes, I’ll have my father arrange it.”
“Good,” she says. “But double that number. I think four guards is reasonable after the trouble you two have been in.”
Jasper’s blushing but also smiling. “I’ll need to confirm with the alpha, but I think that can be arranged.”
I look between Jasper and my parents. “So, is that it? Can we go?”
Mom and Dad glance at each other. I can tell they’re unsure, but they know how much this chance means to me and I know they don’t want to deprive me of a second of happiness.
“Yes,” Mom says, and I’m just about to jump for joy when she spits out, “and one more thing!”
“You said one condition,” I say, knowing how whiny I sound.
My parents share another awkward glance. Both of them are hesitant to say whatever they have planned next.
“What is it?”
Dad raises his eyebrows at Mom as if to say Go on then. She stares at him with a tight mouth for a moment before sighing, rolling her eyes, and huffing.
“Fine.” She pauses, shakes her head as if she can’t quite believe what she’s about to say, which does not bode well. “Your father will take you shopping for”—she clears her throat—“supplies.”
I squish up my face. “What sort of supplies?”
“The kind that you might need…in…order…to…have…safe—”
“Condoms!” Dad says, announcing it to the entire park.
Katie and Aisha can’t help giggling. Todd and Simon pretend to stare at the ground. Troy hides his embarrassed grimace behind a hand. Even in the dark I can tell Jasper has turned raspberry red. My face is devoid of blood, my hands cold and clammy, my mouth hangs open in stunned silence.
Dad coughs and adjusts his posture, realizing just how loud he shouted condoms in front of a bunch of teenagers and the stragglers making their way out of the park.
“That is, we want you to take—”
“Don’t say it again!” I shout, holding out a hand in a stop sign. “Fine, you can buy us those, just please, don’t say it again.”
For a moment it seems no one out of the nine of us lingering in the dark knows what to say next, until eventually Katie clears her throat.
“Anyone up for karaoke?”
An hour later Katie and I are belting out the lyrics to “Cruel Summer,” pretending we’re center stage on our very own Eras tour. The karaoke room we booked is in the basement of a building in Greenwich. Down here it’s just us. Blue lights cast everyone in an otherworldly glow.
