Page 104 of Game Over

I looked down at it, glittering brightly even in the low light of the quickly fading day. That reminded me it was almost dinner time, and I had been craving pizza all day.

Tara - I want pizza from Minelli’s. Mushrooms and peppers please.

My Alpha - Yes babygirl. Anything else?

I thought about it for a moment and went back to look through the menu.

Tara - Garlic knots please. And a cannoli.

My Alpha - Will be there soon :)

My stomach heated. I loved that it felt like I had anything I wanted at my fingertips, just at the request of Charlie.

Tara - What if I said I wanted a brand new Nexium gaming PC?

My Alpha - I probably couldn’t get that same day, but it could be done.

God that was hot.

Tara - and you’d just buy it?

It took him a moment to answer. I was worried I’d pushed too far, asked for too much, but he did eventually respond.

My Alpha - Anything you need babygirl, I’ll get it for you.

Fuck this man was too hot for his own good. I put my phone face down on the bed and flopped back, staring at my whirling ceiling fan. The next movie–whatever it was–played in the background but I barely heard it. I had no idea how I was going to fix everything. After thinking about it for a few days, myanger towards Charlie lessened. Yeah, it was fucked up for him to pretend he wasn’t literally my whale, but he wasn’t like the typical alpha, which was something I loved about him.

One of the many things I loved about him.

And then there was Jesse. He’d been silent. I’d been waiting for him to respond, texting every morning and every evening, but it was dead. They weren’t even streaming. I supposed I wasn’t either, but at least then I’d be able to see them. I got so desperate by day three I messaged Indigo, who had talked to them and confirmed they were okay. It’s why I hadn’t just gone over there myself yet. Though every one of my instincts screamed at me to go, I didn’t want to push them and make it worse. So here I sat, listening to some dramatic family drama scene and the whirl of my ceiling fan.

I wasn’t sure how much time passed before there was a knock on the door. Pizza finally. I hoped that maybe some food would quell some of the irritation I was starting to feel settle in.

I padded across the floor to the front door, Inky trailing close behind, almost tripping me a few times. I opened the door and looked down, expecting my pizza to be sitting there. Instead, I was staring at nice sneakers. His scent hit my nose before I could even look up and see Charlie standing there, pizza in hand. He ran his fingers through his hair nervously. “Hi.”

“What are you doing here?” I asked. Part of me wanted to slam the door in his face. The other part of me wanted to pull him in and slam my lips to his.

“I just want to say I’m really sorry. I never meant to hurt you or deceive you as Glitch.”

“Then what was it meant to do? You never reached out, not once.” In part, that hurt worse.

“I know. Can I come inside and we can talk?”

Could he? I looked behind me, thinking about it. “I did bring pizza and cannolis,” he said as he waved the box.

The smell of pizza was intriguing, and Iwashungry.

I pushed the door open slightly and gestured for him to come in. He did so quickly, as if he thought I might change my mind before he could get through. I shut the door behind him and when I turned back he was nowhere to be seen.

I was about to call out for him before I heard the clanking of dishes. Charlie appeared moments later carrying the box of pizza, now stacked with plates. He glanced at my cushionless couch and raised his brows in question.

“In the bedroom,” I said.

He nodded in understanding. “Want to eat in there?”

“Yeah.” Charlie let us that way, pausing when he got to the door. “You been nesting babygirl?”

“A bit,” I admitted.

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