Page 68 of Knotting Hill
Sha doop shobe doo
Sha doop shobe doo
In the still of the night
I held you, held you tight
Oh, I love, love you so
Promise I'll never let ya go
In the still of the night
“Wow,” Franco says. “That’s smooth.”
I giggle, tears springing into my eyes. “You’re a bunch of arseholes.”
Josh stops singing. “Does that mean yes or no?”
“It means, I’ll see.”
“We know how hurt you are over the trust, but we are ready to prove ourselves, Storm. We wanted you to know how much we love you,” Josh says.
“We'll always be here for you,” JP adds.
“You’re our everything,” Russell says.
He holds up the bouquet of flowers and then launches them at the balcony, hitting a surprised Franco in the face with them. As I snort with laughter, I’m convinced that was on purpose. I pick them up from the floor, my head screaming at me to accept this, but my heart is still bruised from being put through the wringer. Not just with them, but with everything.
The men are smiling up at me, and I can see the love and respect in their eyes. I feel my heart swell with emotion as I watch them start singing again. They are trying to put a smile on my face and let me know that they are sorry for this mess, which has caused me distress.
The pack sing the song until the last note fades away. As they finish, I know this is one of the sweetest gestures anyone has ever done for me, and it will stay with me forever. It has taken a lot of courage for them to come here and do this, knowing the whole of Knotting Hill will have heard about it by nightfall, not to mention witnessed it on social media. The experience of being serenaded by the pack while standing on the balcony of my first-floor flat is one of the most beautiful, profound moments of my life.
“Ask me again!” I call down.
JP steps forward. “We are just a pack, standing in front of an omega, asking her to mate with us.”
“Come up,” I say with a big smile and disappear into the flat to buzz them up. “You’d better go,” I say to Franco.
He nods, his face earnest. “Please speak to your father as soon as you can.”
“I will,” I promise him and watch him leave, as the St. Lucs run up the stairs, the anticipation in the air palpable.
Forty-Two
Storm
“What does this mean?”JP asks, giving Franco a death stare as they pass on the stairs.
“It means, I’ll see. I want to trust you, but my head is a bit mashed, and I need a minute to think.” I turn and head back into the flat, the three of them following me into the small space. Their scents overwhelm me. Apple pie and Chantilly cream, along with hot chocolate and marshmallows, is nicely complimented by Josh’s subtle aftershave. It does things to my body that I don’t think I’m quite ready for, but I know it is going to happen anyway. It’s physical. I can’t stop it, even if I wanted to, which I don’t. I want to experience them all together. I want to see if what we have is real.
I take a deep breath, trying to quell the butterflies in my stomach. I’m excited but a little bit scared. I have never done anything like this before. I know the night ahead will be an adventure.
I try to focus on the positive aspects of the night ahead - the chance to explore my sexuality in ways I’ve never imaginedbefore, the thrill of the unknown that lies ahead, and the opportunity to make new memories with my chosen partners.
But as the minutes tick away, the tension builds as it becomes apparent that they are thinking all of the same things, my nerves begin to intensify. Tonight, I’m going to open myself up to three men, a thought that both fills me with anxiety, but also excites me beyond belief.
I move across to the bed and face them.
