Page 11 of The Alpha's Temptation
A beat.A muffled, “I hate this.”
“Me too,” I answer.“But I’d rather hate this together than apart.”
No answer.I give her the only thing I can right now.Time.
Even if it kills me.
FIVE
Selena
Foster doesn’t showup for coffee the next day.
Neither does Penny.
I tried to message her this morning, hoping Foster could talk to her and show her that he wasn’t breaking his promise.
I check my watch and sigh when I see that it’s almost noon.Neither of them is coming, so I grab some coffee to go and head to their house.
I’m nervous as I approach their home.The place looks quiet, and I take a deep, steadying breath before I knock on the door.
It takes a minute before I hear footsteps approaching, and I smile as Penny swings the door open.She doesn’t look thrilled to see me, but she doesn’t turn me away either.
“What are you doing here?”
Her voice is flat, and I hate it.Penny isn’t like this.She’s so full of life and zest.I’ve never heard her sound so broken except maybe at her parents’ funeral.
“I brought you coffee,” I say, thrusting a cup at her.
“Thanks.”
“And I think we need to talk.”
“No, we don’t,” she says stubbornly.
I sigh.“Penny?—”
“No!Foster already tried to talk to me.I don’t want to hear it.He made me a promise, and honestly, you need to choose, too.”
“Choose?”
She nods, her chin set firmly.“Yeah, choose.Me or him.”
“I choose you.Always,” I tell her instantly.
It’s the truth.Penny and I have been through everything together, so even though it will kill me, I’ll still always choose her over Foster.
Penny relaxes, and for the first time since last night, she smiles.“Good.I can’t lose another friend to my brother.”
“You know it wouldn’t be like that,” I murmur.
Her face hardens again.“Did you want to hang out?”she asks, sipping her coffee.
“I wish.I have to head to work in a minute,” I tell her.“I just wanted to stop by and talk to you.It’s weird going so long without speaking to you in some way.”
She smiles and hugs me tightly.“I know.I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“You don’t have to find out,” I whisper.
