Page 21 of Perfectly Naïve
“Are you listening to me?” Mother sighs dramatically. “I don’t know what to do with you, sometimes. If only I’d had another alpha.”
Pain lances through my chest. That hurts. To be such a disappointment, she wishes I was someone else entirely, or not even born. The hurt manifests into frustration, and words I’m sure I’ll come to regret pour out of me. “I told you I wasn’t interested in being set up. I went out with Pack Johnson as a courtesy, not to make you look good in front of those vain omegas from the omega club.”And because I knew she’d bug me about it until I gave in.“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m very tired, and my shower is calling my name.”
Ignoring her sputtering and muttered words of displeasure, I head to my room. I text Sawyer about the confrontation.
The omega club? What do they even do there?
A grin tugs at my lips.
It’s a social club.
Sounds like a cult for stupid people.
Fighting a chuckle, I think about what to send next to continue the conversation, but I’m trying not to be clingy.
I’m proud of you for standing up for yourself. How are things today?
I’m beginning to smell things. It’s overwhelming.
I imagine you’ll adjust to it. Are you still comfortable not being on it?
My goal is to learn what it means to be an omega, and I can’t do that if I’m taking scent and heat control.
The typing bubble appears and disappears, and then it appears again. Four words that send my heart jackhammering.
You stopped heat control?
Yes. Is that okay?
Will that disappoint him? What if I should have talked to him before? What if he doesn’t want to support me through my heat? All those doubts swirl in my mind, triggering aflutter of nerves in my gut.
For science?
Exhaling in relief, more than happy he isn’t mad, I send a quick response.
For science, of course.
At least, that’s the story we’re telling.
Chapter Eight
OLIVIA
Time is one of the seven fundamental physical quantities...some even say it can be distorted or dilated. Here’s a basic physics problem for you to figure out—if an omega is traveling twenty miles at an average speed of sixty miles per hour, how long does the journey take?
Sure, there’s the logical answer, but somewhere between leaving the lab and getting home to change for my second date with Sawyer, time distorted, quickened, pushing me forward, despite the nerves fluttering in my gut. Re-familiarizing myself with my slowly strengthening vanilla and honey perfume drags me through the minutes, and before I know it, Nigel is letting me out of the car. The interior is primarily dominated by his earthen scent—mine is still too muted to really make an impact—but for me, the slightest trace is earth-shattering.
I can’t hear what Nigel says over the staccato of my heart. Though it’s physically impossible for the organ to beat out of its cage, the twinge in my chest says otherwise. My scent has yet to fully return, and the little bit people seem to notice is already so overwhelming.What if it changes the way my colleagues see me? Theoretically, I should adjust to life with my perfume. I still can’t believe how whole I feel now that it's coming back. I didn’t even realize I missed it.
I breathe in the rich and sweet scent before the breeze can carry it away, memorizing each note so I can compare it to when I’m finally able to scent Sawyer. Clutching my bag, I tick off everything I packed. A change of clothes, in case tonight leads to a sleepover, and the notebook in my purse has a blank page waiting for the details. Snacks and descenting lotion, on the off chance this goes terribly wrong.
Nigel clasps my arm. “Livvy?”
“Hmm?” I drag my gaze away from Sawyer’s front door and look at the man who could be my second father. “Sorry, what did you say?”
His forehead creases. “Sweetie, are you okay?”
“I’m...okay, I guess, despite the increasing probability of Sawyer not liking my scent and deciding that he doesn’t want to—” I cut myself off before I divulge the details of our deal. Nigel can be protective, and I have no doubt he’d march into Sawyer’s house and rip him a new orifice if he knew this whole arrangement has nothing to do with dating.
