Page 23 of Jake and Conner
"We're not a couple anymore," I pointed out. "I can't just go to him." At the same time, though, I felt stupid saying that, because Conner had come to me, hadn't he? He'd been worried. Now that I had time to unpack the events of the morning, that idea sparked hope in me. Conner still cared about me.
"I don't know what happened between you guys," Dean said, "but I've seen you talk at family gatherings. Conner doesn't hate you. He's not going to turn you away if you need him. You don't have to be a couple for that."
"I don't know," I admitted. "Maybe you're right." Even though I really wanted us to be a couple again, if moral support was all I could get for now I'd be stupid not to take it. I had been stupid that morning, and then things had completely derailed when Conner kissed me.
He'dkissedme.
But was that just because he'd gone into heat? Had he really gone into heat?
I had so many questions.
And there was only one person who could give me any answers.
9
Jake
In retrospect, I really shouldn't have gone to Conner's place the very next day. I should have called him on the phone, sent a text or an email. I shouldn't have tried meeting him face to face while there was a chance that he was experiencing one of his heats.
Whatever. I'd never claimed to be wise. Especially because I knew all this and I still decided to knock on Conner's door--for one reason only. Over the phone or via text, he could have lied, and I had to know the truth.
Was I imagining his heat or wasn't I? Had he not gone through with the surgery? Or had it been a failure?
And most importantly, was he okay?
I didn't like the thought of him suffering all by himself. I liked it even less when I realized that this must have been going on foryears. It was time to put an end to that.
The first thing I heard when I parked in Conner's driveway was Kitty's barking, alerting him to my arrival. I hadn't warned him that I was coming, but I was sure that he'd look out one of the windows now and see my car next to his own.
So, really, opening the door or not was up to him.
It wasn’t my fault that he chose to answer when I knocked. He only opened it a small slit--or he tried to, anyway. His dog was having none of that. Kitty barged through the door, throwing it wide open to jump at me. "Hey there, girl," I said, greeting the Husky lady with a hug. Kitty had alwayslovedhaving visitors. Especially visitors who stole treats from the pantry for her when her owner wasn't looking. Our little secret.
Conner watched the two of us with worry lines creasing his features. This was obviously not what he'd planned; standing before me with no barrier between us. A light breeze tugged at his ginger hair and carried his scent to me. I inhaled it deeply into my lungs. I wanted to close my eyes, but didn't, knowing how that would have looked.
The omega before me wasn't in heat, not right now. But there was a sharp edge to his scent that let me know he had been, until very recently. I wanted to step closer to him and sniff at his hair. Somehow his scent signature had always been strongest there. It was almost as if I could smell the red of his hair. I'd always loved that.
But I didn't move.
Conner looked at me as if he was having trouble deciding what to do with me. "Hi," he said eventually. I almost laughed because it was so rare to see him lost for words. When he was being quiet, it was usually because he chose not to speak, not because he didn't know what to say, but that was exactly the impression I got from him just then.
"Can I come in?"
Conner stepped aside in silent invitation. I inhaled as I walked past him. I couldn't help myself. He wasn't in heat anymore, but that didn't mean I wasn't still attracted to him. I wasmorethan attracted to him. Honestly, that three-syllable-word didn't even begin to cover what I felt when I was around him--and what I felt when I couldn't be.
He called his dog in and closed the door.
I took my coat off and hung it on a rack by the door. The house smelled of Conner. There was no denying that he'd been in heat super recently. I glanced at him.
"Don't worry," he said. "I got it under control."
"Pills?" I asked, because it wasn't normal for him to be done with this in such a short time.
"Yes."
"You know the side-effects can be--"
"I know."
