I'm the Alpha's Crush

Chapter 37

After a severely shortened run, I headed back to the house, looking over the itinerary that Malcolm had sent me, with an hour-by-hour breakdown of activities.

Scanning the list, I noted the inordinate number of outdoor games, hikes and runs.

The hell did I sign up for?

Then, Malcolm's eyes flashed in my mind, watching, raw heat consuming me as his fingers teased my core. My face flushed as I remembered desperately stifling my moans in the darkness of the theater.

That's what I signed up for.

Approaching home, I bounded up the stairs, walking in to see River taking a load of laundry out of the dryer. Standing up with the basket, they turned at the sound of the door opening.

Surprise filled River's eyes as they saw me, "Oh, hey - you're back early."

"About that," I closed the door behind me, "there's been a change of plans, and I'm going to have to fill in at next week's Meeting."

River paused, asking, "The Meeting?"

"Yeah," I nodded, not quite believing it myself, "Malcolm's picking me up tomorrow - the drive's going to be an absolute beast."

A devious gleam appeared in their eyes, "You're riding with him?"

"Oh, that's not even the best part," I chuckled, "I'm going to be rooming with him."

River dropped the basket of clothes, "Oh my god - you're kidding!"

"Not even - Malcolm was supposed to be sharing a room with his second in command, but then his mate went into labor-"

"You saucy little minx!"

"What?" I frowned.

River gave me knowing smirk, "Don't think I didn't notice Malcolm's scent all over the place this morning - you two hooked up, and now you're spending a week sharing a room?"

I blushed, not bothering to correct their assumption.

River eyed me head to toe, eyebrow arching as they went, "Okay, you need to get showered and dressed - we've got a lot to do."

"What are you talking about?"

Bending over, they picked the basket back up, "I let it slide last time because that was a work trip, but no excuses this time; we're going shopping."

"For what?"

River shrugged, "Lingerie? Condoms? A dress? I mean, definitely a dress - these meetings always have some kind of semi-formal event, right?"

"Wh-"

"Hurry up - we don't have a ton of time, and you still need to pack."

Confused, I let myself get hustled into the bathroom.

An hour later, River was marching through the racks of clothing, pulling out the occasional garment and either putting it back or adding it to my increasingly heavy armful.

When we'd combed through the entire section, I found myself locked in a changing room, stripping down to my underwear while River asked, "What's your bra size?"

"Riv-"

"No arguments - you don't have a single matching bra and panty set, and I'll be damned if I send you off without at least one."

Smiling, I pulled the first dress off its hanger, "Have I told you lately that I appreciate you?"

"Some things don't need to be said, Soph. However, I would accept a 'thank you' in the form of sushi."

"Done," I promised.

A flurry of activity followed as I whittled down the dresses, eliminating the awkward and the unflattering until three candidates remained. In between, River returned the rejects and brought back the most daring bras that the store had to offer.

"Okay," I said, wearing one of the three - ruby red with an asymmetrical neckline. Stepping out, I looked to River, waiting for their judgment.

"Hmm," their eyes narrowed, considering, "Twirl?"

I obliged, feeling the loose skirt whirl around my legs.

"That's super fucking cute," River grinned.

"So, we're good with this one?"

"What?" River asked, shocked, "Of course not - I mean, that one's a definite yes, but I still want to see the others."

I frowned, "Pretty sure I only need one."

"Nonsense - go try on the next."

"You're a bad influence," I called as I closed the door behind me.

"I'm helping you get dicked down by an alpha - I'm the best influence."

We went through this routine with the remaining dresses, one emerald green with an A-line skirt and one jet black with a sleek silhouette.

At River's urging, I left the store with all three, along with several matching sets of lingerie.

As the sun set behind the horizon, we sat at the bar of our usual strip-mall hibachi and sushi restaurant, casually eating off of each other's plates, chatting about nothing when River set their chopsticks down and glanced over at me.

"So..."

I swallowed, "'So' what?"

"What was it like?"

Without asking, I knew what they meant by "it".

"River," I chided.

"I can't help it - I'm curious," they admitted, picking up their water for a sip.

"Well..." I stalled, "I mean, I'm kind of surprised that you don't know already."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that as curious as you are, I'm kind of surprised that you've never hooked up with an alpha before."

River sent me an arch look, "Are you implying that I'm promiscuous?"

I shook my head, "I'm saying that you're a charming and charismatic person, and you could absolutely have pulled an alpha if you wanted to."

Sighing, River frowned, "Maybe. Honestly, I just never really got the opportunity."

"See, I have a hard time believing that."

"Believe it."

"Well," I reached over, picking up another piece of mango roll with my chopsticks, "on the bright side, you got a tall, funny lawyer who adores you."

Uncertainty filled their eyes, "Yeah."

I paused, setting the morsel on my plate, "What is it?"

"Nothing."

Their tone said otherwise.

"Did something happen with Tom?" I guessed.

"Hmm?" River's eyes met mine, "No, just..."

I waited, unsure of where this was going, but concerned for my friend.

Taking a breath, River admitted, "Forever's a long time, you know?"

Nodding, I waited, and they continued, "Like, I spent most of my life thinking about mating as this thing that would happen way in the future. I was okay with dating for fun and nothing more - the idea of falling in love, real love with someone who loved me back? That was a worry for later. But now," they trailed their chopsticks over their plate, "now it's staring me in the face, and there's so much that I wanted to do first."

Reaching over, I squeezed their hand, "I'm sure you can still do those things with Tom. Well," I amended, thinking of the Alpha sex, "most of them."

River's shoulders sagged, mumbling, "I guess," with no conviction in their voice.

A brief shiver of anxiety raced through me, feeling like a premonition, but I pushed it aside.