Friends with benefits.
1028 Words
Regaining her senses and seizing the moment, Paige abruptly turned, making her escape as fast as she could, immediately steering down the large corridor opposite to Lilly.
She briefly glanced back over her shoulder to see Alpha Damien coming out of Lilly’s bedroom still staring at her as Lilly and one of her friends approached him. Lilly eyed him curiously before turning to glance in Paige's direction, now appearing as though she might burst a blood vessel. Seeing this, Paige quickly exited the corridor feeling mentally exhausted and having no desire for another encounter with either of them that day.
Later that evening, after deciding on the long way home, Paige was walking through the park and stopped at one of her favorite hangout spots, hoping to clear her head.
Sitting on a park bench, she sighed and looked out across the park at a couple of teenagers who were now teasing each other and stealing kisses against a tree by the pond. Frowning, she turned her attention to the ducks on the water.
Life was persistently cruel to her. How could she be put in this position after everything she’d been through?
Paige lay back on the bench looking up through the trees as the sun was setting before closing her eyes.
Persistent buzzing interrupted her thoughts, and she pulled her phone out of her pocket, holding it up to see who was calling. Her best friend Gabriella’s contact photo popped up and Paige swiped once screening the call. She groaned and laid her phone on her stomach, lazily draping an arm over her eyes.
She certainly was in no mood to be around anyone else today and knowing Gabby, that’s precisely what would happen.
Gabby was the Gamma's daughter and Paige’s closest childhood friend, or rather her only friend, thanks to her current status in their pack. Well, that wasn’t completely true. Paige knew, regardless of status, her own personality could not exactly be described as welcoming. It’s not that she was antisocial or unlikeable, she just preferred her alone time to spending her days with people she had almost nothing in common with. This was something she was perfectly fine with. Gabby, on the other hand, had made it her own personal mission to upgrade Paige’s station in their pack.
Paige’s phone buzzed again, and a new text bubble popped up across the screen. 'Stop screening my call hooker'. Paige briefly glanced at the screen before rolling her eyes and setting the phone back down.
“Ugh rude! Haven’t you learned now you can’t ditch me that easily?” Hearing Gabby’s voice from a few feet away, Paige sighed before propping herself up on one arm.
Gabby, who was now standing there with a six-pack of beers in one hand and Bob's fried chicken in the other, her face now sporting a victorious look of satisfaction.
Paige groaned and laid back down covering her face once more. “Not a good time Gabs.” She stated in a muffled voice.
Gabby scoffed, then walked over and sat down beside her. “It’s always a good time for Bob's and beer” Gabby smiled, leaning towards her waiving the bag of chicken back and forth above her nose. “Come on Paige, I’m willing to bet you haven’t eaten today either.” She said in a disapproving tone while casually inspecting her cuticles.
Paige sat up and shrugged, giving her friend a sullen look. “I had a bagel.” she replied.
“I’m so proud.” Gabby stated dryly, rolling her eyes.
Turning her attention to the beer her friend was pulling out, Paige held out her hand as Gabby twisted the top and handed it to her, before reaching into her purse and pulling out a small jewelry box, tossing it in Paige's lap.
"Happy birthday, bitch." She said smirking, as she twisted the top off her own bottle.
Paige narrowed her eyes at the box, before groaning as she opened the lid. "I said no presents... or anything birthday" Her voice was firm, but her face softened as she picked up a gold bracelet adorned with tiny sapphires.
"And, when have I ever listened?" Gabby gave her an innocent smile, showing off her dimples. "Besides, you know I love to shop for my favorite side-piece." She teased, giving Paige's shoulder a soft nudge.
Just then Gabby’s phone buzzed and she groaned as she checked it and quickly screened the call.“Ugh, my parents are driving me crazy with this mate business.” She spouted, slamming her phone down.
“With the ceremony so close, I think they're expecting their future son-in-law to be there.” Gabby laughed, rolling her eyes as she reached for the box of chicken. Removing a drumstick, she waved it around dramatically as she continued her rant. “They refuse to accept that I’m a free soul and I refuse to be turned into an old maid, tied to some misogynistic wolf with expectations and a step-ford wives’ fetish.” She sighed as she touched the back of hand holding the chicken to her head, pretending to swoon.
Paige rolled her eyes again, taking a sip of her beer. “What will you do if he’s at the ceremony?" She asked, closing the jewelry box and placing it in her bag.
Gabby scoffed and reached for another beer. “Well, obviously, I’ll just have to avoid the ceremony entirely.” She smiled with a look of determination, taking a rather forceful bite of chicken.
“Right…” Paige said sarcastically.
“Oh, which reminds me!” Gabby squeaked excitedly, turning to Paige and lowering her voice as she continued. “You’ll never believe who they’ve said is going to be attending the banquet!”
“Is there any reason why I should care who’s going to be there?” Paige said dryly.
Gabby frowned. “You’ll care about this one.” She said, glancing around and inching closer. “So, do you remember all of those insane stories we always heard about the Reaper?”
Paige choked on her beer and her eyes widened. Everyone knew that name.
- Writer
