Chapter Nine: Someone To Stay
Malia POV: I lay slumped against the headboard of Scott's bed, clutching my stomach and gasping for breath while laughing at this dumb joke he had made. And of course the uncontrollable laughter led to a little snort to escape, which I'll probably never live down. My eyes widen and I cover my mouth with my hand in embarrassment while Scott's eyes sparkle with mischief.
"Did you just snort?" He chuckles and wiggles his eyebrows, an inevitable grin stretching across his face that meets his dimpled cheeks. "You know, that's kind of hot." He teases. Instead of answering, I stick my index fingers into the holes of his flashing dimples and he retaliates by taking one of them and sticking it up his nose.
"So the Alpha does know how to have fun, albeit gross fun. Why am I not surprised?" I chuckle, wiping my soiled finger on his shirt. "Have you never snorted before, McCall?" I ask in disbelief, poking him in the chest and snagging a pretzel from the nearly empty bag. "Besides, that wasn't exactly one of my sexiest moments, if it wasn't obvious." I mention casually, looking at him watching me.
"I don't know, it's not exactly on my sexy list either, but for you I could make an exception." He sits and ponders."And me? Never. I'll leave those sexy, little quirks to you." His laugh fills the room and I grab the pillow next to me and chunk it at his head. He ducks and it lands on the floor behind him which causes his laughter to increase.
"Stupid True Alpha...with stupid, perfect reflexes." I grumble, jutting my bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout.
Scott ruffles my hair and slaps a wet kiss on my cheek which makes me internally sigh, not that I'd ever admit it. I'm already tomato red as it is, he doesn't need to know how much I've been crushing on him for a while now. "Awh, don't be mad 'Lia, we can't all have perfect aim." He sits back to his side of the bed with a wink with causes me to giggle. When did I become such a girl?
A devious idea goes through my head and a smile slips onto my face. "You know, you're right, Scott. Silly me, my aim is terrible." I say feigning nonchalance, crawling over to him slowly. I run my fingers through his silky brown curls and lay an innocent kiss behind his ear. "Sorry, I can't seem to find your lips, you know with my faulty aim and all." A groan leaves Scott's lips, knowing exactly what I was doing, but he makes no move or protest for me to stop. In fact, he pulls me onto his lap, which terrifies and excites me all at once.
I tease him and try again, laying hot kisses across his jaw and down the slope of his neck, trying to not get distracted by his woodsy scent that makes my eyes flutter when I inhale him.
"Mmm... Still not there." I muse cheekily, continuing my search. Scott's hands tighten deliciously around my waist in a way that demands authority and I find myself loving the power in his touch. Weirdly, I never took myself for the submissive type. Being dominant gave me some semblance of control when all my life I felt like it was never there to begin with. But letting go with Scott is almost effortless in how my body and instincts seems to fall into his, feeling this sense of relief at his presence. Being with him, I'm not afraid to let go.
His eyes flash hungrily and his hands make lazy patterns on my back, leaving hot trails from where he grazed the exposed skin below the faded crop top.
"'Lia... You're killing me." He lets out a throaty gasp with only spurs me on. He's clutching at my hips and I almost give in, but I reluctantly pull away. I shush him with a finger to his rosy, bruised lips and he kisses it softly. I get this fuzzy feeling in my stomach and the apples of my cheeks are stained pink. However, I find a way to squash it down and tell him that he's not allowed to touch before resuming my exploration.
"I... think.. I may... be getting closer." I smirk, catching the corner of his mouth with a brush of my lips and scraping against them with my blunt teeth. I whisper, "Damnit, I missed again." Chuckling, I watch his reaction with a look of pure enjoyment.
His eyes spark red and he flips us over, my back hitting the plush, green comforter of his bed. My gaze is fixated on the little bit of smudged pink lip gloss that glitters near the corner of his mouth. I lean up into the space between us and he doesn't move back. "How am I doing..." I tease. "Am I getting closer?" I question flirtatiously before closing the short distance between us and making love to his mouth, taking my time and letting each press of my lips meeting his linger longer than the last.
He nuzzles my nose with his and presses his forehead against mine before taking a breath and closing the gap again. I think my new favorite thing in this world is kissing Scott McCall. Our eyes close as we get lost in each other until they finally open. We're so close that our eyelashes tangle together and his big, brown eyes stun me into a confession.
"This feels familiar... Natural, even." I say shyly with a close-lipped smile, lacing our fingers together and looking down at them curiously. The sensation is so new and compelling. I'm reveling in it.
Scott is absolutely beaming. "You don't know how long I've wanted to be with you this way. I know were not like 'together' or even remotely close to putting a label on this, but you make me happy and I want you to know that." Scott admits proudly, moving off of me and pulling me into his arms so that we are cuddling.
"You make me happy, too, in so many ways. Even before I figured out what I felt for you was so much more." My reply comes out easily, the truth pouring out of me once I sit there and realize how blind I had been to what was always right in front of me.
Scott kisses my forehead and I let out a content sigh. I could get used to this. "I knew the moment I saw you that you were going to ruin me, but in a good way." He confesses, making my heart skip a beat. He scratches my scalp and pets my hair while pulling me closer, lulling me into a dream-filled sleep induced by the lethargy in my bones and the feel of Scott's chest beneath my hand. As soon as my eyes shut I feel weightless and safe, reminded that he's still there every time I feel his heart beat against my palm. I'm enveloped in his warmth and for once, the world drowns out for a while, giving me the best sleep I've had in a long time.
We wake up a couple hours later to the smell of spaghetti and meatballs that lures us down the stairs. Melissa sits at the table, shrugging off her lab coat and withdrawing her perfect curls from her pony tail. "Hey guys, I brought food home. Malia, are you staying for dinner?" She asks hopefully, looking at us with a small smile on her face.
"Yes I'd love to, if that's okay with you." I pause and look up at Scott. "And you." I chuckle. A secret look passes between us that doesn't go unnoticed by Melissa.
Scott throws his arm around my shoulder. "My home is your home, 'Lia Pia."
My eyes roll, naturally.
The nickname is new. But surprisingly, I like it. Even if it is super dorky. I guess it makes sense because Scott is a big dork, but he's my big dork. So just the fact that he thought of it makes it cute. I guess I can tolerate it.
"I'll remember that when I steal the covers from you tonight" I say it quiet enough that Melissa can't hear, leaving a stunned Scott McCall on the stairs. I bat my eyelashes and giggle at his stunned expression, making my way to the dinner table. He seems to snap out of it quickly and he races to pull out the chair for me before doing the same for his mom.
"Aw honey, thank you. What's gotten into you today? Melissa asks, casting a side-eye my way, probably guessing why Scott was acting different.
I just grin and shrug, filling my plate with pasta and loading on the meatballs.
The chair next to me squeaks against the tile and Scott sits down. "So mom, how was your shift at the hospital?" I listen on with interest.
"It was great, sweetie. No supernatural drama or accelerated healing. Just a case of pneumonia, a broken leg, and an elderly woman who had a stroke. Nothing really exciting, just a normal work day. What about you guys, huh? You'll seem to have had a pretty good day together." Melissa says with her voice dripping in implication, not even trying to hide her curiosity. It's not that anything is glaringly different between the two of us, but she is his mom and she knows her son. She has to have picked up on the shifted dynamic between us.
Scott chokes on his water, spitting some on his shirt. I laugh and help him wipe it off with a paper towel on the table. "You're such a mess, McCall. Water and boogers are your specialty." I snort and he smirks. Oh yes, how could I forget? Snorting is the new sexy.
"Nothing much, we just hung out." Scott replies casually, turning back to face his food to avoid Melissa's penetrating gaze.
"Hey um Scott, sweetie, is that lip gloss on the corner of your mouth?" His mom points out, clearly catching him in a lie. And I'm absolutely mortified. I'm worried that Melissa will think that I'm not good enough for her son. I know that she likes me and I love her like a mom, and I would be devastated if she thought badly of me. She'd known Allison and Kira for a lot longer, both polite and well-mannered girls. And I'm not them. I could never measure up to them.
As if she can read my thoughts, Melissa puts her hand over mine, causing me to look over at her. She gives me a genuine smile, looking at me with the same brown eyes that mirrored Scott's. She leans in. "I know. Don't worry, Malia, you're my favorite." She whispers in my ear and grins. My tight-lipped smile evens out into a soft quirk of my lips, thanking her with my eyes and hoping she understood how much that means to me.
"Mom..." Scott groans, rolling his eyes in embarrassment.
"What? I'm just giving you a hard time. You'll spend so much time together, you had to know that I was bound to ask eventually. You guys are so cute..." She gushes.
"MOM..." Scott says louder this time with his face in his hands, pleading with her to stop talking.
"Okay, okay I'm sorry. I'm done." She says, raising her hands in surrender, letting a giggle or two pass her lips.
I chuckle at the embarrassment on Scott's face and whisper, "It's okay, I dig mama's boys." The look on his face is priceless.
He pouts adorably, "I'm not a mama's boy..."
"What was that, Scott?" Melissa blurts out with narrowing eyes in his direction.
"I said I love you, mom." He improvises, giving her an award-winning smile.
She chuckles and playfully swats him from across the table. "Nice save."
We eat in a comfortable silence.
"... I don't need to have the safe sex talk with you guys, right?" Melissa lets slip. She's probably been holding that in for a while now.
"MOM!" Scott whines, getting ready to pull his hair out.
Melissa gets up and puts her dishes in the sink. "Okay sorry! That was the last of my meddling, I'm going to bed..." She promises, making her way up the stairs.
Scott sighs in relief, glad that she couldn't interrogate him anymore. His face is flushed from humiliation.
"Use a condom!" She hollers from the top step, before disappearing behind the corner.
"Oh my god..." He chuckles bashfully, looking at me through his lashes.
"I"m sorry, 'Lia, you know how my mom is." He apologizes, moving his fork around his plate in a way to sway the attention from himself.
I try to suppress my laugh, but it comes out in spurts. "Scott, it's okay. I think it's great that you have a mom that loves and care about you so much. Not all of us are that lucky so don't take it for granted." I chastise lightly, leaning my head on his shoulder. "I love your mom. I'm just glad she likes me, too."
"How could she not? You're kind of, totally awesome." He enthuses, running his fingers through my wild hair.
"You're just a softy, aren't you, Scoot McCute." I say with a straight face before I can't take it anymore and I fall over laughing. My belly hurts and I'm starting to cramp up from the compulsive giggles that bubble up from my stomach and out my throat.
"Ha ha, you're so funny. You should be a comedian." Scott jokes, clearly amused. He's trying so hard not to smile but it's okay because his eyes do it for him. God, they're so pretty. Big, brown, endless depths of chocolate.
"I'm serious, who knew the True Alpha could be delicate? You're so sweet, I could eat you." I say, not realizing the innuendo that hides between the lines. The air crackles and charges my skin when those eyes of his light me on fire. He's staring at me so good and hard I can feel myself burning underneath his gaze. It's a naked feeling, an unearthing of sorts. My body instantly responds.
"I could eat you." He says with a thick timbre, filled with lust.
I arch a perfect brow at him. Logic aside, my hormones are going into overdrive. It's been so long since I've been with someone, and never someone as amazing as Scott. I don't want to mess this up, so we have to go slow. "Easy there, I might just take you up on that offer one day. But beware, I bite." I sass, giving him flirty eyes and my lips part to catch my breath.
"How about a rain check and we settle for ice cream, instead?" He suggests, his eyes still fixated on my lips.
"I can work with that."
Scott's POV: I pull out a tub of rocky road ice cream with one bowl and two spoons. I dollop some whip cream on top and drizzle it with chocolate sauce just the way she likes it. Her eyes are ravenous and she nearly snatches the bowl out of my hands, attacking the sugary goodness as soon as I set it down.
She's so cute, even with the chocolate on her nose.
She takes a big spoonful of ice cream and puts it into her mouth, savoring every moment with a moan of satisfaction. Her full lips wrap around the spoon and I feel my pants tighten uncomfortable and my palms begin to sweat. I've never been more envious of a kitchen utensil in my life.
She looks up at me, doing that thing with her wide, bambi eyes that makes my throat dry and my breath to quicken And that stupid spoon is still in her mouth.
I had something on my mind all day and I felt like I really needed to tell her. I don't want any things left unsaid between us. "You know 'Lia, I was pretty jealous when you said that you thought that someone else was your anchor. I was being dumb and I walked away from you, and that's not me. So I'm sorry." I explained.
She doesn't say anything for a long time. She continues eating her ice creaming, licking the chocolate off her fingers. After a few minutes, she replies, "I don't know why it bugged you so much. You're not just my Alpha, you're my best friend. I would lay down my life for you. Just because someone else may have been the link to my humanity doesn't make you mean any less to me."
"I know... I guess I was just scared. I still am. We don't know who this person is, who they are or were to any of us. What if you guys were, you know... Together? Maybe that's why he or she was your anchor." I point out, already mentally slapping myself for even bringing it up. What if she'd never thought out that before and I just opened the flood gates.
Her brows furrow in frustration. "And what if we did? This person is gone, it doesn't change anything. If it came down to it, I would chose you. I will always choose you, Scott." She yells, getting up in my face with her nostrils flared and a deep scowl on her face. "You know me. You know my dreams and what I'm passionate about. You know how much I hate to cry and all about my childhood. You see my flaws and for some insane reason you love them. And I know you, so please don't question whether or not this is real, okay? It took me so long to get to this point and I don't want your insecurities ruining it, McCall, got it? You're all I have and all I want." She shaking at this point. Her hands, her arms, her legs. Her bottom lip quivers and her jaw clenches and unclenches trying to stay in control.
I grab her by the chin and force her to look at me. "No more doubts, I promise. It's you and me against the world, 'Lia Pia." I vow, cupping her cheeks and stealing a chaste kiss.
She chuckles and bites her lip. "The world and us, Scoot McCute."
