"And then I just walked away, leaving Draco there. What a jerk I am." Alex said, sitting on the couch of the suite next to Jade. He had taken a quick shower, and was in a hurry to do so, then came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and small drops of water still running down his muscular body. His hair was a bit wet too.
"It sounds like you're being dramatic," Jade said, "Shouldn't you put on a shirt or something?"
"Nah. I like being like this."
"You like showing off?"
"No, I just like being shirtless," Alex sounded a little bittersweet.
"And shouldn't you go get some pants at least?"
"Nah," Alex pulled off the towel. Jade gasped. She then put a hand on her chest and breathed a sigh of relief, "I put some boxers on. I wasn't going to talk to you with just a towel on, you know?"
"Typical gym bro," she rolled her eyes.
"Hey, would you like to go to the gym with me sometime? I'll be your coach."
"Do I look like a gym girl to you? Besides, you're a wolf, it must be super easy for you to lift weights and stuff. I'm just a mere mortal."
"You think so?" Alex flexed his biceps, looking very proud, "With my super strength, I had to lift much more weight than any human to get this big."
"It must be amazing to be like you," Jade said, "Turning into a wolf is like a Wattpad dream come true."
"Definitely not! The first time I turned into a wolf, when I was sixteen, it took me two weeks to repair everything I destroyed in my frenzy. All my trophies are glued on, and I had to sleep on a mattress on the floor because I ruined my bed, not to mention the clothes in my closet! And I was never able to repair the hole in the wall of my old room."
"Was it during a full moon?" Jade asked and Alex laughed loud.
"That's Bullshit. Lycans like me? We don't need the full moon, baby," Alex laughed loud, "The original Alfaros and Lycans did need the full moon, my entire family too except for my younger brother Gamaliel. Zeth and Draco actually met the first Alfaro who needed nothing more than anger to transform, like the Hulk. He was some knight they say, who grew up with them in The Titan, but they didn't say more. You already know them, they don't talk much about it because..."
"They don't talk about Evalon," Jade said and rolled her eyes. Zeth and Draco were very secretive, and she didn't like that very much, although it was attractive. Alex was different, very honest but not like Everett. Alex was the type of guy who went through everything instead of around it, without filters or secrets, and that was nice. He could be very reckless, but people these days were always careful with their words, and Alex was definitely the opposite, without fear of being too... Controversial? "But back to me... Do you think it was wrong to leave Frank just like that?"
"What happened exactly? Did he say something? Did he do something? Or was it you just being you??" Alex wiggled his eyebrows and she gasped and slapped him in the bicep, but he laughed, "What?! I just want to know!"
"Why did I ask you if I know how rude you are?" Jade rolled her eyes.
"You love me like that," Alex wiggled his eyebrows, "So... What happened?"
"He just wouldn't stop talking about Evie!" she grimaced, and she definitely wasn't going to talk about her failed seduction attempts, "It was all very complicated. Frank doesn't understand women at all!"
"No. You're making it complicated." Alex rolled his eyes, "Listen Jade, men and women don't think the same. Let's be objective, okay? Without a filter and without entering into debates that won't get us anywhere."
"Well, I would appreciate that because almost no one dares to be as inappropriate as you," Jade nodded, "So tell me. I promise not to be offended."
"Women are overthinkers," Alex began, "They see it from below and above, from one side and the other before making the right decision. Men are direct, we think about it once and we do it. Period."
"I can tell you've never read a romance book," Jade crossed her arms and Alex laughed too loudly, even slapping his own thigh, "What's so funny?"
"Oh Jesus! Jade! Saying you know how a man thinks from a romance book is like saying I know how women think from watching porn!" Alex was still laughing hard, "Oh Jade! You're so funny!"
"I'm not slapping you because I promised I wouldn't get offended," Jade frowned.
"Okay, listen. Romance books are made to entertain mostly women, just as porn is largely made to entertain men." Alex wiped away a tear of laughter, "The men in those books were written to think like a woman, while in porn, the women are written to think like a man."
"Because for you we are an object? Of course! Why did I ask the ex-womanizer?!"
"Hey! Hey! I never said that." Alex frowned, "But let's be honest. People who write romance know how their audience thinks. The stereotype of the guy with 'emotional constipation' and abs is nothing more than a fantasy, and we are not so emotionally open either, believe me, as a man, sometimes we prefer to tell our problems to a perfect stranger than to someone we know. Those book characters are handsome, mysterious and overthink things, but to the core, they are all a chick with a dick."
"I beg your bloody pardon?"
"Jade. Those guys are designed to think like a woman so that you can identify with them, it's the truth, we promised to be direct, didn't we?" Alex raised an eyebrow and she nodded, "Good. Now listen. If you learn how men actually think, believe me, everything will be easier."
"Do you want me to become a man with boobs?"
"What? No! I just want you to understand how men think to make your life easier," he rolled his eyes, "If we don't like something we say it, if something makes us sad we keep it to ourselves, if something looks fun we do it and that is why we get into so much trouble. We are simple, we compete with each other and we like to be direct. No silly dramas."
"Aren't you being dramatic with Draco? If men are supposed to be as direct as you say..."
"I'm not being dramatic," Alex laughed, and Jade looked at him with an annoyed look, "Seriously! You know Draco. If I told him to stay away because I suspect my pheromones are driving him crazy, what do you think he'll do?"
"He'd go all over you insisting it's not true, you've got a point there," Jade snapped her fingers.
"Exactly," Alex snapped his fingers back, "You're already thinking like a guy. Evie can teach you all you want about FBI-ish stuff, but I'll tell you what. All you need to read people is to go to the most primitive part of their being and understand how their brains work."
"Quick question. Do men like you find Evie, I don't know, attractive?"
"Oh yeah!" Alex replied too joyfully and she grunted, "What? It's true! She is intelligent, she is direct and thinks fast, she is very feminine but at the same time strong, and she is mysterious. Men dig that. Why do you think video game girls like Jill Valentine are so attractive?"
"Because they are written to think like men? A guy with boobs?" Jade grunted.
"No. It's because they are still women, but they are direct and have impressive self-confidence, and they are all very sexy, but mainly because they are independent and know how to deal with problems efficiently. They are tough not because they shoot weapons, but because they are mentally and physically strong, and they never give up."
"Yeah, sure. You want a tough woman who thinks like you, got it. You don't like feminine women."
"This is going to be harder than I thought," Alex sighed, "Do you think Wanda Maximoff or Natasha Romanoff are unfeminine? Jill valentine or Claire Redfield? Or how about Evie herself? Do you think she is not feminine? How about Hermione? Damn! Even you're feminine and you've proven that you're brave and you don't shoot guns or kick ass, do you?"
"I think you are partly right, but Frank might be thinking right now that I am..."
"Frank is probably smoking and wondering if he did something wrong because we men rarely see beyond our noses," Alex said.
"Should I be direct and tell Frank that it was all his fault for talking only about his ex?"
"Hey, the impulsive idiot of the group is me, you on the other hand, are smarter than that." Alex was serious, "Maybe he just wanted to talk to someone about the pain he felt when he saw you arrive at the restaurant and..."
"Well then, I don't know why he prepared a surprise if it was going to be for nothing! If he didn't want to see me arrive because it was so painful, I don't understand why he insisted that I had dinner with him." Jade was so angry.
"Doesn't he have the right to invite a friend to have dinner after losing faith in everything?"
"Oh! Right. And I had to put up with him talking only about his ex because of that? I'm not his friend, Alex. I'm..."
"You know? That's rude," Alex growled, "Frank isn't your friend? Me neither? What about Draco or Zeth?"
"I didn't say that," Jade rebutted, "I'm just upset that everything is always about Evie."
"And it has to be all about you all the time then?" Alex asked.
"Well..."
"There's no right or wrong answer, you know?" Alex shifted his shoulders, "Everyone lives life the way they want. But it may be hard for you to find someone who will give you what you want. If you do."
"So I'm supposed to pay attention to everyone and not focus on myself? No thanks. I am a very interesting person and I deserve attention."
"Life is about giving and receiving," Alex said, "If you just want to receive, that's fine. There will be someone who just wants to give I guess."
"I... I think you're kind of right, I mean, if you put it that way it sounds pretty logical." Jade admitted. "I was just disappointed because I didn't want to hear about Evie. This night was supposed to be special, you know? And it all got ruined."
"If you don't want to listen to a friend in their pain, just tell them," Alex said, "But we agree on that. This special night? It's completely ruined. And it's all Evie's fault."
"She's never there when you need her the most," Jade said, "And she gets mentioned when she shouldn't be."
"No. You're very wrong about that," Alex rebutted, "Maybe tonight she ruined everything, but she's always there when you need her, and we'll always be there for her. And I just, I don't know, I just want to think that maybe all this drama is just a misunderstanding."
"How can a date gone wrong be a misunderstanding, Alex?" Jade laughed, "It can't be if he decided who to ask out."
"If you say so," Alex said, standing up and stretching, "Anyway. You can stay if you want. I'm going to get dressed."
"No, I'm going to Evie's room," she said angrily, "I just want this 'Evie Thing' to be over and done with." Jade stood up and opened the door to the suite, just when Draco tried to use his keycard to get in.
"Jade?" Draco raised an eyebrow, "Why are you here?"
"Wasting my time," she buffed, walking past him in a fury.
She slammed the door behind herself.
"Wow! So rude," Draco frowned, "Anyway. Alex, can we talk?" But he froze when he saw Alex bare-chested for the thousandth time this month, and Draco was not mentally or spiritually ready to face his best friend in this state. Draco swallowed thickly and he tried not to stare.
"I hope so," Alex said.
"You took a shower and were too lazy to put on more than boxers again?" Draco asked, Alex nodded with his hands on his hips.
"Yeah, you know how I am."
"And you're not going to wear pants or a shirt?" Draco gulped, "I mean, now you know that I love you, that I like you, so..."
"You think I'm going to put some clothes on just because of that?" Alex asked, laughing and shaking his head.
"Well, yeah. You're straight, and I guess it must be uncomfortable for you to have another man see you like this, especially knowing the reaction you cause in..." Draco gulped, "Me."
"Draco, I'm not going to stop being me, and you're not going to stop being you, just because you're attracted to me." Alex winked, "I don't mind and I won't see you any differently if I make you hot. I don't mind that you like me, period."
"Then why were you so angry with me?"
"I was not angry," Alex said, going to stand next to Draco, then guided him to the couch with a still humid arm around him. They both sat down, and although Alex was relaxed, Draco was still tense. "Listen. I was worried that my pheromones were what made you think you loved me."
"That's ridiculous!" Draco exclaimed. "O-Of c-course not, Alex!"
"That's not the case then?" The wolf stared at Draco intensely, looking deeply into his red eyes as if trying to find a reaction in them.
The intensity made Draco shiver.
"N-No. I don't think so," Draco replied.
Alex closed his eyes for a moment, inhaled sharply, and shook his head.
"I didn't want to ruin our friendship, Draco. And I'm sick of keeping you away from me."
"I don't want to be bossy, but... I think this is when you say sorry," Draco said with a cute smile.
"I am sorry, I really am, for what I did to you. I don't want to lose my best friend, my life would be a disaster without your disasters, Draco," Alex said, staring at Draco with his golden eyes full of life. "I mean, I have been an asshole, I ruined everything more than your platonic feelings could ever." He chuckled and placed his arm around Draco's shoulders. It was heavy.
Draco's heart raced as the wolf pulled him closer.
"I don't want to keep waiting for snow in summer anymore," Draco whispered, looking into Alex's golden eyes, "But Alex, there is something I must tell you. I can't hold myself back anymore, and I don't want to keep quiet about what I feel again, so I think... I think it's already too hard for me to be around you, and if I can't control myself... I don't know what I'm going to do if I keep you so close!"
"So you want me to stay away?"
"I think it's cruel to stay by your side knowing that we can never be anything."
"And you'd rather we split up? Lose everything just because you can't have the little that we don't have?"
"No."
"We are fine, bro," Alex winked. "I'd rather you and I be best friend and crush than nothing, okay? And if you want me to, I can walk around in my boxers more often to give you some eye candy."
They both laughed, and Draco snuggled up to him a little. Alex wasn't bothered in the slightest.
"I took a shower, and you're still attracted to me, right?" Alex asked. Draco wasn't expecting that question, and he pulled back slightly, nodding.
"I still love you the same, Alex."
"That's good," Alex laughed, ruffling Draco's hair, "It means it's not my pheromones that attract you to me."
"Oh! That's... That's right!" Draco smiled very, very beautifully. "So, you don't hate me anymore?"
Alex laughed loudly and hugged Draco, squeezing him so hard his eyes nearly popped out.
"I've never hated you." Alex whispered in the vampire's ear, "And I never will. I will never hate you for having feelings for me, never, did you hear me? Never."
"I'm so glad everything's okay between us, Alex," Draco said, and then threw his hands up like in a football game, "Woo-hoo! I'm gonna jump! Oh yeah, baby! I need to!"
And then the door of the suite opened.
"Hey, guys! We're leaving!" Zeth said, but he froze. "Alex! For God's sake, put some clothes on! And Draco! Why the hell are you jumping on the couch with your boots on?! Do you know how much dirt you've stepped on today?! It's unhygienic!"
"Zeth! Alex and I are friends again!" Draco said, jumping like crazy.
"What did we miss?" Finn asked from behind Zeth.
"Reconciliation," Everett said while entering the suite with an unconscious blonde girl on his shoulder. Alex immediately recognised the girl.
A shiver ran through him.
"I pretty much don't care if you are friends with the president now!" Zeth yelled, "Get off the couch, Fraco!"
"But I'm very happy, Zeth!" And Draco started jumping on the couch harder, "Finally all this drama is over! Finally!"
Then there was a loud CRACK, and Draco's face lost all joy.
"Oops."
"The couch just broke, didn't it?" Frank asked from right behind Everett.
"Yes, the couch just broke," Zeth sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes tightly. Draco and Alex looked at each other, "Fine. I guess I'll have to pay for that too." He took a long breath to calm himself and rubbed his hands together, "Anyway! I want you guys to take your cars and head home. I'll take Jade in my car."
"What about the Fifth Octave boys?" Alex asked.
"There's a van outside the hotel that will take them to Lyonfort and I recommended they went home tomorrow to pack their bags. They'll be moving in with us. The Solar will have a magical lower floor soon so we will have to adapt."
"Are you and Jade going to be alone in your car, Zeth?" Finn swallowed hard and Zeth nodded, smiling as always, sensual and daring, "I don't like the sound of that."
"You better calm down," Zeth winked, "Because as soon as everything is settled, Evie and all of us will start Operation Polyamory."
"I'll go get Jade," Finn said.