“You’re kidding, right? They won’t see it that way.”
Alexa went silent. “You’re right. It’s our fault.”
“Are you bored with this shit?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Am I bored with dropping stuff? Having people tell me I got it wrong? Not being able to go to the bathroom on my own? Yeah, I hate that.”
“But?”
“No buts.”
“I thought there was a but coming along.”
She placed her head on his shoulder, and he figured that was going to be the end of the conversation.
“But I actually like spending time with you,” she said.
It was spoken so softly. At first, he thought he might have only just imagined it, but he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, she’d said those words.
“You do?”
She tilted her head back and winked. “Yeah. You haven’t been half bad company, Landon. Who would have thought it?”
“You’re not too bad either.” He placed a hand on her knee, stroking her inner thigh.
“I don’t know how long we can go on like this,” she said.
“Me either.”
He liked being bound to her side, but with all the mess being caused, it was irksome.
Neither of them moved for the longest time. The sun started to set, and when the usual knock came, Landon just wanted to tell them to fuck off.
Instead, they got to their feet. It was his dad.
“What happened to the door?” Marcel asked.
“I kicked it.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to!”
“It was an accident,” Alexa said. “We’ve … the door wouldn’t shut, and then I kicked the door out of anger. Landon had nothing to do with it. He tried to stop me.”
“Enough,” Marcel said. “Neither of you lie well.”
Holding Alexa’s hand, he presented the cuffs to his father. “Sorry.” He wasn’t sorry at all. The cuffs were a pain in the ass. The pack wasn’t helping, and everything was turning into a mess.
Marcel released the cuffs, and they started up the stairs once again. Twice a day they did this.
“You know we’re only doing this for your own good,” Marcel said.
“How is this for our own good? Are you trying to make us so damn miserable that we feel happier being together than apart?” Landon asked.
“Finding your mate is a gift. Neither of you are cherishing it.”
“Maybe if we were just allowed to find our own way, it wouldn’t be such a big fucking deal.” Landon was done talking.