Chapter Three:
Shay:
"Come on, Shay," Jody said, "Just come with me."
I didn't want to.
"If you find something you like," she said, "I'll buy it for you."
"Jody," I sighed, feeling guilty "You can't keep doing stuff like this."
"Hell, if I can't," she poked me in my forehead. "This is a gift, you ungrateful bitch."
I couldn't help but laugh as she grinned back at me.
She was trying to be seriously mad, but she couldn't keep a straight face.
"Besides," she said, "I heard a girl met this guy there."
I looked at her "What do you mean?"
"I told you, didn't I?" she asked, "It's like a social experiment."
"So, it won't be just us?" I asked.
"Of course not," she said dead serious "That one girl, I think I told you about her, you know, the one with the massive tits?"
I had to think about it for a minute, then it clicked.
I snapped my fingers when I pointed at her.
"The one that wanted the stars on the side of her head?"
She snapped back at me, "That's the one."
"Okay, what about her?"
"I heard she met a guy through them," she said low. "And they totally fucked."
I stifled a gasp, "Really?"
"I mean," she made a thinking face "I'd like to meet a nice guy."
I glanced over at her "I think you're more concerned about the next part."
"You're not wrong," she laughed.
She didn't show everyone her nipples for no reason.
That was the thing about Jody. She is a beautiful girl.
She has short, like super shot hair. Pink makes it more evident that she's a girl. Some people can't tell.
She pretty much always wears shirts that show off her pierced nipples. No bras. Even now, she was wearing a skin-tight pink tank top, and I could make out every detail of those bad boys.
"It's been a while," she admitted low after a few minutes.
"I know," I said, smiling lightly at her.
Her last boyfriend was a dick, but sometimes that happens.
He treated her like shit, and wouldn't let her go out with her friends. After a good eight months of dating, I finally convinced her to dump his ass. Thankfully she listened.
To celebrate, we both got our nipples pierced.
For her, it was freedom, and a giant 'fuck you' to him. For me, it was pretty much for her.
They still hurt every once in a while, but not too bad.
"Please," Jody said, "I want us to look good, just in case."
"You think I don't look good all the time?" I asked her pretending to be offended.
She just arched her brow at me, "You know you don't."
It was then that I laughed. She wasn't wrong.
"It won't hurt just to look," she said, but it was her eyes that were pleading with me.
"Fine," I caved.
She grinned, "Yes!"
She did her little victory dance while I just shook my head at her.
"Are you done?" I asked.
She stopped to look at me before shaking her butt at me.
I pushed her butt away from me, and we both just laughed.
"I hope you're ready," she warned, "We both need to look good on Friday."
I wasn't nervous anymore until she brought it up again.
I didn't mind shopping and trying on clothes, but actually going and doing who knows what for this, I think it was the unknown that scared me the most.
"You are ready, aren't you?" Jody asked.
I got up before nodding, "Yeah, but remember, I need to get the boys at six."
She waved her hand at me, "You'll be fine."
Noah:
Sometimes I hated being right.
I sat for hours in the back. I was waiting to feel the tremors under my skin. Only they never came.
Everyone was gone, and the experiment finished for the day.
I was hoping, what was I hoping for?
Frustration was all I felt now.
I've seen what it was like for someone to have a mate, and I wanted that. I think I do. If it doesn't happen, then it doesn't happen. For some reason, I felt like I had to know for sure.
I checked my watch to see the time, and I knew the daycare was still open.
It was barely five, and I knew Eileen was still working.
I didn't hesitate to bring a few things, just as an excuse to show up.
When I walked up, I didn't feel anything.
I didn't know how close I had to be to feel it again. What do I even call it? The mate shakes? Tremors? The vibration?
I shook my head before pulling open the door, and still, the feeling never took hold.
My feet moved to where I knew Eileen would be. She was always on break around this time.
I knocked lightly on the break room door, before opening it.
Eileen sat in her usual spot with a bowl in front of her.
She grinned up at me.
"Good afternoon, brother," she said, "How was your day?"
She knew that I would be a part of the program; that's why she was so curious.
"Hi," I greeted her before sitting down across from her and setting the bag down in front of her.
"I take it things didn't go so well?" she asked before inspecting the bag and taking everything out to put in the middle of us.
"I guess not," I said, grabbing the snack mix bag.
"It's just the first day," she said reassuringly "You just need to wait it out."
I understood that, but I didn't care. I was feeling too impatient.
I wanted to know. I needed to know.
"Did you learn anything new?" she asked.
She knew I was talking to Dr. Odell then.
"Who told you?" I asked her.
"Brian," she said, "He was concerned. He was speaking to his father when he saw you go into Odell's office."
I nodded; it wasn't his concern for me. I knew that much at least.
It felt strange for me to ask, and I don't know why I never really did before. Maybe because of my own situation.
"What is it like to have a mate?" I asked her.
She met my eyes. She looked surprised before she smiled lightly.
I wanted to take back the question.
"I've never been with anyone else. You know this."
I knew that. Still, Brian was her mate.
"Did they find your mate?" she asked, the excitement was written all over her face. Her hands folded in a small plea waiting for my answer.
"They didn't."
She frowned. Her disappointment is affecting her mood more than I would like.
"Like you said," I said low "There is always tomorrow."
She just looked at me, "We can only hope."
I didn't even bother to nod, I just opened the bag and started to eat the pretzels first.
"Is that what you and Odell talked about?" she asked with a mouth full of yogurt.
I nodded while I chewed.
"Wow," she said, "I wonder what your mate looks like."
I opened my mouth to respond, but I was curious too. What would they look like?
"Odell thinks my mate is a male," I admitted.
She made a face, "No way."
I didn't laugh or even smile as she stared back at me, waiting for one of those things.
"What?" she gasped "You're serious?"
I nodded, eating more of the bag. It was a Dorito and a broken pretzel.
"I don't know if I could picture you with a boy," she admitted, "But I suppose it could be worse."
I didn't want to tell her she was right, because it could be one of her kids here.
"How?" I asked, wanting to know what she deemed worse.
"You could never find your mate at all," she said.
I guess that was a worse scenario, but so far, not the worst.
"How did you feel when you found him?" I asked her.
She looked like she had to think about it "Well, it's hard to remember."
So, it didn't happen all the time?
"We grew up together," she said, "I just remember feeling pain."
"Pain?" I asked, "I didn't know that."
She shrugged, "It wasn't like, crazy bad pain."
But still, it was painful? To find your mate was painful…
Did I experience pain?
"There was this other feeling," she said, "It sort of gets easier the longer you are around them."
"What was the other feeling?" I asked her.
"I'm not sure how to describe it," she admitted, "Just that a cold and hot sensation went through me, I don't know how it could be cold and hot."
Cold and hot, I didn't feel either of those.
"But it's different for everyone," she said, "At least that's what I heard."
"From who?" I asked.
"Breena," she nodded, "And Griff."
I couldn't argue with that, both of them had a mate. They just so happen to be each other's mate.
"I'm excited for you," Eileen said, "Truly."
I didn't meet her gaze; I wasn't feeling that excitement.
"Odell thinks I should enter the Breeding Program again," I said, trying to change the subject.
"Is she out of her mind?" Eileen gasped low. "After what happened last time…"
She stopped herself.
I just looked up at her.
"Noah," she said low reaching for my hand, but I pulled it away "You didn't do it, did you?"
I shook my head, "I know better now."
Pity was evident on her face.
"I should go," I said, getting to my feet.
"So should I," she said, standing as well "Thank you for coming, it was nice to see you."
I nodded, "Love you, I'll see you later."
"Love you," she said.
I walked out of there, and to my relief, I never once felt it.
To my relief, and my disappointment, I felt nothing.
I checked my watch. It read 5:45 PM.
It didn't matter right now. I had to get to work.
Shay:
My whole body hurt.
I just wanted to go home and sleep.
"You feel the burn?" Jody asked me.
I had to turn my head so that I could see her.
We were both laid out on the floor after our dance class.
"She brought it this time," I said, grinning at her.
"My ass hurts," Jody whined.
Mine did too, so did my thighs.
I felt like I just ran a marathon.
"At this rate," Jody said before taking a large drink of her water "We'll be ready for some of that manly attention."
She acts like she doesn't get enough male attention.
"You should wear girly tops more often," she said, "I mean, I can't see your nipples, which is a shame."
I frowned at her words.
"You look cute when you dress like a girl."
I liked wearing a size up in shirts and jeans. What was so wrong with that?
"I'm just saying," I could hear the smile in her voice, "But you're cute no matter what you wear."
"Maybe I want to see less of your nipples," I told her.
She just laughed, "Bullshit."
I laughed. If she was happy, I was too.
"Really, though," she said, "Just show me one nipple."
I laughed so hard I hurt myself.
She was laughing just as hard right next to me.