Her Real Alpha

by Sherie Keys

  “When have I ever unless it was serious, you know I don’t like to jinx these things. I love you and all, but you’re kind of like Mom. All in the business,” I said and Clary looked at me like she wanted to punch me.

  “Come on, that’s not fair, I’m your cool older sister, you can tell me about your life, plus I really like Melanie, she’s like a breath of fresh air. And not to mention really sexy,” Clary said and I laughed.

  “Oh god, please don’t call Melanie sexy, that’s weird,” I said and Clary laughed at me.

  “So what about you then? Are you going out with the Peter guy?” I asked and she nodded.

  “Tomorrow night, actually. When are you seeing Mel again?” Clary asked and I rolled my eyes.

  “You’re calling her Mel? Please just stop,” I said.

  “What? I like her, I feel like we’ve bonded, plus she asked me to call her Mel.” Clary grinned at me and I paused.

  “She never asked me to call her Mel,” I pouted and Clary rolled her eyes.

  “Maybe she’d assume you’d simply call her that anyway, because saying Melanie all the time is a mouthful,” Clary said and I looked at her suspiciously.

  “Did you ask if you could call her Mel or did she say, ‘call me Mel?’” I asked and Clary laughed at me.

  “Really, Caleb? I asked her if it was okay that I call her Mel and she said sure,” Clary said slowly and I nodded.

  “Just making sure,” I said and she sighed.

  “Sheesh, I’ve never seen you so concerned over a woman before, calm down,” Clary said and I sighed.

  “You’re right, I’ve just never felt so strongly for a girl before, I don’t know how to handle it,” I admitted and Clary rubbed my back.

  “Aw, it’s just because she’s gorgeous. Don’t worry, after a little while of dating her you’ll level out and get used to it to when you can think clearly,” Clary said and I nodded.

  One could only hope.

  Chapter7

  Hunter

  It’d been an entire four days since I’d heard anything from Melanie and I was beginning to wonder if she was alive. I had just come back from visiting with my sister on one of her odd days off and I had called Melanie to see if she wanted to have dinner. It was only a Tuesday so I figured we could do something at my place or hers. After her not picking up another of my phone calls, I decided to just drive over to her place after I stopped by the grocery store to pick up some stuff.

  I knocked on Mel’s door and she opened it with her cell phone in her hand and her eyes widened.

  “Hunter…what are you doing here?” she asked, clearly shocked. I held up the bag of groceries and gave her my most charming smile.

  “I brought food, I thought I could cook you some dinner. After you’ve been ignoring me and all, I figured we could spend some time together,” I told her as I stepped past her into the apartment.

  “Um…uh, okay then,” she said slowly and I walked into her kitchen and set the bag down.

  “Have you been ignoring me?” I asked her and looked down at what she was wearing; a tank top and boy shorts.

  “Um, no, not intentionally, I’ve just been busy this weekend and then I had a project due tomorrow and I had to scramble a little,” she said and I nodded.

  “So how was your weekend?” I asked her and she sighed.

  “How was yours, Hunter?” she asked and I shrugged as I took out the shrimp and pasta and stuff for a salad.

  “It was boring, I wanted to spend some time with you, but you were nowhere to be found…” I said and she came around to hug me from the back.

  “I’m sorry, I’m here now,” she said cutely and I rolled my eyes, though she didn’t see.

  “Yeah, because I came to catch you in your place of dwelling,” I said and she chuckled. “Melanie, if you don’t want to date me anymore, just tell me up front, don’t just ignore me and drop off the face of the planet,” I said and faced her so she could see how serious I was.

  “Alright, alright. I’m sorry, I do want to keep dating you, you’re weirdly endearing…you know, in a sarcastic way,” she said and I cracked a smile, though reluctantly.

  “You love my sarcasm and you know it,” I said and she giggled.

  “So what are you making me for dinner?” she asked and I gestured to the food I laid out.

  “Shrimp pasta and an arugula salad,” I said and she hummed in anticipation. “You have to tell me where everything is, though, I don’t want you to lift a finger while I’m cooking. You can sit at the table and watch me while drinking…a glass of wine.” I pulled out the bottle I brought and Melanie oohed while she went to get a couple of glasses.

  “Hunter, I didn’t know you could be so dreamy. You picked up a bottle of wine and you’re cooking?” she said, impressed.

  I flashed her a cocky grin.

  “I’ll be one of the dreamiest guys you know, babe,” I said and that made her laugh.

  Melanie showed me where everything was in the kitchen and she sat down at the table while I got dinner started.

  “So how was your day, since you don’t want to tell me about your super busy weekend,” I said slyly and I could practically hear her eyes rolling. I glanced at her with a smirk and then laughed at her expression. “I love making you roll your eyes,” I said and she laughed, she loved me already, she just didn’t know it yet.

  “Whatever, Hunter…my day was good actually. I stayed in and took the day off from painting. I went to get my nails done and even read a little bit,” she said and I smiled.

  “You’re such an old lady, you read and got your nails done?” I asked her and she sighed loudly.

  “You know what, Hunter, if you’re gonna be mean to me then you can leave the shrimp and wine and then go home,” Melanie said and I looked at her and pouted apologetically.

  “I’m sorry,” I walked over to her and tried to kiss her on the lips, but she turned her head from me and I caught the corner of her mouth before I caught her lips with mine and then I peppered kisses all over her face until she was giggling and batting me away.

  “You’re supposed to be cooking, mister chef,” she teased and I grinned.

  “Just get me a hat,” I said and she laughed.

  “So seriously, I haven’t spoken to you in a while, what did you do over the weekend?” she asked me and I shrugged.

  “Nothing much, I went to an ‘autumn barbecue’ at a friend’s house in Queens. Other than that I caught up on a few consultations…went to the gym, which you completely forgot about coming out to watch me at the Giant’s stadium,” I glanced at her and her eyes went wide.

  “Oh my goodness, I’m the worst, I’m the absolute worst. I’m so sorry,” she said and I waved away her apology.

  “It’s alright, they all but killed me out there, I don’t think I would have wanted you to see any of that anyway,” I said and she giggled.

  “Was it brutal? What did they do to you?”

  I told her all about the strength and endurance training I did with the practice squad and players that were due to practice that day.

  “I had never before felt like my stomach was going to come out of the top of my head. I actually thought the guys were trying to kill me and according to them, they were taking it easy on me,” I said and she laughed at me for the tenth time as I told her about the practice.

  “So the friend who had the barbecue, was he anyone famous?” Melanie asked me.

  “No, he actually makes it a point to be under the radar a little bit. Ant and I have been friends a long time, ever since high school, we even stuck together while we were in the military,” I said and Melanie looked at me in surprise, as if she didn’t expect me to be the kind who would join the military.

  “You joined the military right out of high school?” she asked me and I nodded.

  “I didn’t have to, but I wanted to pay for college my own way that wouldn’t put me under the debt of my parents. And also to piss them off, even though I only joined the Air Force
.”

  “Wow, so did you like it? Or did you just join for the simple reason of paying your way through college and looked forward to getting out?” she asked.

  “I don’t know, a little bit of both I guess. It was a completely different experience than what I was used to and I kind of loved it, but I wouldn’t enlist more than once,” I told her.

  “So what is the deal with your parents?” she asked me and I sighed. “It’s one of those?” she asked me and I chuckled.

  “Yeah, it’s one of those. They were better than some parents. I mean…they were there, they cared for my sister and I because we tried to please them and live up to their expectations…” I trailed off as I thought of my older brother who was your typical problem child ever since he was a kid and up until he died.

  “You’re talking like you have another sibling…” Melanie picked up on my tone and I looked over at her and nodded.

  “Yeah, my eldest brother, he died from an overdose when I was just graduating high school. I always felt like it was because of my parents, my dad really, always pushing him too hard and wanting him to conform. But my brother could have done what I did, what my sister did…he just decided to let the drugs take him,” I said and Melanie quietly took that all in.

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Hunter,” she eventually said softly.

  “I’ve come to terms with it and whatnot, I know that wherever my brother is, whether in heaven or simply gone, it’s much better than the mental hell he lived in,” I said and then realized that Melanie was the first woman I’ve dated that I opened up to so comfortably.

  I looked at her and saw that her gaze wasn’t pitying or filled with conjured up sorrow.

  She was looking at me with a curious sort of respect and my chest felt a little weird. I had the oddest sensation of content and fullness. That’s when I realized I was in serious trouble with Melanie.

  I got dinner all ready and set the table and then sat down and waited for Melanie to taste everything first.

  “Why aren’t you eating? Did you poison the food?” she asked and I cracked up.

  “I didn’t, I just want you to taste it first so I can see the wonder spread on your face at the taste of my delicious food,” I said and she snorted and then forked up some of the salad with homemade dressing; after that she tasted the shrimp pasta and then she smiled.

  “It’s really, really good,” she said and I breathed a silent sigh of relief.

  “Good, I was hoping so, I had only just read the recipe for all of this while I was in the car,” I admitted and Melanie laughed at me again.

  “You did not.”

  “I swear, cross my heart and all,” I said and she laughed again.

  “Well, you’re a quick study, because this is good.”

  “Yeah, and thank goodness the people at the store deveined the shrimp and all that stuff so all I had to do was cook it.” Melanie just smiled at me in amusement.

  “Is this the first time you cooked for a girl?” she asked and I shrugged. “Hunter…” she said in that girlish voice that meant I just made her feel special. “Now I feel bad for not making you that omelet,” she said and I laughed.

  “It’s forgiven, I realized I should have made you some breakfast and served you in bed.”

  “Yeah, okay,” she said and I dropped my fork.

  “I’m serious, you let me into your home, you shared your body with me and I took full advantage, the least I could do was make you breakfast,” I said and then she thought about it and shrugged slightly.

  “I guess I see where you’re coming from there,” she said and I smiled at her and shook my head.

  The rest of the night was spent with us finishing the bottle of wine and talking about everything and nothing. We fell asleep on the living room floor completely clothed and all; it was odd, but I couldn’t imagine simply talking all night with anyone else but Melanie.

  Chapter8

  Melanie

  I woke up next to Hunter and found him already awake and looking at me. I felt shy all of a sudden and gave him a small smile. We hadn’t even had sex last night, yet it felt like we did in a way. Who knew talking to someone for so long would be so intimate.

  “I have to work today,” Hunter said almost as if he wanted to quit his job on the spot. I smiled and then leaned towards him and kissed his nose. He pressed a soft kiss to my lips and then brushed my hair behind my ear. “I don’t want to, though, I like looking at you too much,” he sighed and I smiled.

  “Don’t worry, we can get together for lunch or something,” I said and Hunter perked up.

  “You better not disappear on me like you did on Sunday,” Hunter warned me and I shook my head.

  “I wouldn’t think of it, we can go get subs from the deli.”

  “I actually know of an even better place on Lexington, it’s a little far from my job, but it’ll blow your mind,” Hunter said and I was impressed.

  “Well, I’ll have to be the judge of that if it’s as good as you say.” Hunter simply smiled at me and then kissed me again before he sighed and got up.

  “At least let me make you a cup of coffee before you leave,” I said and Hunter looked down at me, sighed, and then shook his head sadly.

  “If I don’t leave now, I never will,” he said and I smiled, my mind immediately going back to that amazing night he first came over.

  “Oh, see, now you’re all smiling at me looking all sexy and sleepy. I really have to go,” he said and I pouted. “Mel, you’re killing me, you’re literally…just…killing me,” Hunter said as he neared the door. I laughed as he made a show of it being painful to unlock my door and pull it open.

  “I’ll see you at lunch then, text me the address of that place,” I said and he nodded before he winked at me and then left.

  I then got up to lock the door. I took a shower and then get a couple of paintings done. Throughout the morning both Caleb and Hunter were texting me and I started to feel like the biggest two timer. In a moment of self-disgust I called my brother.

  “Hey, Mel, what’s up?” he answered.

  “I don’t know, Joe, I don’t know what I’m doing,” I said and he paused on the other line, he was trying to think about what I could be talking about.

  “Is this about your guy situation or…?” I sighed again, that time in exasperation.

  “Of course it’s about my guy situation, Joe! Hunter came over last night and he brought wine and he cooked me dinner when he doesn’t even cook and then we spent the night just talking and…and I don’t know what to do! I can’t date two guys at once, it’s wrong!” I said and it was Joe’s turn to sigh.

  “Mel, just do like what Peter and I told you, play the field until one wants to get serious, then you have to make your decision and choose which guy you really like,” he said and I shook my head even though he couldn’t see me.

  “It’s not that easy, Joe, I’m not a guy, I can’t just play the field. I start to feel bad when I’m alone and thinking about both guys who are really great and gorgeous and I get along with both of them and I just don’t see myself making up my mind any time soon. What if it gets serious, Joe? What if, like, they both propose to me?” I asked him.

  I was aware that I was kind of working myself up into a panic, but I couldn’t help it. All of my pent up emotions and fears about my predicament was coughing up to the surface.

  “I mean I had sex with both of them, Joe!” I said and my brother actually laughed at me on the other line.

  “So who is better in bed?” he asked and I rolled my eyes.

  If I had something that would travel far enough and hit hard enough, I’d so throw it at him. I didn’t care if he was at work or not.

  “Joe! Can you please take this seriously? I’m like…hyperventilating,” I said and Joe urged me to calm down.

  “Relax, just relax okay? It’s not as bad as you’re thinking it is. You’re dating, you aren’t exclusive with either of them. You’re a grown woman living in the twenty-firs
t century, Mel, you can sleep with whomever you want as long as you’re being a hundred percent safe. Look, as long as the words ‘I love you’ haven’t come out of either guy’s mouth, then you have nothing to worry about,” Joe said and I became a little calmer and I was able to take breath into my lungs.

  “But they both have been saying really sweet things about…like…how they like me and stuff,” I said and then realized Joe’s point as I was speaking.

  “You get me, sis. A guy will say a lot of sweet things to a girl he likes, but a guy knows when he’s in love. When one of them tells you that, then you have to get serious. Then you can freak out unless you figured out which one is the guy for you,” Joe said and I took a few deep breaths.