The Code of The Alpha

Chapter Eighteen - Games on Ice

As soon as we finished eating, we gathered our plates and took them back into the kitchen.

"Are you going to put icing on that or are we eating it raw?" Aubrey asked Norah, pointing at the cake that was cooling on the stovetop.

Norah looked at Aubrey and sighed.

"Of course I'm putting icing on it. I had to wait until it cooled off."

Norah grabbed the container of icing and began scooping it out with a spatula to spread across the top of the cake.

Ana was shaking her head at their interaction when she reached out to grab my plate.

"Let me help," I told her, placing my plate into the soapy dishwater.

She didn't protest as the two of us worked in unison to clean the dirty dishes.

Philip and the twins worked behind us to clean off the countertop, putting away the bags of potato chips into the pantry and the condiments back into the fridge.

I noticed Hanna walking out onto the deck and taking a seat on the swinging bed that hung outside. A few minutes later, Luca followed her out there.

I watched him sit down next to her, laying his head back onto the pillows that lined the back of the swing and propping his feet up on the pouf that sat in front of them.

They sat there quietly for a moment, both of them just watching the lake off in the distance.

"He speaks her language," Ana said to me, leaning over to watch them as well.

"She's quiet," I noted.

Ana nodded.

"She's the exact same person he was when he was her age. Quiet, moody, and withdrawn but also very intuitive and shrewd. They both notice a lot more than they let on."

I hummed, still watching the two, who were now speaking quietly to each other.

"How I managed to birth two introverts, I have no idea," Ana laughed. "But they've taught me a lot about the way that people can love each other silently."

"That might take a while to get used to," I admitted. "I'm a talker."

Ana laughed, nodding.

"I am too. But you'll start to notice the little things and, when you pay attention to them, they speak louder than words could."

Torrey spoke up.

"Yeah, Luca's a simp when you get to know him," she said, pulling the paper dessert plates out of a shopping bag.

"He's compassionate and loyal," Norah corrected her. "That doesn't make him a simp. You'll understand that one day, child."

Torrey shrugged.

Norah grabbed a knife and began to cut the cake into slices.

"You've underestimated what a serving size means," Aubrey told her, watching her cut each slice.

"There's no rule against having two," Ana reminded her.

"Yeah, but I have dignity to retain," Aubrey countered.

I laughed as I helped Norah put each slice on a plate, passing it around to everyone.

A few hours passed and everyone was full of cake and laughter before Luca's family began to leave. We followed them out to the driveway and waved as they drove away.