The Code of The Alpha

Chapter Nineteen - Chord and Chorus

I was laying on my back, staring at the ceiling, when the sun rose the next morning.

My mind still reeling, I kept replaying those intimate moments over and over in my mind. I couldn't sleep until I understood how everything had happened so quickly...

How did we go from agreeing we didn't need to be around each other to me giving Luca a hand job twenty-four hours later?

I was mortified.

It took everything within me to get out of the bed that morning and venture downstairs.

Was it going to be awkward now?

You thought it was awkward before, I reminded myself.

To my great displeasure, Luca was sitting at the kitchen counter when I went downstairs. He sat shirtless, facing away from me with a cup of coffee in one hand and an iPad in the other, scrolling through the news.

I wanted to turn and run back up the staircase as quickly as I could.

He hasn't seen me yet. Maybe he doesn't know I'm standing here, I thought.

"Morning," he said, still staring at the iPad.

I wondered briefly if I had spoken my thoughts aloud before I returned the greeting.

"Good morning."

I walked over to the stove to find my cup of tea was already waiting for me, still steaming.

Awkwardly picking up the mug, I took a seat at the countertop, sitting as far from Luca as I could.

We made eye contact briefly as he turned to watch me sit down.

Luca flipped the cover over the iPad screen and placed it down on the countertop.

"I'm going to the training fields this morning," he said, taking a final swig of his coffee. "You're more than welcome to join."

He got out of his chair and walked past me to put his coffee cup in the sink.

"Not sure Fallon's going to let me punch stuff while my hand's messed up," I muttered.

Luca walked over to me, reaching into his pocket.

He placed my comb on the counter in front of me.

"You've still got one functional hand."

...He did not just say that.

Speechless, I stared at his bare back as he walked away.

"Leaving in twenty," Luca called behind him, still walking towards his bedroom.

I finished my tea quickly and went back up to the loft to change.

Throwing on running shorts and a sports bra, I grabbed my tennis shoes before going back downstairs.

I could do with a long run.

Luca came out of his bedroom as I was attempting to tie my hair into a ponytail.

I quickly dropped my hands, not wanting to appear like I needed anymore help with my hair. I had already decided that I would deal with tangles for the next four weeks.

"Ready?" He asked.

I nodded and followed him out to his truck.