Scum (Book 1)

24. Barbecue

Liam’s POV

The luncheon went on without issue, but Chey’s been getting looks that have me wondering if the girl’s mate will ever feel secure in their relationship. She’s done nothing but sit next to me and listen to Riker speak, and yet, I keep catching eyes in our direction.

Even Royce and Jenna are weirded out by it, but we’ve decided that they are all probably wondering what happened to Porsha.

The woman is on the guest list, but I haven’t seen her yet, so my mind is telling me that people are letting their imaginations run wild.

Finally, all the formalities are over, and we’re served a very simple lunch that Chey scoffs at. Her sneer catches the attention of a nearby alpha female, who goes off on a tangent about portion sizes.

“I think Chey’s met her soulmate,” Royce teases over mind-link, referring to how animated the women are speaking about bagels, but I can’t really focus on what he’s saying because the conversation has taken a turn I wasn’t expecting, and now, I’m worried.

“You seem like a chill person. You should come to the party I’m having tonight.”

“And my friends?” Chey is waiting for a response from the woman, who I know dislikes Jenna. She, at one point, set her eyes on Royce as a potential chosen mate, but her father shut it down because the last alpha in Royce’s bloodline was over three generations ago.

Some people make a big deal about those kinds of things, while others don’t. All I really understand about it is that Jenna’s children will have both lineages, giving them the ability, and right, to hold either title, if they so choose.

Morgan, the woman Chey is talking to, is an alpha female, but she has a twin brother who will be taking over their pack because he found his fated mate first. She will act as his beta, but because the man’s mate is totally rankless, her father wants her to couple up with someone who will help their bloodline maintain its strength.

They are looking for a male of beta blood who holds no title, something easy enough to find if Morgan wasn’t so picky. She has a very specific type, one that her twin brother often teases her about because her dream man doesn’t actually exist.

“Are you so weak minded that you can’t hang out without your boyfriend?” Chey is immediately offended by that, so I prime myself to pull the women apart if they come to blows.

“I respect whatever your opinion may be, but I don’t believe in abandoning friends.”

“Fine, they can come.”

“I don’t think we want to,” Chey replies, shocking Morgan who must feel like a fool for folding, and it doesn’t help that Royce and Jenna are cackling like hyenas. “Alpha Liam, can we go, I’ve got an upset stomach.” I don’t know if Chey meant that Morgan was making her sick, but that’s exactly what it sounds like.

“Sure,” I reply.

“There you are!” Chey spins to the woman who was flirting with her in the pool, and she waves to her excitedly.

“Phoebe!”

“I’ve been sniffing around for you all afternoon. What are you doing tonight?”

“I don’t have plans.”

“You and your boyfriend should come to the beach with us. We’re barbecuing!”

“And my other friends?”

“Of course they can come. Just make sure you BYOM.” Chey casts a glance at Morgan, and because I know that she’s absolutely antagonizing the woman on purpose, I stand to ease the tension.

“Hun, we should go.” Cheyenne is getting used to me calling her that, so a stupid look doesn’t appear on her face when I pull her away, but she does look conflicted.

“We just leave the table like that?” She whispers, unused to events like the one we’re at.

“The servers are paid well. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“But paid well and overworked are two different things.” I never really thought of it that way, but I’m saved the trouble of trying to explain rank-based duties without being rude by Chey’s new friend, who roughly taps on my shoulder.

“Where are you running off too?” The woman asks, eyeing Chey with a smile that’s so flirtatious that Royce has to excuse himself, unable to contain his laughter because he can tell that Phoebe isn’t about to let Cheyenne leave the luncheon without a solid commitment.

He thinks it’s funny that I’m being assaulted by both sexes when it comes to Chey, especially because it’s beginning to get on my nerves.

“Bro, it’s not funny. Do I have punk ass written on my forehead or something?” I’ve never felt more disrespected in my life, and the fact that I feel like my biggest competition is a woman, is somewhat humiliating.

“Where I take my girlfriend is none of your concern.”

“Sure it is. I still haven’t gotten an answer yet, and I don’t want to overstep by asking for her number.” That was a threat, but I can’t tell Chey not to run around hitting people if I do the same thing. “Send the information to me.” I hand the woman my phone, telling her to give me her contact.

“Careful Cheyenne, any man who asks for a woman’s number in front of his girlfriend can’t be trusted.” I hear a loud laugh behind me, drawing my menacing gaze toward Royce.

Since he knows that Cheyenne isn’t actually my girlfriend, he’s enjoying the pressure I’m under, but I see nothing funny about it, so I confront him over a mind-link.

“Bro, if people keep trying me, we’ll all end up fighting, and it might ruin your romantic getaway.” My beta quickly straightens up, clearing his throat because we’ve extended our stay an entire day to accommodate his plans to take Jenna to Disney.

“Was that flirting too?” Cheyenne innocently asks, looking up at my face in concern. She’s a tall girl, but I’m taller than her, so I still have to look down to make eye contact with her.

“It was very aggressive flirting.”

“Should I punch her in the face too?” My face bunches up in confusion before I realize that Chey is joking, and I let out a relieved chuckle. “I’m not used to this,” she whispers, moving closer because there are people around, and anyone can be listening to us. “If you don’t want to go to the barbecue anymore, I’ll understand.”

Chey is trying to be accommodating, and while it’s sweet, if she and I don’t show up, it’ll look like I’m afraid of competition. I’m not, and Cheyenne isn’t actually mine, so there’s no reason for me to limit her when truthfully speaking, I’m only doing this to make Porsha jealous.

“It’s okay, we can still go.” I tug on Chey’s hand, but I notice that the girl is dragging her feet a little. “What's wrong?”

“What does BYOM mean?” I forget that Chey is a seventeen-year-old girl who has barely experienced the world, and because of that, I decide on the spot to follow her wherever she decides to go, wanting her to enjoy her time away from the responsibilities of pack life.

“It means, bring your own meat.”

“Can we do kabobs?!” Chey asks excitedly, pulling my sister's attention.

“Some with shrimp?”

“And tuna,” Royce adds.

“Whatever you guys want,” I reply, eager to see Chey’s smile up close again.

Cheyenne’s POV

I’m excited about attending my first beach party, and the barbecue aspect of it makes my mouth water.

We stopped at the store to buy the things we’ll need for the barbecue before going back to the hotel, and I took my time seasoning all the meats in our hotel room, keeping them cold using a disposable cooler and ice.

Jenna watched me work, wanting to learn how to do it for herself, and Royce and Liam busied themselves by helping to skewer the proteins. We’re all extremely hungry before the set up is finished, but the barbecue doesn’t start for another few hours, so Liam and Royce left to buy food.

“Okay spill it, are you and my brother becoming a thing?”

“Eww, Jenna no… Liam is like an older brother to me.”

“Sorry, but you two look so comfortable together.”

“Of course we are. Dallas said that I can trust him.”

“And that’s all?”

“What else would there be?” Jenna shrugs, and so do I, moving on to a new topic that gives me a funny feeling in my chest.

“What about Alpha Riker? Why do you get so nervous around him? Do you like him?”

“I don’t know him.”

“Geez Cheyenne, lighten up. I’m only asking if you find him cute, not if you want to mark him.” I think about it for a while, bringing Rikers image to mind.

The man has pecan colored skin, black hair that’s low on the sides and tightly curled on top, and beautiful white teeth that seem to shine like the small diamond earring he wears.

“He’s okay,” I reply, going back to what I’m doing because tuna is very temperamental, and I don’t want it to be out of the cooler for too long.

“You took all that time just to say, ‘he’s okay?’”

“What kind of answer were you expecting?” Jenna moves closer to me, issuing a command as she asks the same question, but my answer doesn’t change.

“Have you always been able to ignore a command?”

“I didn’t ignore the command. I’m telling the truth; Alpha Riker is handsome.”

“You see?! That was a different response.”

“That doesn’t mean that I like him though.” Again, the woman makes a weird face, but I’m unconcerned.

“Okay, I can see that this conversation is boring you, but I just want to know for my personal reasons: Liam or Riker?”

“In what aspect?”

“Their overall outward appearance.” I take a second to consider Liam’s golden skin, his honey blonde wavy hair, and his light colored eyes, but both men are equally handsome.

“I can’t choose,” I admit. “I like the way both of them look.”

“Fair enough.” Jenna drops the conversation, and we get all the meat into the coolers before I leave to get more ice.

When the guys get back, we eat, and each of us decide to nap in the two hours that we have.

Again, Liam and I slept head to foot, but at some point, the man must have moved because I woke up face-to-face with him.

I start thinking about Jenna’s question, and on second thought, I prefer Liam. His nose is bigger than Rikers', his eyebrows are full, and his lips are plump; I like that, and I hope that my mate is just as attractive.