Imprint

ACT II - Part I

Five months after the events of ACT I

The sunlight streaming through the window has somehow found the only gap in the curtains and is now falling right across my face - waking me up. I glance at the clock and groan, it's 5am on a Saturday - one of my only days to actually sleep in a little. I roll to the left to see the older alpha still sleeping beside me. Leo. I smile as I watch his tanned back rise and fall as he lays face down hugging a pillow. Looking around, I look at Leo's modern bedroom - dimly lit as the sun is just barely starting to rise. I remember when I came here for the first time and admired the amazing view from his window.

On the floor, I can see my clothes. I carefully climb out of bed, trying not to wake my boyfriend up. I pick up my clothes and drop them in the hamper, before heading to the bathroom for a quick shower. I'm over here a lot nowadays, especially since he has a lot of space, a maid, and a larger bed. His shower alone is very high end and has all his expensive shampoos I like to use. When I'm done in the shower, I dry myself off with his super soft towels - he really does have more than just one - and wrap it around my waist.

Then, I go rummage around in his closet and find a gray shirt I really like and a pair of black athletic shorts from a nice exercise brand. Probably I shouldn't do this, but I love borrowing Leo's clothes instead of wearing my own. He owns nicer stuff, has great style, and all of his clothes have the added benefit of smelling like him. A dominant alpha's pheromones stick to everything and last a long time - even several washes. After putting them on, I walk out of the closet and see he's sitting up now. He smiles when he sees me.

"Going to the gym?" he asks as I come sit next to him on the bed.

"Yes, there's usually no one else there this early, so might as well."

"Can I come with you?"

"So you can just sit and watch me work out?" I laugh. Since Leo is an alpha he's naturally built well and does not need to work out to maintain his physique.

"Maybe," he leans in for a kiss, which I give willingly.

"Why not, I don't mind showing off," I flex jokingly. "I'm going to make a smoothie for breakfast so you have time to get dressed and tag along."

"Ohh, can you make one without kale for me?"

"I don't see why not. And for you, I can add chocolate syrup if you want." His eyes light up as he nods quickly. That's basically just a milkshake and not a smoothie, but whatever.

These days I'm trying to learn to meet him halfway. Honestly, the beginning of our relationship was a little rocky. We were both so busy with work and learning what our 'imprint' diagnosis meant; that plus learning how to be in a relationship left us feeling pretty lost. As I watch Leo get up to get ready, I'm reminded how far we have come in a short time. Partially, it was from Hito's relationship advice, but we both had to learn how to compromise. It reminds me of the first time we had sex just over three months ago...

•X•X•X•X•X•

Several weeks after the events of ACT I

"Here we go again." I smack my alarm to turn off its incessant beeping and lay in my bed, staring at my hated popcorn ceiling in the dark. Ugh. Workdays have become infinitely more difficult recently - ever since the Seigi brothers had a major falling out and unexpectedly split the law firm. Almost all of the associated lawyers left with the older (they're both in their late fifties) and more experienced brother (but one became a lawyer almost fifteen years after the other), leaving behind a ton of unfinished work for me and only three junior associates - literally fresh out of law school. And now, here I am waking up at 3am after staying up until 1am to try and finish the report I was working on before the deadline at 6pm today when it needs to be submitted for our clients.