Forced To Love You

It's Rude To Stare

Christian was working on something on his laptop when I woke up. He was sitting on the couch and hunched over his laptop on the coffee table. He had a piece of toast in his hand that he was eating.

I sat down on the other end of the couch and lifted a plate of scrambled eggs and toast from the tray it sat on and put it on my lap. "What are you working on?"

"I'm finishing some arrangements for your college semester."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really? How is that going?"

He exhaled a deep breath. "Well, you can't start back up this semester. I talked with the Dean of your school and explained that you had a death in the family and needed to take the rest of the semester off. You'll lose the money you invested but it won't be counted against you in terms of your classes and GPA."

I groaned. "Do you know how long I had to save just for this semester? I worked all summer just for my five classes."

"If you're short on money, I can help you out."

"I don't have a job. I probably got fired from my old one because I never showed up because I was here."

"You don't have to work here if you don't want to. You're a Luna. That'll be your most important role here."

I narrowed my eyes at him as I tried to get my brain to comprehend the conversation we were having. "How do you make money?"

"The people in town pay taxes. That money comes to me. I manage it as if I'm a landlord. I have several bank accounts where I distribute the money so different departments can access it when needed. The rest, I keep."

"And you have enough to pay for my schooling?"

He nodded. "More than enough."

"That doesn't seem right. It almost seems like you're taking way too much from everyone in town. Don't they get mad at the high taxes they have to pay?"

"Everyone gets mad about taxes. But I don't take enough that people can't afford to live. I'm not a monster."

"This just... I don't get it. You literally don't have a job yet you still make a ton of money."

"Running a town and all the people in it takes a lot of my time and effort. I don't take it lightly."

"I still can't believe you don't have an actual job."

He rolled his eyes. "You'll see when you start doing the work of a Luna that it's much more complex than an 'actual job'."

I wanted to continue to argue with him but I knew that I wasn't as knowledgeable about being an Alpha, or Luna in my case, as Christian was. He was the one to say how difficult it was and if he actually was deserving of the money or not. He was convincing at least.

"So where can I apply to start my next semester? I don't want to put it off and be even more behind."

"Washington State University has some good programs to get into. It's a higher-ranked school than a community college or local university."

"That means it's more expensive."

He sighed. "Blair, I told you I would take care of it. Wherever you decide to go, I'll pay for it."

"I suppose I have to stay in Washington?"

"The closer, the better."

I nodded.

He closed his laptop and reached for his cup of coffee. "If you need to look into schools or majors, you can use my laptop."

"You're not worried about me looking at sensitive information?"

"Everything sensitive is password-protected." He met my gaze and it felt like he was challenging me. He wanted me to try.

"Let me guess, it's your birthday?"

"Do you even know my birthday?"

I had no idea what it was. I might have been able to guess the year if I did the math but I didn't know the month or exact day.

But he didn't need to know that.

"It wouldn't be hard to figure out. I'll just ask Zeke."

He smiled and set his coffee cup on the tray. "Good luck getting him to tell you."

"I'll just say I want to get to know you better." I looked at him over the edge of my cup of orange juice.

"You know, you could just ask me."

"Fine. When is your birthday?"

"October 2nd, 1992. When's yours?" I forgot how much older he was than me.

"June 10th, 2001."

He whistled as he got to his feet. "Damn. I forgot how young you are."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm only 21."

"Barely."

"I'd think that would look worse for you than me."

"Wait until Zeke finds out. He'll have a field day."

I shook my head. "You're so gross."

He stopped where he was and turned around to face me. "So if you're only 21, how long have you been drinking for?"

"Not long. Maybe a few weeks."

"Wait... was that wine you and Madison had the first drink you've had?"

"So what if it was?"

"Shit," He shook his head. "Wine is the last thing you want when you're just starting out."

"And you would know?"

"I've had plenty of alcohol in my life. I drank even before I was 21."

So typical of a guy to party before they were old enough to. "I don't think I need drinking tips from you."

"I hold my liquor pretty well. I can get you started if you want."

I shook my head. "I'm okay. I'll stick to my wine. It's not that bad."

"I'm more than happy to help."

I sat back on the couch and looked out the windows of the french doors. There was some snow on the balcony but it wasn't snowing. It was sunny, which surprised me.

"Do you have any plans for today?" He disappeared into the bedroom.

"I was thinking of seeing Madison. I wanted to give her her job back." I gave a pointed look in his direction.

He walked into view with a white t-shirt in his hands. His chest was bare though. "I called and got her mother. She said she would pass my message along to Madison but I never got a call back."

I wanted to argue with him but seeing him shirtless caught me off guard. I couldn't make my mouth or voice function.

He smiled and disappeared back into the bedroom. "It's rude to stare."

I rolled my eyes but the blush that grew on my face was deep. I was glad he was in the bedroom where he couldn't see it.

He didn't need to know that he made me blush.