Omega Lost

15. First Date

Chapter fifteen

First Date

M y lamp and curtains arrived on Saturday and we were all in the living room. Some of the guys were watching a show on TV, Ali, Micah, and I were working on a massive puzzle on the floor. Micah apparently loved puzzles and this one was a whopping 3,000 pieces, so we'd settled in to help.

"Your package is here," Max called out, returning from the door with a box. "What did you get, little omega?"

"Just a couple of things for my office." It felt weird to say 'my office' but it also comforted me.

I opened the box with the scissors Ali grabbed for me and pulled out the lamp, setting it on the coffee table.

"That's cute," Ali commented. "What else?"

When I pulled out the curtains, they all looked at me curiously.

"It's not purple," Ali commented.

"I like purple, but not everything has to be that color. I love sunflowers. I used to have a row of them along our fence."

"We could plant sunflowers," Ali said with a grin. "And harvest the seeds for snacks later."

"It's too late to plant them." I thought about the flowers I'd planted. They would be dead and gone by now. I didn't think the guys from my old pack would have bothered taking care of them and Amy had shown no interest in gardening. "Maybe I can put some flowers in my window, though."

"That sounds perfect. In the spring, we'll add some flower boxes outside your windows," Angel suggested.

"What else did you get?" Ali asked.

"Nothing, that's it."

"A lamp and some curtains?" Angel frowned at me. "I gave you specific instructions."

"To buy something each week," I said quietly. "I did. It's not the new week yet."

"Get yourself some furniture for your office," Tiago suggested. "You like to read, what about bookshelves?"

I nodded. "Okay."

Leaving them to their fun, I headed upstairs to hang my curtains, only to realize I didn't have a curtain rod over the office window. Annoyed, I folded them and put them in the desk drawer before setting up my new lamp. It lent a quirky flare to the desk and I looked around the small room, thinking about where to put bookshelves.

"You need some art in here."

I spun around and saw Angel standing in the doorway. "It's cute but barren. I thought omegas liked their spaces filled with stuff."

"We've already talked about that." His dark chocolate scent swirled around the room, making me feel woozy. It was a small space and his alpha essence was almost overpowering.

"And we agreed that you can take everything with you, in the very ridiculous case that you leave."

I bit my lip, nodding. He had said that, but it still didn't feel safe to collect things again. Not if I went back to the center where they would strip everything away from me.

"Come on, I need to talk to you," he said, jerking his head toward the bedroom.

Following the massive alpha out into my bedroom, I watched him sit on my bed. Part of me knew he was being as unthreatening as possible, but he was still more than twice my size.

"Miriam made a comment the other day and I realized she might be right," he started. "She said we're overwhelming as a pack. We're always together, so I can see that might be an issue. Is it?"

That was not what I'd expected when he said we needed to talk. Leaning against the windowsill, I considered.

"Yeah, but I also know you are a pack, so of course you're together."

"Would it make you more comfortable if you had some one-on-one time with us? You've done that with Ali and a little with Zeke, but we thought you might enjoy dating one of us each evening."

"Dating? That's not necessary."

"It is," he said firmly, dark eyes firmly on mine. "You're still uneasy with us and you deserve to be courted. That's what packs are supposed to do for their omega, but we skipped that part when we picked you up directly from the center."

I wrapped my arms around myself. Pack Orion had wooed me before we bonded, but I didn't expect anything from these men. I told him as much.

"Melody, did you hear what I said? I said you deserve this. We're going to do it. Tiago is taking you out tonight for dinner. Be ready at 7."

He got up and left and I stood there frowning after him. Only an alpha could turn courting into a command. Still, it wouldn't hurt to get to know them individually, if they wanted me to stay. I still wasn't convinced, but it could be easier this way. After all, I would eventually be in heat and I hated the idea of near-strangers taking me through it.

At seven, I headed downstairs. I'd dressed in my jeans and a red blouse that Tiago had liked when we were shopping, with sandals on my feet. My hair was loose, in long waves over my shoulders and I'd put on just enough makeup to look decent.

"You look beautiful," Tiago said, greeting me at the bottom of the staircase. He was tidy in his own dark jeans and black button-down shirt, his hair combed and styled in a swept-back look.

"Thanks, you look good too," I said shyly.

He didn't touch me but gave me an admiring look as we walked outside. He'd already pulled the SUV out and opened the door for me.

"I hope you like Italian food?"

"I do." I watched as he pulled out, his tattooed fingers tapping on the steering wheel. Was he nervous? The thought that he was anxious about this outing made me feel more relaxed.

"I found this cute little place down by the waterfront a couple of years ago and it's perfect for a quiet night out," he told me.

"That sounds nice." I watched the city lights fly by and realized that I hadn't left the house since we'd gone shopping. "It's good to get out of the house."

"You have been pretty cooped up. I'm glad Angel suggested these individual dates," Tiago admitted. "I love my pack, but they can get to be a bit much sometimes."

Nodding, I studied his face in the fading sunlight. He was a beautiful man, his nose carrying just a hint of his Mayan ancestry, full lips pursed as he focused on driving. His hazelnut scent swirled around me and I relaxed without even thinking about it.

"You smell good," I told him, surprised when the words popped out of my mouth.

Tiago grinned. "I hope so. We're scent matches, you're supposed to like my smell."

That twisted my stomach and I stayed quiet the rest of the drive. When Tiago pulled into the gravel parking lot of what looked like a little log cabin, the setting sun glinting off the lake behind it, I almost gasped.

"This is beautiful!"

"I thought you'd like it." He came around and opened my door for me. "Come on. The food is even better than the view."

Inside, we made our way through the tables to a table for two on the patio overlooking the lake. There was only one other couple on the patio, so we mostly had it to ourselves. The waitress flicked on hanging strands of lights that created a romantic atmosphere when paired with the candles on the tables.

"Anything to drink?" she asked, handing us each a menu.

"I'll have a glass of red wine," Tiago said with a smile. "Mel?"

"Same, please."

She left and I perused the menu, glancing up at the man across from me. He seemed perfectly at home here, despite the gangster look his tattoos gave him.

Once the waitress returned with our wine and took our orders, Tiago smiled at me across the table. "I like this one-on-one thing. None of my brothers yapping in my ear while I try to pay attention to you."

"You try to pay attention to me?" He rarely talked to me at the table or during movies, which is when we were in the same room together.

"You're usually so tucked into yourself that you don't notice." He took a sip of his wine and I watched his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed, the rose on his throat moving with it. It was hot as hell.

"I don't want to be noticed."

"Why's that? We want you with us, I'm not sure why that hasn't been obvious."

"It's complicated." I toyed with my napkin. "I know you guys want me there and I know you say it's forever, but that's what Jack said, too."

"Your old pack fell for a scent match, right?"

I nodded, still staring at my napkin. "They said they still wanted me, but when it came down to it, they chose her."

"But in this pack, you are the scent match," he pointed out. "Everything they did for her, we want to do for you. There's no one else."

"Logically, I know that, but emotionally, I'm not ready to give my heart to anyone."

The waitress returned with our meals, lasagna for Tiago and three cheese ravioli for me. Tiago thanked her and cut into his dish.

"This smells really good," I told him. It tasted even better than it smelled, with a delicious cream sauce drizzled over the puffy ravioli. I didn't talk again until I'd polished off most of the plate. "I wonder if they'd share the recipe?"

Tiago chuckled. "No, they keep their secrets here. It's an older Italian gentleman and his two daughters who cook here and the recipes are a family secret."

"Darn. Guess I'll have to convince Miriam to let me experiment with ravioli for a few weeks."

"I wouldn't complain," Tiago flashed me a smile. "Do you want some dessert?"

"Is that even a question?"

He laughed again and beckoned the waitress over as I polished off the last of my dish. "Can we get two tiramisu, please?"

"Of course." She took our plates away and quickly returned with the tiramisu.

As I spooned some of the cake into my mouth, I nearly laughed.

Tiago looked at me curiously.

"It's like Micah and Angel in a dessert," I explained. "Coffee and chocolate."

He chuckled. "You're right, I never thought of it like that. Do you like it?"

"I love it."

When we'd finished and Tiago had paid the bill, we left the restaurant and walked down to the waterfront. A sandy beach stretched along the lake, barely lit by the rising moon.

"Can I hold your hand?" Tiago asked. "Or is that too much still?"

"It's okay." I held out my hand and he collected it in his larger, warm hand. His gentle grip made me feel safer as we walked along the sand.

"I lived by the ocean when I was a boy," he told me. "I miss it sometimes, but the lake is almost as good. Just being near water helps me feel less homesick."

"Where did you grow up?"

"Just outside Los Angeles. My dad was from Mexico and he got deported when I was a baby, so my mom moved closer to the border so we could go visit him frequently."

"That sounds hard."

"It was. Especially when she found out he had another woman and two kids," he snorted. "Then she picked me up and moved to Washington. Still by the ocean, though."

"How did you meet the guys?"

"That didn't happen until I was older. About 19. I fell in with a bad crowd, and started stealing and stuff. Pickpocketed Angel one day."

"What?" I squeaked.

"Yeah. Turns out, he needed someone like me to help with his new business."

"A pickpocket?"

"I have other skills, including hotwiring and lockpicking," he told me seriously, then broke into a grin. "Nah, it was my negotiating skills he wanted. I'm pretty good at getting what I want and he needed someone to do that for his new shipping company."

"And how did you become a pack?"

"It just kind of happened. I moved in with him and a couple of the other guys and then one day, we just . . . decided to be a pack."

"I always thought a lot more went into choosing a pack," I mused.

"Sometimes. In our case, things just fell together. We were already living and working together, so why not form a pack? It just strengthened our bonds."

We reached the end of the beach and turned around, strolling back. The water lapped at the sand, the sound soothing and the crisp breeze blowing off the lake cooling the air.

"Ready to head home?" Tiago opened my door for me.

"Yeah, but thank you. This was a really nice night," I told him.

We drove back, chatting about nothing and everything as we walked up to the house, Tiago suddenly stopped, catching my hand.

"I don't know about you, but I like to end my first date with a kiss if it's successful." He watched me cautiously. The hopeful look on his face had me smiling.

"I can get behind that."

Standing on my tiptoes, I tilted my face toward him. Tiago slid a hand into the hair at the back of my head and gently tugged on it to tip my head further back. Tingles ran down my spine at the action.

Then his soft lips were on mine and they were every bit as wonderful as they looked. He didn't press, just kissed me chastely, but for a long moment before he pulled away, eyes glowing.

"That was amazing. Goodnight, Melody."

"Goodnight, Tiago. Thank you."

"Anytime."

We headed inside, where the guys were watching a football game. I waved at them and headed upstairs, not ready to jump back into the chaos of the full pack. Angel had been right to insist on this individual dating thing. I'd enjoyed myself with Tiago tonight and hadn't stressed about being with the pack or worried about them kicking me out.

As I changed into my pajamas, I wondered who my next date was going to be.