Chapter 3 Jae
THREE
JAE
Absolutley fucking everything. That was what Jae wanted to know about the soft-spoken, sweet alpha who had held him and his best friend on the walk between bars.
At first, Jae hadn’t known how Koda was going to respond to Hollis and his shenanigans.
If Hollis had tried to snuggle up with Robert, the surly alpha would have accused Hollis of trying to make inroads into his relationship.
He always said Hollis was too effusive, even going so far as to accuse him of being desperate and clingy.
Jae loved that Hollis wasn’t afraid to show affection, though.
Jae craved physical touch, and loved the many ways there were to express care through small gestures and intimate moments.
Needless to say, physical touch wasn’t one of Robert’s love languages. He much preferred acts of service—but only ones he deemed suitable.
As Koda told them both about growing up in Alaska, Jae watched as Hollis grabbed Koda’s bicep when they said something charming or pushed against their shoulder when they made a joke–both of which they did often.
When the conversation shifted to Hollis waxing poetic about growing up on the family farm, Koda bumped their shoulder against Hollis’ a few times, going so far as to put a hand on his knee when he talked about how sad it had been when his parents finally sold it.
When it was Jae’s turn to share, and he pulled up photos his parents had sent that morning from Korea, Koda pressed into Jae’s side, and his duck puffed up his feathers in excitement.
He’d heard that when shifters met their fated mates, it could be hard to keep their hands off each other.
Thus far, he thought they were both doing a relatively good job of being respectful of Hollis, but every tiny brush of Koda’s side against Jae’s arm and their hand on the back of Jae’s chair made his skin buzz.
It felt like at the first bar, but this time all of the atoms in his body were pointing towards Koda, like flowers turning towards the sun.
Even the air around Koda felt charged, making the hairs on Jae’s bare legs stand up.
He had to play it cool though.
Right as Jae shared the final photo from his parents, the bartender knocked on the bar. “Can I get y’all another drink?”
“I’ll take the other cocktail,” Hollis said, handing over his second ticket.
Jae declined another drink, as did Koda, but as the bartender turned around to fix Hollis’ drink, Koda leaned forward to look at the menu again. “Are you two hungry? I would definitely like some food.”
“Food would probably be good. I was going to make Jae pay up on a third drink, but these are pretty strong.”
“I can get us food!” Jae said, reaching into his fanny pack to pull out his wallet. “What do you want?”
“You don’t have to buy me food, sweetheart,” Koda said, straightening back up with the menu in hand, holding it out for both Jae and Hollis to see.
“Gods, I love an alpha who’s liberal with pet names. Call Jae ‘little one’ next, and see what happens,” Hollis said, grinning over at Jae.
Koda tipped their head in curiosity. “I usually say it as a joke to my friend. Is that actually something you like?”
Jae could feel his cheeks heat up as he tried to read the menu. “I feel like it could be hot in the right context, but… I really like sweetheart.”
Koda took an almost imperceptible step forward, just enough to press their leg firmly against Jae’s.
The warmth was lovely, but more than that, it felt like a tether tying Jae to Koda, grounding him in this moment.
It reminded him of how it felt when his duck would land after a flight, and suddenly their small body was retethered to the earth, gravity settling around them like a welcome embrace.
“I like sweetheart, too,” Koda rumbled.
“Well, I like chicken tenders!” Hollis said, pointing at an entrée sized serving of tenders and fries. “Do you want to share with me? And then whatever Koda wants?”
Koda grimaced. “I tend to need a lot of food, especially when my bear is pseudo-hibernating in the winter.”
Hollis gasped. “You’re an actual bear?”
“A Kodiak bear,” Jae added, unable to contain his—and his duck’s—smugness.
Hollis batted his eyes up at Koda. “Gods, I bet you’re massive. Are you fluffy?”
“Hollis!” Jae said, trying to sound stern, but he couldn’t contain his laugh at the puzzled expression Koda made.
“Jae loves fluffy animals. Sometimes when he gets stressed I’ll shift into my beagle form and let him pet me for hours,” Hollis said, grinning up at Koda. “I bet he’d pet you for hours, too.”
The pale skin under Koda’s beard pinkened, and they ducked their head. “That sounds very nice but doesn’t change the fact that you really don’t have to buy me food.”
“I’d like to, though, if that’s okay,” Jae said. “I know I made a chaotic first impression, and I’d like to make it up to you.”
“Running to the loo?” Hollis teased.
Jae couldn’t help but snort at how accidentally accurate that was. “Something like that.”
When the bartender returned with Hollis’ drink, Jae placed his order, and, after nudging Koda in the ribs, they rattled off an order for two entrees and a dessert.
“You both are welcome to anything I ordered,” Koda said, their cheeks still pink as they once again bent forward to place the menu back on the bar. Jae had the absolutely absurd thought that they would look good bent over for him.
Robert was a strict top in bed, as were most alphas, but Jae wondered if Koda would break that mold.
Jae—and his duck—wanted nothing more than to roll over for Koda and let them have their way with him, but some part of him also wanted to take care of them.
He wanted to feed them, lay their head in his lap so he could pet their gorgeous hair, and maybe rub their broad shoulders after a long day.
Was this what it was like having a fated mate? Wanting to be loved just as badly as he wanted to give love?
In addition to being a strict top, Robert had abided by a lot of other antiquated gender roles.
He thought the alpha should run the relationship, which oftentimes conflicted directly with Jae’s desire to plan and be organized.
Robert planned all their dates, conveniently scheduling them over plans Jae often already had.
He would also only accept small gestures of affection, believing it was the omega’s job to receive affection and give back loyalty in return.
Jae had been loyal, but perhaps it had been to the wrong person.
“What’s your favorite food?” Hollis asked, keeping the conversation flowing easily as Jae continued to ponder what it would be like to have someone other than Hollis taking him into consideration.
By the time their food arrived, Jae had come to a decision.
He was done pining over Robert and the lost potential their relationship probably never had to begin with.
He was committing here and now to his friendships, his budding relationship with Koda, and, most importantly, himself.
As if somehow this would solidify his conviction, he swiped a fry through ketchup and fed it to Hollis, before doing the same with a piece of chicken tender and offering it to Koda.
“You’re not going to papa bird it and chew it for them first?” Hollis teased. “That would be—”
“Gross?” Jae groaned.
“Adorable,” Hollis said.
“Interesting,” Koda murmured, and Jae’s eyes nearly fell out of his head.
Koda’s eyes widened too, and they quickly shook their head. “I mean, because ducks don’t do that, right?”
“They don’t,” Jae said, still holding the chicken up in the air between them.
Koda slowly bent down and accepted the offering, their tongue swiping softly over Jae’s fingers.
Once again, he was assaulted by dozens of dirty ways they could put that tongue to good use.
But he also found himself imagining sitting on park benches in the heat of summer, licking ice cream cones and holding hands.
He and Hollis had been sticking their tongues out at each other in jest for almost as long as they’d been friends.
Jae wasn’t sure if they’d be able to coax sweet Koda into joining them, but they’d probably try.
“Gods, you two. You’re absolutely going to kiss by the end of the night, mark my words,” Hollis said, popping one of Koda’s tater tots into his mouth. “Give me one or two more bars, and I’ll be ready to find someone to kiss myself.”
“There is no rush or pressure if that’s not what you’re feeling tonight,” Koda said, their eyes fixed on Jae’s fingers as he brought a french fry to his mouth.
“Yeah, we’ll behave. No third wheeling,” Jae said, even as Koda’s eyes seemed to trace the shape of his lips.
Nico came up to chat, and it turned out Koda’s best friend, Ronan, was roommates with the COO of the company.
“I met your CEO not too long ago, actually. Ronan and Christopher often host New Year’s Eve parties at their place.”
“Oh man, I actually got an invite this year but wasn’t able to go,” Hollis said, thankfully leaving out the reason he hadn’t gone was that he had been curled up in bed with Jae as he mourned his only two-week-old breakup.
“I can’t believe we could have met you there.
Hopefully we’ll be seeing more of you around now. ”
Koda’s eyes were like pools of molten chocolate as they gazed at Jae, and all he could do was grin back at them.
More of Hollis’ coworkers joined them at the bar, ordering final drinks and closing out tabs, and the entire time Jae felt the heat of Koda’s gaze on him, collecting in the bottom of his chest like the extra layer of feathers his duck had to keep him warm in the winter.
Unfortunately, Jae didn’t have feathers, but as the large group headed to the next bar, Jae began to think maybe he might have a fated mate to keep him warm for the rest of the winter.
It was almost as if they’d been doing this for years, Hollis and Jae easily slotting against Koda’s snuggly sides to stave off the cold.