Chapter 24 Working Lunch
Working Lunch
Kol
I’ve got my backpack with me, with my laptop and things I need for work.
I was hoping he’d relax a little if we got to do some work together, but I’m doubting that.
No wonder Locke went dark last night after he left his place.
I’d also need to decompress after this. This being, feeling so out of sorts.
I want to charm him, help him, or just relax him, and yet nothing I do is getting me the reactions I want.
“Have you been here before?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
I suck in a breath through my teeth. This is going to be a long day.
The table really does take 45 minutes. And we stand there out front the entire time hardly saying a word. He got his phone and was texting someone for a while and that seemed to relax him so I didn’t say anything.
We sit down, and he does his ordering thing where he tries to piss me off, or something.
He orders an iced mocha and a double espresso.
He orders several pastries and a bagel with cream cheese.
Also, a tall glass of orange juice mixed with pomegranate juice.
I don’t know if I should pretend this is egregious behavior to encourage it or not.
Because I absolutely love it. I want him to be spoiled.
I keep my face neutral while I order a drip coffee and my own bagel.
“Who have you been texting?” My jealousy gets the best of me.
He sighs and adjusts his leg. I wonder if it hurt standing all that time.
“I’m just confirming my date tonight.”
“With the omega?”
He nods.
Instead of telling him he needs to break things off with her, I say, “What are you going to do on your date?”
“There’s an art house in her neighborhood playing an old vampire movie she likes. And then there’s an ice cream place nearby I’ll probably take her to after.”
I can’t help finding so much joy in what he’s saying, watching him light up talking about the woman. “That sounds very nice. You like her?”
“Yeah, Kol. I know you all want me to stop dating her, and while I will take that under consideration, it’s ultimately my choice.”
“And hers,” I point out.
“What?”
“Well, maybe she wouldn’t want to date you if your pack has a scent match. Have you asked her? Omegas are very sensitive.”
It clearly hadn’t occurred to him.
“I told her I was being courted.”
“But you didn’t tell her the whole truth.”
He’s a thousand miles away in thought when his items start to arrive.
Omegas are demanding, selfish, and greedy little things.
It’s what makes alphas crawl all over themselves to serve.
When Mads shows any of those behaviors, I come close to salivating.
But does he like those qualities in someone?
Maybe this omega is hiding her true nature from him.
Maybe she’s putting herself in a little box that a beta can safely digest. Would he run the moment she’s herself?
I pull out my laptop and while we eat I force him to do work with me.
It only takes him a single problem before he’s in it.
We go back and forth about each endeavor.
He’s well fed and we are flowing. We take up the table for two hours, but I tell the first server we can close out and start up with a new server, so she can go home.
We order another round of drinks. Mads needs to get up for the restroom and I hover around him like a bodyguard.
He hates it but I have to do it. I have to stand by the bathroom door and make sure he isn’t bothered if he takes a while.
My theory was correct, if he’s well fed he’s less inclined to be grumpy about my alpha tendencies.
I saw his house and his fridge. I doubt he’s been well fed for a while.
Seeing how badly he’s limping when he comes out of the bathroom gives me an idea.
We pack up our things and go stand by the car.
“Are we not getting in?”
I’m typing on my phone. “No, there’s not great parking at the gym. We will order a car.”
“The gym?”
“Yeah, we have memberships at an alpha gym. There’s one nearby. They have hot tubs and saunas. I’m registering you as my guest for the day. Hold on.”
Betas can enter the gym as a guest if accompanied by alpha. I’ve seen them all the time. It shouldn’t be a problem.
“Hot tub?”
“Yeah, it’s more like a hot pool, I’d say.
They have an accessibility machine, if you want to use it to get in.
Or I can just punch anyone in the face who gives you a weird look.
I’d prefer the second one, honestly…” my voice trails off as I confirm the car.
I got the upgraded one. It arrives shortly after I approve it, and Mads and I get in the back.
“I don’t have a swimsuit.”
“They have them there.”
He makes a little irritated noise, but doesn’t ask any more questions.
They are expecting us when we arrive so Mads doesn’t get any shit.
I scheduled us a spot and filled everything out prior.
They get him his branded swim trunks, and we go to the locker room.
Locke, Oscar, and I have lockers here. I take a second to smell their locked doors.
I get tiny images of the two of them. Oscar smells of rich Colombian coffee brewing on a cool morning. Locke has a salty-sea smell.
“What’re you doing?” Mads asks me.
I open my eyes and see him staring at me curiously.
“These are Oscar and Locke’s. I can kind of smell them. We don’t like being apart for long, and I haven’t seen Locke since yesterday morning.”
“He didn’t go home last night?”
“Oscar has him out looking for our scent match omega. It’s a low probability he’ll run into her again, but we are running out of time.”
Mads looks very confused. And conflicted. I’m waiting for another question but it doesn’t come.
I open my locker and start undressing. I can feel Mads behind me.
Watching but not watching. He’s not breathing.
I would turn around to see if he’s dying, but I’m afraid that may speed up the process.
His rented locker is across from mine, but I don’t hear him opening it or undressing.
As soon as my underwear is gone and my ass is out I hear fumbling with the locker door.
I keep my laughing to myself as I put on my swim trunks. I turn around to see only his shirt off.
“Do you need help?” I ask.
“Fuck off,” he says with performative heat.
He sets his cane on the bench and fiddles with his belt. His eyes meet mine and his eyebrows raise. “Are you just going to stare at me while I get my dick out?”
I shrug.
He mumbles something like Oh my fucking god, this fucking alpha.
He turns around and drops his pants. I am having too much fun to give up now.
Finally, he gets naked and I take a second to enjoy the view.
But then I see the scars all down his lower back and his thigh.
The skin is shiny and marred with both jagged, violent lines, as well as straight, exact scars from surgeries.
His muscle on his thigh looks like chunks of it were removed.
He slides on his swim trunks. I didn’t even get a chance to appreciate how hung he was.
His face turns to mine, and we share a look.
“My scars are visible right now. I’d appreciate not being a spectacle or gawked at.” He doesn’t mean by me. He means by strangers here at the club. I nod in understanding.
We walk to the pool and I take a protective position around him.
My eyes constantly scan to make sure no one is paying us attention.
I don’t get so lucky when we get to the steps leading down into the water.
He needs to put away his cane. And he’ll need to hold onto me.
We don’t say it out loud. I just take his cane and set it on a bench with our towels, and then I return and hold out my arm.
He grips me tight. He needs my support. It’s not for show.
The men in the hot water watch us. I note their emotionless faces.
They are just curious, but it doesn’t stop me from baring my teeth at them silently.
Most get the message and look away. Each step is precarious.
Eventually we get down into the water and he’s able to let go.
His face is bright red. I find us a private spot on the edge of the pool where we settle in.
“This feels good,” he whispers.
I bet. I bet his leg always has some weight on it, but under this heated water, he’s able to actually relax.
The place is pretty crowded so it would be hard to have a private conversation, so I don’t push for it.
Mads lets his leg soak. I continue to give the other alphas in the water my death glare.
After an hour and half he indicates he wants to get out.
We get some water bottles and then go into the sauna for a while.
After leaving, he seems so loopy, I wish I could convince him at this moment to let me bite him. My teeth ache for it. My jaw is loose. What I wouldn’t give just to scrape the sharp ends of my fangs across his bare skin…
We both take cold showers to close our pores and wake ourselves up. And to calm myself down.