Chapter 10 - Craig
“Earth to Craig.”
“Hmm?” I asked, blinking as my thoughts were interrupted.
Joey laughed. “You’ve been a space cadet all night. What’s up?”
“Just lost in thought.”
Aaron snorted. “He’s thinking about some omega.”
“Well, that’s obvious,” Robbie said. “I’ve been sitting in a cloud of lovesick alpha all night, and if I don’t switch seats soon, I’ll go into an early heat.”
“Sorry,” I muttered. “I’ll go outside after this round to give you a break.”
“You could stop thinking of whoever he is,” Spencer countered.
“I think he’s too far gone for that.” Nate laughed. “And I’ll switch with you, Robbie. It’s safe here next to Joey.”
“Thanks,” Robbie replied.
“So,” Joey prompted, motioning to the cards in my hand.
I blinked, then looked at them. “Draw two?” I asked, pulling out the weak cards.
Everybody burst into laughter.
“We’re playing stud, not draw,” Nate reminded me. “You’re gone, gone. Aren’t you?”
I sighed. “Oh… um… fold.”
Another round of laughter.
“I’m out too,” Spencer declared. “Come on, Craig, let’s give Robbie a break and get some air.”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
I followed him out onto his apartment’s balcony, leaned against the railing, and breathed in the warm summer evening air.
Spencer took a spot next to me at the railing. “You gonna tell us about him?”
“Not much to tell,” I replied. “He’s just a customer.”
He snorted. “I might have bought that last month when you were only a little bit distracted. But it’s clear that he’s the only thing on your mind tonight.”
I stared out at Mount Sable—the sky illuminated from below with lights from cars, streetlamps, and homes, and from the moon and stars above.
I thought about Randy and how the light that reflected off his beard resembled stars.
Spencer laughed. “Robbie wasn’t joking. I’m glad I’m an alpha, or you’d be trying to send me into heat, too.”
“Ass,” I mumbled.
He nudged me with his shoulder. “You said he’s a customer. Are you even sure you’ll see him again?”
I nodded. “Probably. He’s a regular.”
“At least there’s that.”
I let out a long breath. “My alpha side has insisted that he’s mine since we met.”
“In a fated way?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. There was no overwhelming urge to breed him immediately, and I don’t think he noticed anything at all. Everybody I know who’s fated says they couldn’t keep their hands off each other.”
“But your alpha still says he’s yours?”
I nodded, folded my arms on the railing, and rested my chin on top. It was an awkward position, but felt right.
The sound of the balcony door sliding open and footsteps as everybody else came outside. They stayed quiet, though, letting Spencer take the lead.
I took a deep breath. “A few minutes after we met… I was talking with Harrison—the other guy up front—and wasn’t paying attention to where Randy—my omega—was digging in the scrap bin.
I hear those scraps being sorted through and tumbling all day, but he was there, and wood had clattered.
It didn’t matter that the worst those scraps can do is cut you.
They mostly fit in your hand. No, the sound of a handful of pieces was enough to send me into a protective overdrive. ”
Part of me expected Spencer to laugh, but he didn’t. Neither did anybody else. “Sounds serious.”
“It is,” I admitted. “I dream about him sometimes. How he’d fit into my arms. Sweet morning kisses while his dog lies on the floor nearby.”
“He has a dog?”
“Yeah. Some type of shag breed. His name is Russy, though everybody else at the mill calls him Spud.”
“Spud?”
I chuckled. “Yeah, but I haven’t asked why.”
“Tell me more about this man you think is your omega.”
“Randy.” I smiled. “He’s a woodturner, though he also does other types of wood projects.”
“Makes sense why he’s a regular at the mill then.”
“I guess he does mostly treasure hunting with us, rather than relying on us for wood. He told me he has a forest plot facing Sable Lake, and uses a lot of trees from his property for his work.”
I closed my eyes for a moment to gather my thoughts, then opened them again.
“He’s pretty down-to-Earth. Sensible, but a bit sassy in the right situation.
He had a large order for pickup—some of his own trees we’d processed for him.
It took him three trips over two days to pick it up, and I was able to talk to him while loading.
He lives a pretty simple life. Him and his dog in an old cabin on his land.
He has chickens and runs an honesty stand during the summer.
Splits his own firewood. Drives a truck almost as old as I am… if not older.”
“Does he support himself with the woodturning, or is it a hobby?”
“He’s made a career for himself with it. He’s observant, and understands the market. He diversifies his products so that there are things at multiple price points and that match current trends.”
“Smart.”
I smiled again. “Yeah.”
“I noticed something.”
“Hmm?” I asked
“Not once in your description so far have you told me what he looks like. You’ve told me about him as a person.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
He laughed. “Quite the opposite. I’d be worried if looks were all you cared about.”
I chuckled. “He’s beautiful, but probably not in the way many alphas would appreciate.
He’s got this thick, full beard, and I keep seeing stars in it.
Sometimes it’s from sawdust, or just the light hitting it right.
Pinpricks of light blinking in and out of existence as he moves.
His hands are hardened from years of woodworking.
He’s fit from lifting heavy boards and chunks of wood every day.
He’s got this solid build that matches his demeanor. ”
I sighed. “And his eyes… I could get lost in the subtle variations of brown within them.”
“Nate was right. You’re gone gone.”
I was silent for several seconds. “Maybe I am.”
“So you gonna ask him out?”
I licked my lips. “I want to, but…”
“But?” Spencer prompted.
“According to the guys at the mill, he’s been single for a very long time. Long enough that nobody knows if he ever had an alpha. Long enough that single has become the safe choice.”
There was an intake of breath from behind me, but I didn’t know from whom.
“I want him to know I’m serious… yanno?” I paused. “I don’t want to hurt him.”
“What are you going to do?” Joey asked.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I’ve been saving scraps of wood for him. Pieces that have neat characteristics or grain to them. Somebody at the mill even bought a cheap bin from a dollar store and labeled it ‘Craig’s Dowry.’”
I chuckled. “I guess that’s about as good as anything else I could do right now. Shows him I’m thinking about him, without being pushy. And there’s always the excuse that I was just doing it because he’s a good customer.”
“Plausible deniability,” Aaron said.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Can I say something?” Robbie asked.
I nodded, stood, turned, and leaned against the railing. “Please.”
He fidgeted for a few seconds. “Obviously, I can’t speak for him.
But… as an omega… I like your approach. You’re talking to him, and it sounds like you’re giving him the space he needs.
More importantly, it doesn’t seem like you’re being pushy.
Sometimes it’s like alphas only care about getting into our pants, and…
when you’re single for a long time… that feels so degrading. ”
Nate scooted closer and squeezed Robbie’s shoulder.
Robbie smiled at him, then turned back to me. “You’re probably in for the long haul, though. Pick up some scent-neutralizing spray?”
I laughed. “Will do.”
He nodded. “And I’ll get some under-nose strips for when we all hang out.”
“Is there anything the rest of us can do?” Aaron asked. “Besides moral support?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. But thanks.”
“Let us know if something comes up,” Joey stated. “We’re here for you, even if we do have to deal with your lovesick scent.”
I chuckled. “You got it. Thanks, guys.”