Chapter 6
. . .
RUBY
There’s a goofy, far too hopeful grin splitting my lips as I hang up the mid-date check-in call with my bestie, Alana.
We’ve both been on enough terrible first dates to have a system in place, though it feels a lot more one-sided now that she’s packed up and getting ready for her bonding ceremony.
Damn her for finding one of the few decent packs left in the city and leaving me to my fate of singledom.
Although…maybe that’s not my fate. I’m getting way too ahead of myself, riding high on how things are going.
There’s been the typical blind date awkwardness, and it’s clear that he’s very nervous, but I like Beau.
So far, at least. With my luck, we’ll get a little further into our conversation and I’ll find out he’s part of the alpha rights movement. Or a clown.
I shudder, and resolve to find out more about this man before I let myself feel all fluttery. My omega will make it hard, since she’s practically purring every time Beau looks at me, but I have lots of practice tamping her down so I don’t make dumb decisions.
Beau is looking at his phone when I return from the bathroom, giving me a moment to observe him.
He’s handsome. Not in a typical, chiseled and polished model way, but that’s never been my type.
He’s the perfect blend of bulk and ruggedness, with touches of gentle sweetness.
Like his eyes. He’s got beautiful blue-green eyes that make my head go a bit fuzzy when I look directly into them, especially when his blond lashes flutter and the corners crinkle when he laughs.
And god, his lips. I’m a sucker for nice lips, and his are so plush and pretty and inviting.
I wonder if he’d hate me thinking about his pretty lips. If it’d insult him for me to point out the parts of him that aren’t typical strong alpha features.
I’ll have to ask him and see. It’ll be a good test.
Beau startles slightly as I return to my seat, settling his phone down quickly and looking up at me. The flush from earlier washes over his face above his beard and creeps down his neck, and there’s a strange tension in his posture.
It deflates some of my hopefulness.
“Sorry about that. My friend wanted me to check in and give her an update.”
“Ah, sure.” He nods, but can’t quite meet my eyes.
What the heck made him so uncomfortable?
When I was younger, I would’ve tried to ignore it. Or worse, tried to appease him. Now, I just ask.
“What’s wrong?”
His eyes flash up finally to meet mine, looking a little panicked. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but there’s something I need to tell you.”
My brow furrows, stomach sinking. Here comes the letdown.
“Oh. Okay.”
What am I supposed to say? No, don’t tell me this thing that suddenly has you sweating like a whore in church. No, don’t ruin this.
I need to know. I can’t leave this first meeting, where our scents aren’t a factor and my head is clear, without what is clearly vital information for me to know about him.
“Are you a clown?” I ask, trying to lighten the increasingly tense mood.
He lets out a small bark of nervous laughter. “No.” A pause. “Are you scared of clowns?”
“Yes, like any sane person, I’m scared of clowns. They’re creepy and awful!” I shudder.
He chuckles, a hint of lightness returning to his face before the nervousness takes over again. “I’m not a clown, but, uh…” He swallows hard, looking down at his hands, which are gripped together tightly on top of the table.
My gut tenses, readying for the incoming punch.
“I, um, I’ve seen you before.”
I blink at him, waiting for him to say something else, but he doesn’t.
“Like we’ve met? I feel like I would’ve noticed, given the whole scent match thing.” My laugh is forced.
“No, we haven’t met. But I recognize you. I’ve seen you.” He gives me a pained, apologetic look.
“Seen me? Like on socials?” I don’t understand why he’d be so weird about that.
Beau releases a groan. “I promise I would’ve said something sooner if I’d realized, but I was so nervous that I didn’t really put the pieces together of why you seemed familiar, and…shit, Ruby, I’m so embarrassed and if you want to leave, I completely understand.”
I watch him squirm in his chair, his face turning an even brighter red, and it finally clicks. “Wait. You don’t mean you’ve seen my Slick content, do you?”
I’m not embarrassed about being a Slick creator or making adult content, and it was bound to come up when we got around to asking about what we do for work, but it’s just so…unexpected.
Sure, I knew a handful of my subscribers were alphas, but I’m very niche. The alphas that want omega on omega content go to creators that cater to the alpha gaze.
Beau nods, searching my face for a disgusted reaction.
I’m too surprised to be weirded out. “Really? Why?”
He wipes at the sweat beading on his brow. “I feel like the ‘why’ is pretty obvious. Please don’t make me say that I…”
Something hot coils in my low belly as my omega considers this alpha getting off watching me. I try to shake it off, but a weird breathy giggle bursts out of me.
“No, no, I mean, why my content? Sorry, that’s a weird question to ask, but I don’t make content that most alphas seek out or enjoy.”
Beau looks equally confused by my confusion. “You’re not upset? Because I swear, I didn’t know.”
“I know you didn’t.” If his embarrassed confession weren’t convincing enough, there’s the certainty that the scent-matching agency didn’t give either of us personal information or photos before we met.
I allow myself a moment to consider the question, pushing my professional curiosity aside. Beau watches me with such a kind, genuinely concerned expression etched on his face that something settles in my chest. Something warm and affectionate.
I shake my head, a soft smile curving my lips. “No, I’m not upset.” I give him a little eyebrow waggle. “Very curious, but not upset.”
The sigh of relief Beau releases has me giggling again, and when he meets my eyes, he starts laughing with me.
“Shit, okay.” He grins at me, a little sheepishly. “Guess now I don’t have to tell you what I’m into.”
“Oh, no, now you definitely have to tell me what you’re into. Like I said, I need to know why you enjoy what I do.”
“Feels a bit forward for a first date,” he says with a low huff of laughter. “I mean, we haven’t even talked about our family, or pets, or jobs.”
“My parents are betas who are wonderful and supportive. I have a younger sister, Laurel, who is an alpha and lives too far away for my liking because she’s the best. No pets since my roommate moved out and took her cat with her.
You already know what I do for work. Well, I’m also a hair stylist.” I rattle my answers off quickly like a laundry list, which has the desired effect of making Beau laugh more.
I could get addicted to that sound. It’s a little raspy, like it’s been out of use for a while.
I can tell he’s about to ask me a bunch of follow-up questions, but I want to get to the good stuff, so I cut him off. “What about you?”
“I’m a mechanic, and—.”
“Mmm, so you’re good with your hands.”
He blushes. “Yeah.”
God, that’s cute. Who knew blushing alphas were my weakness?
“I don’t have any pets right now, but I volunteer at the animal shelter, so it’s just a matter of time before I cave and turn into a crazy cat man.”
He has to stop being so adorable, or I’m going to go into heat right here at the table.
“You like pussies?”
He chokes at my dumb joke, placing a hand against his chest.
“I know, I’m getting ahead of myself. Still need to know about the family before I interrogate you about your sexual preferences.”
“You’re a bit of a menace, aren’t you?”
“Does that bother you?”
Beau shakes his head, his laugh blending with the hint of a deep purr. “No. Not at all.”
Neither of us speaks for a moment, and he unbuttons his sleeves and pushes them up one at a time like he’s getting overheated.
I watch, mesmerized, as he reveals his forearms, corded with muscle, and covered with a light dusting of blonde hair.
Shit, it’s a good thing I wore my omega scent-blocking panties because I can feel myself getting slick.
His hands are big and a little calloused, and my omega can’t stop thinking about what they’d feel like touching me since our fingertips brushed earlier and I felt the slight roughness. I haven’t had a rough touch in ages.
It’s not that I don’t enjoy sex with alphas—in theory. I love getting knotted by a big dick or strap-on, I just can’t stand the self-important, domineering nonsense that comes from the alphas wielding said dicks.
Beau feels…different from the other alphas I’ve been with. In a good way. Like he could rail the shit out of me without turning it into a means of asserting his alpha dominance. Hell, he might even let me take the lead. I’m good with either option.
I almost startle when he speaks again, pulled from my dirty thoughts.
“My parents are my omega mom, and my three alpha dads. We’re on good enough terms, though they love to bug me about when I’m going to settle down and give them grandkids.
My sister, Nadine, she’s older, and also an alpha.
Very protective of me.” He rolls his eyes a little, but there’s clear affection in his voice.
“She’s the one who convinced me to try the scent-matching service. ”
“Ah, so she’s who I have to thank.”
“Or blame,” he quips back.
I laugh and place my hand atop his. “Guess we’ll find out.”
My breath stutters as his eyes meet mine, the blue-green a sea of hope, nerves, and the slightest hint of sadness.
“We will,” he says on a soft exhale, and I’m caught in this unexpectedly intimate moment.
The waiter comes by to drop off our food, which is good because I was about five seconds from leaning in and kissing the blushing alpha across from me.
I can’t help the laugh that bursts out of me when my veritable feast is set down in front of me and a tiny, pathetic salad is set in front of Beau.