Chapter 42
“Obviously, every omega is a unique individual and you’ll have to tailor your care to them as a person, but there are consistent standard skills and procedures when it comes to getting an omega through their heat. Please take a moment to read through the syllabus before we continue.”
Allie stared at me, her smile beaming. She’d volunteered to listen to me practice my first class and hadn’t stopped looking at me like she was absolutely delighted. “You have the cutest fucking professor voice. Keep going.”
I had practically memorized the syllabus at this point. Everything was organized into categories to break down all the basics of heat helper knowledge: biology, nutrition, hygiene, safety, medical intervention, emotional care, legalities, and self-care.
“Everything we cover in this course is a necessity for you to know inside and out. The omegas you’ll eventually care for deserve your best, and you will not move on until you’ve satisfied the standards of care. Once you’ve completed all of the material and testing, assuming you did well, you will progress to shadowing.”
“How many students do you have to do this with tomorrow?”
“Thirty on the list. I’m hoping for a solid two-thirds to progress.”
“That’s it?”
I shrugged. “Some people have a misguided view of what heat helping is. They come for the sex and they don’t want to be bothered with all of the rest.”
“I guess that’s fair. I feel like that happens in most careers, where people have no idea what they’re getting into until they’re in it. Oh, you should totally point out that’s how it works with the heat haze. If you’ve never experienced it before, you literally cannot comprehend what it’s like.”
I jotted that down into my notes. I walked her through the basic biology, and it helped that she was actually interested in what I had to say. A ton went on in alpha and omega bodies during a heat, and while my students wouldn’t necessarily need to know the intricate details, they did need to know how it was going to affect them and their partner. Once we got through the in-class portion, they would all be put through their paces. It wouldn’t be quite the same, but with samples taken from an omega volunteer, we could create a vague approximation of the hormones they’d encounter.
Some alphas had so little control of themselves around an omega in heat that we couldn’t in good conscience allow them to become a heat helper. Others got better with time and practice, and some relied on assistive devices like respirators.
“How did your own training go?” Allie asked. “I know you were eventually successful since you became a heat helper, but what was the early part like?”
“To be honest, I was one of the ones who originally got interested in the concept because of the sex, but the trainer put such an emphasis on societal good and patient care that I realized how much more it could be. I did a lot of exposure therapy to get comfortable with managing myself around omega hormones.”
“How do you do exposure therapy for that?”
“Basically there’s an omega version of the scent canisters we have at the clinic, but the samples were all taken from omegas during their heat haze. At the end of every shift I would take one of them, lock myself in one of the empty offices, and do practice exams. I failed a hell of a lot of them at the start, but eventually I was able to keep hold of some mental clarity.”
“I don’t know why I’m surprised you were so dedicated. I feel like that’s going above and beyond.”
“I wanted to do a good job.”
She slipped onto my lap and gave me a slow kiss, cradling my cheeks in her hands. “That’s because you’re a good boy, Sidney Marino.” Allie giggled when my cock tented beneath her. “That’s never going to get old.”
“As much as I’d like to take you apart, I do want to get through this lesson.”
“I’m still listening.”
“You’re distracting me.”
“You can do practice exams with the scent of a heat haze floating around you, but you can’t go through a lesson plan with your mate in your lap?”
“In all fairness, you do require a lot more attention.”
She puffed her cheeks up in a pout.
“I mean that with all the love in the world,” I assured her.
“Does it count as helping if I ask you to tell me about the shadowing?”
“Not immediately, but we can go over those notes.”
“How come more heats aren’t partnered?”
“Well, for one thing, that would be twice as expensive on our healthcare system, and we don’t have enough heat helpers to spare two for every omega. You’re still on call 24/7 when you’re with a partner; you’re just usually in a bit better physical condition at the end of things. Plus you should know yourself that even one alpha can be an intimidating experience.”
She trailed her fingers down my arms and rocked her hips slowly. “But what if an omega wanted to be a sexy sandwich filling?”
“There’s a few options for that. They could hire a second helper at their own expense, they could hire a heat helper to join if they have an existing partner, or they could specifically request a heat helper in training. Is this you not-so-subtly telling me that you want to be in the middle of an alpha sandwich?”
“I mean, I’ve thought about a time or two, but I’m plenty happy with you. My brain just likes to go on wild fantasy trips sometimes.”
Of course her saying that sent my brain on its own fantasy spiral. I had spent four years craving her on a molecular level so the idea of sharing her wasn’t top of my list, but I wouldn’t totally write it off if that was something she was interested in one day. I just wanted us to get a handle on our own relationship first. Still, I knew how sweet and delicious her surrender with me was; I could only imagine what she would be like with two people working to take her apart.
I made it through the first two lessons with her in my lap, focusing past the distraction of her scent and her wiggles, pausing every so often to add an extra note based on her input. I was nervous as hell about teaching, but I was equally certain that if I could get over that, I could do a great job. It wasn’t like I would be wrangling children. Everyone who had signed up wanted to be there and was going out of their way to take the additional certification.
“Do you need a teaching assistant, Professor Marino?” Allie asked.
“That’s actually not a bad idea. I can talk to Dr. J about it if you’re serious.”
“Of course I’m serious. You think I would pass up the opportunity to see you teach? Plus we could totally have, like, an Ask-an-Omega forum for all those burning questions people aren’t brave enough to ask out loud.” She looked adorably pleased by the idea.
“I like the way your mind works. I’d love to have you in class.”
As we worked through the rest of the syllabus with basic notes, I grew more and more impressed by the sharpness of her mind and her emotional intelligence, and I was glad all over again that I had asked for her opinion and that she had been happy to grant it. I knew she was smart. A person didn’t graduate university and get a job at the top architecture firm in the city without being intelligent, but it was so fascinating to see how she was so much more aware of the big picture than I realized, pointing out areas of improvement throughout the entirety of the course.
“I’m absolutely going to tell Dr. J how valuable you were with this. It all feels so much more rounded now.”
“I feel like most things in the world could be improved with an omega’s opinion.” She grinned up at me from where she had stretched across my lap. “And now, since it’s been six hours, I’m going to insist we take a break. You need to save your voice for class tomorrow, and I have much more fun uses for your mouth.”
I chuckled, gathering her up bridal style. “Is that so, kitten?”
“Mhmm.” She pressed a soft kiss to my mouth and looped her arms around my neck. “I can think of much better uses for my mouth too.”