Chapter 4
Lexi
Five Years Later
“This summer heat is going to be the death of me,” I groan, throwing myself into the lawn chair dramatically. I toss my arm over my eyes to shield them from the bright sun.
“You’re kidding me, right?” Silva asks, raising a brow. The corner of her lip twitches with amusement. “Since when have summers in Widows Peak ever been this hot?”
“Shhh,” I move my arm and squint to look up at my sister. “If he thinks I’m overheated, I get more of that.” I turn my eyes to Emmett and smother a sigh.
That man is too pretty for his own good.
“You know, you could just tell the man how you feel rather than come up with stupid ways to get him to remove his shirt,” Silva snickers.
Emmett is shirtless, showing off his deliciously sculpted body. He’s tanned, his skin has been kissed by the sun, and his arms are covered in tattoos, which, by the way, look glorious every time he flexes as he lifts up a shovel full of dirt.
I’m not sure when my feelings for him changed, but one day we were the best of friends, and the next I found myself wanting to climb him like a tree and do every dirty thing to him.
When Emmett first moved to Widows Peak, I knew he had a crush on me right away. The man did not try hard to hide it. But he was always respectful, never pushed, and things weren’t ever awkward.
We became fast friends. He’s always been easy to talk to, makes me laugh, and apart from the girls and my sister, I never really had any friends.
As I got to know him, I found that we were not all that different. I became a lot more protective of him. The idea of him hurting again makes me a little feral.
At first, I kept the girls and guys away from him because I didn’t consider them good enough, and the last thing Emmett needed was someone using him for his pretty face.
As the years went by, the protectiveness became more intense. He never seemed to care, and always liked it when I was bothered by someone hitting on him.
But it wasn’t until last year, when Emmett was at the club having a few drinks while I was working, and a very pretty Alpha female approached him. My stomach twisted in knots when he smiled and flirted back.
I lost it, went to the back room, and told Silva that we were kicking Kadence, one of the nurses at the clinic, out of Widows Peak.
She seemed concerned and asked what Kadence did. When I told her, my sister laughed at me.
Laughed in my damn face!
I guess flirting with my best friend isn’t a reason to be kicked out. I still think that’s bullshit.
Ever since then, I find myself thinking of him nonstop.
I hate it because this is Emmett we’re talking about. He’s seven years younger than me. A hot, young twenty-four-year-old Omega, while I’m a thirty-one-year-old Omega who’s never been fucked.
“Are you crazy?” I hiss, sitting up. “I can’t tell him how I feel. It will ruin everything.”
“Yeah? How so?” Silva asks. “The kid is head over heels in love with you, Lex. He’s not going to turn you down.”
“That's just it. He’s a kid. He’s younger than me.”
She rolls her eyes. “He’s well past the legal age. And seven years isn’t that much.”
“I don’t know,” I mutter. “This is all so confusing,” I sigh, leaning back again.
“I think you need to be an adult and open up to him. Tell him how you feel. You can’t be alone forever, Lexi.
It’s not in you. You crave love and physical attention.
You refuse an Alpha, and I completely understand why, but you won’t give anyone else a chance either.
Not Betas, not Omegas. You choose to be alone. ”
“Because there is literally no one in this world I’d want to touch me.” I glare at her.
“Other than him.” She nods her head towards Emmett. I peek over at him and wish I hadn’t.
He stops for a moment and grabs a bottle of water. My lips part like a thirsty bitch, watching his throat flex as he swallows. When he’s done, he wipes sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, looking like a fucking god.
Yeah, she's got me there.
For a long time, I thought I was broken. Even though I’m an Omega, I’d never really had any slick, apart from when I first presented. I’ve never been turned on enough to produce any. And I’ve never had a heat because I’ve been on blockers since we came to Widows Peak.
The idea of going through something like that in a house with five other Omegas sounded like hell.
And since I had no desire for any Alpha to touch me, I just took the pills.
Told myself I’d stop when I found a pack I wanted to be with.
It’s been ten years, and that day has never come.
Not that there haven't been men who tried to be those lucky Alphas.
Then, for a little while, I thought I might be asexual, but I’ve had sexual desires when I had crushes on boys growing up, back before Mom and Dad died and we were shoved into foster care.
It wasn’t until I started seeing Emmett in a new way that my body began changing.
Now I find myself wanting to do very naughty things in the privacy of my room with him on my mind.
Like right now, for example, watching him like this is pure porn. I will be shoving this into the back of my mind for spank bank material whenever I build up the courage to try masturbating.
Dear god, Lexi. You're a sick, cradle-robbing freak.
I groan out loud, and Silva laughs. “Thinking about him naked again, are you?”
“Shut. Up.” I glare at her again.
“You have fun with whatever this is.” She shakes her head. “I need to head to work.”
“Do you need help with anything?”
“No.” She gives me a stern look. “It’s your night off, so take it off. Stop trying to find things to fill that time with. You’re allowed to think of yourself for once, Lexi.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I wave her off. “I could say the same to you.”
She rolls her eyes, blows me a kiss, and leaves me to ogle the sexy young Omega.
She’s my twin, but she’s always felt more like a big sister. She’s always been the one to take on more than she needs to. I tried my best to be as strong as she was, but for the longest time, I was only on this earth because I knew it would destroy her if I took my own life.
Maybe it was selfish to lean on her so much, but I didn’t have any drive to do it for myself.
Not until we escaped and came here to start over.
It wasn’t easy. Not even close. We took things slow, building and growing Widows Peak one business at a time. We got people from neighboring towns to help.
Before we knew it, it was a fully functioning town.
We have just about everything you might need.
A grocery store, shops of all kinds, a school, a police station, a mechanic shop, and even a small hospital.
We can’t do any major surgeries, but it’s good enough to keep you alive until you can get the help you need.
It’s perfect.
And the best part is the club that the girls and I built. Although now, it’s my sister and I who work there for the most part. The other girls branched off to live their own lives.
Club 21 is where you can go to let loose, be yourself, and unwind. The number one thing you can expect is safety.
At first, we didn’t allow Alphas into the town. None of us were comfortable enough around them. But as the town grew, we knew it wasn’t fair. Not all Alphas are cruel like the ones we encountered.
Still, we vet everyone who comes into our town. Sheriff Syrus makes sure of it.
If you’re an Alpha and you want to live here, you have to prove you can behave. That goes for anyone, really.
Just because you're an Omega doesn’t mean you can’t be asked to leave. If you pose a risk to anyone's safety, no matter your designation, you’re not welcome.
I watch Emmett long after Silva is gone.
Maybe she’s right. I should talk to him. Tell him how I feel.
It’s not like he’s going to reject me, right?
Sure, he hasn’t outright told me he has feelings for me, but he’s shown me in so many other ways.
Our friendship isn’t your typical one. While we don’t have sex, it’s like we’re practically dating.
He comes over all the time and cooks for me. We pretty much hang out any time we’re both free. We’re each other's shoulder to cry on and vent to.
I have my sister too, but I’ve been opening up to Emmett more than Silva lately.
I feel like I’m a burden to her. She worries too much about everyone around her.
I don’t want her to worry about me, too.
She already has a lot on her plate. She deserves to worry about herself and find her own happiness, not fixate on my failure of a love life.
I might not trust Alphas, but it doesn’t mean I don’t crave a pack.
I’ve gotten used to taking care of myself for the most part. I’ve been independent for a long time.
Still, when I’m lying in bed alone at night, I crave to have someone in bed next to me. To hold me, kiss me, touch me. Love me.
I’m not alone in life, I have my sister, my friends, Emmett.
But inside my heart, I feel empty and alone.
If I tell Emmett my feelings and it doesn’t work out, I don’t think I could handle losing him.
“I think that should be good for now,” Emmett grunts, stabbing the pile of dirt with the shovel, leaving it sticking out of the ground. “I’ll get the flowers planted tomorrow. Just let me give this fertilizer some water, and let it settle for the night.”
“Thank you again for doing this. You know, I could have done it myself, though.” I laugh.
He gives me one of those smiles that makes my heart stop and my thighs slick. Thank god he’s too far away to smell the peaches and cream scent that I’m sure is coming off me in waves.
He shrugs. “I had the day off. May as well get something done with the time.”
Emmett works as a bouncer at Club 21. It was the first job he had after coming to Widows Peak.
I knew he wanted to work at the club to be near me. At the time, I thought it was endearing. A young man with a harmless crush on me. What I didn’t expect was for that sweet, silly, funny man to grow up to be my best friend.