Chapter 27
THE SANDWICH MIC DROP
“Hey, Aaren.” The evaluator stood up and pulled Aaren into a light half-hug. He was an older guy with a relaxed smile and crow’s feet at his eyes, and already, he felt like a better person than Ballus was. “It’s been a while since we last met. How have you been?”
Aaren had never met this alpha in his life.
But that was the thing about the service that Hades had hired; it was discreet, so the person being examined would never realize the true purpose of the meeting.
“Hey, Gable! I’ve been good,” Aaren said, smiling because he was so happy not to be alone with Ballus. “This is Ballus. Ballus, Gable.”
Ballus narrowed his eyes. “Get your filthy paws off my omega.”
Aaren shot him a dirty look. “Can’t I hug other alphas?”
“You can if you want,” Gable said mildly.
“Bullshit,” Ballus said. “You’re not allowed to touch any other alpha.”
Gable glanced at Ballus, then at Aaren. “Please, Aaren, have a seat.”
“He’s not your omega to order around,” Ballus snapped.
“I’m growing really tired of you ordering me around,” Aaren said to Ballus. “I didn’t say I wanted to tend to your every need.”
Ballus sneered. Aaren hadn’t sat down yet; he was suddenly aware of the plug in his ass, holding in Hades’ come. It would shove deeper inside when he sat.
“Why the hell are you not sitting down, you dumb fuck?” Ballus asked.
Someone moved at the corner of Aaren’s eye. When he turned, he found Hades settling down at the table next to their booth.
“Thank you,” Hades said to the omega handing him a menu. His shoulders were tense, lips pressed together. He wasn’t looking at the menu or the server, though.
He was looking straight at Aaren.
Warmth flared through Aaren’s stomach. Everything is going to be okay.
He sat down gingerly next to Ballus, bracing himself for the sudden pressure against his sweet spot. A gasp tore out of his lips anyway; his insides shivered with pleasure.
Ballus didn’t notice. Gable did, though. Aaren couldn’t help glancing at Hades, to see if his alpha had caught it.
Hades smirked, looking like the cat who had gotten the cream.
“Ah,” Gable murmured when he followed Aaren’s gaze.
“What? Who are you looking at?” Ballus said. Then he saw Hades and narrowed his eyes. “You.”
Aaren sighed. Ballus was such a fucking man-child, Aaren was horrified at his past self for picking him. “Can we get some food?”
“Just water for you,” Ballus said. “It’s not like you need anything to eat. You can go home and cook your own.”
Aaren froze, looking at Gable. Ever so faintly, Gable grimaced.
“I deserve food,” Aaren said resentfully to Ballus. “I need to eat too!”
“Not with all that fat, you don’t.” Ballus flipped through the menu. “Maybe you could have a salad, but that rabbit food is a fucking waste of money. You’re just eating air. What’s the point?”
Over at the next table, Hades tensed. Aaren knew that even without looking.
But Aaren didn’t need rescuing from this; he had claws of his own.
“I’ve been eating some good food lately,” he told Ballus.
Ballus sneered. “Oh yeah? Like what?”
“Sausage,” Aaren said, to vent the gnawing anger in his bones. “I can barely fit them in my mouth, they’re so big.”
Over at the next table, Hades coughed.
Ballus shot Aaren a suspicious look. “They’ll just make you fat.”
Aaren patted his belly. “Yeah, now that you mention it. I think my belly gets huge when I eat a sausage. They’re really... filling. The good ones squirt a lot when you squeeze them.”
Ballus curled his lip. “Where the hell are you getting these sausages?”
“From a supplier in Meadowfall. They’re really big.” Aaren held his hands apart to demonstrate just how big those ‘sausages’ were. “I don’t think you’ve seen them this big, but it’s not like you go looking. They’re really heavy, too. You’re missing out.”
Ballus frowned, like he wasn’t sure if Aaren was lying. Hades’ shoulders were shaking. Gable cleared his throat, pulling out his phone.
Before Ballus could say something offensive, a server came by to take their order.
“I’ll have coffee and a Belgian waffle,” Gable said, glancing at Aaren to indicate that he should go next.
“I’ll have a cheeseburger, fries, and cola,” Ballus said. “And just water for my omega.”
Aaren shot him an incredulous look. “What if I want a blueberry cheesecake?”
Ballus made a face. “That’s just going to make your ass look fat.”
“Did your parents teach you to treat omegas this way?” Aaren asked.
Ballus scoffed. “My parents have antiquated opinions about omegas.”
“I’m so embarrassed on your behalf,” Aaren muttered. “I want a milkshake,” he told the waiter. “Chocolate with whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles.”
Ballus snorted. “You don’t need any of that.”
“But I want it! And I’m paying for my share,” Aaren said. “You’re such a jerk.”
The server hurried away with their orders, then returned shortly with their drinks.
There was a wrinkle on Gable’s forehead, but his expression stayed blandly neutral. “So, Ballus, what do you enjoy doing for Aaren?”
Ballus looked utterly confused. “What do you mean, do for him? Like put a roof over his head?”
“Aside from that?” Gable said.
“I give him a bed to sleep in, and I give him things to do,” Ballus said dismissively.
“What kinds of things?” Gable prompted.
“Don’t you have an omega? Is that why you’re here, to live vicariously through me?” Ballus curled his lip. “I tell Aaren what to cook for my meals. Not that he’s been doing that lately, running off and cooking for other people without being paid.”
“I told you they were paying me at the end of the month,” Aaren said.
“What kind of crap job did you even get? You should’ve made them pay you every week,” Ballus said. “I want a pot pie for my dinner tonight.”
Aaren rolled his eyes. He wasn’t going home with Ballus, but Ballus didn’t seem to realize that.
“Now, because I’m Aaren’s friend, I want to hear how you have been satisfying him, as his alpha,” Gable said.
Ballus stared at him blankly. “Haven’t you been listening?” He counted off on his fingers, “Roof, bed, food, and my cock.”
“Do you at least make sure he gets a good orgasm or two?” Gable asked.
No, Aaren mouthed.
“Yeah, he comes,” Ballus said disinterestedly.
It was so different from the way Hades held him down and milked him dry, until he could only clutch the sheets and shake apart.
Aaren gave Gable a deadpan stare. “I think the sausage tastes better elsewhere.”
Gable looked like he agreed.
Ballus frowned. “What does sausage have to do with this?”
Before he could think too deeply about it, their food showed up.
To Aaren’s surprise, the server set a slice of blueberry cheesecake in front of him. He gasped. “I get cheesecake?”
The omega gestured sheepishly at Hades. “The gentleman bought it for you.”
Aaren hadn’t even realized that Hades had done that. When he turned, he found Hades with a tiny curl to his lips.
“What the hell,” Ballus said reaching for the cheesecake. “I’m going to throw that in his face.”
Aaren threw his arms around the cheesecake, huddling protectively over it. “No! It’s mine!”
Ballus gripped Aaren’s arm like he wanted to move it aside. Aaren hissed at him.
“If you feel threatened by a piece of cheesecake, then you should’ve bought me a slice,” Aaren said. “Instead of telling me that no other alpha would want to buy me nice things.”
Ballus bared his teeth. “He’s not your alpha.”
Oh, he is, Aaren wanted to say. But that wasn’t the point of this meal. He eyed Ballus’ burger and fries. “Are you going to give me your fries, then?”
Ballus scoffed. “And make you fatter? No.”
Aaren shrugged. With his arms still curled around his cheesecake, he turned, hiding his expression from Ballus.
He found Hades with his shoulders taut, his jaw clenched like he was trying not to rip into Ballus. So Aaren held his gaze, closing his mouth around one corner of the cheesecake.
It worked. Hades’ shoulders lost some of their tension; he gave Aaren a pleased smile.
Aaren smiled back and focused on his cheesecake. It melted in his mouth, smooth and creamy, pairing perfectly with the blueberry jam.
“It’s so good,” Aaren moaned, taking another bite.
Ballus seethed. “It’s going to destroy your figure.”
Aaren licked his lips. “You didn’t want to buy me a salad.”
When he peeked, he found that Ballus’ face had turned purple. Ballus snarled, “You’re not going to sleep with him just because he bought you a cheesecake.”
Aaren blinked innocently. “What if he buys me two cheesecakes and four burgers?”
Over at the other table, Hades coughed lightly.
“That’s it?” Ballus’ face twisted. “You’d sleep with him just because he buys you food?”
Aaren squeezed around Hades’ plug, remembering Hades’ lips on his skin, Hades’ cock deep inside him. “Do you buy me food?”
“I pay for the food at home,” Ballus said.
“No, you make me pay for half of it,” Aaren said. “Even though you eat more than half and I cook everything.”
“Yeah, well, I put a roof over your head.”
“I’m also paying for half of that.”
Aaren looked at Gable. “Ballus came to my workplace the other day, demanding that I give him my employee lunch.”
“You don’t need it,” Ballus repeated.
“Wow,” Gable said, typing into his phone.
Gable was on his side; Aaren could feel it in his gut. So he took a huge gulp of his milkshake and ate some whipped cream, before inhaling another blissful bite of cheesecake.
If all hell broke loose, he wasn’t going to leave Hades’ gift behind, half-eaten.
When he peeked again, he found his alpha grinning crookedly into his roast beef sandwich. Hades looked like he was torn between punching Ballus’ face in, and being charmed by Aaren.
“So, Aaren,” Gable said. “Have you been feeling anxious or inadequate? Do you feel safe?”
Ballus narrowed his eyes. “Are you some kind of shrink?”
Gable shrugged. “I’m just concerned about Aaren, is all.”
“Why would you be concerned about him?” Ballus scoffed. “He’s fine. Just lazy.”