Not His Omega To Love by GS Holmes

2Ethan

I openedthe front door and stepped aside for my best friend, Sal, to enter ahead of me. We were supposed to have watched the game at his place tonight, but his wife had her book club in the living room. She’d told us they didn’t mind, and we could stay, but we hightailed it out of there and headed to my house instead. Since my son was out with his friends this evening, we had the place all to ourselves.

“Sorry about that again, man.” Sal shrugged off his coat and hooked it on the hanger in the hall. “I completely forgot Jill had her book club thing. You can bet your ass I’m going to hear about it later when I get home.”

“Maybe we should’ve stayed?”

“Hell, no. I don’t want to ruin the game, and trust me, when they get started on all that erotic literature they read, it’s best to stay out of the room.”

I shook my head. “Who would’ve thought your Jill would run a reading group full of women who love the smutty stuff?”

He chuckled. “Well, I’m not complaining. After these meetings, she usually comes to bed all fired up and ready to go.”

“It doesn’t bother you that she’s turned on by these books?”

“Hell no. When you’re married, you don’t care where the inspiration comes from as long as you’re the one she’s having sex with.”

“I don’t remember what it’s like being married. It’s been so long since Matt and I divorced.” Twelve long years. The only good thing that had come out of that divorce was getting back my son. Three years ago, he’d opted to come live with me instead of his omega dad.

“Some days I envy you and others I don’t.”

I laughed. “I can guess the parts that you don’t. I’ll grab us a beer. Shall I order pizza?”

“You know it.”

“Meat lovers?”

“Is there any other kind?”

Chuckling, I trudged over to the kitchen and grabbed two cans of beer from the fridge. Then I called the pizza place and placed an order for two meat lovers’ pizzas. After the day we’d had on the road, I bet he was hungry enough to demolish an entire large pizza by himself. I certainly was.

I tossed Sal the can of beer and ran upstairs to take a quick shower and change. Revived and dressed in a pair of comfortable sweats and a T-shirt with the neck frayed from too many trips in the washing machine, I returned to the living room.

“Did I miss the start?”

“Nope, but the pizza got here. You owe me sixteen bucks.”

“Fuck off, man. You can afford it.”

Stingy bastard always wanted me to pay for our food whenever we went out. Anyone would have believed I was the one fucking his ass, but that was his darling alpha wife and one of her colorful strap-ons.

We caught a replay of the previous football game before the one we wanted to watch started. The game was as exciting as we’d expected it to be with two competitive teams on the field, and although we supported the New England Nordics, if we had to lose a game, this was the team to lose it to.

“Damn, that’s a fucking tight game,” Sal said at halftime. He’d finished his pizza and unsnapped the button of his jeans around the flab of his belly. When he caught me eyeing him, he shook his head. “Don’t even say a word. It’s almost like I’m home anyway.”

“Yeah, well, don’t go getting ideas in your head. You know Jill’s quite possessive.”

“Show me one alpha who isn’t.”

“I’m not.”

“You haven’t had a serious relationship since Matt.”

“True, but still, I was never possessive with him.”

“And see how that turned out?”

I frowned at him. “Are you saying that if I’d been more possessive, he would’ve stayed? Because that’s bullshit.”

“No, I’m saying if you had cared more to show a little possessiveness here and there, you might still be married. No offense, man, but you just seemed to be going through the motions when you were together.”

“That was twelve years ago. I’d rather we not rehash all that.”

I didn’t need him to remind me how much of a disaster my marriage had been. Maybe disaster was too strong. Nothing had been wrong per se. We got along fine, we had sex, and we had a life with each other and apart. I’d been in the throes of starting up the business though, and I’d been away from home a lot. That shit proved a strain on our marriage. Matt hadn’t been patient enough to stick with me through the nights he had to be alone while I was on the road. I’d felt guilty about the whole thing for so long that it became one of the ruling emotions in our marriage. When Matt asked for a divorce, and I hadn’t even contested it.

Before I could change the topic, the front door opened. Reggie’s low voice reached us from the hall, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying.

“Dad.” Reggie appeared in the living room. “Hey, Uncle Sal, I thought you were all watching the game at your place.”

I looked past Reggie to the young man next to him. The boy ducked his head, his cheeks a bright shade of pink. I waited for Reggie to introduce him, but my son, the insensitive guy that he was, plodded toward the coffee table, snagged a slice of pizza, and stuffed it into his mouth.

“Change of plans.” I frowned at Reggie, then glanced back to his friend, who stood with his arms around his body, looking small and awkward. The poor boy didn’t deserve what would happen when my son dumped him for someone else. With Reggie, there was always someone else. For the most part, I left him alone other than drilling it into his head now and then, to be responsible.

When I was young, I’d had a lot of sex, so I knew how randy young alphas could get. Problem was, this guy didn’t seem Reggie’s usual flavor of the week.

Reggie would chew him up and spit him out, and he would remain clueless why it all happened.

“Who’s winning?” Reggie asked with his mouth full. He completely ignored his guest.

“The Nordics, but it’s a close game, so we can’t call it yet,” Sal answered, then shot me a puzzled look.

“Sorry I can’t stick around and watch with you guys. We’re going out.”

I waited for him to elaborate or take this as his cue to introduce his friend.

“Stay put. Let me go change my shirt,” he said to the guy then hurried out.

Swallowing my groan, I lowered the television volume and rose to my feet. I needed to have a serious talk with Reggie about how he treated his dates.

“Hey there, I’m Ethan, Reggie’s dad.”

He raised his head. His mouth dropped open in an o as his eyes traveled up my body to my full six feet four inches of alphaness. He was minuscule next to me. Maybe I should have stayed seated. He blinked several times, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard.

“This is my friend, Sal.” I gave him a kind smile. See, I don’t bite.

“I-I’m Cody,” he said, rocking on his heels. “Reggie’s boyfriend.” He sucked in a deep breath. “I mean Reggie’s friend. We’re just hanging out.”

He twisted and pulled at his shirt. He was a horrible liar. For some reason, Reggie had picked this boy to ruin. He was cute in a cherubic kind of way. Innocent. Was that the appeal for my son?

“Where are you two heading?” I asked. And do your parents know the kind of alpha they’re saying yes to you dating? If he were my son, I would have hidden him from guys like Reggie. I loved my son, but I wasn’t blind to his flaws.

“Umm, to grab something to eat and then hit the library to study for a test.”

My son study for a test? Now that was baloney. They couldn’t have been dating long if he didn’t know by now the kind of guy Reggie was. He was barely doing enough to remain on the football roster.

“Cody, come on, let’s go!” Reggie yelled as he ran down the stairs and zipped past the living room.

“Umm.” Cody gave a little wave, and his plump lips stretched into a smile. “It was nice meeting you. I hope you have a lovely evening.”

“Same to you, Cody. Be safe.”

He frowned at my words but nodded and followed Reggie, his small perky butt another possibility why my son had taken an interest.

“Be safe?” Sal said when they were gone.

“With Reggie, he needs to be.”

Sal chuckled. “A chip off the old block. He reminds me of you at that age.”

“I wasn’t that bad.” I slapped the back of Sal’s head and stepped over his feet to reclaim my seat on the couch beside him. “Plus, every guy I dated in high school knew the score with me. I never dated anyone like that boy.”

“What about him? He’s cute. Your son’s always had impeccable taste. I have to give him that.”

“I don’t like this, Sal. This new omega has no idea what’s coming to him. I love my son, but he’s a tool when it comes to the guys he dates.”

I couldn’t get Cody’s blush and hesitant smile out of my head. When Reggie dropped him for the next hot thing, he was going to be crushed. A boy like Cody thought their first boyfriend would be their forever love. I could only hope that I was wrong, and he wasn’t as innocent as he came across. Looks could be deceiving, right?

“That boy’s a virgin to boot,” Sal said. “Do you remember being a virgin?”

“Not really, Sal.”

“Your boy’s going to destroy him.”

I frowned at the television, where the players were getting back onto the field for the second half of the game. My evening was ruined, and I couldn’t get back into the game. What were they doing? Was Reggie charming him out of his clothes? He could be sweet when he wanted things his way.

At the end of the game, the Nordics had won. Sal was ecstatic, pumping his fist in the air, but worry curtailed my usual exuberance for such an important win.

“Hey, man, don’t sweat it.” Sal had picked up on my mood as he searched for a movie we could dive into before he had to go home. “Maybe Reggie will surprise us, and this guy could be the one.”

More than likely the one my son wanted to bang.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

After the movie had ended and Sal had left, I lingered in the living room. I should go to bed, as I had a long workday ahead, but I was too antsy to sleep. Instead, I half-watched a horror movie I must have seen half a dozen times. Did Sal have a point about me not being serious about anyone since my divorce? Would Reggie’s attitude have been different if I’d been an example and remarried to provide a more stable home? Bullshit, he’d lived with my ex, and that was as stable as it could get.

When the front door opened, relief washed over me that Reggie was home. I could stop thinking about him and what he was doing to that poor boy. I glanced at the time on the television. He was home early; it wasn’t even nine yet.

“Reggie, can I talk to you?” I called out to him.

He stopped in the doorway, holding the hand of a young man who was definitely not Cody. I would have thought it innocent, but the boy already had hickies on his neck. Heat flushed through my body, and I ground my teeth to hold back the curse.

“Can it wait?” he asked. “Malik and I are going to play some videogames for a bit. I’ve been studying this evening and need to unwind a little.”

What could I say? He was nineteen already. He could sleep with whomever he wanted to. I didn’t restrict him from doing it in my house, as I’d rather he had a safe place than to be reckless out there.

“When your friend leaves, I need to speak with you.”

His gaze flicked upward, and he gave a tiny shake of his head. I crossed my arms, tense and ready for him to object.

“Fine.”

Again, he walked off with his friend without introducing him to me. A sure sign he didn’t intend for this boy to be around for long.