Not His Omega To Love by GS Holmes

5Cody

“Make way!Make way for our class valedictorian, Cody Gooden.”

My mouth fell open, and I wanted to hide when Piper and our other friend, Rhett, stood at the foot of the wide steps that led inside the school building. On cue, Rhett brought his tuba to his lips and played me a horrible off-key fanfare that had the kids hanging around after dismissal covering their ears and staring daggers at us.

“Hey, dorks, keep it down!”

Ignoring the remark, Rhett blew until he was out of breath. Seeing the pride and happiness on their faces that I’d been finally named as valedictorian today, I lost all sense of embarrassment. I barreled down the steps and threw my arms around their necks.

“I can’t believe it!” I grinned. “I’m valedictorian.”

“Of course, you are.” Piper squeezed me tightly. “Who were they going to choose? You’re the best of all of us.”

“Congrats, man.” Rhett hugged me too, then released me. “I’ll lead us off to our waiting chariot.”

I laughed and snatched his tuba from him. “Put away that thing before they kill us. Dead or alive, I’m giving that valedictorian speech, but I think it’ll be best for all if I appeared alive.”

“I think a ghost would be neat.”

I shook my head at Rhett. With his braces and lanky stature, Rhett rounded up our nerdy dynamic. His parents were convinced he was some kind of musical genius like his father, who was a renowned saxophonist. Every year they had him take music lessons to try a new instrument, and so far, he’d failed at every single one of them.

“There’s our ride now!” Piper cried, running toward her girlfriend’s car, which stopped in front of us. “I call shotgun.”

“Only if you promise not to distract the driver,” Rhett said in protest.

I climbed into the back seat of Izzy’s car along with him and his tuba.

“Hey, I heard you were valedictorian,” Izzy said over her shoulder. “Congrats.”

“Thanks, Izzy.”

I had no idea if she’d heard me. Piper leaned sideways, and they kissed, the tongue variety that I hated the most, but they looked as though they were enjoying it. Was something wrong with me?

Rhett elbowed me in the ribs, and I averted my gaze. He cleared his throat. “You’re kind of turning on Cody here, so if you could wrap this up, thanks.”

“I am not,” I protested, but the others laughed. “I swear I’m not. I’m not a pervert.”

“There’s nothing wrong if you like watching, Cody.” Piper poked at my knee, and I slapped her hand away.

“Stop that. By the way, where are we going? I have a valedictory address to write, and I have to make it good.”

“Relax.” Piper settled back in her seat. “You have plenty of time to write that speech. For now, we’re going to celebrate at Patsy’s.”

Patsy’s was a mom-and-pop diner that sold cheap but good food. My mouth watered at the thought of the double cheeseburger I always ordered. I’d been too nervous about the naming of the valedictorian to consume anything but a bottle of water during lunch. Piper had forced me to eat half of her sandwich, which had resulted in me rushing to the bathroom to throw it all up. My stomach had been in a crazy state of nervous anticipation all week.

Our little group would never be considered the popular crowd, but I loved my friends. They were the absolute best and having them with me made senior year easy. How was I ever going to say goodbye to them? I’d already been accepted to a bunch of in-state colleges and a few top-notch ones as well, but I hadn’t chosen yet. Rhett was off to Florida for the summer to get acquainted with the place before he started his sophomore year, but Piper hadn’t made up her mind yet either.

When we entered Patsy’s, only a few seats in the back were empty. Normally, we sat closer to the entrance. Kids from our school were hanging out in their usual little groups, but they ignored us as we passed them on our way to the back. It had been that way for most of high school, so I didn’t expect anything to be different this time.

A waiter handed us laminated menus, and although I took one, I already knew what I wanted to order.

“Onion rings, a double cheeseburger, no tomatoes, and a root beer float,” I said.

“Can you put the tomatoes he doesn’t want on my burger?” Piper asked the waiter.

She looked from me to Piper, eyebrows lifting but maintained her smile. “Sure thing. I don’t see why not.”

“You’re amazing.”

The waiter’s smile brightened, and I sighed. My friends were the best. They were good people. I’d been so stupid when I’d started dating Reggie and ignored them. Since the argument at his house two weeks ago, I’d fallen off his radar, which stung, even though I didn’t want him back. I couldn’t believe I’d slept with a guy who would treat me that way.

He was nothing at all like his father, who had been a perfect gentleman and nice about the whole thing. He’d even agreed Reggie was a certified jerk.

“You listening?” Rhett kicked me under the table.

“Huh? What?”

Piper frowned at me. “You’re not still thinking about you-know-who, are you?”

I shook my head. “Nope. Water under the bridge.”

“Wait a minute. Who’s you-know-who?” Rhett asked. “What are we talking about?”

“Nobody,” I rushed to answer. “Are you guys doing anything special for your graduation pics?”

“When’s that again?” Izzy asked, her arms around Piper. Their connection was so real, and my stomach soured. They’d been together now for two years. I’d seen so many breakups at school, but these two made it work. No wonder Piper was having such a hard time deciding whether or not she could move on to college and leave her younger alpha girlfriend behind.

“Next Monday. They’re giving us the weekend to ensure we’re properly groomed.”

“Good, that’s all the time I need to pluck my one facial hair.” Rhett snorted, and we all laughed.

The waiter returned to the table with our food. I inhaled deeply at the sandwich she put down on the table before me. My stomach turned over, and I gagged as the stench of the grease hit my gut.

“Everything okay?” the waiter asked me.

“Sure.” I forced a smile I didn’t feel. “Everything’s quite good.”

Except for the bile rising in my throat.

“I’ll be back with your drinks.”

No sooner had the waiter left than I sprang to my feet.

“Cody, you okay?” Piper frowned at me. “You’re sweating.”

“I-it’s just that time of the month,” I lied. “I’ll be fine. I just need to use the restroom.”

“Want me to come with you?” Rhett was already on his feet.

“No, please. It’s nothing.”

It had to be nothing. Maybe I’d lied to them about my ovulation. At least once per month, every omega ovulated in an attempt to get the body prepared for a baby. Hormone changes happened to the body, and when no baby was made, the disappointed hormones went away for another thirty days before it returned more hopeful.

I rushed by a table and almost bumped into another as I forged ahead in the direction of the restroom. Some places had restrooms designated according to our statuses as omegas and alphas, but at Patsy’s, there was only a single restroom everyone used.

A man was huddled over the urinal, but I made a beeline for one of the cubicles. I barely managed to fall on my knees and lift the toilet seat before I threw up. Man, it was painful, mostly water, since I hadn’t eaten well today. Tears filled my eyes and spilled down my cheeks as I retched and retched. The dry heaving sapped my energy, and I let out a moan.

This couldn’t be good.

When I finally stopped trying to dislodge my larynx, I rose to my feet and slumped against the wall of the cubicle. I felt wrung out and completely exhausted. Where the hell had I picked up a stomach bug?

I flushed the toilet and shuffled out of the cubicle. At the sink, I rinsed out my mouth as best I could without the aid of mouthwash and splashed water onto my face. I pulled some towels from the dispenser and raised my head. I jumped back, placing a hand over my heart. Mr. Finch was frowning at me in the mirror.

“My god, you startled me.”

“Cody?”

I glanced away nervously and dabbed at my mouth with the paper towel. What left of my icky breath would have to stay until I got to my backpack, which had the citrus-flavored gums I liked to chew.

“Mr. Finch, what are you doing here?”

“I stopped by to get some food.”

Of course. Stupid. This was a restaurant. What else would he be doing here?

“Me too. I came here with some friends.”

He smiled at that, a genuine smile that sent ripples of kindness washing over me.

“That’s good.” His smile dropped. “Are you okay? I couldn’t help hearing you throw up.”

“Something I ate. I’m fine.”

“You sure? It sounded pretty serious.”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Good.” He opened the door for me. I had no choice but to walk through.

“Thank you.”

He gave me another one of those nice smiles and fell into step beside me. “Everything okay at school?”

“Yes, very. I was named valedictorian today.”

“Wow.” His eyebrows rose as he peered down at me. “That’s amazing. The only thing they ever asked me to do publicly when I was in high school was to call out stage directions during theater practice.”

A giggle escaped me. “I suck at theater arts.”

“I think you just haven’t found the right teacher, but good job. I’m sure your parents must be proud.”

They would be when I told them all about it. Back in the main area of the restaurant, he nodded at me. “Enjoy your meal, and I look forward to hearing your speech on graduation day.”

Oh crap, that was right. He would be there. I watched him walk away to a table where the same guy was who he had been with that first night we met. They looked good together. Were they an item?

Shaking my head, I returned to my seat and rummaged in my backpack for my gum.

“Who’s that DILF you were talking to, Cody?” Rhett quipped and shoved a fry into his mouth.

“He’s not a DILF,” I whispered the word as if Mr. Finch was going to appear at my elbow and overhear me. “That’s Reggie’s dad.”

“Really? They look nothing alike.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“He’s still a DILF, though. And you know I have a thing for older alphas.”

“Well, I think that’s his boyfriend, so stop looking and being so obvious about it.” I took up his burger and aimed it for his mouth. “This is the only meat you’re getting.”

“He keeps looking over at us.” Piper frowned at me. “What was that all about? You okay?”

I picked up a fry, but my stomach flipped again. No way was I going to be able to eat this, and if I didn’t, my friends would get suspicious.

“Know what? I just remembered something important my mom wanted me to do.” I jumped to my feet and grabbed my backpack.

“But you can’t leave. This is our celebration. Yay!” Piper threw her fist in the air.

“I’m sorry. I love this. You guys are so amazing.”

I threw down enough money on the table to cover my share of the bill and hurried out, hugged them and left. I was so intent on getting away that I didn’t realize I had to walk right by Mr. Finch’s table, and then it was too late to take another route.

His smile at his partner turned into a frown. “Cody, everything okay?”

I nodded frantically and practically ran toward the door. What the hell was happening to me? I’d just run out on my friends, who only wanted to support me. And what was up with Reggie’s father? He was being way too nice like he felt sorry for me. It sucked so bad that Reggie had turned out to be a douchebag, but his dad’s pity was the worst. But I had a lot to be happy about, right?

At least I was valedictorian.