Page 9 of Knot Your Rebel

Smiling to myself, I step into the hall bathroom and gather my makeup.

It definitely takes more than half an hour, but I’m finally satisfied with how my makeup looks. Mom did always say to look my best, right? I scoff. Right…

I ruffle my fingers through my hair, giving it that messy look that's in right now. Looking good…

My lips are tinted a dark pink color from the lipstick. My eyes are done in a smoky sort of vibe. I used a bit of sparkle on my eyelids to pull in the color of my dress. The whole look is not as bold as it could be. Oh, well, this is as good as it gets tonight. I twist my lips into a grin and blow myself a kiss in the mirror.

Nova dips her head into the bathroom. Her face is now fixed up from when she got home, and from the sliver I can see in the door, she’s slipped into a little black dress. “You good with walking? If we drink, we can just call a cab because I’m not driving.” I look down at the shoes I’d just put on after getting dressed. They’re not as high as they could be. Walking in them wouldn’t be too hard, right?

I pick up a can of scent mask from below the sink and spray myself down before spraying myself with perfume. I don’t want to make it super easy for people to notice I’m an omega, not just a run of the mill beta.

“Sure, we can get a pre-drink workout, I need to exercise.”

She scoffs, eyeing me. “You need to exercise like I need to breathe.” It’s only a block and a half down the road, so it doesn’t take long at all to get there, and surprisingly, my shoes are good so far or maybe I just haven’t noticed?

four - rebel

. . .

A slight breeze whips around my shoulders, leaving behind a mild chill. It’s getting colder out. My toes are almost frozen by the time we get to Shots N’ Sips. The music filters out through the door each time it opens. It’s busy tonight, which is weird because it’s not a special drinks night or anything.

“Shoot, that’s right. I forgot they played tonight.” Nova groans, looking down at her phone. “And they won. You sure you want to go in there and deal with cocky alphas?”

I stop and think about it for a minute before deciding that I need to drink, and I’m not going to let any alphas stand in the way of it. “Yeah, we can just ignore them.” She raises an eyebrow again to say really, but then she nods her approval when I say nothing else.

The bar top in the center of the room has all of its bar stools currently occupied with people watching an assortment of sports across the big screens above them. Most of them look like they’re discussing recaps from the hockey game tonight.

We claim a u-shaped table in the corner and scoot in. Better to get the lay of the land tonight before just blindly walking over. It’s louder in this corner. We’re back by the pool tables, and I've found exactly where our hockey stars are. You couldn’t miss them. They’re all tall and lean. Most are moderately attractive, but I’m not here for that tonight.

Although… I could use a good lay. I won’t rule it out just yet.

Strong jaws, perfect hair, gorgeous smiles, and twinkling eyes filled with mischief. I can see the appeal now. I’d probably let one knot me. Speaking of… the puck bunnies have filtered in, flipping their hair, gently touching them, and flirting with them, trying to get someone’s attention. A few of the alphas are falling for it, leaning against the walls, big grins plastered across their faces.

My eyes land on an alpha who’s hanging out with the rest of the alphas, but his full attention is on me. His nostrils flare, and I inconspicuously try to sniff myself. You’re going crazy, he can’t scent you from here.

I can’t see his eye color from here, but he has full lips and a killer jawline. He’s got a model vibe; kinda cocky, extra hot.

His brows furrow, and his lips dip down at the corners as he keeps staring my way. Is that a look of anger? Shaking my head, I break eye contact first. I shouldn’t care. I don’t want an alpha.

Dark black jeans hug his obviously muscular thighs, and the sleeves on his tee shirt look like they’re about to bust at the seams every time he moves his arms to flex. He looks dangerous, and right now, I crave it. Maybe Nova’s right… maybe I am being self destructive?

I haven’t been to many hockey games, but Nova has managed to drag me to a few of them. Hockey starts up every October, and the season goes until the spring if they’re lucky. The Columbus Hellbenders were shit for a while, but with trades, it seems they’re doing better. At least that’s what Nova tells me.

Nova catches me staring at the guys and bumps my shoulder. “Hey, you should try out for the ice crew team with me. You don’t have anything else going on.”

She was voted in for this season. I remember the try outs, the worrying, the waiting, and then the jumping for joy and celebrating when she actually made it. Crazy, but she’s right… What else do I have to do right now? “I don’t skate well enough to do that, Nova.”

I catch the whites of her eyes as she rolls them. “Give me a fucking break. You’re fantastic on ice.”

“I haven’t been on ice since before he who shall not be named.”

“It’s like riding a bike… or a cock… you’ll be good once you get back on.” She winks at me, and I can’t hold in the laugh. My stomach crunches, abs tightening with each gasped breath. It’s been too long since I’ve felt the laughter burning my lungs as I try to breathe. Too long since I’ve found myself smiling like this, joy radiating from my pores. It could be alcohol-induced, but I don’t care. I can’t feel a damn thing.

“And on that note… I’m going to go grab us drinks. Any requests?” I slide out from the bench and stand, waiting for her response.

“Same as usual, I suppose.” The words are followed by a grin. Tomorrow, we may be paying for it, but tonight, I fully plan to enjoy myself.

I saunter over to the bar and burrow my way in between two betas.

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