Page 14 of Omega Tricked
I parked the van in the back parking lot of the Purple Pooch and sat in the van as anxiety ate at me. My hands that gripped the wheel were sweaty, and my heart banged my ribs. It had been so long since I’d tried to flirt and put myself out there, I felt like I’d forgotten how. It would have been a lot easier if I could just get drunk, but I still needed to drive the van back to the compound. No, two beers would be my limit. Dr. Peters wouldn’t be too thrilled with me if I ended up crashing the van because I was drunk.
Opening the vehicle door, I got out slowly. As I approached the building, I could hear music coming from inside the bar, and it reminded me of when I’d been younger. Before Jacob. The dating scene hadn’t scared me back then. The prospect of meeting an alpha of my own had excited me. I’d yearned for a personal connection in those days. I’d been a completely different person back; hopeful and willing to trust.
And that trust had almost killed me.
The back door opened and a buff, balding alpha came out, tugging a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket. When he saw me, he ran his eyes over my body. I had to stifle my natural reaction to scowl at him. I needed to try to be nice. Approachable. I was here to be ogled. That was how this all worked. I needed to put my surly, pissed-off attitude away for the night if I wanted to get laid.
“Hey,” I said stiffly as we passed each other.
The guy didn’t speak, but he craned his neck to check out my ass. I smirked and opened the door to the club. It took my eyes a minute to adjust to the darkness, and I winced as the loud music seemed to rattle my internal organs. The smell of booze and sweat took me back a few years, but I sucked in a calming breath and made my way toward the long oak bar.
The bartender was an older woman with a nose piercing and tattoos covering her arms. “Hey, cutie. What can I get you?” She smiled, which made her look years younger.
“Any beers on tap?”
She snorted. “Baby, we have eight beers on tap. What do you like? I’m sure I can match you up to something.”
“Uh… I like Stella Artois.”
“You’re in luck. That’s one we actually have on tap.”
“Oh, great.” I sat on the nearest stool, trying to relax my tense muscles. I could feel eyes on me, and it just made me more nervous. How had I ever been okay with this meat market scene? But I did remember enjoying it back in the day. I’d liked the chase, and the anticipation. Unfortunately, at the moment, the anticipation was making me light-headed and slightly nauseous.
The bartender turned her back on me as she got my beer. I used the mirror behind the bar to scan the room. There was a dance floor, but no one was dancing. Tables and chairs lined the dance floor, and there were a few booths toward the corners of the room. There were no actual gay bars in Yellow Springs, so omegas and alphas of my sexual persuasion just had to weed through all the straight guys. That wasn’t too hard for me because if an alpha was interested, he’d approach me. It was much harder on the gay alphas because they probably got shot down a lot.
The bartender set my beer in front of me. “Running a tab?”
“Uh… I guess.” I nodded and slid my credit card across the counter. “Seems pretty deserted in here.”
“It’ll get busy later. We have a dollar drink special running from seven to midnight. All the cheapskates flood in for that.” Her smile took the bite out of her words.
“Hopefully I’ll be long gone before midnight.”
She nodded. “Uh, yeah. You’re gonna be popular. You’re adorable and you’re fresh meat.”
Uneasiness slid down my spine at her words.
That’s why you’re here stupid—to get laid.
Was this a horrible mistake? Now that I was here, I was definitely second-guessing myself. Yes, I was horny. Yes, Lex had sparked something inside of me that had made me want sex. But what had made me think I was emotionally ready for sex? I was physically ready, but letting someone inside me, well, that was pretty fucking intimate. Suddenly the thought of allowing a stranger to take me felt alarming. Why I’d let it get this far I wasn’t sure, but I was definitely freaking out now that I was in the moment.
“Come here often, beautiful?” a gruff voice mumbled near my ear.
I turned to find an alpha sitting beside me. I’d been so deep in thought I hadn’t even noticed him sit down. I tried to think of what to say. His line was so cheesy, I could have laughed. Except I also felt like crying at the predicament I’d put myself in. The past few years I’d barely been able to make eye contact with alphas; how the hell was I supposed to let one fuck me? I’d definitely been thinking with my dick when I’d come here this evening. But now, all my bravery had drained away, and I was simply riddled with insecurities and my usual resentment. All I wanted to do was slink out of the bar and pretend this had never happened.
“Shy?” he asked when I didn’t respond.
I swallowed hard. “I uh… I think I made a mistake.”
He lifted one thick brow. “How so?”
My stomach churned as I held his lecherous gaze. I could smell his arousal, and it made me sick. Lex’s natural scent had been clean and grassy, and his cologne expensive. His eyes had been so beautiful it had almost been impossible to look away. This alpha looked rough, and I didn’t find him appealing at all. I had no idea why I’d been so instantly attracted to Lex, but I wasn’t even the slightest bit attracted to this alpha.
“I shouldn’t have come in here.”
He frowned. “You just wandered in by mistake?”
“No… but I don’t think this is my kind of place.”
