Page 12 of Small-Town Secrets
"Nope. I was in a long-term relationship and you never knew about it." I drained the last beer from my bottle and waved at the bartender to get me another one. If we were going to be talking aboutthistopic now, I was going to need it. Once I had my beer in hand, I got up from my chair and motioned for Jake to follow me. "Let's go somewhere a little quieter." There was a table in the back corner that didn't have people standing or sitting nearby. It was our luck that it was a week night and the place wasn't as crowded as it could get on Saturdays.
"Did you date someone with the mafia or something?" Jake asked, taking the seat opposite me. "What's with all the secrecy?"
"Nothing like that. I would have told you ages ago, but she wanted to keep everything under wraps. I've respected that wish and I'll continue to do so, even if we're not a thing anymore."
Jake's eyes narrowed. "So who is this mysterious woman, then?"
"Another alpha," I confessed.
The look of surprise that took over my friend's face nearly made me laugh. "You dated another alpha?"
"Keep your voice low, please," I reminded him. Two alphas dating wasn'tillegalor anything, but it was highly unusual. I'd personally never cared if my partner was alpha, beta or omega, and I didn't care what peoplethoughteither, but Stacy hadn't wanted the negative attention our relationship might spark. While we were together, I'd never told anyone. Not even my closest friends. It had been hard to keep a secret like that—and I was determined never to do it again.
"Wow," Jake said. "I wouldn't have guessed. Do I know her? Does she live in town?"
"No, she's moved, and I don't think I'm seeing her again. We didn't really work out."
"Because you're both alphas?"
"That wasn't the issue." Had we butted heads sometimes? Sure, but what couple didn't? "I didn't like the secrecy. Keeping something that was such a huge part of my life from my friends and family..." I shook my head. "I shouldn't have had to do that."
"No, you shouldn't have," Jake agreed. "I kind of get where she was coming from, but still..."
"I'm just really tired of not being able to talk about the people I love. Sometimes it feels like everyone in this town has a secret of some sort."
Maybe I'd put a little bit too much emotion into that sentiment, because Jake shot me a suspicious look. "That almost sounds like your alpha girlfriend wasn't the first time that happened to you."
Busted. I gave my friend a forced smile. "A lot has happened in my life. I wasn't born yesterday," I tried to keep things vague.
"C'mon, tell me. I want to hear about all the scandalous things you've done! I tell you everything aboutmyrelationship."
"You mean your desperate attempts to win Conner back over?"
"They're not desperate."
I looked him dead in the eyes. "You sent him a single flower every day. For a whole month."
"It wasn't a whole month. It was only from December 1 until Christmas, and it wasn't always a flower either."
"Right. Sorry. One time it was cookies."
"Homemade cookies," Jake insisted, as if that made his advances look any less desperate.
"Sure. Homemade cookies. Sorry." I sipped at my beer. "Did you have any luck with that?"
"We're talking aboutyounow," Jake deflected. "But I'll have you know, my cookies are the best in town."
"Oh? Do they bring all the omegas to the yard?"
"It's not like Iwantall the omegas." My friend huffed. "Now tell me about whatever scandalous thing you did before dating that alpha woman. You made me think about Conner, now you have to distract me." He raised his bottle to his lips and emptied it in one gulp—not that there'd been too much left.
"Okay, but you can never tell my brother." I suppressed a groan even as I said that because I wanted to be done with secrets.
"Your brother?" Jake looked confused.
I responded to him with a shrug. "I slept with his best friend. At the time."
Jake laughed. "You slept with your little brother's best friend? Man, you're such a cliché, but I bet you made someoneveryhappy that night."
