Page 13 of Key Lime Kisses
“I wasn’t sure what you like, so I went a little overboard,” he chuckled. “Pardon the boat pun.”
I laughed with him and sat. “I appreciate it, thank you.” It was quite a contrast from the alpha this morning who wanted me to order based on whathewanted to eat.
As we ate, we talked about our jobs and our meddlesome siblings. It turned out Weston was a veterinarian at a practice just a few minutes from my house and his apartment was even closer! I excitedly told him so.
“Really? Where do you live?” he asked, sounding genuinely interested.
“I own a house near the park,” I said.
“Oh, that is close! How long have you been there?”
“About four years,” I said proudly.
He nodded. “I’ve been thinking about buying, but I haven’t made the leap yet…”
“Every alpha has to own their own home,” I muttered sarcastically.
To my surprise, he looked somewhat offended. “I don’t know about that.”
“No, no,” I said quickly. “I didn't mean it that way.” Weston cocked an eyebrow at me and I shrugged. “The last three alphas I've dated,” I explained, still somewhat bitter, “havealltold me that I'm emasculating them by owning my own house. All three expected me to sell it, so that they can buy theirownhouse, and be so gracious as to let me live there.”
“Are you serious?” he said indignantly. “Jerks.”
“You wouldn't feel awkward living in a house that an omega owns?” I asked.
“Not particularly.” Weston said. “Besides I've heard all that house hunting is a headache. If I could find a place to live with the man I love and avoid it, that sounds good to me.” He grimaced. “Sorry you've had to deal with alphas like that.”
“It happens,” I said with a shrug. “It used to bother me; it really hurt my feelings the first time. The second time was annoying. Then the third just pissed me off. Kind of put me off dating altogether to be honest.”
“Throw in your winner from this morning and I can see why.”
I thought about the disastrous blind date from the morning, then looked around at my much better situation. Not to mention improved company. “Thank you again, Weston,” I said. “I really appreciate this, you know, letting me crash here. And heling me avoid my date.”
“Absolutely.”
As we finished up Weston started stacking the dishes; I quickly helped and soon we had everything neatly piled on the tray.
“Do they come back to get this?” I asked.
“They said to just leave it by the door and someone will walk through the halls and get it,” Weston answered.
He picked up a small piece of paper and I leaned across the table to see that it was the receipt. I gasped when I saw the price of the meal.
“Are you sure the meals are included?” I asked.
“So they said,” he chuckled. “I don't think gratuity is though,” he added, picking up the pen they had supplied. Despite his words I watched as he wrote a very generous number down for the tip. After arranging the bill prominently on the tray, he carried the whole thing out the door and set it down. Yes, he was a far cry from the alpha this morning.
As he came back in, he grinned. “Look, the sun is setting.”
I turned and followed his gaze, sure enough the sun was low in the sky and everything was orange. Weston headed out onto the balcony and I joined him. We sat silently, watching as the sun sank over the water, turning everything darker orange, then purple.
“This is beautiful,” I said.
“Yeah, it is, I almost don't want to leave tomorrow.”
I chuckled. “Yeah.”
I honestly didn't really want to leave either, but I certainly wasn't going to impose on him for the rest of the trip. It was generous enough that he was letting me stay one night.
