“Don’t make it sound so dirty,” he says, chuckling along with me.
“There’s nothing dirty about a feisty pickle!” The Pickle King declares, putting the pickle in a little paper cup and handing it over to Duncan.
“Now for you. I need to find the right pickle. Let’s see, let’s see.” His eyes go up and down Duncan’s body. “I’m sure you could help the lad with that, couldn’t you?”
“I.. I’m… sorry, what?” Duncan sputters out, his ears turning a lovely shade of red. I cover my mouth as I giggle, nodding along to the Pickle King.
“Go on, Duncan. Help the man select a pickle for me.”
Duncan covers his face with the hand not holding his pickle and gods, that’s the funniest sentence ever! He looks adorable like this.
When I was still learning about the whole second gender thing, I had so many questions for my friends. They might all be omegas but they hadplentyto say about alphas and betas. I wrongly made the assumption that omegas were all docile andsubmissives while alphas were supposed to be these macho men who took charge. Looking back, it was dumb to assume that. I’m certainly not docile and I’ve never been submissive inside or outside the bedroom.
Duncan is an alpha, yet I have the desire to protect him. I want to take care of him. Sure, I also want to tease him mercilessly but at the same time, all of these feelings are rising up inside of me that are hard to ignore.
I like him.
I like that he’s flustered so easily. I like that he clings to my hand. I like that he’s pushing through his worries in order to talk to me. I like that he took the time to talk to that woman about suits. I like that he came back and found me.
I like Duncan.
“What about that one?”
“Oh, an excellent selection! One of my finest,” the Pickle King says, fishing out the pickle that Duncan selected. This one has an extra long stem on it. The Pickle King looks at the pickle, then over at Duncan, then back at the pickle. “It sure is excited to be picked.”
We both burst out laughing.
“Hopefully the pickle won’t be the only excited one tonight,” he says with a wink, handing me the pickle.
“Thank you so much for our pickles, Your Majesty.”
“It is my honor and privilege,” he says, taking another deep bow. From the corner of my eye, I see Duncan slide some money into the tip jar. Seeing that makes my belly flutter with affection.
We find a clear spot against a wall, leaning against it as we eat our pickles. What a silly moment in the middle of such a fancy event. Now that our giggles have faded, we lean against each other, just people watching quietly. It feels nice to share this with Duncan.
“This is really nice,” Duncan says, looking over at me, mirroring my exact thoughts. I bump our shoulders together and then stay there, leaning against him.
“Sharing a pickle?”
“No,” he says with a snort. “Just people watching with you. I’m not really good at being around people. I do it, especially with my mom and dad, but it’s not something I’ve ever enjoyed. With you, it feels different.”
My heart feels like it’s going into overdrive. I turn towards him, taking in his side profile.
“Sorry, if that’s weird to admit,” Duncan quickly adds.
With my free hand, I reach over and squeeze his biceps. “It’s not weird. Not even a little bit. I was just thinking the same thing.”
“You were?”
“Yes. I like you, Duncan. I like you a lot already.”
“Oh,” he breathes out. Then his face breaks into a smile, one that leaves my toes curling in my Converse. “I like you too. I’m really glad I came.”
“Me too.” The DJ plays a new song and a few people finally get up and start dancing. I smile as I watch them.
“Hey, Viktor?”
I kick off the wall and turn so I can fully face Duncan. “Yes?”
