I don’t listen and hoist her by the waist, putting her in the passenger’s seat and buckling her seat belt. I snag a kiss to the side of her head before shutting the door. She gives me a mock pout, but immediately leans over and gives Anders a kiss. I hate that I’m jealous of that kiss, mostly because we haven’t kissed yet. I know everything will come with time, but I just want her so badly. Even though I know it’s impossible, I wish I could rewind time, and we could go back to a time when we were so comfortable and free with each other.Patience, Eli. Patience.
“Alright, Hank, you be a good boy today. No vet trips or making Charlotte cry and I will give you all the snacks you want. Okay, boy?” He tilts his head, his eyes blocked slightly from his dark, shaggy hair. He tilts his head in what I’m assuming is agreement as I open the door, and he jumps in the backseat. As soon as he’s in, there is slobber along the interior and the window.
“Oh, um, you might want to put the window down,” Charlotte says from the front, covering her mouth from laughing at how her dog has completely taken ownership of the backseat.
Anders laughs. Asshole joined my date, and he is somehow the one sitting cushy in the front seat with his hand on our Omega’s thigh. Clearly I didn’t think this arrangement through.
“So are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
“Gonna have to be patient,” I say, leaning forward and tugging lightly on a piece of her long blonde hair. It’s even longer than I remember, and that’s when my thoughts turn dirty, and I shut them down immediately.
“Fine, be sneaky. But you didn’t tell me this one was coming.” She points over at Anders, and he shrugs.
“I might have sulked, and Eli was gracious enough to let me tag along.”
She leans over the center console and gives me a small smile. “Your generosity will be rewarded.” That has me grinning right back.
“Then it was worth it to bring his needy ass along with us.”
Anders laughs and shakes his head. I watch as his hand flexes over Charlotte’s thigh, and I’m back to regretting not driving.
The rest of the drive is light, and Charlotte seems the happiest I’ve seen her so far. The corn maze and festival are only about twenty minutes away, so we get there quickly. Which I’m thankful for. Hank has taken turns sitting on my lap with his massive body, drooling on me, licking my face, and I know he’s farted a few times for sure.
“We’re here,” Anders says from up front, parking in the grass and hay covered parking spots.
“A fall festival?” Charlotte says with a smile.
“Thought it would be fun.”
“Can we get pumpkins and carve them?”
“We can do whatever you want, baby.”
She beams at me, and her old pet name just feels so right. God, I need to kiss her, but I’ll wait until Charlotte is ready.
I get Hank out of the SUV, and he sniffs around at the hay and dirt. His tail that serves as a weapon wags as he leads the way to the front gate. Since Anders imposed on the date, he decides to pay, but at this point all of our money is combined except my inheritance. So really, we are paying for the date.
“What are these?” Charlotte says as Anders holds out her wrist and wraps a plastic orange band with pumpkins on it.
“Gives you access to anything on the farm and a pumpkin at the end of the hayride.” She nods her head as he puts it on. I hold out my hand, and Anders rolls his eyes as he puts on my wrist band too, which makes Charlotte laugh, so he doesn’t give me any shit.
“You guys should prepare yourself,” Charlotte says, and Anders and I both look confused. “We will be stopped every five feet for someone to pet Hank, talk about how giant he is, or ask questions about him.”
I shrug, and so does Anders, both of us thinking she is exaggerating. Charlotte shakes her head, but holds the leash, and as soon as we turn to head over to get cider donuts and hot chocolate, a woman and two children stop us.
“My goodness, he’s huge. What breed is he?”
“Newfoundland,” Charlotte replies with a soft smile. “He’s friendly.”
The little girls and mom pet his head, and Hank is loving the attention as he drools over the strangers and accepts their affections.
“I think he’s been overdue for an event like this. Hank is a bit of an attention whore,” Charlotte says, laughing. I take Hank’s leash and put her hand in mine. Her head leans in against my biceps, and I can’t help but think how good she feels pressed against me. How much time was missed with my Omega, and how I can make up for that lost time.
We wait in line. Apparently these donuts are something special as I watch people walk away with a box of a dozen. The whole time, Charlotte’s hand is in mine, and Anders has his arm around her shoulder. It’s so natural for us to be like this, but I can’t help but think about the broody brunet missing from the situation. Sometimes I find myself pitying Mikael. Other times I want to punch him in the gut for being such an idiot. I push my feelings aside for our missing pack member as we finally reach the front of the line.
Charlotte had no problem taking charge of the order. “Can we get a dozen apple cider donuts, three hot chocolates, and one bottled water please?” The tender nods and we stand off to the side and wait for our treats. Anders plays with her hair while I rub her knuckles with my thumb, and I swear I watch Charlotte glow under our affection. Seems like Hank isn’t the only one who missed a little attention. I can’t help it when I lean over and kiss the side of her hair. She smells so fucking good, and I’m lucky that we’re interrupted by them calling our order number or else I might have thrown her over my shoulder and said fuck the fall festival.
There’s a spot with hay bales covered in blankets as we go and sit to eat our donuts and sip our hot chocolate. People come up and pet Hank, cooing over his cuteness the whole time.
