Rafael smiled. “There you go. There’s my big papa bear.”
“Ugh. Don’t call me that.”
“Big daddy?”
“That’s enough, Raf.”
Rafael crossed his arms in determination. “You’re gonna talk to Jake, then?”
“Yes,” I said, hope rising within me. “In fact, I’ll do it today after work.”
“Good idea.” He leapt up. “Oh! Wait. Before that, you promised to help me with something, remember?”
I hazily tried to recall. “Oh. Your date?”
“My attempt at a date,” he corrected me with a knowing grin.
“Right.” I nodded. “Okay. Let’s do it, Raf. Have you decided when you’re going to try?”
“Yep.” He pointed to the clock. “We’re going there today - at lunch.”
* * *
As Rafaeland I made our way to the Omega Angel Café, it almost felt like we were on a secret stealth mission. Despite my previous thoughts that this would end badly for Rafael, the new bud of hope that he’d planted in me earlier during our conversation made me wish that this went well for him. If I had a chance with Jake, why couldn’t Rafael have a chance with this omega?
From the glass windows we saw that there was a fair amount of people inside, but at least there wasn’t a line.
Rafael fidgeted. He smoothed his shirt beneath his coat. I hadn’t noticed earlier because I was drowning in my own dark thoughts, but Rafael had dressed up for this. I rarely saw him show up to work in anything other than a casual white button-up shirt and dark pants, but to my surprise, he actually wore a nice suit today. He was genuinely making an effort to impress this guy.
“You look sharp,” I said, giving him an encouraging pat on the back.
“Thanks.” He smiled, but it was thin. I could tell he was incredibly nervous.
“How are we gonna do this?” I asked. “What’s the plan?”
“I actually did some... reconnaissance the other day,” he admitted.
I raised a brow, not really liking the sound of that. “And what exactly does that entail?”
“Er, I basically just hung around outside to try and figure out the employee’s schedules. Like if they leave the store to take breaks, or stay inside, that sort of thing,” Rafael explained.
“Raf…”
I sighed. I didn’t want to tell him that might have been on the edge of creepy, since judging by the look on his face, he was already thinking the same thing. His expression was getting more and more unsure every passing second.
“Okay,” I said. “So you know the omega - Sammy, is it? - that he leaves the store around lunchtime?”
Rafael nodded. “That’s right. So we just have to wait here.”
It wasn’t exactly the most proactive plan - or, if I was being honest, the one most likely to succeed - but at least Rafael took my advice and wasn’t asking Sammy out during his shift. All I could do was support my friend and let fate handle the rest. Maybe if things got too hairy and the omega was clearly uncomfortable, I could step in to save them both.
Suddenly Rafael sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh god, I was right. Here he comes now. Act natural.”
I was acting plenty natural already. I hoped Rafael could manage to do the same instead of fidgeting and sweating like he was now.
We stood on either side of the door, though I was further away to make it seem like I wasn’t involved in Rafael’s plot, and to give him a bit of privacy in his endeavor. Then, the front door opened with a littletinkleof the bell, and our previous server Sammy walked out. He shivered against the cold and brought his jacket up to cover his mouth.
“Um. Hi!” Rafael said.
