My parents called again and asked about dinner. I looked to Kip and he sighed and said yes, but that he needed to call his parents to invite them. I hoped they’d say no.
They didn’t.
So here we were, the six of us sitting at a table at Saraphino’s, the nicest Italian restaurant in town. We got the social niceties out of the way—‘Okay, no more Mr. And Mrs. Sampson. I’m Tony and this is Fiona.’—and then my dad ordered two bottles of wine. Once the libations were poured everyone mellowed pretty quickly. It was cute to see my mom red-faced and giggly as she downed a few glasses. Finally, Dad stood, clinked his glass with his knife, and I cringed because I knew what was coming.
“I’d like to make a toast,” he said, his voice loud in the hushed dining room. “To my son, who went out and found himself the perfect husband-to-be—who’d been right under his nose the whole time.”
Around us, everyone was applauding and that made me feel worse about everything. I hated lying to them. It sucked that we had to take things this far for me to get away from Jerome. And what was worse?
I’d dragged my best friend into this mess with me.
“I remember the day they met,” Dad continued. “They were both so stubborn, each claiming they didn’t want to be friends. We pushed them out into the backyard, then closed the sliding glass door behind them, but left the kitchen window open so we could hear. They were so cute, each watching the other, but refusing to approach. Then Mason found the caramel popcorn we put out and started eating it. A few minutes later, Kip came over and took a seat beside him, then pointed to the bowl. Mason held it out, Kip grabbed a handful and crammed his cheeks full, munching happily. Then the argument began over whether Kip could stuff more into his mouth than Mason could, and the battle was on. By the end, they both looked like chipmunks and the two of them were laughing and carrying on as though they’d known each other for years.”
All the parents laughed.
Damn. I hadn’t thought of that inforever. Even after saying I’d give it a shot, I’d been too afraid to do it. Then Kip had gotten us to share the popcorn and showed his heart, and I realized having a friend wasn’t so bad. After that, we grew tighter with every passing day. It was weird how having Kip around gave me wings. I kept hearing about what being an Omega meant, and that made me feel like that was all I was to people. I wasn’t Mason anymore, but ‘the Omega’.
Except with Kip. To him I was just me, and I liked thatsomuch.
Throughout the years our friendship had only grown stronger. When Kip got into a fight with his brother and sister he rushed out of the house and came to see me. I didn’t tell him he was wrong in how he felt, even if he was. Instead, we sat and I listened while he talked. Afterward, he blew out a breath, thanked me for listening and went home to make peace. He didn’t need me to fix his problem, just to hear him out.
At the moment, he looked decidedly unhappy and Icouldn’t blame him. While it was initially his idea, I don’t think he’d put enough thought into whether it was a good one or not. And right now? He seemed as though he was realizing that.
I wanted to stand up, to tell them all the truth, but I was afraid of what they’d do to Kip.What would happen to my parents? What will they do to me?I knew Omegas were supposed to be non-confrontational, but my nature bordered on cowardice.
The night wound down early. Everyone was tired from making the trip to watch the graduation, and the wine had them mellow enough to want to sleep. We stepped out into the warm night air, and after we all hugged, I noticed our parents watching us, hope in their expressions.
It didn’t take long for me to realize what it was they were waiting on.
Aw fuck.
“Why is everyone staring?” Kip sounded more than a little freaked out, which was huge considering what he’d learned today.
I leaned in and whispered, “They’re waiting on us to kiss.”
“Wait, what? I never agreed to that!” His eyes were like saucers.
Neither had I. Yet another thing we hadn’t thought all the way through.
“We’re supposed to be engaged, so you have to kiss me.” My heart pounded. “But you know what? We don’t have to. In fact, why don’t we just tell them the truth? This is getting too convoluted and?—”
My words were cut off when Kip grabbed the back of my head and dragged me into a kiss, and our parents all said, “aww”.
This is for show.
Why then was I getting a boner? Why did I want to openmy mouth and let him plunder my teeth like buried treasure? Why did I want to sink to the floor and yank down his pants to have a go at his thick cock?
It was then I noticed. I’d assumed anger fed into his brutal kiss, but then he muted it. Something soft touched my lips, seeking entrance. When I opened, he slipped inside, caressing my tongue with his own. I didn’t mean to do it, but I moaned and clutched him tighter. When he stepped back, I whimpered.
“How was that?” His voice was deep and husky.
“That was nice,” I whispered. “Really nice.”
This is for show, remember?
For some reason, it hurt to believe that.
Chapter Seven
