“Wow,” I say. “Oh, my- I’m sorry.” We’re close, so close, and his scent is much stronger now. Is he pushing it out?
“It’s okay.” He mutters, shaking his black hair.
“Okay,” I mutter back. Now we are just a bunch of muttering fools, but I don’t want to say goodbye. Not yet. “Anything else I can help you with?”
“I need to pay for this, don’t I?” he asks, not meeting my eyes as he stares at the door, watching the deflated crowd disappear.
“Oh shoot, of course, oh my god.” My face is hot with embarrassment as I lead him to the cash register. “Oh wow, okay, the total is $125.67.”
The man pays, and I hand him a receipt. My mind runs as time ticks like a grandfather clock in my head. Each sound grows louder as the moment fades away. Do I really want to let his cherry-smelling alpha go? All alphas can’t be bad. Not every alpha is like Jackson, or Derrick, or Mayfield.
It’s been two years. If they were gonna find me, they would have by now, right? Maybe they don’t care.Perhaps they already found another omega, hopefully not. I actually hope they are dead in a ditch somewhere, but after this long, I should be free to do as I please, right? I can be with an alpha if I want. It’s in my biology, and more than that, I really don’t want him to leave.
Is it too forward to get his name? It wouldn’t be right?
“Wait, um, what’s your name?” The words rush out of me. My face can’t get any hotter than it is, so I might as well try.
Wow, Noa, you’re really putting yourself out there.
He stops at the door and turns around, the box clearly not too big or heavy for a hockey player. I’m embarrassed at having asked him if he needed help, but as I look at him, I don’t want him to leave. Not yet.
I wanted to drool over his hockey player for one more second. One second is all I’d selfishly take, and then he’ll leave, and I will probably never see him again.
Unless… unless, I go to a hockey game.
Then I could see him again.
No, Noa, that’s stalkerish.
My eyes meet his again, and he’s staring at me.
“Thorne.” A cool name for a cool guy. Of course. He looks like a Thorne. Dark wavy hair, light skin, piercing green eyes. He’s a Thorne all day long.
I nod and smile. What should I say? I haven’t… I’ve never flirted before, and here I am flirting with the hottest man I’ve ever seen.
Can he even tell I’m flirting? Oh, my God. What if he can’t? I need to end this now. I’ve embarrassed myself enough. I look away, letting the hunky hockey player go, but I don’t hear the door chime.
He stands there, box in hand still, and I scrunch my eyebrows.
I swallow my pride, trying to wash away the embarrassment of my failed attempt at flirting. I finally ask after moments of us staring at each other.
“Are you okay?”
CHAPTER TWO
THORNE
Her voice falters as I stand like a fool at the door. I hope like hell she can’t see how red my skin is getting in her presence. My heart has been racing since I made eye contact with her when she found me crouched on the floor of her shop.
I was never into omegas. They were always normal, blending in with the people on the street, the fans in the stadium. I’ve taken pictures with them, talked to them. Not once have I blushed around a fucking omega.
Never had lusting thoughts, alpha instincts that run my mind into overdrive, nothing. But this omega. I’ve never been shy around omegas before.
It’s pissing me off.
“Yours?” I nearly forgot to ask her name in my haste to stop making a fool of myself. All the times I’ve chosen to remain quiet instead of interacting withpeople are kicking me in the ass now that I… found someone… I actually want to talk to.
“Noa without the h.” She smiles. Her eyes widen a bit as she tilts her head, her ginger hair following her movement and entrancing me again. Dark, soft appearing skin and bright brown eyes, she’s fucking beautiful. I stare at her like I’ve never seen a more beautiful person before in my life.
