What the fuck were all of those terms?
I was old enough to knowsomethings, but almost everything on the list was new to me. Anal. I knew that one. That was a no. Orgasm control? No. Ugh, god. This was humiliating. I doubted a single person would match with me now.
On a whim, I decided to clicka fewkinks. Dirty talk. I clicked two more, just in case. Praise kink. And humiliation. That was probably a stretch. I wasn’t sure if I was into either of those things, but there were a few instances where I didn’t mind them. Hearing an Alpha whisper filthy things into my ear, degrading me for enjoying every second of their cock, and praising me all in the same breath. Some of the best sex I’d ever had was utterlyhumiliating, and yet, whenever I thought back to those times, I always got so damn horny.
Stop it. No thinking about her this weekend. For once in my life, I wanted tonotthink about her. Alpha Net might be for hooking up, but maybe I could use it for something else. Maybe I could find a real partner, someone to build a life with. I didn’t really believe in the mindset that omegas had to ‘settle down’ at some point, but… it would be nice to have someone to wake up to.
Submitted. Good. Now to wait, for what could hopefully be a real connection.
The app gave me a cheerful beep and told me my answers would be reviewed before the testing started. The final step was my profile photo. I still had on an oversized fuzzy sweater for the cold airplane air, and my makeup was a bit faded, but my hair looked cute. I snapped a selfie, making the cutest face I could, and uploaded it to my profile.Finished.The next time I opened the app, all of the Alpha females that matched my preferences would show up on my screen.
How long would it take? I hoped I could pick someone out before my flight was over, maybe message them to feel them out first, but four hours later the plane was preparing for landing, and I hadn’t gotten a notification yet. Lame. Maybe it was taking a while for them to sort through everyone’s profiles for the testing. Or maybe I was just too different and no one would ever match with me and my three vanilla kinks.
The airport felt like an oven, full of people coming and going, no doubt making everything hot with their body heat. Was the air conditioner broken? Moving as fast as I could, I rushed through the airport and took a deep breath of relief when I got outside. The cold February air cooled my heated skin, and I almost shivered as I waited for my Uber to get there. It was a short ride to the hotel, long enough that I was already hot againfrom the car heater. This was so annoying. My heat wasn’t due until Monday, but this really felt like one. I never went off cycle, not even by a day.
After being dropped off, I rolled my suitcase into the hotel, already tugging at my collar to cool myself off. A single bead of sweat rolled all the way down my back. That was almost a sure sign I was about to be in heat. I never got this sweaty unless my cycle was coming. If I was lucky, it wouldn’t be for a few days. I would take another inhibitor, and just continue my day like normal.
Feeling itchy, sweaty, and uncomfortable, I checked into my room, wiping my sweaty forehead before taking my room key. It could just be a cold. Maybe I needed some medicine instead.
With my room key in hand, I slipped it into my pocket and turned towards the crowd of people lingering on the other side of the hotel foyer. I recognized a few faces, all people I’d seen at the Baking Expo before.
“Daphne!” Julia, a face I knew. She ran a bakery in Chicago, and had recently expanded to three new locations.
Right beside her was Cassie, the bubbly beta who was just on that famous baking show in England. She knocked them all off their socks with her sponge cake. “Daphne! So nice to see you. How is Sweet Sensations doing?”
“We’re doing great! I just launched a new eclair recipe. Abby was over the moon taste testing it. Then again, so was I.” I gave my round tummy an appreciative pat, and they giggled along with me. Amidst the laughing and sharing stories, my eyes drifted to the rest of the lounge where the other Baking Expo people were, all of us waiting for the activities to begin.
Mother fucker. Jade was here. I don’t know why I was so surprised, she came every year just like I did, but it always felt like she was following me. Sitting there in her tight skirt and her button up shirt, with just a few too many of the buttons undoneso we could all see her ample cleavage. Those thigh high tights and stiletto heels made her look taller than she was, and she was already tall enough. God, she was such a show off.
Bringing her drink to her lips, she gave her friends a quick smile before taking a sip. Her silver eyes darted over to where I stood, as if she knew I was there the whole time. A jolt went up my spine, along with another bead of sweat. It was sohotin here. I wanted to claw my sweater off, but I wasn’t wearing anything underneath it.
Jade stood and walked over to me, her heels clicking on the wood floor. Her bangs were always so perfect, not a single hair out of place. “Ladies. Daphne. Nice to see you. Paisley loved your cake.”
Stop it.Was it her life goal to torture me?
I plastered on a smile, trying not to scratch the itch on my neck with my sweaty hands. “Oh, lovely. The icing was a new recipe. I’m glad she liked it.”
Eat me, Jade.
“It’s still so funny to me that your sister always orders from Daphne’s bakery,” Julia remarked, a smug grin pulling on her mouth. She was a frenemy if I’d ever seen one.
Cassie never let comments like that stand. Giving us her best bubbly smile, she locked arms with me and wiggled for extra cuteness. “Daphne makes the best cakes, so I’m not surprised. But yours are just as good, Jade.”
“Thank you, Cassie,” Jade said, her eyes lowering, focused on where Cassie was touching me. Her eyebrow twitched, and a muscle ticked in her jaw. “I never see Daphne as competition. People enjoy both of our bakeries.”
Stop sweet talking. You’re such a schmoozer.People enjoy both of our bakeries.Give me a break. The only reason she opened Blissful Bites was to mess with me and try to steal my success just like her father. Even the name was similar to mine.I just had to get through this weekend, and then I could go back to pretending Jade didn’t exist.
Chapter Three
After mingling for longer than I felt was necessary, I excused myself and left to get ready for dinner. The pre-convention dinner was a spectacle all on its own with delicious food, sultry music, and luxurious treats that lingered in my mind for months. Everyone wished they could be the ones catering it, but the prize often went to a bakery overseas, some over-hyped place in France that knew how to fluff their egg whites to sinful perfection. It was mostly jealousy that had me turning my lip at whoever was catering this year. I’d give anything for Sweet Sensations to be chosen. I could make my egg tarts up to par in no time.
Mopping my forehead with a napkin, I laid out my outfit and started getting dressed. Pantyhose, a black dress that was both tasteful and sexy, and a string of pearls around my neck. I pulled up my hair in a half-hearted bun that looked deliciously messy. If I couldn’t act a little slutty this weekend, then what was the point? I snapped my phone into my little black purse chosen specifically for this occasion, fluffed my hair one last time, and left my hotel room.
The elevator ride down to the lobby was long enough to make a bead of sweat roll all the way down my back.It wasn’t my heat.Maybe the air conditioning was broken? Or the heat of all these bodies was making it work too hard and someone turned the temperature up to save on electricity. Either way, I was about to need more napkins to dab my face with by the time I got to the dining hall.
The familiar scent of pheromone incense wafted into my nose as I stepped into the large room. The smoky incense was mixed with vanilla and sugar, no doubt coming from that delectable spread on the other side of the room. I could see the icing from here. A large sign hung above it reading, ‘Dessert first, guilt later.’
There would be no guilt tonight. Not about treats, anyway.
