“I play,” Chad said, grabbing a cue stick from the rack by the wall and chalking the tip. He shot Blake his best cocky grin as Noah readied the balls.
“Well, show us what you’ve got,” Blake answered with a grin of his own.
It was on.
By the time Topher made it back with the drinks, Chad and Blake were entirely focused on their game. Chad took his beer with a quiet thanks, watching Blake through narrowed eyes as the alpha landed a shot that Chad never would have been able to make.
“You’re good,” Chad conceded, knowing that there was no way he was going to win the game. Blake shrugged and smirked, stepping back to allow Chad his turn.
He might not be able to win, but Chad wasn’t going to give it anything but his best effort. His pride demanded it.
***
Chad and Blake played two rounds, Blake winning both, after which Noah and Topher each tried and failed to beat the reigning champion. By the time Spike and David had their turns, everyone was well and truly drunk.
Chad couldn’t remember how they ended up talking about it, but eventually the conversation veered toward what he’d experienced with Peter Tank and his friend Aiden.
“No, no… they were coming onto me. Like… they wereintome,” Chad explained to Topher, his voice low and intense. Topher looked horrified.
“Are you sure, though? They could have been messing with you. I just don’t get why they’d be hitting on another alpha,” he said, his voice incredulous.
Blake, listening in on the conversation, snorted and turned to Topher with a raised eyebrow. “Maybe because they’re gay? It’s not exactly unheard of.”
“Yeah, but Chad said that they were like… uber-alphas. An alpha like that wouldn’t be gay, right?” Topher asked, like he wanted to be reassured.
“Not how it works,” Blake lectured, his voice slightly slurred, shaking his head like he couldn’t believe the stupidity he was dealing with. “Some alphas like other alphas. Doesn’t have anything to do with how dominant they are or how much ass they can kick. It’s just the way some guys are built.”
“And thank fucking God, is what I say,” Noah interrupted, yelling the words out so that the whole bar could hear him. “The more alphas there are who want to bone each other, the more omegas there will be for the rest of us.”
“Cheers to that!” Blake lifted his glass and took a deep swig.
“As long as they don’t hit on me,” Topher mused. He looked like he found the whole idea of gay alphas disquieting.
Chad couldn’t help but share his trepidation. He emptied his glass and went to the bar to get another.
He was way too drunk to be thinking about Peter Tank.
***
Chapter 6
Chad woke up on the floor with a massive hangover and missing both his socks. Since his boots were lying haphazardly by the door a few feet to his left, he wasn’t too worried about their loss.
Grinning through the pounding pain of his hangover, he wondered if maybe he’d missed out on more than he’d thought by skipping college. Pulling himself to his feet, he stumbled his way to the sink where he downed a glass of water and three Advil.
It felt great to have made new friends. His colleagues at Tank Security were decent guys, but they were anything but laid back. Chad had no problem working with them, but he never reallyrelaxed. He always felt like he had to be on his guard or they’d see him as weak.
With Topher and his friends he’d felt free to let loose and have fun, which was something he’d been missing.
Stripping out of his clothes and throwing them in the laundry bin, Chad made his way to the bathroom and turned on the shower. He stepped under the hot spray, letting the scalding water beat down on his back.
It felt amazing.
Showered and dressed in a fresh set of clothes, Chad made himself a bowl of instant oatmeal and ate it standing by the microwave. As he spooned the tasteless gruel into his mouth, he wondered how he was going to pass the day.
Or rather, he tried to gather the courage to do what he should, which was to head into the Tank Security training facility and sign up for some of the classes they offered. It wasn’t mandatory, but Chad’s new colleagues had advised him that anyone whowanted to stay with the company was expected to take at least a few classes to keep their skills varied and up to date.
Cleaning out his bowl, Chad gave himself a mental shake. He needed to get his act together and stop worrying that he might run into Peter Tank and just head in. The whole reason he was living on this side of the country and not near his parents was that he needed to take advantage of everything Tank Security offered.
