Peter wondered if they were still talking about Chad. Since Aiden had been the one to break it off withhim, Chad didn’t think it was particularly fair of him to be jealous—if that’s what this was.
“I want someone who can submit to me without feeling like they’ve been defeated.”
Aiden looked away, his shoulders tensing up and his face closing down. When he looked back at Peter he was angry.
“So you want someone easy?” Aiden’s tone was cutting.
“Don’t we all?” Peter asked. Aiden didn’t answer, and a few seconds later their waiter approached the table.
“Are you ready to order?” he asked, obviously sensing the tension between them.
“Do you want me to leave?” Peter asked. Aiden rubbed his nose and shook his head, making a visible effort to relax.
“No. I know I’m being unfair. Let’s just not talk about it, okay?”
Peter nodded. He wanted to stay friends with Aiden, but the man wasn’t making it easy. Peter wondered if it would be kinder to just break it off completely.
“We’re ready to order,” Aiden said to the waiter. “I’ll have the cod and root vegetables. Peter?”
“The same, and some sparkling water,” Peter said, handing the beta his menu.
“Very good, sir,” the beta said, bowing his head and walking away.
“Can you imagine being a beta?” Aiden asked, watching the man leave. Peter laughed at the disgust in his voice.
“It’s probably not so bad,” he said, not willing to enable Aiden’s snobbery. “No having to figure out who’s more dominant and who should yield to who… I don’t know.”
Aiden snorted. “When was the last time you had to figure out if you were more dominant than someone?”
Peter smiled and took a drink of his water, conceding the point.
After that things were better. They talked about work, with Aiden arguing that Peter should leave IT to Dawn and come back to the mercenary side of things, and Peter defending his choice by pointing out that he cared more about making money than being a soldier.
Peter wanted to ask more questions about Chad, but he didn’t want to upset the fragile peace, so he held his tongue. If Chad had been in bad shape, Peter was sure that Aiden would let him know.
When they were done eating, Peter said goodbye to his friend and headed home. After pouring himself a scotch, Peter slipped off his suit jacket and sat down to watch some TV.
He’d figure out what to do about Chad in the morning.
***
Chapter 11
Chad hated Aiden Halsted. Calling what the man didteachingwas laughable. After the first fifteen minutes, his class had devolved into what could only be described as a methodical beating.
Chad hadn’t been this bruised since he was in a car accident when he was nine. His ribs ached, and he wondered if he might have a sprain. It hurt to breathe.
The lingering pain from being fucked was nothing compared to what Aiden had put him through.
It didn’t reflect well on Peter that he was friends with someone like Aiden. That he would let himteach.
There was one thing Chad was sure of, and that was that he wasn’t going back to Aiden’s class. To hell with what people thought of him—though by the end of the lesson the other alphas had been wincing along with him every time Aiden put him on the floor.
Chad didn’t think they would judge him too harshly.
After the class, Chad took a taxi back to his apartment and climbed into the shower. The hot water felt amazing on his battered body, though he still moved like an old man when he stepped out and dried himself off.
Popping a few painkillers, Chad grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down on his tiny couch to watch some TV.
