Page 52 of Knot Only For One Night

“Can we try them now?”

“And skip our wonderful date down at Coal's Diner?”

“Coal’s Diner. Oh my gosh, Soren, you’re joking. I love Coal’s.”

“Not joking.”

“You know my dad’s name is Col?”

“Is that why you like the diner?”

“No, they just have amazing fries.”

I laugh, feeling light that I’ve managed to cheer my omega up. “Let’s eat first.” I stand up and hold my hand out for her to take. She does so, interlacing her fingers in mine while holding the gummies and the taser in my hoodie I gifted her. “Then we can get high.”

A Cheshire grin overtakes her face. “Sounds like a phenomenal fucking date.”

“How many have you had?” Esper asks, snatching the bag of gummies from my hands.

I chuckle, popping another into my mouth. “This is my first and only, Trouble. Don’t worry, I won’t eat 'em all.”

“You have to ride home is all.”

“Worried about my safety or kicking me out?”

“Definitely not kicking you out.” She giggles, crawling over my lap and settling into my chest. Her dorm room is very much Esper. I’ve only formally met the woman twice, but the cozy vibes of her little twinkle lights and piles among piles of blankets definitely fit her to a tee.

She wiggles her perfect ass over my stomach, dangerously fucking close to my dick. Her rosy cheeks threaten to hypnotize me as she gazes up at me.

“How many have you had?” I ask her. Not able to resist, I slowly take my hands up and down her back as she bats her pretty brown eyes at me.

“Only two.”

“Only two?”

“Really. I don’t like to go too crazy.”

I hum as she lays her head on me. Her cranberry scent blooms and gets heavier and heavier as she lays down. Nestling her face into my shirt.

“What do I smell like?” The question burns on my tongue. A question that feels so intimate but something like… maybe I should already know.

I know what I smell like to me, but to her… How do I smell to her?

“Cinnamon.”

“Cinnamon?” Her head rubs against my chest as she nods.

Betas’ scents aren’t always on the nose. Maybe other betas can tell what their own scent is, but mine has always been faint for me. It’s how I knew for sure I wouldn't present as an alpha. It’s not a sure way to tell but… I just knew in my gut. I wasn’t an alpha or an omega.

I was… plain.

“The best cinnamon. Like Cinnamon Toast Crunch with milk, on a sunny morning. One where there are fresh flowers on the table and clouds paint the sky in pretty designs, close to the sun but not enough to cover it. The kind of cinnamon that dances on your tongue. Battling the brown sugar crumbs in a dance-off as you eat.” She trailed off before adding, “What do I smell like?”

“How am I supposed to follow up after that?” I chuckle but am deadly serious. She hasn’t moved her head to look at me, but my cheeks are inflamed. Beet red, I’m sure.

I’ve never had someone talk to me, about me, that way before.

“Try.”