All of Alex's wholesome, well-intentioned goodwill and professional respect had evaporated in an instant when he saw Gabriel Cooper in person again. Alex remembered the dark red curls and the green eyes. But in the past four years, Gabriel had flourished into a breathtaking Omega.
Gabriel must be about twenty-eight now. He was maybe five-nine in his heeled boots, so barefoot, he was probably about average for an Omegan man, but he was long-limbed. His shoulders were squared, but not wide, and the broad neck of the tunic he wore exposed just the tops of his clavicles. The thin dark fabric of the top draped over his flat torso and clung to his narrow waist and the slight flare of his hips flatteringly. His trousers were fitted to thighs that were firm and perfectly full and incredibly difficult not to stare at.
There was often a little bit of childish softness that clung to the faces of brand-new college grads applying for their first jobs, a softness they tried to camouflage with their first decent suit, but Gabriel had lost his. The fine bones of his face stood out more now and they were lovely-- the high brow, the lift of his cheekbones, the long, straight bridge of his nose, the soft angle of the jaw, and the touch of upturn in his chin. His skin was creamy and soft, and touched with the beginnings of a blush. Gabriel looked like he didn’t particularly enjoy being the center of attention. And then he met Alex’s eyes. And they stared at each other, or at least Alex stared, unable to look away. More pink climbed into Gabriel's cheeks. Alex was probably embarassing him. To diffuse the situation, Alex raised his hand in a goofy wave that he would probably regret for the rest of his life, but Gabriel waved back before he turned to someone to shake a hand. Alex had started walking.
At five feet away, Alex could see that Gabriel’s lashes were thick and long and dark under slightly arched auburn eyebrows, and that his large, wide eyes were Alex’s favorite shade of green. That perfect late spring green. Not Robert Frost’s overrated brand-new gold-green, but the green of two or three weeks later, the last softened green before leaves settled into their dark summer shade. Alex could make out a dent in the center of Gabriel's pillowy bottom lip. Alex realized his heart was racing and he rubbed his chest absently. He stalked closer.
Then, when Gabriel was just out of arm’s reach, the scent washed over Alex. It was partially obscured by the scent of the Omega that Gabriel was talking with, but Alex could still find it and pull it inside him. It was fresh and softly sweet and delicious. Alex's mouth watered. He could feel his pulse in his fingertips and a flush in his cheeks. He felt his pulse in his cock, too, and, mortifyingly, the way it thickened slightly.
Alex suddenly realized he was leaking Alphan pheromones into the air around him, and that was what snapped him back to his senses, amazed and horrified at himself. He should have left then, probably. Gone home and taken a cold shower and reasoned with himself and made a plan. Instead, he saw the cake being wheeled in, and found his pretext for getting even closer.
His mother gave him a long, curious look as he solicited her for a slice of cake, but she handed him a generous slice without comment. If she had handed him a live grenade instead, he probably wouldn’t have noticed. He was so close to Gabriel now that the scent was pure, unmasked and undiluted. He needed more contact. His brain scrambled for some kind of action he could take. He clamped down on his instincts to make sure he wasn’t smothering Gabriel in waves of pheromones and smiled a little, mostly at how odd he must look to the beautiful, poised Omega who was the object of his obsessive attention. Gabriel unconsciously brushed his nose with a long finger, the nail coated in a sexy dark pewter nail polish. Was Alex still leaking scent? He winced slightly at his clumsiness. He normally had perfect scent control.
And then Gabriel did the thing that turned the tide of the battle Alex was fighting with himself. He swept away the obstacles between them.
Gabriel greeted Alex warmly, remembered him, gave him a hand to grasp. He unselfconsciously and openly identified himself as a former patient, sweeping away the need to disguise the circumstances of their acquaintance. He even remembered Stoffel’s name. He was so gracious despite Alex’s barely coherent responses, and he crackled with life and humor and wit. Alex could have cheerfully spent eternity watching him moaning over a bite of cake.
Then Gabriel had gone even farther and asked Alex for the exact thing Alex was desperately trying to find a way to have. He asked for more time together. Alex’s ridiculous effort not to recognize and accept what was happening to him ended there. He was a man with a very particular set of skills, skills that told him exactly what was going on inside him. He had just met the Omega who was biochemically, anatomically, and, he was increasingly sure as they conversed, intellectually perfect for him. Now he just had to figure out how to live with that fact. And he just had to hide it.
On the walk to the café, Gabriel’s charm and playfulness leveled him. A dozen times he could have pulled Gabriel into his arms. A dozen times he could have kissed him. As the night stretched on, Alex tried desperately to recalibrate himself. His thoughts went in circles. You’re my mate, and the more you say and the more I look at you and hear your voice and scent you, the more I’m aware of it, and the more I want you… but I’m just going to aim for friendly professionalism and try not to frighten you or ruin the warm but professional relationship that you are, very generously, building with me. And I’m planning to kill that twenty-something Alpha at the next table that is staring at you while you talk, and that’s because I’m having massive surges of cortisol, adrenaline, and testosterone that I can’t act on, because that’s something a caveman would do and that’s something a mate would do, and to you, I’m neither. But I can make your life easier by helping you with your client. And I can do more than you ask for. And I can make sure you’re safe. And like an angel, you gave me your number and a reason for us to talk again, so I can keep finding ways to trail after you like a stray puppy.
When Gabriel mentioned biking home, Alex thought he had not sounded half as insane as he felt about the idea of Gabriel riding alone in the dark in a city known for its violent crime rate. He had done a good job of calmly persuading Gabriel to ride with him and stay within the circle of his protection for a few more moments, even though he had seen the brief flash of misgiving in those green eyes when he’d offered the ride.
Alex had ruthlessly controlled his pheromones in the car, not wanting to spook Gabriel, wanting to seem safe to him. Wanting to be safe for him. Even if his mother had not raised him to be considerate and respectful, Alex would have rushed for every door he opened and held for Gabriel just for the few extra seconds of proximity and the chance to help him, but etiquette gave him excellent cover. He thought that when he had asked Gabriel to let him know that he’d reached his apartment safely, he had sounded only moderately insane? Despite that, Gabriel had indulged him, to his infinite relief. Well done, Alex. It might be possible to walk this tightrope going forward.
After canvassing Fell's Point for over an hour, Alex looked around him and realized he didn’t know where he was anymore. He checked the map on his phone. He was a full mile away from his car. It was now a little after midnight, and he hadn’t seen a single cause for alarm in the neighborhood. It was a nice area, he grudgingly acknowledged. It was time to go home. It was time to start practicing being normal, time to cut the pathetic Romeo act and just go home. He wished he'd known that the previous night had been the last night he'd sleep soundly until and unless he slept with his arms wrapped around Gabriel Cooper. Then, he could have prepared a little better for tonight. Rehearsed. Trained. When he found his car again, he checked Gabriel’s building and saw that only one window was still lit. He hoped it wasn’t Gabriel’s. Reluctantly, he got back into his car and drove home.
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