“Arrrg.”

Giving the handle one last turn, to no avail, I let out a sigh of exasperation. Class was supposed to start in two minutes, but the door was locked, lights out, and not a student to be seen.

Great, just great.

Dropping my bag to the floor, I slid down alongside it. My gut told me class had been canceled and I just missed the notice, but just in case, I was going to wait a solid ten minutes. Not that the teacher had been even a second late in the past three weeks since class began, but you never knew.

Back in my day, they had the decency to post a paper on the classroom door when classes were canceled, but according to my syllabus, they canceled them now via the school email… which would be brilliant, if not for the fact that my phone was old school and anything emailed after I left for the day would remain unseen until I got home.

Taking out my phone, I dialed Jake. Maybe I could, in Jake’s own words, “parlay” this into a nice evening together.

“Hey, Dad, what’s up? Don’t you have class?” The noisy background gave away Jake’s location. I wanted to kick myself for bothering Jake at his internship.

“It looks like class was canceled without anyone even bothering to put up a note. Sorry, I thought you finished at five.”

“No worries, Dad. Mr. Collins just let us out of our intern meeting.” The voices that made it challenging for me to hear Jake had muffled and quieted before he added, “He asked about you, by the way.”

I frowned “Why would your…”

Collins.

No.

There were a bazillion Collins in the world, surely it couldn’t be my Collins from all those years ago.

“You mean Rhys?” I managed, sounding only half-strangled.

I dared not dream it. Surely it couldn’t be Rhys, but even if it were, it wasn’t like we could simply continue where we left off. Over twenty years had lapsed. We had grown up, moved on, and for all I knew, Rhys was married with a family.

“Yeah, him. He said you went to high school together.”

“We did.”

I stood, picking up a stray brush that had fallen from my bag as I did so. It was one thing to have Rhys be part of my past. When I thought of him in that context, it was safe. Now that Rhys was a flesh-and-blood person that I might very well see, he was no longer safe. All of the emotions a first love held came flooding back to me, which I knew was beyond crazy. It had been over twenty years since we had last seen each other, so the chances of us still even having anything in common were slim to none.

“You sound off, Dad.” Jake had always been far too intuitive for his own good. He got that from his alpha-father.

“Just miffed about class,” I lied as I officially gave up and started to make my way toward the parking lot.

“They probably sent you an email.” A bing came through the phone, followed by Jake mumbling a number, although not to me. It sounded like he must have gotten into an elevator.

“And I still don’t have a smartphone.” I wasn’t going to take Jake’s bait. Jake didn’t like me being without what he deemed a “necessity” while I didn’t want to deal with all the techno gobbledygook. “So you’re off now?” I asked, bringing the conversation back to the topic at hand.

“Just about.” The elevator binged again. “Wanna pick me up here, and I’ll take you for a burger?”

“You’re offering to take me to dinner?”

I reached my car and popped open the trunk, depositing my school bag in there. I smiled at the thought. My school bag. Not for the classes I taught, but for the ones I was taking. It made me happy, even if I had shown up for a class that was canceled. “Deal. Where should I meet you?”

“Just ask at the security check-in, and they’ll direct you.”

Security check-in.

Things were so different in the tech world my son strived to become a part of. Like an entirely different planet than the boring world of teaching. Not that my job was ever boring. A classroom full of energetic kids having fun was anything but boring, yet as far as career paths, it saw very little change over the years. Sure, education always saw curriculum changes and political sways, but the essence of the job was always about the kids, and that never wavered.

“Sounds like a plan. See you soon.” I started my car, prepared to be slammed with rush-hour traffic.

No one would ever describe me as a fan of city driving, especially at rush hour. The congestion of city life never appealed to me the way it had to so many of my college friends. Even living half an hour away from what true city people considered “city” was far too close for my liking.

Thankfully, Jake’s company was on the outskirts of the city, and even better, it had a parking garage. No parallel parking or hunting for a space today.

I found myself combing back my hair as I caught my reflection in the car window, checking out how I looked. It was silly. After all, even if I did run into him, what did it matter? Nothing. Yet there I was, preening like I was that teenage omega again.

The lobby was sparse, with office doors lining the sides, elevators in the back, and a small security counter at the entrance. I scuttled up to the counter and was greeted with a warm smile from the older man in uniform.

“Hi, I’m Ethan Rhodes. I’m here to see Jake Rhodes.” I reached into my pocket to pull out my wallet and ID, but the older man held his hand up slightly indicating I wouldn’t need it.

“Yes, sir. I got a call asking for me to direct you to the middle elevator up to the tenth floor.” He reached into a side drawer and pulled out a lanyard sporting bright orange letters letting everyone know I was just passing through. “Here. You’ll need this visitor badge.”

“Thanks.” I smiled at him as I pulled it over my head. As I made my way to the elevator, I caught my reflection in the door and frowned.

I was such a hot mess.

Between my “I don’t care if they get ruined” clothes for painting class, my bright orange visitor pass, and my messy hair, I couldn’t look less like I belonged in the lobby of such a successful business.

I chided myself as I stepped into the open elevator.

This was not me. Worrying about my appearance. Fretting about my hair. I wasn’t the type to dress up just to go to the grocery store, and I didn’t go to the barber every time I went on a date. I didn’t even own a pair of nice slacks, yet here I was, wishing that just for once, I had decided to be that man, just in case I saw my Rhys again. No, that wasn’t right. Rhys was no longer mine, but my heart didn’t believe it in those moments as the elevator ascended to the top floor.

8 – 9 – 10

I watched each number light up, willing my nerves to go down. I was a just father picking up my son, who was probably waiting at the elevator.

It was no big deal.

Not. At. All.

Except it was.

I didn’t know how I knew, but I did.

The doors glided open, and I stepped out, my eyes examining the carpet. I inhaled deeply before bringing my eyes up. The elevator opened into a reception area, which I hadn’t been expecting.

“May I help you?” a handsome omega with glasses and messy hair called from behind the desk.

“I’m here to pick up my son, Jake Rhodes.”

The reception area was empty, save the two of us, but given the time, it wasn’t a huge surprise. I glanced at the desk, looking for a sign-in sheet, but saw none. I righted my posture out of curiosity, my heart pounding.

“You must be Ethan.” The man smiled brightly and stood up before walking around the mammoth desk. “Follow me, then. You are to wait in here.” He stopped at the door labeled Conference Room A and swiped his badge to unlock the door. “It should only be a moment.”

“Thanks, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause extra work.”

I stepped inside as the omega waited, holding the door ajar. Brilliant. I’d managed to waste even more of the man’s time by apologizing for wasting his time.

“Nonsense. We’re glad you are here.” With that, the man winked and wandered back to his station. Odd.

“Uh, thanks?” I mumbled as I meandered into the room.

The room was bright with a wall of windows at the far side. The furniture was typical of what I would expect of a conference room—a long table surrounded by chairs. It was the walls that caught my attention. They were covered with art. Not just the “art” you saw in most public buildings, but more, like there had been a discerning eye that chose them for this space.

The paintings, collages, and photos all drew me in.

I stepped closer to the first one that caught my eye. It was a multi-media collage of what the artist most likely had found in a recycling bin. At first glance, it appeared almost random, as if a child had glued random things to a canvas, but the longer I looked at it, the more it enthralled me, taking me on a journey. I wasn’t sure where I would end up, but the path was beautiful.

I stepped backward and forward, swaying from left to right, taking it all in. The artist had filled the canvas with hope. Most people, if they could hear my inner thoughts, would think I was wackadoodle for delving so deeply into a collage of trash. I hoped that one day someone just as wackadoodle would enjoy one of my paintings in the same way.

“Ethan?”

The deep voice startled me, and I let out a little gasp before twirling around. My heart thudded to a halt.

It was him.

Rhys Collins, my first love.

The alpha had changed so much, yet so very little, in all the years since I’d last seen him. His eyes still sparkled that green, almost golden hue, his dimples still echoed the warmth of his smile, and his hair, while slightly grayer, still had that one piece I wanted to smooth down. Rhys was taller than the boy of my memory and had filled out his suit in a way that told me he had also bulked up over the years.

Time had done well by him.

Me, however...

“Remember me?” he added, as if I could ever forget our time together; the first time he took my hand while we were walking, our first kiss, our first dance, our first… everything.

I could never forget that.

“Rhys.” The name slipped past my lips as almost a whisper.

“It’s good to see you.” The sentence felt awkward. Rhys appeared to be just as nervous and unsure of what to do and say as I was, and that helped me relax a bit.

I focused on not standing there with my mouth open, which was a challenge, especially with all the butterflies dive-bombing in my belly. “I’m here to pick up my son.”

Rhys nodded. “Yes. Jake. He’s been an asset around here.”

His smile was kind, telling me that he meant every word, and that filled me with pride. Jake had always worked hard to achieve his goals, and getting his foot in the door of a huge tech company before graduation had always been part of his plan.

It was nice to see it working out so well.

I nodded dumbly as if it were a yes or no question. I needed to get a grip. And fast.

“He looks so very much like your Papa,” Rhys continued. “I was taken aback when I saw his picture with the incoming interns.” His stance was relaxed, as if we had only seen each other last week instead of a couple of decades ago, but his eyes didn’t fool me. They always gave him away. Rhys was affected by this conversation as much as I was.

How and why, I wasn’t altogether sure.

Jake really was the spitting image of his omega-grandfather, but it shocked me that Rhys remembered the man so clearly. My Papa had always been working, and was hardly what I would call hands-on at that point in my life. Yet, Rhys remembered him clearly enough to see the resemblance in Jake.

“Then I saw his middle name and knew it was no coincidence,” he added.

Jake Taylor Rhodes. I had wanted to give Jake his alpha-father’s last name and legally changed my own to it as well to avoid awkward questions like I had encountered when I was in school. Having a father with a different last name had made for more than a few uncomfortable encounters when I grew up, not that it was anyone’s business. I wanted to avoid that for my son, but still wanted Jake to have both parts of his heritage, so Jake Taylor Rhodes it was.

“Jake told me you asked about me.” I willed the words back as soon as they flew from my mouth, but once said, they were there, hanging in the air. I leaned into the chair beside me, trying to feign an ease I wasn’t feeling as I waited. And waited. And waited.

Rhys quirked an eyebrow. “Is that all he told you?”

Those words surprised me. There was nothing cheeky or cocky about them.

“What do you mean?” I wasn’t sure what other information Jake had on Rhys, but I was ready for it. I crossed my toes, for fingers would be visible, that it wasn’t that Rhys was married. I shouldn’t be thinking that way after five minutes with the guy, but I couldn’t help it.

Rhys brought back all the squirmy goodness that comes with young love.

“Did you know you were meeting me here?” Rhys copied my pose, leaning into the chair beside him, raising his eyebrow just slightly. Most people probably never noticed the subtle gestures Rhys made, but I always had. I found those gestures fascinating to decipher. This was a new one, or at the very least one I couldn’t remember, but I would figure out its meaning. If I saw Rhys after this, I added on the thought, because for all I knew, Rhys was married with twenty kids and a passel of pups.

“I was hoping.” I pressed my lips together, a nervous habit I had never been able to break.

“As happy as that makes me…” Rhys took the slightest step forward, his dimples calling to my index finger, which itched to dance over them like it used to. “And it makes me extremely happy…” Another slight step forward. The butterflies in my stomach must have swapped out for hummingbirds. Scratch that, bats, and Rhys wasn’t even in arms’ distance yet. “That isn’t what I meant.”

One more step.

Rhys stood, leaning ever so nonchalantly on the same chair as I did, his closeness practically overwhelming. My body responded to Rhys’s warmth, the smell of his cologne, the feel of his breath on my collarbone. “Did you know you were meeting me here, now, and that Jake already left for the day?”

I blinked.

Did I what?

Jake had left already?

“That little sneak,” I mumbled under my breath, more to myself than to Rhys. This was a set-up.

“I’ll take that as a no.” His hand reached out and tapped my nose, a gesture straight out of the past. My face heated as I blushed, just as it always had.

My phone buzzed, and I ignored it until it buzzed again. Rhys gave me a subtle nod before pushing away from the chair to give me privacy.

Reason five-hundred-and-fifty-two why I hated having a stupid phone. It buzzed for a third time before I had the messages open.

All three of them were from Jake. Of course.

Where are you?

Sorry, Dad, it’s for your own good. He’s really hot.

Call me when you get home. Even if it is really, really late. ;)

I typed back that we would talk later and that I wasn’t mad, before shutting down my phone and slipping it in my back pocket.

“That was a no,” I muttered to Rhys.

I shook my head at the entire situation. It wasn’t like I would’ve turned down an invite to see Rhys again after all these years. Who was I fooling? I would have hemmed and hawed, made excuses and summer would be over before I actually had the courage to see him. Jake had been spot on.

“Disappointed?” Rhys ventured.

I shook my head with a smile. That was so not what I was feeling. “More like surprised. I only knew you were even here less than an hour ago. Last I knew, you were off to Guam.” And out came my nervous babble.

“I didn’t want to go.” The pain in his words was practically palpable. It had been horrific for me to be left alone, but Rhys’s entire world had been tilted on its axis.

“Nor did I want you to, but life has a funny way of not caring about that kind of thing.” I knew the truth of that better than most. I fidgeted with a loose thread on my jeans, unsure what to say or do next.

“Dinner?”

Rhys’s sudden invitation surprised me. It shouldn’t have, considering Jake and Rhys had set me up, yet it did. I looked down at my disheveled state. I was not even close to being in date attire.

“What?” I was buying time to make an excuse, or a plan, or I didn’t know what, but I needed time.

“May I take you out to dinner?” Rhys inched closer with each word, his voice slightly deeper than it had been even a minute earlier. The alpha’s sex appeal was downright dangerous.

“Now?”

Surely he saw my current state of disarray. Rhys was dressed in a suit that made me want to tear those clothes off more than go out.

Whoa, where did that come from?

Sure, we had history, but I was very much not that kind of person. I had dated infrequently and only ever got frisky with a battery-operated boyfriend and my hand. I was a single dad and had my own priorities. Although, technically, I was an empty-nester now. Did that make all those hormonal feelings come back?

No.

It was Rhys.

Rhys made those feelings reemerge.

“That was the idea.” He tapped my damn nose again.

“I’m not really dressed for dinner.”

“You were going to go anyway when you thought it was Jake taking you.” He held out his arm to me, assuming he had won his case, which he had. I took his arm and let him lead the way.

“Some things never change,” I said with a sigh. I gave Rhys a slight shoulder bump just as we reached the door. “You always did call me on my bullshit.”

“And I plan to keep up the habit.” With that, Rhys allowed the door to shut behind us, and we headed on our way. To wherever Rhys had planned on taking me for dinner.

As if the past twenty years had never happened.