Jeremy

I had no idea what I was expecting to see when I opened my eyes, but it sure as hell wasn’t the dark-skinned alpha that was lying in my bed. I didn’t understand what had happened to me last night. It was seriously like I was blacked-out drunk except I hadn’t had a thing to drink, and I was starting to remember every single thing that happened with crystal clarity.

I was horrified as the events unfolded in my head. Me playing with my cock in my truck while I let this total stranger drive me home. Then getting down on my knees outside and sucking him off. I cringed as I remembered begging him to come into my trailer and fuck me, then stripping for him and holding my ass cheeks open like a fucking invitation to plow my asshole.

But the most disturbing thing I remembered? The thing that made me cringe harder than all the rest? It was this guy calling me an omega. What the actual fuck? How the hell could he have mistaken me for an omega? I mean, I guess I was kinda acting like one with the way I was pleading with him to take me and fuck my asshole.

But he had to have been able to tell just by looking at me that I was no omega. I mean, I wasn’t as huge as he was, but I was a pretty big guy. And I was no slouch in the cock department, if you know what I mean. But seriously, betas didn’t smell anything like omegas, so how the hell did he confuse me with one.

“Hey. I’m Alex,” he said, with one eyebrow raised and the other one lowered. I had no idea what that meant. Was he laughing? Or was he was as freaked out by last night as I was? Maybe he was laying there planning a way to get the hell out of my trailer.

“Hey,” I said, cringing again at how weak my voice sounded. But I was practically having an aneurysm over this guy’s eyes and the way burned into me.

“And you are?” he asked, both of his eyebrows jumping up.

“Oh, sorry. Jeremy. I guess I’m still kind of … um …”

“Freaked out?” he asked, a slight smile curling up on one side of his mouth.

“Yeah, you could say that.” After a moment he started laughing and I did too, even though I had no idea what I was even laughing about, other than the fact that some of the tension between us was gone. “Look, I don’t even know what happened last night. I’ve never done anything like that in my life.”

“Yeah, me either. That was some intense heat you had going on there.”

There it was again. That omega shit. What the hell was he talking about? “Huh? Are you talking about me?”

Alex dipped an eyebrow again, then they both scrunched up together and met in the middle of his forehead. “Well, that’s what it was. I mean, every alpha in the parking lot could smell your scent. It was pretty crazy. I guess that’s why I had such a hard time controlling myself. I want to apologize for my behavior. I should’ve been a lot more responsible, and I want you to know that, if you’re pregnant, I’ll help you out in any way I can.”

I sat up in bed and stared down at the alpha, who was still lying in my bed and whose giant arms were folded behind his head. Even though I was about to explode from the absurdity of what he was saying, I still couldn’t help but notice how insanely sexy he was. His chest was just unbelievable. He had to have some kind of manual labor job. Or maybe he worked out. But that was so not the point right now. I needed to focus.

Who the hell did this guy think he was, telling me I was an omega in heat? It was insane.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, dude. I’m not an omega, I didn’t go into heat last night, and I’m not pregnant. I have no idea how you got that into your head. I’ve been a beta ever since I got my test results back when I was sixteen. So you must have smelled someone else in that parking lot, because there’s no way it was me. Don’t get me wrong. The sex was amazing. Like, seriously amazing. That was my first time and I was really into it. But you don’t have anything to worry about because it’s not even physically possible for me to get pregnant.”

Alex stared at me for another long moment, then looked at the ceiling like he was trying to figure out what to say. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but … you are an omega. I have never smelled anything as incredible as you in my life. And there is not a single beta on this planet I’ve ever reacted like that to. I take it this must have been your first heat then?”

“I don’t know how else to say this so you’ll understand me. I’m not an omega. I wasn’t in heat. Jesus, can’t you hear the words that are coming out of my mouth?” I stared at him for another moment while he continued to lay there like he was the king of my goddamned bed. “Fuck!” I said, scratching my head with both hands. “I need a cup of coffee. Do you want coffee?”

“Sure.”

I got out of bed and threw on a pair of sweatpants, then headed out to the kitchen. When I turned to pick up the percolator I glanced back at the hallway and watched Alex walk into the living room. He was completely naked and he looked unbelievable. I watched him as he bent over and picked up his boxer briefs and slid them on, the thin, black fabric hugging every single curve of his fabulous ass. Then he bent over and picked up his jeans, and when he stood up his eyes met mine.

“I think it’s full,” he said, smiling and nodding at the overflowing coffee pot I was filling at the sink.

I looked down and turned off the water. “Oh, shit, yeah.” As I listened to the sounds of Alex pulling up his jeans and zipping them, I measured the coffee into the metal basket, then put the percolator on the stove and lit the burner with a match. I was having a really hard time keeping my attention on anything but what he was doing.

“Man, that’s old school. I haven’t seen one of those old percolators since I went camping with my dads when I was a kid. This whole trailer is pretty cool,” Alex said as he looked around. He still didn’t have his T-shirt on and I was having a hard time not staring. From every angle he looked unbelievable. His back had muscles in places I didn’t even know were possible.

“Thanks. It was here on the property when my dad’s moved in. When I was in high school I started cleaning it up and rebuilding parts that were rotted out. I fixed it up with some original paneling and trim that I found at some local junkyards. After I got it in better shape I started spending the night out here every once in a while, so when I graduated from high school I just moved in. I think my dads like that I’m still living on the property with them.”

I couldn’t believe the stuff that was falling out of my mouth. I didn’t know this guy at all and I was pretty sure he wasn’t interested in hearing about my high school fix-it projects.

“That’s really cool. You did an awesome job,” he said, running his hand over some of the paneling. “I’m pretty sure my dads both wish I still lived with them too. They’re pretty old-fashioned. They like having all of the family together. So how much land is out here?”

“It’s about a hundred acres. Half of it belongs to my alpha dad’s brother and half of it belongs to him. My dads moved us onto the property when my grandpa passed away. They were both really into the idea of living off the land.”

“What do you mean were? They’re not into it anymore?” Alex asked. It was weird how comfortable it was to talk to him. I didn’t really think he’d care about my crappy life, but he seemed genuinely interested.

“Well, I think it just hasn’t worked out as well as they had hoped. They still do pretty much everything for themselves. They have a massive garden and chickens and geese and goats. They can vegetables for the winter and preserve meat. They milk the goats and make cheese. They’re both really into all that stuff. But they haven’t really been successful with any kind of business. They do a lot of trading in the community here, but when it’s time to pay the bills it can get rough.”

“Yeah, my family’s got the same problem. Seasonal work that needs to stretch out to pay the bills for the entire year.”

“Does your family pick fruit or something?” I asked as I pulled two cups down from the cupboard. When I turned around I saw that Alex was giving me that dipped eyebrow look again, but this time it didn’t look as friendly. “I mean, I know a lot of Mexican families around here do that.”

As soon as the words came out of my mouth I got the feeling that I’d said the exact wrong thing because the dipped eyebrow turned into a full on scowl, and his black eyes looked like they could have been throwing daggers at me. “My family isn’t Mexican. Were Puerto Rican. And we don’t pick fruit. My dad has owned his own landscaping business for thirty years.”

Alex’s words were friendly enough, but his tone sent a wave of fear pulsating through my stomach. Alphas had a way of getting their point across without even raising their voice, and this guy was no exception. He was suddenly about as scary as alphas could be.

“Sorry,” I said, bringing the percolator and the coffee cups to the kitchen table. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I guess I’ve always just thought of the dark skinned people around here is Mexican.”

“You’re not the only one,” he said as he took a sip of his coffee. “Pretty much everyone does that.”

“Hey, I’m sorry,” I said, putting my hand on his arm, then quickly pulling it back. I had no idea why I felt the need to comfort this guy or even apologize … twice. But I did. I actually cared about this total stranger for some reason.

“This is really good,” he said after staring at me for an uncomfortably long moment. Then he took another sip of the coffee and set the cup on the table, but held onto it with both hands. “It really takes me back. My alpha dad drank his coffee black and he let me sip his whenever we would go camping. I hated the way it tasted but I felt so grown up drinking it. And now I drink it the exact same way,” Alex said with the wistful smile. “I guess it’s more my problem, really,” he said, changing the subject. ”I know I can’t stop everyone in the world from making assumptions about where I come from. I guess it’s just one of those things that gets under my skin.”

I wasn’t really sure how to respond. I was a little bit afraid I was going to say something that would piss him off again, so I drank my coffee and looked out the window. I figured it must’ve still been early because there was a layer of fog covering the grass and it was slowly moving through the trees.

The thing was, I knew exactly what he was talking about. I knew people made assumptions about me and I’d always hated it. As I stared out the window I realized how many assumptions I’d already made about him based on his skin color and his status, and even his build and the look on his face.

“This place is really beautiful,” he said, startling me out of my thoughts. I glanced over at him and realized he wasn’t looking out the window. He was looking right at me.

“Yeah, it is. I it here. I just hope we can keep it.”

“What do you mean?”

Here I was again, talking about stuff no one would be interested in. “Oh, you know, taxes and all that,” I said, trying to make light of it.

“Yeah, taxes must be a lot for this much acreage. I’d love to see it.” I watched as Alex’s eyes moved down my naked chest, then back up to my face, and when they met mine again I couldn’t hide the smile that was starting to form on my lips. “The acreage, I mean.” Then his eyes dipped back down my chest again. “Or whatever,” he said with a smile.

Suddenly watching him look me up and down became just about the sexiest thing I’d ever experienced in my life. But then I remembered that whole conversation when we were in the bedroom. “So, wait. Let’s get back to what we were talking about. What is it that makes you think I’m an omega? I don’t understand. Do I smell like an omega to you right now?”

Alex took another sip of his coffee, set the cup down and put his hands on the table like he was bracing himself, then looked up at me. “You don’t just smell like an omega, you smell a lot like my brother did when he was pregnant. I’m not sure how you don’t know this, but I guess not everyone is as in tune with their own—”

“Dude, it’s not a matter of whether or not I’m in tune with anything. I just know what’s within the realm of reality, and me being pregnant is not anywhere near that realm. At all.” Now it was my turn to dish out the stern tone. I wasn’t sure if he picked up on how close I was to being pissed, but I was real fucking close.

The thing that pissed me off more than anything, though, was how sure he seemed to be. How positive he was that I was an omega. He didn’t even know me.

“Listen,” he said, leaning against the back of the chair. “Just to be on the safe side, why don’t we go to the store and pick up a pregnancy test? That’ll ease both of our minds and … who knows. Maybe … somehow … I got this whole thing wrong.” He leaned forward and took another sip of his coffee, then his dark eyes slowly moved up my chest and held on mine for an uncomfortably long moment. “But I’ll tell you right now, I don’t think I am.”