As soon as I opened my eyes, something felt off. I pushed myself to get out of bed and hit the shower. I had been looking forward to today’s weigh-in for way too long to let a slightly wonky stomach hold me back.

I felt slightly better after a hot shower, until I brushed my teeth. As soon as that cinnamon-flavored toothpaste hit my mouth, its chalky texture and off-putting taste pushed me over the edge. As I bent over the toilet and puked, I couldn’t help but wonder if the shrimp last night had been bad.

After I’d emptied my stomach, I rinsed the nasty aftertaste out with mouthwash and finished getting ready. I felt a little steadier as I went out to join Dallas for breakfast. He was standing at the stove, looking delicious as he flipped something in a pan—but one whiff of the turkey sausage had my stomach curdling all over again. I barely made it to the bathroom in time before I tossed my cookies again.

A cool cloth settled over my neck just before Dallas’ steady fingers brushed my hair away from my face. “Why don’t you take today off? I’ll tell your bastard of a boss that you’re sick.”

I glanced up at him, smiling weakly at his joke. “No, I can’t take the whole day off. Maybe the morning? I don’t know. I hate to do that to you. And I don’t want to miss our weigh-in today, not to mention that tonight is my first class. I refuse to let the people down—plus I’ve worked too hard to risk losing students right out of the gate.”

“Well, I guarantee you that you’re gonna lose students if you’re puking into a trash can while you teach them.” Dallas spoke lightly as his fingers continued to brush through my hair.

“How about I go back to bed and give you a call in a few hours? Who knows, I might be feeling just fine after a little more sleep. Honestly, if it was the shrimp last night—I’m pretty sure that most of it is out of my system by now anyway.”

Dallas looked thoughtful. “It couldn’t have been the shrimp. If it were then I’d be sick too. And don’t worry about our bet, I can measure and weigh you after class tonight.”

I nodded gratefully. “Okay, then I’m going to listen to my boss and go back to bed.”

“Can I mark today on the calendar? This might be the first time that one of my employees has said that.”

“Maybe not remind me that you’re technically my boss while you’re comforting me after I blew chunks in your toilet?”

Dallas grinned. “Hey, I’m an understanding bastard of a boss, I thought you knew that about me.”

“Okay, so your homework before the next class is to take stock of your pantries. Bring me a list of what you think are the healthiest items, and another with the things you know are bad for you, but you like too much to let go. We’ll go over the lists together as a class, and brainstorm healthier options for the bad list, and see what not-so-good foods are hiding on your healthy lists. I guarantee you that every one of you will have at least one health imposter on your good list.”

With that, I ended the class. Gideon bounded over with a huge smile and an even bigger hug. “That was a great class, Kyle. I never would’ve thought to use jasmine rice. I’ve always thought that brown was the best option. Honestly, I wish you’d have let me pay for this class. I feel like I’m stealing from you, to get the gift of your knowledge for free.”

I shook my head at my goofy little friend. “Gid, you can have my knowledge for free anytime you want. Honestly, I’m just glad that I was healthy enough to teach tonight. I felt like crap this morning when I was blowing chunks, but I’m fine now.”

Gideon looked me up and down cautiously. “You don’t look sick. Did you eat something bad maybe?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, that was my thought too. All I know is after I went back to bed this morning, I woke up feeling like myself again.”

He gave me one more quick hug before Lukas and Beau came walking in to pick him up. Between the two of them, they each held all three of the trio’s kids. “Take care of yourself, Kyle,” Gid admonished me before joining his family. “Make sure you get some rest and drink a lot of fluids, just in case.”

I would’ve taken a moment to chat with the guys and play with the babies, but Dallas came up and started shooing them along. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get those cute little things out of here. Kyle’s ass is mine now—I’m here for my trainer duties.”

Lukas flashed me a wink. “So, that’s what the kids are calling it these days, huh?”

Coughing to cover a laugh, I focused on cleaning up my paperwork and putting it in my bag so I could turn myself over to Dallas. After the guys left, Dallas and I went straight back to the locker room.

While he got everything set up, I slipped into the other room and changed. Even though he’d already seen me naked when I was in heat, things had gone back to the status quo between us and I wasn’t quite sure what we were even doing just yet.

When I came back into the training room, Dallas pointed at the scale with a twinkle in his eye. “Let’s get the bad part over with, isn’t that how you view the scale?”

“Exactly, because nothing good usually comes from being weighed.” I shuddered with a deadpan expression. Once I stepped onto the scale, I found myself discreetly crossing my fingers while Dallas moved the dials. My heart sank when the scale read two hundred and thirty-seven pounds. Dallas clapped me on the shoulder.

“I know it’s not what you wanted, but look at the bright side. You’re down sixteen pounds. That’s amazing, especially when you consider everything you’ve been through the past two months.” Dallas picked up the tape measure and waited expectantly for me to assume the position.

Taking a deep breath, I nodded resolutely and held my arms out to the side. “You’re right, and honestly? A good chunk of that weight loss probably happened in the last three weeks once I got away from Henri’s heavy cooking.”

After Dallas had taken all my measurements, he jotted them down and smiled sadly. “I really thought you’d lost more than just a pants size. This is probably the first time that I’ve hated telling somebody they win. But since the bet was for you to lose twenty-five pounds or three pants sizes with my help, I’ve failed. But don’t lose sight of the fact that you have come leaps and bounds on your journey to fitness. Not because of your waist size being a little smaller, but because you’ve shown yourself that you can lose weight.”

I thought about that for a second. “You know what? You’re right. And health is a marathon, not a sprint. Especially if the goal is healthy living and not who looks best in a speedo, right?”

Dallas’ signature grin slowly spread across his face. “Yes, precisely. But for the record? You look pretty fine in your swimming trunks.”

“Perv,” I snorted. “You’ve totally been spying on me when I’ve been swimming with Lukas and Gideon, haven’t you?”

“Hey, you need to remember that some alphas like to have an omega that they know won’t break if we get a little crazy in the sack. Besides, I’m a guy and I have eyes—sue me. Actually, please don’t. I’m pretty sure the gym couldn’t handle a sexual harassment suit.”

I hesitated for a moment before bravely asking the question that had been burning on my mind. “You know, we never did say what I got if I won.”

Dallas smiled sadly. “I’m pretty sure the prize was you not having to put up with me asking you out anymore?”

I tapped a finger to my lips. “But how is that a prize when you’re such a good guy, not to mention the one who got me a little closer toward being in shape? I dunno, it seems kinda mean to me.”

Amusement flashed in his eyes as Dallas took a step closer. “What kind of prize would you prefer, Kyle? I’m open to renegotiating the terms of our bet. Did you have something in mind?”

“Not necessarily,” I said as I reached out and ran my index finger down the center of his chest. “I was just wondering if that meant it was my turn to ask you out?”

“I accept,” Dallas said quickly, almost before I’d even finished speaking.

“But I haven’t even asked you yet.” I was laughing at the childlike way his lip immediately pouted.

“Then I’m accepting in advance,” he said with a smirk. “I mean, surely you’re not so mean that you’d hint at asking me out and not actually do it, right?”

I couldn’t believe it when I fucking giggled at that. I was not an omega who giggled, so the sound was foreign to my ears. “I don’t know if it would even count as a date. I mean, we’re already living together, roomie.”

Dallas smirked. “True, but that just makes the question of who’s going to pick up who a hell of a lot easier, right?”

“So basically, it’s a matter of which one of us is going to knock on the other one’s bedroom door?”

“Hey, I’m not that kind of an alpha. What makes you think that I’d put out on the first date?” Dallas pretended to be shocked at the very idea.

“No, you’re the kind of alpha who puts out before the first date. But that’s not what I meant, and you know it. I was referring to the pickup process for our hypothetical date.”

Dallas stepped another foot forward and rested his hands on my hips, pulling me closer until we were nose to nose. “Ask me out,” he whispered. “I fucking dare you.”

“Dallas, would you like to go out with me?” I whispered back as his lips hovered over mine.

“I’d be delighted, Kyle. In fact, I thought you’d never ask.” The strange giggles started to bubble up again, but were silenced as Dallas kissed me.