Over the next three weeks, Dex came to the apartment five more times to fix small things that the super couldn’t be bothered with, and after each visit, Serge fell a little bit harder. It was more than just Dex being generous with his time and labor. Dex also brought beer and snacks, and twice he let Serge cook him dinner as thanks for the work. Mostly Gaven was scarce, and that was cool, because like it or not, Serge realized he and Dex were actually dating.

They were just doing it in private.

His steadily-growing feelings for Dex allowed Serge to say yes the night Dex asked if they could go out for dinner, instead of staying in.

Dex drove them to a place called Petrova’s and, according to him, they made the best tacos in the province. Serge liked that they were going someplace low-key, that friends were as likely to choose as a couple. They both ordered margaritas with salt when the server arrived with chips and salsa.

“So what is your obsession with tacos?” Serge asked.

“Dunno, I’ve just always liked them. It’s like there is this simple dish that you can make in dozens, if not hundreds, of combinations. Kind of like pizza, but in a little boat, instead of a flat saucer.”

“Makes sense.” And the place did offer a big variety of meats and toppings. Almost too many to make sense of. “Hmm. How about you order me your favorite off the menu.”

“Yeah?” Dex grinned. “How spicy do you like it?”

“I’d like to be able to feel my lips afterward, but I can handle a bit of spice.”

“Good to know.”

The flirting wasn’t lost on Serge, and he liked it. Subtle, but sweet. When the server returned with their drinks, Dex ordered them both the crunchy fish taco platters with the works—whatever that meant—and sides of stewed black beans with rice. The margarita was heavenly, and Serge found himself drinking his a little too quickly.

“So your rotation is in emergency now, right?” Dex asked.

“Yup.” Serge popped a chip into his mouth so he wasn’t drinking on a completely empty stomach. “No huge emergencies yet. A few car accidents, a fall off a roof. We did have an omega present in labor and it happened too fast to get him up to OB, so I helped in that delivery.” He grinned, remembering the relief on both omega and alpha’s faces when the little one was born safely.

Dex dragged a chip through the salsa, but didn’t eat it. “So I’m curious, since you seem to love babies so much. Do you want to adopt one day?”

“Yes. If I find the right partner, I’d love to have a family. Two if financially possible, because it’s very lonely growing up an only child. You?”

“I don’t know.” Dex ate the chip, possibly to give himself time to think. “I’ve never seen myself as a parent. I don’t think I’d be very good at it.”

“Why not?” From what little Serge knew about Dex, he thought the man would be an amazing dad. He was patient, kind, generous—what else did a kid need?

Dex seemed to struggle with the question. “When I was little, my parents were great. Supportive, they loved all four of us. I thought they loved us equally, but when I had a falling out with my elder brothers, my parents sided with them, and my younger brother followed suit with my parents. Made me resent them for not supporting or believing me. I guess it made me parent-shy.”

“Goddess, you need to meet my folks.” Serge’s chest ached for whatever pain Dex had gone through with his family. “They’ll adopt you right away.”

Dex snorted, but a small smile quirked the corners of his mouth. “I would like to meet them one day.”

“Well, we can’t put it off too long. Papa keeps making noise about selling the house and retiring down south in a few years, now that I’m grown and supporting myself. He hates the winters up here.” Serge realized how he’d phrased that, as if expecting he and Dex would still be together years from now.

And he could kind of see that…

“We’ll see what happens,” Dex said. “Oh, on a completely different subject, my birthday is next month, and Tarek is throwing me a party at his new place. It’s got this amazing yard and deck, and he’s already bought a barbecue for it. Will you go with me?”

Not will you come to the party. Will you go with me?

“As your date?” Serge asked.

“Yes. I mean, it’s not for another month, so we still have plenty of time to hang out and get to know each other more. Get comfortable with each other’s friends.”

And there it was: Dex’s alpha friends. They’d be at the party, just like they’d been at Monte’s mating celebration, with their crude sex talk and holier-than-thou attitudes.

“If it helps at all,” Dex said, “Monte will be too excited telling everyone about how he got Ivan pregnant the first go around to talk about their sex life. He has a pretty low attention span and jumps from subject to subject.”

“That doesn’t actually help.” They were fertile, big deal. Serge was happy for their joy over the pregnancy, but crowing about it to everyone who’d listen? Ugh.

Dex leaned across the table. “Serge, I really love spending time with you, and I love whatever this is we’re developing between us, but Tarek and Monte have been my friends for two years. Monte didn’t give up his friends when he mated, and I get that you don’t like my friends because you haven’t given them a chance, so I’m asking for a chance.”

Serge wanted to object that he’d given them a chance, but had he truly? He’d been in their presence for all of ten minutes before Serge left the party in a huff over what amounted to locker room talk. But just because alphas spoke like that about their omegas all the time didn’t make the behavior okay.

And maybe someone needed to find the balls to say something about it.

“Okay, I’ll go with you to your birthday party,” Serge said.

“Awesome.” Dex bounced in his seat, then held up his drink. “To getting to know new people. Really getting to know them.”

“To new experiences.” Serge clicked his glass against Dex’s, then took a swig. He’d finished it by the time two big platters of food arrived, so he ordered a second.

Four soft tacos were loaded with fried fish nuggets, cabbage, salsa, sour cream, raw onion, and slices of avocado. The seasoned rice was incredibly enticing, as were the stewed beans with white cheese sprinkled on top. Serge picked up the first taco and took a big bite. He immediately understood the heat question, because the salsa had a kick. Not too much, and the sour cream and avocado cut it a lot.

“Holy crap, these are wonderful,” Serge said after he’d devoured the first in three bites.

Dex laughed. “I can tell.”

They chatted more about work as they ate, and Serge packed away what he could, but the beans and rice were going to be tomorrow’s lunch. The tacos he scarfed down, though, loving how well they paired with his margarita. The alcohol left him loose and satisfied once the meal was over, and maybe a little too stuffed.

“You feel like a walk?” Dex asked. “There are neat shops on this street, and I don’t know about you, but I could do with walking off some of this food.”

“Yes, that sounds great.”

After stowing their takeout boxes in Dex’s car, they set out to walk the neighborhood. Mostly betas lived and worked here, and the small businesses lining the streets were charming and fun to explore. A candle and herb shop, a small bookstore, a shop that sold paintings and other handmade artwork.

Serge admired a hand-carved, wooden photo frame and its sleek, golden surface. It was lovely, but also out of his price range at the moment.

They continued their journey, until Dex’s limp became more pronounced, and the nurse inside Serge took over. “Do you need to rest?” he asked.

“Probably should,” Dex replied with a grimace. “Damned knee.”

“Let’s stop here and get coffee.” They were across the street from a small coffee shop and bakery, so Serge led Dex that way and had him sit in a booth while Serge got their order.

Dex asked for his coffee black. Serge got a cappuccino and a sugar cookie for them to share. They drank their coffees and chatted about nonsensical things, as if they’d done this their whole lives, and for one brief moment, Serge could believe that they had and would. That he and Dex had a bright future together as a couple, children or not.

But first, Serge had to make peace with Dex’s alpha friends.

* * *

Despite his aching, probably swollen knee, Dex couldn’t remember a better evening in his life. Their date had been spectacular. Serge relaxed with every hour they spent together, and he seemed determined to give the birthday party a real chance. To get to know Dex’s friends, and that meant so much.

He whistled along to the radio on the drive back to Serge’s place, because yeah, he was in a good mood. Serge smiled fondly at him from the passenger seat, a bit of mischief in his eyes that made Dex hopeful.

Dex pulled up in front of Serge’s building, sad the date was about to be over—unless Serge invited him up, which he didn’t offer in the few seconds they sat silently in the idling car. “I’d walk you to your door,” Dex said, “but I know my limits. I’ll be lucky to get to my own place.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I don’t regret a single moment of our date.”

“Me either. Goodnight, Dex.” Serge climbed out and shut the door.

Disappointment hit Dex in the gut, and he stared at the steering wheel. A date like that deserved a proper goodbye kiss, didn’t it? Maybe the night hadn’t meant as much to Serge as it had to—

Someone knocked on his window, and Dex startled back. Serge peered at him through the glass, so Dex grabbed the handle and rolled his window down. Serge leaned inside and pressed his lips to Dex’s. Heat zapped down Dex’s spine, right to his balls, and he gasped against Serge’s mouth. Serge deepened the kiss, lips moving and questing, the very tip of his tongue teasing the seam of Dex’s lips, before he pulled back.

“Wow,” Dex said.

Serge grinned. “Goodnight, Dex.”

“Night.”

He watched Serge disappear into the building, unable to keep a goofy grin off his face. That had been the best first kiss of Dex’s entire life. Not that he’d had all that many others, but wow. Double wow. He wanted to kiss Serge again and soon. Hopefully for a long damned time, too.

“I am so fucked,” he said to the empty car.

Because without a doubt, Dex was slowly falling in love with Serge.

* * *

Serge was totally fucked.

That one, single kiss stayed with him for days. He swore he went on-shift the next day with the soft press of Dex’s mouth still there, still touching him, still giving him the absolute best kiss of his life. Serge had shared a few kisses in secondary school and university, but nothing serious. Nothing as amazing as the kiss he’d shared with Dex.

It buoyed his mood for the rest of the week. They were both too busy to get together in person, but Dex called him most days, even if only for a few minutes to chat. Serge started sending Dex his work schedule, since it changed frequently, while Dex was blessed with a simple weekdays-only, nine-to-five job.

They did manage a shared lunch during the week, for less than an hour, but it was face time, and Serge missed Dex’s face. He was ruggedly handsome, and Serge loved his dark hair and eyes. His goofy smile, and his habit of humming or whistling in the car, especially when the radio didn’t play music during the day. He really did have a lovely voice.

Serge kind of wanted to end the lunch with another kiss, but Dex had driven to the hospital, and they were eating in a very busy cafeteria. It wasn’t unusual for couples to kiss each other goodbye, but this thing with Dex was still so new, kissing was still so new and unusual, that Serge wanted to save it for private times. So he hugged Dex goodbye and watched him walk away, a smile on both their faces.

Being apart was getting more and more difficult, and Serge didn’t think too hard about what that meant. Instead, he threw himself into his work, and he looked forward to the next time he saw Dex.

Their next date was the following week, and they went back to Petrova’s. This time, Serge made up a random taco combination of meat and toppings, ordered it for them both, and they spent the next hour messing with their food choices. And drinking margaritas. Since Dex was driving, Serge had three drinks, and he was a bit tipsy when they left.

“You want to walk again?” Dex asked.

The weather was a bit cooler now that the days were inching into autumn, but Serge wasn’t in the mood for a walk. Besides, the last time Dex had ended up in serious pain. “I want to see your place,” he said, the words falling before he’d really thought them through.

Dex stared at him. “You do?”

“Sure. I mean, you’ve been to mine multiple times. I want to see where you live. Unless it’s a dump.”

That made Dex laugh. “It’s not a dump. And it’s actually not too far from here.”

“Oh? Cool.”

They got in Dex’s car, and true to his word, Dex only drove five blocks before parallel parking on a side street. He followed Dex to the main sidewalk and then to a metal door next to a cigar shop. Dex punched a code into the door lock and let them both into a small foyer with another door and a window in the rear.

Instead of the downstairs door, Dex surprised him by ascending a flight of stairs to a second-floor apartment. “Home, sweet home,” Dex said as he unlocked the door.

The simple, clean space impressed Serge. Nice-sized living room, a galley kitchen and small dinette set. The air smelled pleasantly of vanilla and Dex’s cologne, but there were very few personal touches to the place.

“It’s two bedrooms, which I don’t really need,” Dex said. “I took over the lease from a friend who had a two-year agreement, but he had to move to another province for work.”

“It’s nice.” Serge gazed around the living room. “Not very personal.”

Dex shrugged on his way to the refrigerator. “I’m not a hugely sentimental person, and I’ve only had the place for a few months. Haven’t had a chance to really decorate it yet.”

“Then we should go shopping one day when we’re both off. Not that it ever seems to happen lately, with all my night shifts.” Serge realized what he’d just done—not only making future plans, but trying to decorate Dex’s place. “I mean, if you want to go shopping.”

“I’d love to.” Dex returned with two chilled bottles of water and handed one to Serge. “Don’t know about you, but the margaritas made my mouth sticky.”

Serge licked his lips, then drank from his bottle, oddly nervous when he’d never been nervous while alone with Dex. Then again, Serge had never invited himself over to Dex’s home before, and now they were sitting together on Dex’s couch. Alone. Just the two of them.

“I suppose it would be way too forward of me to ask if you want to see my bedroom,” Dex said.

And so perfectly casual about it that Serge sputtered his water. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and laughed. “A tad forward, yes. The living room is perfectly fine.”

“Cool.” Dex draped his arm across the back of the sofa and leaned in a bit. “You know what I fall asleep thinking about?”

“Tell me.”

“Kissing you.”

Serge shivered. “I think about it a lot, too.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. Dex, I—”

A warm mouth slanted across his, and Serge melted. He shoved his water to the nearest flat surface and clung to Dex’s shoulders as the younger man plundered his mouth with practiced lips and tongue. Licking and thrusting, seeking and learning, without actually taking or demanding. An arm came around Serge’s shoulders, holding him close, while a hand rested lightly on his hip. Dex surrounded him in a way that was never scary, only comforting.

Serge moaned softly, and that encouraged Dex to go deeper, kiss him with more desire and need, and yeah, Serge’s dick was getting into things. He needed to slow down before they went too far, because Serge was drowning in his attraction to Dex. How he felt in the other man’s arms, treasured and adored for all of himself, and not just his body.

The world shifted, and it took Serge a moment to realize he was on his back on the sofa, with Dex above him, between his spread legs. They both had half-chubs that were heading toward the real thing as they ground their groins together during the endless kiss. Serge could totally get off like this—all clothes on, just two guys, pushing for an orgasm. No pain, no coercion, no forced entry.

Serge shuddered as phantom pain speared his abdomen. Dex misread the signal and thrust harder, but Serge needed him to stop. Slow down a minute so Serge could think, and not simply act like a writhing ball of hormones. Panic rising, Serge wrenched his mouth from Dex’s and shouted, “Stop!”

Dex froze, his entire body lifting away from Serge’s. “Serge?”

“Let me up, please.”

“Uh, okay.” Dex eased off until he was sitting on his own cushion.

Serge sat up slowly, embarrassed by his tented trousers, but that erection was dying a fast death as old memories swamped him, threatening to overwhelm him. He pressed his palms into his eyes and concentrated on breathing. He heard a clock ticking and Dex panting, smelled various things around the apartment. Felt the sofa beneath him, the pressure of his hands against his eyes. Tangible, solid things that grounded him in the moment.

“Serge? You okay?” Dex sounded so small and tentative that Serge nearly reassured him.

But he didn’t want to lie. “Give me a moment, please. All that happened way too fast.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Serge brought himself down quickly, considering it was the first real anxiety attack he’d had in ages. Dex was watching him with curiosity and concern, but no annoyance or anger, which helped. Serge was used to retaliation and scorn when he tried saying no. But Dex was his friend…maybe technically his boyfriend? And he was being patient with Serge, not belittling him for his reactions.

“Sorry about that,” Serge said.

“Don’t apologize.” Dex started to reach out, then pulled his hand back. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No. Like I said, things went much faster than I anticipated. I truly did not invite myself over to have sex. I’m sorry.”

“Oh. Um, that’s fine. Guess I was a little too in the moment.”

“I like you. I like you a lot, Dex, and maybe things will get more physical in the future.”

Dex frowned. “How far into the future? We’ve been seeing each other for months.”

“Technically weeks.”

“Fine, but we’ve known each other for months. I have been completely faithful to you since Monte mated.”

Serge scowled. “So your fuck buddy gets mated off and now it’s my job to fill in for him?”

“That’s not what I meant at all. I don’t want anyone but you, Serge. I have been falling in love with you for weeks.”

The admission made Serge pull back and really look at Dex. His wide eyes and red cheeks, and the depth of honesty in his expression. The lust was there, too, but dialed back for the conversation. It would be so easy to take Dex at his word and go into the bedroom, but Serge wasn’t ready. Even with a fellow beta, he was too fucking scared.

“I care for you, too,” Serge said. “A lot, I promise. This isn’t about my feelings for you.”

Dex’s eyes narrowed. “Someone hurt you.”

Serge flinched. “I don’t want to talk about it tonight. It’s been such a nice date.”

“I get it.” Dex scooted a bit closer and curled one hand around Serge’s in a firm grip. “Growing up there were four of us kids, and usually only two bedrooms to split between us. Because my alpha brothers were so close in age and competitive, my parents thought splitting them between me and my baby brother was the best thing.”

Serge’s stomach soured, and the stormy look on Dex’s face infuriated him on his boyfriend’s behalf. “What did they do?”

“My eldest brother Kane was four years older than me, so when he entered into his early sexual prime, I was twelve, and we shared a room.”

“Dex.”

Dex squeezed his hand, his dark eyes shifting to fix on his own lap. “The first time Kane climbed into my bed, he just pushed my shirt up, jerked off onto my stomach and left. I didn’t know what it meant, because Kane had always seen me as a pest. A problem for him, so the attention confused me. For a good two years or so, at least once a week, he got in my bed after lights out. He tried to touch my junk once, but I got mad and threatened to tell, so he stuck to just jerking off on me. Then he turned eighteen, found a mate, and he was gone. But it didn’t stop.”

Serge’s gut ached for Dex’s pain—the pain a child should never have to fear from one of his own siblings.

“My other alpha brother moved into my room and took over the abuse until he mated the following year.” Dex ran his free hand through his thick, brown hair. “I never planned on telling our parents. I wanted to forget it ever happened, but at a Winter Solstice celebration when I was eighteen, new to university, Kane tried to corner me in a bathroom. I lost it on him, and I confessed it all to my parents, about both my brothers.”

“And they didn’t believe you,” Serge said, piecing that together from their previous conversations.

Dex shrugged. “I’m not sure what they actually believed, but they accused me of stirring up trouble from the past, said boys will be boys, that I’d misunderstood what happened. They took my brothers’ side, and I never forgave my parents for that. Watching your big brother jizz on your stomach isn’t the worst thing anyone has endured in this world, but my parents didn’t believe me.”

“I’m so sorry, Dex.” Serge reached for Dex’s other hand and held them in his own lap. “That’s a shitty thing to do to your own kid.”

“Yeah.” He finally met Serge’s eyes, an odd hardness in Dex’s. “It took me a while to trust alphas again after that, and when I was roomed with Tarek at the academy, I was furious. A little scared, but mostly furious, and then I got confused, because Tarek never once approached me in a sexual way. I thought it was some kind of sick game, that he was winding me up for some eventual attack, and I made myself so crazy wondering that eventually I punched him.”

Serge’s mouth fell open. “You did not.”

“I did. Tarek thought I’d lost my mind, because I kept screaming at him, asking when he’d just fucking do it already. Once he calmed me down, he asked what the hell I was talking about, so I told him about my brothers. Told him all of it, even though we were barely friends at that point. Tarek was amazing about the whole thing. I should have been expelled for fighting, but he stuck up for me. We’ve been best friends ever since.”

“I can’t believe your family did that to you,” Serge said. “I am so sorry.” Even though Serge hadn’t told anyone what had happened to him, not even his own parents, he couldn’t imagine Dad and Papa turning their backs. Them not supporting and loving him, no matter what.

“Thank you.” Dex freed his hands to scrub at his eyes and cheeks. “I know Monte can be a jerk sometimes, but he’s a loyal friend, just like Tarek. If I hadn’t met them, I don’t know who I’d be today. Definitely more scared, more guarded. Less likely to open up to people.”

“Like you are” hung off the end of Dex’s statement.

“I’m glad you found your friends,” Serge said. “I’ll try harder to give Monte a chance. For your sake.”

“Thanks. You know, you’re the second person I’ve ever told about what my brothers did. You and Tarek are the only people who know outside my family.”

Serge’s insides burned with gratitude and affection. “Thank you for trusting me.”

“You can trust me back, you know.”

“I know.” He did know, and he trusted Dex to keep his confidence. Serge just wasn’t ready to talk about it. “And I totally killed our evening, didn’t I?”

“Nah. I know where we stand right now, so…how would you feel about making out a little bit more? Just kissing.”

Serge bit his lower lip and tilted his head in a way he knew looked seductive. “What about kissing and touching above the waist?”

“I can work with that.”

This time, when long, slow kisses ended with them horizontal, Dex was on his back with Serge slotted half on top of him, their legs tangled. Serge’s thigh occasionally brushed Dex’s erection, and that was okay, because kissing Dex was amazing—reassuring and erotic and exactly what Serge loved most about kissing.

More than how wonderful he felt with Dex in his arms, Serge adored Dex for his restraint and respect of Serge’s limits. Dex was obviously a sexual guy, but he was willing to wait until Serge was comfortable—and right now, that was everything.