by Grace, Kenna
11
Elliott
The next morning, I woke to see Clay already up and smiling down at me. I was still nestled against his chest. I smiled back. “Morning,” I yawned, covering my mouth with the back of my hand.
“Sleep well?”
A sense of comfort draped around me. I nodded my head. “You?”
“Best I’ve had in a while,” he admitted. “Was thinking of making some breakfast. Interested?”
I had a lot of work to catch up on, but I wasn’t quite ready to leave just yet. Besides, I hadn’t had anything to eat since yesterday afternoon. “Yeah, I think I could do some breakfast.”
His lips tucked up into a smile. “Was hoping you could.”
My stomach started to flutter. Clay just seemed to make me feel like a teenager again. Suddenly, reality started to set back in. Everything felt perfect right now, but I was living a lie. I still hadn’t told him the truth yet.
“Pancakes with fruit?”
My eyes darted back to him. I needed to tell him, but maybe I could wait just a little longer? He made me feel something I hadn’t felt in a long while. I should’ve told him the truth the first chance I had, but I didn’t. I wasn’t sure how he would take it, when I did tell him, and that was what started to scare me the most.
I couldn’t deny I had feelings for Clay. The way he acted, I knew he felt the same way about me. Only, he didn’t. Not really. Sure, maybe he felt the same way about me as I did him, only I wasn’t the person he thought I was this entire time.
I needed to tell him. Soon. But not this morning. Last night was perfect, magical even, and I didn’t want to ruin that. Then again, maybe I was just looking for another excuse. “Sounds great.”
He pulled the covers off us and tossed them to the bottom of the bed. Our bodies were still naked and pressed against one another’s. The smell of his scent mixed with sex still permeated the room. My cock twitched.
Clay was just about to step out of bed when I reached out a hand to stop him.
His brows arched.
I bit down on my lower lip and gave him an up-and-down.
“Maybe breakfast can wait a bit?”
My head nodded and I traced a hand down his chest. “That’s an even better idea.”
He let out a chuckle and craned his head down to mine.
My heart beat faster and faster as his lips came down to mine. When they finally touched, my eyes fell shut. My brain released a flood of dopamine, and my body spasmed with electricity. I snaked an arm around his body and ran my fingers down the curvature of his spine.
His tongue thrusted through my parted lips and began caressing mine. I let out a moan and buckled my hips. Pre-cum was already starting to leak from my cock.
With my hand snaked around his body, I started to pull him on top of me.
Clay complied, and moved on top of me. His knees rested between my legs and he supported his upper body with his forearms. I arched my hips, our stiff cocks thrusting against one another.
He gripped our shafts in the palm of his hand and pressed them together.
I let out a gasp and started to pant. I wasn’t sure how much I could take. I wanted him, no, I needed him. Now. I ran my fingers up along his spine to his head, and gripped his hair through my interlocked fingers. “I want to feel you inside me,” I purred into his ear.
Clay’s lips tugged up into a seductive smile. He released our shafts from his grip and slightly lowered himself down my body. He positioned his cock to my entrance.
My ring burned with anticipation and desire. “Do it,” I begged.
Slowly, he started to press his weight into me.
A throaty moan escaped me as my tight ring started to dilate. His head was barely pressing through, but I could already feel my orgasm starting to build.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door.
Both Clay’s and my own eyes darted towards the entrance. I had no idea who it could be, and judging from the look on Clay’s face, neither did he. “Expecting company?”
He shook his head.
I bit down on my lower lip and wrapped my legs around the back of his ass. “Good.” Using them, I pulled his body towards me. The head of his cock dipped into my hole and my eyes rolled to the back of my head. “Then don’t stop.”
Another knock sounded at the front door. This time, neither of us were in any concern. Ignoring whoever wasn’t quite getting the hint, Clay pressed a little more of his weight into me.
The knocking stopped, but just then, it was replaced by a voice calling out for Clay. “Dammit Clay, answer the damn door. I know you’re home. We need to talk.”
His brows furrowed. “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he growled. His shaft withdrew from my body.
I let out a frustrated, unsatisfied exhale. “Who is it?”
He sighed and stood from the bed, grabbing the shirt he was wearing last night from the floor, and tugging it over his head. “Nick,” he said. “I have no idea what’s so important now.” He grabbed his pants from the floor as well, and sat back onto the bed to put them on.
My heart sunk to the pit of my stomach and my breath felt like it had been ripped from my lungs. I wanted to reach out for Clay’s hand to stop him from answering the door, but I laid there, paralyzed with anxiety. “Don’t answer it,” I finally managed to blurt out.
Clay looked back at me from over his shoulder with his eyes open wide.
“Just give him a call later?” I proposed. “You have other things you need to take care of right now.”
An airy chuckle escaped his throat as he bit down on his lower lip. His eyes scanned my naked body. He let his pants drop back down to the floor and crawled back between my legs. “It couldn’t be anything that important anyways.”
I let out a sigh of relief. I needed to tell him that I wasn’t who he thought I was. Before he found out from Nick or someone else. I wasn’t in the clear yet, but at least I’d bought myself a little more time.
Clay lowered himself back over top of my body and pressed his lips against mine.
His tongue pierced through my lips and massaged my own. I tried to get back into the mood, but I couldn’t shut my eyes. Instead, they stayed glued to the front door. Please don’t knock again. Please. Time felt like it stood still.
Another knock sounded. This time more aggressive than the last.
My heart skipped a beat and Clay pulled away. A flash of heat radiated through my body.
“Christ, Clay,” Nick shouted from behind the door. “I’m coming in.”
A shot of adrenaline coursed through my veins and the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight. I could hear the turn of the lock on the door as Nick inserted his key. It swung open.
“What’s going on, dude?” Nick said, sounding pissed off.
A cold sweat beaded over my body. I watched from the slightly ajar bedroom door as Nick’s head swiveled back and forth to find him.
“What the hell,” Clay fired back, moving back off the bed. He reached for his pants back on the floor and quickly secured them around his waist. “What’s going on?”
Through the crack of the door, I could see Nick heading towards us. “You tell me. If you weren’t interested in meeting Charlie, I would’ve been cool. You didn’t have to stand him up and then lie to me, though.”
I got up from the bed and quickly threw my clothes back on. Clay made it to the bedroom door and stood between the frame.
“The hell are you on about?” he replied, sounding confused. “Things have been going great.”
“Oh, things have been going great,” Nick said sarcastically, mocking him.
“Well, they were a lot better a couple minutes ago.”
“I just ran into him at the office. Told him that I heard things are going well between the two of you. And you know what he said? That he had no idea what I was talking about, because you never even showed up to the blind date.”
Clay looked back at me from over his shoulder and opened his
eyes wide.
“I need to tell you something,” I silently mouthed to him.
He turned back around to address Nick. “Look, I’m not sure what’s going on right now. But that’s not possible.”
“And why not?”
Nick opened the door wide and took a step to the side. “Because he couldn’t be at the office. He’s been here since last night.”
Nick was now in full view. His brows furrowed.
I was fully dressed by then, but I’d never felt more naked. Time seemed to move in slow motion and I could hear the blood rushing through my ears. This was it. This was how Clay was going to learn the truth.
Nick held his arms out to the side and turned his palms to face the ceiling. He shook his head in confusion and looked back to Clay. “I don’t know who that is and honestly don’t really care, but that definitely isn’t Charlie.”
12
Clay
Nick stared back at me blankly.
Confused as to what was going on, I chuckled anxiously. I looked back at Charlie. His face was completely flushed and his body tense. I looked back over to Nick. “Can somebody explain to me what the hell’s going on right now?”
At a complete loss of words, all Nick could do was shrug his shoulders.
I waited a couple moments for an explanation from him, but the only thing he offered was a stunned expression on his face. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. “Charlie?” I said, turning back around.
Charlie didn’t respond.
Annoyed, I took a deep breath and exhaled a hot stream of air. I had no idea what was going on and I felt like I was the only person in the room who hadn’t been filled in. My hands balled into fists as I grew more impatient. “What, is this supposed to be some sort of joke?” I asked. “Because if it is, it’s not funny.”
“I’m not laughing,” Nick finally replied. “I don’t know what the hell is going on either. I ran into Charlie at work and he said you stood him up. Figured I’d come by and figure out what was going on.”
I swallowed hard. Nothing he said cleared up anything at all and I was still as confused as when he barged in. He wasn’t making any sense right now. I was with Charlie all night, there was no way he ran into him at work. Even if he had, why would Charlie have told him I stood him up? Nothing was adding up at all. “What’s going on, Charlie?”
His jaw hung slack, and despite his mouth trying to form words, nothing was coming out.
“Clay,” Nick said. “Look, I don’t know what you’re on about right now, but that guy isn’t the person I set you up with.”
A shot of adrenaline rushed through my veins. Now I was starting to get pissed off. “Of course, that’s the guy you set me up with.” I motioned my hands over to the omega standing behind me. “That’s Charlie.”
Nick arched his brows and licked his lips. “Clay, I’m—”
I raised a hand to cut him off. “What’s going on, Charlie?”
His lower jaw started to tremble.
“Charlie?”
He said nothing.
My entire body felt like it was starting to pulsate to the rhythm of my ever-increasing heart rate. My eyes shot back to Nick. “Did you hit your head or something? I don’t know what the hell has gotten into both of you or what kind of stunt you’re trying to pull, but it’s over.”
Suddenly, Charlie’s voice called out from behind me. “Clay.”
I threw my hands in the air and chuckled as my emotions started to run wild. “Finally found your voice, did you? Well, care to make some sense of all this for me? Cause I’m about one second away from calling the hospital and telling them I think I’m having a mental lapse.”
With slumped shoulders, he averted his eyes down to the floor. “I’m sorry.”
My eyes opened wide. I didn’t need an apology. What I needed was for things to start making sense. “What’s going on?”
Charlie swallowed hard and sniffled through his nose. “He’s right.”
For a second, I stood there paralyzed, trying to analyze the meaning behind his statement. It was then I remembered how awkward Charlie would get whenever I brought up Nick, and the things he told me about him. How he would try to change the subject.
It was something I noticed Perry, my ex-husband, would do. How he would never want to introduce me to his friends and coworkers. Like he wanted to keep me a secret. “He’s right?”
My heart felt like it was starting to sink to the pit of my stomach. Was Charlie embarrassed of me? Was he seeing someone else? Was I the other person he was seeing? I gasped at the thought.
I cleared my throat. “You mean, he’s right that you told him I stood you up?” I drew a couple deep breaths, trying to hold back my insecurities from crawling up my throat.
“No, “Charlie replied, shaking his still lowered head. He looked up to me with red, puffy eyes and blinked his lashes to fight back the forming tears that had already started to stain his cheeks.
A sense of false relief washed over me, but it quickly disappeared like a breeze. “Then, what?”
His breath quivered as he exhaled.
“Look, I think it’s best if I head out,” Nick said. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I think this is something you need to work out between the two of you.” Without saying another word, Nick turned around and beelined for the door.
I looked back at Charlie. “What the hell is going on?”
He shook his head and averted his eyes back to the floor.
“Charlie!” I beckoned, demanding some sort of explanation for whatever the hell just happened.
He looked back up at me with tears begging to trace down his cheek. “I’m sorry, Clay.”
I took a few deep breaths to cool myself down before saying something I might regret. “Talk to me.”
“I can’t.”
His words stung and it felt like someone had reached into my chest and ripped out my heart.
“I have to go.”
My eyes opened wide. “Charlie, I need to understand what’s going on!”
“I’m sorry.”
My hand reached out for his, but he pulled it away and brushed past me.
“Charlie!” I called out.
He didn’t listen and continued for the door.
“What’s going on? You can tell me, you know that!” My pleas fell on deaf ears and after a moment, he had reached the door and pulled it open.
Time felt like it was in slow motion as it closed behind him.
13
Elliott
My room was pitch black. I stumbled out of bed and grabbed a fresh pair of jeans from my closet, pulling off my shirt and tossing it into the hamper. My stomach felt like it was being ripped open from the inside out, and I had to sprint to the washroom just to make it to the toilet in time, almost wiping out into the counter along the way. In seconds the washroom smelled absolutely putrid and the toilet water bubbled with last night's dinner, canned spaghetti and meatballs. It served me right the way I had been acting. I hopped in the shower, hoping the warm water would wash away my grogginess.
Eventually, my stomach calmed down, and I was able to brush the acidity from my mouth. I knew I wasn’t sick because of the flu—it was because of what I had done to Clay. I couldn’t believe the way I had treated him this past week. Lie after lie, I had kept leading him on. Whenever Clay looked at me, all he saw was Charlie, the blind date that he was supposed to meet at that subway station. It wasn’t like I meant to keep it going on for so long, it was just that it was so hard to find a genuinely nice alpha, especially one with Clay’s chiseled jawline. I meant for it to be one date. One night of fun. A no strings attached and no expectations kind of wild night, but it turned into so much more than that. Clay wasn’t just some guy, I had actual feelings for him—feelings I hadn’t experienced since Leon left me. What an asshole. I wondered which poor omega he was using now. Being faithful never was his strong suit.
Except now I was the asshole. For Christ’s sake, I had
sex with this guy! Great sex too. I had to tell him, there was no way I could keep seeing him if I didn’t come clean. I went to my room, pulled the blinds open, and grabbed my phone from the nightstand. I shot him a quick text: “I think we should talk. I’m coming over to your place in a few minutes.”
I flung on a fresh button-up shirt and grabbed my keys from the counter, throwing my empty bowl of cereal into the sink. If there was any way of saving this relationship, then we had talk face to face. After tying my shoes, I took a deep breath and took a second to try and calm my nerves. I opened the door and walked out.
I ran straight into Clay, quite literally spilling his hot coffee all over the two of us.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” I said, trying to clean off Clay’s shirt with my sleeve. “I never knew you were coming over, I just sent you a text saying I was on my way.”
“I know,” Clay answered, holding his phone up, my text illuminated on the screen. “What happened last night?” His voice was tinged with resentment.
“You might as well just come inside, I’ll grab you a new shirt and we can head out. Maybe we can go for a quick walk.”
I opened the door and let him inside, rushing to my room to find something that would fit him.
“It’ll probably be a little small, but it’s the best I can do.” I handed him one of my grey cotton t-shirts. Clay pulled off the polo he had been wearing and slid on the new shirt. It was a size too small, and his chest and biceps bulged against the fabric. It definitely wasn’t a bad look.
“We can head out now if you’d like.”
Clay shot me a quick smile, clearly still a little apprehensive from my ominous ‘we have to talk’ text.
Despite the pretty dreadful situation I had found myself in, it was a genuinely beautiful day. The sun was accompanied by a single small cloud in the distance and other than the slight chill of the wind, Clay and I were totally comfortable in nothing but our shirts. It was almost nice enough to distract me from what was about to come—almost. My stomach quickly became agitated again, and I had to fight the urge to be sick right then and there.