Page 38 of Claiming Their Omega

Might as well rip the band-aid off. We’ll have to venture out sooner or later.

Jesse shoots a sharp look at his pack mate. “I don’t know.”

“It’s Friday,” Easton replies. “We like to go out anyway, people will wonder if we’re not around.”

“We can just let them wonder,” Jesse mutters. Cade grunts in agreement, gaze stubbornly focused on his plate.

“The gossip will be worse if we don’t go out,” Hendrix points out. “They might think that there’s something wrong.”

“He’s got a point,” I put in. Jesse shoots me a look like I’ve betrayed him. I glare at him. I haven’t betrayed anything. There’s nothing between us to betray. I just can’t deny that Easton’s right.

“The longer we stay here the more people will have time to come up with their own stupid theories and we all know how stupid this town can get when they’re left to themselves.” I’m sure they can think of a lot of rumors and gossip we’ve heard in our time growing up here. People seem to have nothing better to do.

Hendrix sighs and drums his fingers on the table. “I don’t like the fact that she’s right.” He smiles at me. “Not that the idea of going out with you on my arm’s a bad thing, Grace.”

“Of course not,” I say dryly. “But I’m sure you’re disappointed there are all these other women you can’t have on your arms as well now.”

“Just saying, you’ve got a point. You’d outshine them all anyway.” Hendrix winks at me.

I hate how my stomach gets all fluttery at the compliment. I know that Hendrix is a flirt. A thoughtful and kind person, more than I gave him credit for being, but still a flirt. He’s not saying this because he really means it, it’s just his incorrigible flirtatiousness shining through.

“The sooner we go out and show everyone how happy we are,” Easton argues, “the sooner we can get back here and not deal with them.”

Damn it. That’s a really good point.

The others seem to think so too, going by how they all look at one another with resigned expressions on their faces. I’m starting to get used to how they all communicate so well with one another. It’s endearing. I just wish I could feel like I was a part of it.

Or, well, a part of something. I don’t need to be a part of these four, because it’s not going to happen. A few days with these men and I’m already going insane. I definitely need to get out of here.

Maybe going out into the real world, even if the ‘real world’ is just my small town, will do me good.

When the time comes, I hurry upstairs to get ready. I’m going to need an extra bit of time to make myself look presentable. Usually, back in New York, I have manicured nails, and I style my hair every day, and I make myself look nice. I take my time in the shower every day with skin scrubs, and I put on scented lotions afterward.

I only brought travel-sized stuff for my visit back home so that’s all run out, and it’s not like I have time for any of that anyway, here on the ranch. There’s always something to do. I do my best with what I know and then follow one of the men like a duckling, learning something new.

Well, I follow Easton and Hendrix. Cade is still a bit too intimidating for me and I think Jesse would trick me into falling into a pile of horse shit or something equally embarrassing.

Either way, at the end of the day I’m exhausted, and so I take a shower to get clean, and do whatever care’s needed so that I don’t have split ends or cracked heels. That kind of self-care. Nothing fancy. And you really don’t need special creams or manicures for working on a ranch. Nobody’s going to see it and it’ll get destroyed in five minutes.

But I can’t resist a sigh as I look down at my hands. I want to look nice when we go out. I’ll just have to do what I can.

I take a shower and put on some nice perfume. I do still have my cute clothes from when I originally got here. I’ve got no reason to wear a skirt and heels out on the ranch but in town it’ll be nice.

Internally, I wince as I wonder if people will say that I dress too ‘uppity’. I didn’t mind dressing like a city girl when I was from the city, just stopping by for a short family visit. Now I’ll be here for a few weeks, maybe a couple of months. I don’t want people thinking I stick out too much or thinking I think I’m too good for them.

I sort through my clothes, wearing a pair of my lacy panties and a nice, equally lacy bra. Splurging on underwear is one of my little vices. I know that nobody’s going to see it but me, but it helps me to feel sexy and confident. What matters is that I feel good when I look in the mirror.

Although…

I look down at myself. Does my bra fit differently? I turn side to side, trying to get different angles. My breasts don’t feel all that different now that I’m an Omega, but could they be a bit heavier?

I know that the heats will be intense and that my body will be going through a lot. I can’t help but wonder if that means there will be some changes to my body going on. Similar to puberty, although probably less extreme. I look around for a mirror.

Damn it, there doesn’t seem to be anything but the bathroom mirror and that only gives me from the shoulders up. I try to think, but I can’t recall any other mirrors that would show me my full body.

Of course the men somehow look amazing and sexy even without needing a full-length mirror to check and see if their clothes hang just right. Damn them.

Hmmm. I could use my phone and get a selfie. The angle won’t be as good as from a mirror but it’s better than nothing.

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