Page 22 of Knot Happening

Dream looks up at the man I’m staring at like if I look away, he’ll disappear. She smirks. “Oh, that’s Hayden.”

I watch the tall, imposing man in a black T-shirt and slacks. His hair is different now. But those eyes. Those startling blue eyes are the same. He hasn’t spotted me, and I should be running for the locker room, but I’m stuck to this spot.

My voice is a broken whisper, as my chest constricts. “Well, fuck.”

“Working VIP, huh?” one of the male Omegas asks him, as he passes Hayden, and the Alpha nods, an easy smirk tugging his lips up.

And then he’s turning. Facing me. Our eyes lock. My breath catches in my lungs, and my head spins. Not Hayden Miles. Not here…

“Tatum…” he whispers, the smirk blooming into a dazzling smile that threatens to rip a choked sob from me. I know it’s him. There’s no denying it, but a part of me is holding onto this hope that maybe I’m hallucinating this entire moment.

“No…” I’m shaking my head, trying to find my feet. Trying to flee. But I’m trapped in place. He takes this as an invitation to approach me. He stops just a few inches away from me and smiles down at me as I shake like a fucking leaf in a hurricane.

“How are you? You look good, Tatum. Man, it’s really good to see you.” It’s one of those moments in the movies where time slows down… Only time doesn’t slow for me. There’s no time to think, I react before Hayden can touch me.

The slap echoes in the room without the music on, and the second my palm stings, I gasp. I stare from my hand to his cheek, eyes wide, mouth popped open. How very un-Omega of me.

He smirks, lifting his brow, but he drops the outstretched arms.

“Feisty as ever, I see.”

I hate the knowing way he looks at me. As if he didn’t lose the right to know shit about me when he abandoned me. Every wound I thought I’d sealed shut splits open right in the middle of my work place.

I shake my head, shake off the effects of his handsome face, and the memories that are bombarding me. I will not be weak. I will not fall so easily for his kind smile and flirty words. He can eat my ass, for all I care.

Oh jeez, Tatum. Wrong mental image to give yourself right now!

I snap at him, my rage and anger flaring to protect me from the all consuming sadness that’s trying to creep in. “Why are you here?”

He shrugs, not at all bothered by the glare I’m shooting him. “I work here.”

“Since when!”

“A little bit.”

I don’t respond. I stare up at him. My heart, the floozy, wants to lean into him. To ask how he’s been, what he’s been up to. Demand answers. My nose, the great betrayer, sniffs the air for his familiar scent.

Why did you fucking leave me?!My mind is screaming.

I mentally build up my walls and meet his stare. I will not cave.

“Just stay away from me.” I push past him and stomp further into the locker room so aggressively that Madison startles when I throw my locker door open with way too much force. “Sorry.”

Mads nods at my murmured words, but I ignore the way she watches me. Like she can tell I’m on the brink of crying.

“Whenever I’m upset and someone is nice to me, I cry. So I’m gonna be a bitch, but it’s for your own good.” Her voice is sweeter than pie, and I snort at her words.

“Same.”

“Great. So suck it the fuck up, you delicate little flower. Woman up, and get out there to hustle Alphas out of their money. But if you want to talk about it, spit it out. Tell me what your problem is, princess!”

I look over at her slowly. She’s like five feet tall, with long black hair. She weighs maybe one hundred pounds, tops. I started calling her a little pocket pixie in my mind, and right now… I cackle.

Mads is sweet. Like, give you a toothache sweet. She’s sparkly and kind, just a tiny little lover girl, and ever since orientation,I’ve been spending a lot of time with her. The demanding, aggressive way she just snapped at me is so at odds with her usual personality that I can’t contain my laugh. I double over and gasp for air.

I manage to rasp out a few words as tears stream down my cheeks from laughing so hard. “What the fuck was that?”

“It worked though. You’re laughing. If I had patted your back, or offered a hug, you’d have burst into tears!”

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