Page 36 of Alpha & Omega

“Oh, shit… this salad is amazing. I had no idea watermelon went so well with vinaigrette andTajín. It’s like a sweet and sour thing. I never would’ve thought of such a dish.”

“Exactly, and it pairs well with the arugula.”

I leaned forward to get another kiss. “You know what else pairs well with watermelon?” Kingston raised a brow and shook his head. “Delicious Kingston skin. It would be especially tasty being dragged—”

He covered my mouth with his hand. “Nope. I need to enjoy this meal without sporting a chubby. We can talk about compatible fruits and skin later.”

“Deal,” I chuckled.

“How’stherestaurantbusinessgoing?” I asked, seeing what kind of success Harley had in his restaurant, or if he struggled as much as I did. I only assumed it was his restaurant that was taking some customers, but he could’ve been struggling, too. However, I doubted it because most of my financial troubles stemmed from helping everyone out with medical bills, putting me behind on payments. And his restaurant always seemed to have a line waiting on the weekends, unlike mine, even with the bands playing.

“Business is really good. Harley’s is really taking off. I keep things casual but with fine dining. You should stop by one night. It’ll be my treat.”

I wore a small smile as I took a bite of shrimp and grits, which were as delicious as anything else he made. “Sounds fun.”

“How about your bar? It looks amazing inside. One night, I’ll stop by after work for a drink and check out one of your bands.”

I sighed, put my fork down, and admitted my struggles, choosing to be honest. “I’m a little jealous. Before I met you, I was kind of pissed you moved in next door. I realize it’s stupid, and you didn’t do it intentionally, but between taking care of everyone and losing some customers, things have been… tight. As I’ve mentioned, insurance has gone up, but so has my rent on my bar and my apartment… like by a lot. I’m not sure what to do, honestly. I downplayed things last time we talked, but… it’s getting serious, and I’m really worried. Once you’re behind, it’s really hard to catch up in this business. I may need to start cutting corners.”

Harley said nothing, taking a bite of his salad before running his fork through his grits, looking deep in thought. Maybe he had some ideas that I hadn’t thought of. He wiped his mouth and looked at me. “You know… when I went into your bar, I loved how well our tastes mesh. Your bar is stylish while being comforting and chill. When I got home, a random idea hit me about how cool it would be for customers to eat dinner and grab some cocktails before heading over to watch a good band and drink the night away. They wouldn’t need to travel anywhere else except to go home. I mean, it was just a—”

“What are you saying?” I asked, interrupting him, unsure I wanted to really hear the answer. What was Harley getting at? Before I got defensive, I told myself to listen to him first. He may have some good suggestions.

“It was just a random thought I had… I’m saying that perhaps I can help you get your bar going again.”

“What? Like how?”

“I saw your bar was hurting financially before—”

I suddenly lost my appetite. “Wait, wait, wait. Back up. You alreadyknewI was struggling? How in the hell did you know before this moment? I told you about medical shit earlier, rent, and insurance, but I said nothing about my bar struggling.”

Harley couldn’t look at me, his expression suddenly fucking full of guilt, probably not expecting my reaction. “Oh…”

“Did you… research my bar?” I asked, my jaw nearly dropping to the floor.

“I… did. But… listen. I can help you. I’ve got the money to invest…”

My head shook back and forth of its own accord, and I stopped listening. “No. Absolutely not.”

“King… you need help, and I think I can get the—”

“I said no!” I stood and shoved the chair back, nearly knocking it over.

“Can you please sit and talk about this? I’m not trying to—”

“Stop! I won’t listen to another fucking word. Is this… Did youplanthis? Was it my bar you wanted all along?”

“What? No, I—”

“You just happened to move next door to my bar. Then you just happened to find me on a dating app and pretend we forgot about mentioning our businesses on our first date, but that was intentional, wasn’t it? What the actual fuck? You fucking worming your way into my life for my bar?!”

I back away from him, unable to see or think clearly. All the doubts and what we talked about flooded my mind. No way.

“Kingston, no… I… please just listen. That makes no sense…”

“Don’t fucking gaslight me! You can’t fucking have Alpha’s! It’smine. Do you know how hard I had to work to get my life in order? Do you have any idea about the amount of therapy I went through? And what about my family…. No! You can’t fucking have it!”

Harley stood, looking wide-eyed, and tried to reach for me, but I backed out of the kitchen. “Fuck you, Harley!” My body trembled in anger, frustration, and hurt. “You got me like you wanted and… Stay out of my life,Omega.”

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