Page 5 of Alpha & Omega

“Yes, love of my life.”

Hudson stared down at his salad as if avoiding my eyes. I braced myself for a tough discussion. He always had to gather his thoughts before talking about issues important to him.

“You know… now that I’m older and stuff, you don’t need to be alone. I’m okay if you… wanna date. I mean, you could have earlier, but…”

My heart swelled even more than before that my son thought about me and my loneliness, showing his empathy. I worried about dating for a long time after his mother left us, not wanting to bring anyone in for fear they would leave, too, after he’d gotten attached to them. Hudson hadn’t been emotionally ready for all that.

Sure, I had dates occasionally with either men or women, or had a one-nighter for release, but I hadn’t had anyone serious in my life for eight years. Being bisexual, I always wanted to explore a relationship with a man, but I’d never had the chance except for a quickie. After a few years, I kind of gave up the idea of having anything serious until Hudson left for college, which was still a couple of years away.

“Well, I appreciate that I have your permission,” I teased.

“Ugh, you’re impossible. I’m trying to be cool.”

I laughed. “I’m just messing with you, but I’m grateful you’re ready and open for something like that.”

“Aren’t you lonely?”

“Yeah, sometimes, but I’m also so busy that I tend to forget about myself.”

“You need to stop that. I know the restaurant needs you, but you need you, too.”

Another thing I loved about my son was his insightfulness and old-soul vibes.

“I’m not sure I’ve got the time to date, but let’s say I was. Would it bother you if, say… I started dating a man?”

For the hundredth time tonight, he rolled his eyes. “Dad, I know you’re bisexual. It’s cool. And you know I’m gay. Why would I care?”

I shrugged and smiled. “Just making sure.”

“So, does that mean you’ll try? It’s just that I’m not always going to be here. You should have someone special in your life. It’s important. You’re also still like really young.”

“Maybe. It’s just hard to find the time, and what little time I have, I’d rather spend it with you.”

Hudson smiled at me shyly. “Thanks… but that’s why I want to work at Harley’s. We can see each other more, then you won’t have to worry about me.”

I sat back and wiped my mouth before taking a sip of my Sauvignon Blanc. “Had this all planned out, did you?”

He bloomed crimson across his cheeks and straight to his ears. “Caught me.”

“Tell you what. I’ll think about it. Maybe I’ll try one of those apps and go on a date to see how it goes.”

“Cool.”

After Hudson went to bed and I took my shower, I sat on the edge of my bed, downloaded the new dating app called MatchVibes, and filled out my profile with the username OmegaChef34. My friends periodically called me Omega, teasing me for my introversion and living life on my own terms. It was a change I made after my wife left Hudson and me after spending over eight years trying to make things work between us.

I’d never used a dating app before, and I’d heard it could be a struggle to find someone. But how else would I find someone when I worked so much and was always in the kitchen?

After I finished filling out my profile, I added my preferences, hoping I’d get a decent match. It took only a few minutes before I had several matches. I opened each profile, reading their history and interests.

One guy was in his sixties and too old for me, so I unchecked that one. Another was some CEO, and his profile read too arrogantly. The third one was looking to fuck. While I didn’t mind that, I wasn’t going to bother with the app only for sex. I could just go to some bar to find that easily enough.

After entering my preferences, those were my choices? Not promising. Either the algorithm was terrible, or the pickings were slim.

My eyes bugged out a bit at the fourth profile. The man was an ownerof a bar at only twenty-nine, making him five years younger. Huh… That was something we had in common. If anyone understood the long hours spent trying to make a business grow, he would. Damn, he was young to own a business, too.

I kept reading his profile. He said he was a skateboarder, winning a few championships, and was a strong supporter of mental health, mostly for men because masculinity teaches men that it’s unacceptable. He was also a huge advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.

AlphaSk8tr definitely sounded promising, but I had no idea what he looked like. The app required us to chat for a bit before we went through the approval process to agree to a date. At that point, we would share a picture of our faces.

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