Page 31 of Overeager
Noah had been worried about his own possessiveness, nervous that he might be fending off interested alphas on Eli’s behalf all night. But a sweet omega regular had taken the stool next to Eli, and she and Eli chatted amiably whenever Noah wasoccupied, sharing cat stories and rolling their eyes in tandem at any alpha who dared approach.
It was all fucking perfect.
Except, of course, the downside of Eli staying the whole shift was that, even with Noah plying him with waters in between drinks, by the end of the night he was tipsy as fuck. More than tipsy. Full-on drunk.
By the time Noah had clocked out and ventured to Eli’s side of the bar, Eli was swaying in his seat, his delicious citrus pheromones blossoming in a way that meant he wasn’t even trying to keep them under wraps.
Noah put an elbow on the bar, grinning when Eli twisted eagerly to face him. “Hey, there.”
Eli blinked at him blearily. Fuck, he really was a lightweight. “You’re done already?”
“I am.”
“Oh.” Eli’s lower lip pushed out into a delicious pout. “So we say goodbye now?”
“No.” Noah shook his head. Fuck if he was going to let Eli try to get home alone in his inebriated state. “I’m taking you home.”
Noah caught Eli’s new omega friend glaring at him, and he held up his hands in surrender. “Not for that. I’m just getting him home safely.”
Eli’s pout intensified. “Whynotfor that?”
Jesus. Did Eli want …that? Noah tried to ignore the unhelpful pang of lust, but he couldn’t stop himself from brushing a lock of Eli’s hair back from his face. “Because you’re sloshed, baby.”
“Me?” Eli held a shocked hand up to his chest, like he was offended at the very thought of it.
“Yes, you,” Noah told him with a laugh, tugging him gently off the stool and steering him away from the bar. “Come on.”
He was able to get Eli into the passenger seat of his car without issue, and he pulled up the GPS on his phone. “What’s your address?”
“Noah, you can’tdrive.” Eli’s voice lowered to a whisper, like there was someone else in the car who could hear. “We’ve beendrinking.”
Noah bit back another laugh.“You’vebeen drinking, Eli. I’ve been working, remember?”
Eli blinked at him owlishly. “Oh.”
It took another few minutes of adorably addled segues before Noah got an address from Eli, but then they were off. It wasn’t long before Eli’s head started rolling against the seat, his eyes barely staying open. He was going to be out for the count soon. Noah could only hope he could get him inside before they were past the point of no return.
Bonus points if Eli didn’t yak in his car.
The house matching Eli’s address was a cute single-story number with a walled-off yard. Noah got Eli out of the car with minimal coaxing, and after some finagling, Eli entered the gate code for him, leading Noah past a small inground pool and to a side door, where he fished out his keys, letting them into the house.
It smelled like him, tart and delicious and homey.
Noah was trying to be nosey, but it was tough with all the lights off, and he didn’t know where the switches were. And then suddenly he had an armful of Eli, his omega peering up at him through dark lashes. “Are you going to kiss me now, Noah?”
Noah let out a slow breath, reining in his pheromones, which had swelled with Eli’s question. “I’d like to,” he said, his voice full of regret. “I really, really would. But I’m afraid we need to get you into bed.”
“Oh.” Eli frowned down at his feet, then his eyes widened. “Oh.” He whirled out of Noah’s arms, heading off in whatwas presumably the direction of his bedroom, stripping off his clothes as he went.
Noah was temporarily rooted to the spot, mesmerized as Eli revealed more and more skin, and it took him longer than he would have liked to jump into action, running forward and stopping Eli right before he tugged off his underwear. “Maybe keep these on, babe.”
Eli’s brow furrowed, his hands on his waistband. “Why?”
“Because you’re sloshed, remember?”
“But you’re not.” Eli’s hand shot out, dancing down the front of Noah’s jeans, and Noah was only just able to grab his wrist before Eli got to his dick. Eli stared at him beseechingly. “We can still make it work.”
So Noah wasn’t a rocket scientist or anything, but it was becoming increasingly clear Eli was a horny drunk.
