Page 17 of Overeager
Noah shivered, tucking his thumbs into the straps of his backpack. “Who the fuck was that?”
“Professor Burke,” Chase told him, his eyes still on the retreating alpha. “He teaches statistics. I had him last semester.”
“How the fuck did you survive? He’s terrifying.”
Chase shrugged. His cheeks were red—maybe he was embarrassed he’d crashed into the guy and sent his papers flying. “If you’re polite, he’s actually pretty chill.”
“His pheromones are—” Noah let out a heavy breath. “Just be glad you’re a beta.”
“Yeah.” Chase laughed, tugging Noah forward again. “Sure.”
They headed into their building, finding a pair of seats a few rows back. The class was structured so that they had a weekly lecture and then split into discussion groups led by TAs twice a week. It was a large lecture hall, and it still looked like it was going to be mostly full.
Noah was mostly looking forward to the class, despite his general grumpiness. He’d heard good things about Professor Miller—the omega professor had positive reviews on the school forums, and his lectures were supposed to be interesting.
Had Eli ever taken a class like this as an undergrad? Noah grinned for maybe the first time that day, leaning down to dig his laptop out of his backpack. He could totally see it, Eli shaking his finger at any presumptuous alphas in his discussion group.“Alphas shouldn’t knot omegas they’ve just met!”
And maybe thinking about Eli had Noah imagining things, because he could swear he smelled that tart, refreshing scent, standing out even amid all the random, innocuous pheromones in the lecture hall.
Meanwhile, the cacophony of murmuring students had hushed, meaning the professor had probably arrived.
Noah sat back up, his laptop in hand, and immediately choked on his own spit.
Because there, at the podium, was Eli.HisEli.
“Hello, everyone.” Eli was dressed in light-colored slacks and a crewneck sweater. He looked ridiculously cute, small in stature but self-possessed, those warm eyes sweeping over the auditorium. “I’m Professor Miller. I’ll be teaching you Omega Studies this semester.”
5
Eli
Eli’s second night in the cabin was incredibly lackluster compared to the first.
He felt stupid for being so disappointed. It wasn’t like he’d expected to spend either of his nights with anyone. If anything, this was just things going back to the original plan.
But still …
How was it possible for Eli to miss someone he’d just met?
A nice beta woman arrived at what had previously been Noah’s cabin in the evening, after the cleaning service had left. She waved at Eli from her hot tub but didn’t ask for company or invite herself over.
Of course she didn’t, because who really did that? Only ridiculously attractive, painfully young alphas with gorgeous smiles and delicious scents who disappeared like smoke in the morning but still left their number, leaving the ball inEli’scourt, as if he had any idea what to do with it now that he had it.
He thought of Noah often for the rest of his getaway.
Obviously.
Even when he didn’t want to, when he was trying to focus on mundane tasks, like washing his dishes in the sink before his departure, Eli would suddenly remember the feel of Noah’s hand on his thigh, or the way Noah’s features tightened right before he came, or the sound of Noah’s voice breaking while he asked if Eli felt good, felt as good asNoahdid …
And then Eli would suddenly be fighting for air, or a trickle of slick would be escaping him, and he’d be both turned on and embarrassed by his lack of control.
He kept the slip of paper with Noah’s number on it in his pocket, taking it out to stare it at now and then, rubbing his fingers along the edges. He hadn’t programmed the number into his phone just yet. He wasn’t sure why.
Or hewassure, but he didn’t know how to articulate it. Didn’t know if he was being smart or if he was being foolish.
So on the morning of Eli’s departure, the day before the start of the semester, he did the dumbest thing he could do.
He texted his sister to meet him for brunch.
