Page 3 of Overeager
“Awesome!”
The guy climbed out of his tub, and Eli’s eyes widened. Had he made the right call? The guy was … big. Much bigger than Eli had thought—he must have been slouching down in the water. But standing tall, he was built like a professional swimmer, with wide shoulders and a trim waist.
And his shorts were almost as small as Eli’s.
Covered by the water, he’d seemed kind of harmlessly cute—besides the devastating smile—but it was quickly becoming clear he was on a whole different level of hot.
Eli was going to make a fool of himself.
But his new friend was already tugging on a pair of snow boots over his wet feet and walking up the hill in no more than his shoes and those teeny swim trunks.
Too late to back out now.
Eli took a few quick gulps of champagne while he waited to hear the footsteps coming up the deck. He wished he’d brought the bottle with him. He wasn’t sure why he was like this—totally fine in a lecture hall in front of hundreds of students, but nervous as hell in more intimate social situations.
Richard had never been able to understand it—why someone so confident in his work needed to be “coddled” (as he so delicately put it) at a dinner party. It was a funny thing for him to be annoyed by, because a stereotypically submissive omega was exactly what he’d wanted in the end.
Hypocrite, Eli thought, but there was no bitterness in it. Not anymore.
And it didn’t matter either way because in the next moment, there was Eli’s new neighbor approaching—grinning broadly in greeting—and Eli had to fight not to swallow his tongue.
Like, damn. This was the kind of guy Eli had never spent much time with, not even when he was younger.
Or maybeespeciallynot then, when he’d been bookish and shy and completely lacking any sort of confidence.
“Hey,” his neighbor said, all wet and bare-chested, while Eli did his best not to stare at his nipples. “I’m Noah.”
“Hi.” Eli gave a stupid little wave, his eyes firmly locked somewhere around the guy’s forehead. It seemed like a safe spot. “Eli.”
“Thanks for the invite, man.” Noah didn’t seem to suffer from any of Eli’s shyness. He toed out of his boots and climbed in, his half-empty beer in hand. Aglassbottle too. A certified rule breaker, this guy was. He sighed loudly, spreading his arms out to the sides, tanned chest on full display. “Fuck, that feels good.”
No drooling, Eli reminded himself.Close your damned mouth.
He took a sip of his champagne, if only to have something to do. He was 90 percent sure this guy was an alpha—with that build, how could he be anything else?—but the chlorine from the hot tub was making it hard to pick out his scent.
Which was good, really. It meant Noah wouldn’t necessarily clock Eli as an omega right away either. He could think Eli was a petite beta. Maybe. Possibly.
It wasn’t like Eli was ashamed of being an omega, but the lack of clarity gave a certain freedom to the situation. It didn’t have to be … charged, Eli being alone in a hot tub with a potential alpha.
They were just two friendly neighbors on vacation.
He realized Noah was watching him, and coughed on his champagne bubbles.
Noah grinned. He had dimples on both sides, which seemed frankly like too much. Save some charm for the rest of humanity, right?
“So what brings you to Sedona?”
“A little solo vacation,” Eli told him, aiming for light and airy but probably falling about a mile short. “And, um, a celebration.” He shrugged a shoulder. “Career’s going well.”
“Right on.” Noah grinned at him again. “Good for you, man.”
Eli relaxed a little. This was easy enough. Noah was super friendly. He cleared his throat. “What—what about you?”
“Just a little refresh before my spring semester. Business classes are kicking my ass.”
Eli relaxed a little more. If Noah was going for his MBA, he was a grad student. Not quite as young as Eli had thought, then. The beer was legal, at least, even if it was in a glass bottle. “And you were supposed to have a buddy with you?” Eli asked, trying to get into the neighborly spirit. “Or—a girlfriend? Boyfriend?”
He flushed, hoping Noah would think it was the heat from the tub. Why was he prying? And so fucking obviously?
