Page 48 of Full Body Hit: Part 2
Reality lost consistency as they worked together to cut the stems, fill the vase with water and plant food, and arrange the bouquet. He was in a dream, in some other version of the universe in which this was normal and not utterly surreal.
They stared at the finished product sitting proudly on the counter, brightening the whole space. Chase leaned in, sniffing the petals. They were fresh and fragrant.
“It’s really pretty. Thank you,” Chase said softly.
Auston cleared his throat. “You’re welcome.” A pause. “Do you wanna…”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Chase had been so busy worrying about the big things that he’d forgotten to stress about the little things, such as how fucking excruciatingly awkward the car ride with Auston would be. Chase should have come up with something to say, something cheery and light, but all he could focus on was that the guy taking him on a date was bothAuston Mazdaki,his idol,andAunix, the guy who had spoiled and pampered and comforted him more times than he could count.
Chase had expected to end up in some high-end restaurant, maybe a sushi place that seated like ten people and gave you the pieces one by one. Instead, Auston ushered them into a perfectly normal diner.
They were seated by the window, each sliding into their booth on either side of the table. Chase took the room in, noting how crowded it was, a step and divider leading to another section also full of people. There was a big party sitting at a large, round table, laughing loudly.
“This okay?” Auston asked, drawing Chase’s attention back to him.
“Oh, yeah. Definitely. I—” He was interrupted by an older lady carrying two huge, laminated menus.
“Welcome to Trixie’s. Can I get you anything to drink?”
They ordered some water, and then Chase got caught up with the pages of items on offer.
“You in the mood for something savoury or sweet?” Auston asked.
“Oh.” Chase hadn’t even considered getting somethingsweet. “I don’t know. Um. Should I stick to my meal plan?”
“Damn, I hadn’t even considered what the nutritionist would say. ShouldIstick to my meal plan?” Auston poked, corners of his mouth ticking up.
He knew it was a joke, but Chase felt himself go red. “No, obviouslyyoudon’t have to. You’re, you know,” he made a vague gesture towards the Alpha, blushing even harder as Auston’s smile widened. “I just mean, you know, Omegas just put on weight a lot easier, so I don’t wanna lose my conditioning or anything. My mom always says, cheat days are for cheaters.” He tried to laugh, but it came out all weird and strangled.
The grin dropped right off Auston’s face. “Chase, I mean this from the bottom of my heart.…Fuck your mom.”
Chase was pretty surefreeze framesweren’t a thing in real life, but his whole brain stopped working. He could feel his mouth hanging open, eyes blinking stupidly.
“Sorry,” Auston said quickly. “That was inappropriate. I mean, accurate, but inappropriate.”
“I…”
“You can eat whatever you want, baby. You’re a twenty-one-year-old athlete. Having some diner food is gonna have zero impact on you. You like pancakes or waffles?”
“Um…pancakes?”
“Burgers good?”
“Yeah…?”
“With or without bacon?”
“I guess…without?”
“Great.”
Chase watched dizzily as Auston flagged the waitress down and ordered the supreme burger, curly fries, a double stack of pancakes with the works—cream, maple syrup, fruit, chocolate.
“What kind of shakes do you have?” Auston asked.
“Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, maple, birthday cake, cookies and cream…that’s it.”
