Page 3 of Choosing Their Omega

The last two out are a defenseman, Miles Eastwood, with the goalie Knox Monroe. Miles has black hair that seems to have hints of red when the lighting’s right, but that could just be my imagination, and his eyes are a true hazel. He gives the crowd a small, crooked smile, but then seems to focus on the goalie, who is—

Holy shit, he’s huge.

All the players are tall. Most of them look like they’re at least six feet. But this goalie is taller than all of them, and even though it could just be his extra padding for his job on the team, he looks broader than the others too. He’s got a beard that’s the same rich dark brown as his hair, which is shaggy. His eyes when he looks up into the camera are gunmetal gray, but he scowls at the crowd and then skates into position.

I guess the guy’s having a bad day. I hope that doesn’t reflect in how he plays. Shay gets riled up when her team loses.

I shouldn’t have worried. The moment the game starts, the players are in motion, and the four handsome ones that I noticed are the stars of the show. Not a single shot gets past the goalie, and the other three players are lightning fast, passing the puck back and forth like they’re reading each other’s minds.

By the time that the first intermission hits, I’m as into it as the others. It’s a lot of fun and exhilarating to watch everyone skate on the ice. It’s different from watching players in other sports running. Something about being on skates, and the ice, and how different it is, it just thrills me.

I’m up on my feet cheering with Shay and the others, and when we win, we jump up and down and Shay wraps her arms around my neck to scream in my ear.

Yeah, I’m really glad I came to this. I needed this.

Afterwards, everyone pours out of the arena, and the others start talking about going out for drinks. I wince. I’m glad that Maddie gave me some of her nachos and half of her pretzel. That was some delicious junk food, and it’s kept my stomach from growling, but now I really need to get home. I have to start job hunting tomorrow and I can’t afford to go out and buy expensive cocktails anyway.

“You coming, Lily?” Shay asks. She tugs playfully on my hair. “You lost a hair clip again.”

My hands fly up to my head. Damn it, this just keeps happening. “I don’t know how that happens.”

Everyone laughs, but not unkindly. “You can meet us there,” Maddie says. “Maybe you’ve got an extra in your car? I’ll text you the address.”

“No, no, I had a really long day and I need to be up early in the morning. You guys go on and have fun, okay? I’ll see you soon.” I hug Shay. “Thanks for the ticket. This was a really fun night.”

If anyone suspects I have another reason for bowing out, they don’t say anything, and everyone hugs me and then heads out of the arena doors.

I take a second to sit down on a bench, my stomach twisting. I don’t like lying to my friends. The thing is, I think if I told them I couldn’t afford it, one of them would’ve paid for my drinks. They’re good people that way.

I just couldn’t handle them knowing. They’d ask questions, and worry about me, and I can’t do that. Maybe it’s that I’ve been on my own for so long, or that if I have to tell my friends it makes my financial situation real, but the idea of them knowing about my late rent payments and my job loss just makes me want to throw up.

I wipe at my eyes and stand up, looking around. The arena’s pretty much emptied out. There are a few people talking to each other, and there’s a gaggle of girls in various tight, short outfits, some of them in jerseys they bought with the player names blazed on the back, giggling and apparently waiting for something.

Well, there’s no point in me hanging around. I need to get home and then pile the blankets up on my bed, since it’ll be freezing in my apartment.

I get outside and walk around the arena toward the back entrances. That’s over by where I parked, a few streets down from the employee parking lot. I keep my head down, my shoulders hunched, and shiver in spite of the heavy jacket I brought. I know it’s not really the cold. It’s the fear.

I hate not knowing what’s going to happen next, and I hate the increasing feeling that I’m drowning and can’t get my head above water.

My thoughts are interrupted as I bump into someone, hard.

“Oh shit!” I squeak.

I nearly fall over, reeling from the impact. It feels like I hit a massive wall of muscle, and as I blink and look up, I realize that’s exactly what happened.

The ruggedly handsome captain of the hockey team stares down at me. At this distance, his blue eyes are even more intense, and I can get a close-up look at his bulging biceps and powerful forearms, his strong, athletic build with his broad shoulders and trim waistline.

He’s also got what look like tattoos peeking out from the collar of his shirt and the bottom of his sleeves, stuff his padding and uniform covered up.

I swallow hard. I don’t think I’ve ever been in the presence of someone this goddamn handsome before, and I feel like I’m back to being a freshman in high school crushing on the senior boys. “Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

The guy—Cruz Ashford, if I remember his name correctly—stares at me, squinting his eyes a little like he can see right through me if he tries hard enough. I catch a whiff of his scent. Roasted coffee beans, sweet coconut, and… the last one’s a bit hard to identify… buttercream.

Oh, god, it smells really fucking good. He smells really good. Like some kind of decadent cake at a fancy bakery, the kind you have a slice of at a wedding and then dream about for the rest of your life.

I may be a Beta, so scents don’t affect me as strongly as if I were an Omega, but oh my god, I want to bury my nose in him and inhale for days.

I swallow again and blink hard. I do not get gaga over a guy’s scent like this, especially not some stranger I’ve just bumped into. I hope nothing of what I was just thinking shows on my face, or I’ll look like a lunatic.

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