Page 23 of Scheme
Kit: My omega aunties thank you.
Reluctantly, I wriggled out of the soft sheets, taking a moment to remake my nest the way I liked it. I had a full-blown omega-boner for linen which got softer with every wash, and I’d had most of my nesting materials for years. While the walls were painted dark green, with one maximalist floral wallpaper feature wall for impact, everything in the room was pristine white.
I hit the release button to open the electronic sliding door that led to my nest, heading to the bathroom to shower. The door was an eyesore and totally incongruent with the style of the building, but since I lived alone, it was worth the sacrifice to have an auto-locking feature, especially during the haze of my heat.
Cranking the heat up, I didn’t linger in the shower, scrubbing myself clean and shaving my legs in record time. I’d planned on finishing up some due diligence for a client I’d been working on today, but I’d been coming up with excuses not to in my head before Violet’s message. I enjoyed my job—it didn’t light a fire in my soul or anything, but I was good at it and it afforded me a comfortable life—but it had felt draining lately in a way that it never had before. I didn’t think it was just because my heat was approaching either, which always made me more physically tired.
It was probably a little early-thirties ennui. A pre-midlife crisis, exacerbated by my impending biological nightmare week and my brother’s early demise. Nothing to be alarmed about.
Maybe I should get a tattoo?Something that screamed ‘I may be in my thirties, but my life isn’t over yet.’
Maybe a giant phoenix rising from the ashes of my wrinkle-free youth.
Still contemplating whether or not I could pull it off, I dried off and covered myself in Om-Guard before blow-drying my hair and putting on my makeup. Shooting Violet a quick message to tell her I was leaving, I yanked on a pale pink sundress and denim jacket before heading downstairs.
Kit was already standing on the pavement waiting for me, though I wasn’t shocked to see him since my door smelled like fresh alpha. Vaguely, I wondered if the neighbours across the street had seen him rubbing himself up against it.
“Hello, I wasn’t expecting you.”
He shot me an impatient look. “You were going to walk over on your own.”
“That is how I tend to get around most days,” I agreed, checking the lock had clicked into place behind me before joining him. “It’s broad daylight and I’m only going five minutes down the road.”
Kit harrumphed as though that was the most dissatisfying answer he’d ever heard, and I immediately wanted to needle him again, which was odd because I was, by all accounts, a terminal people pleaser.
“I wanted to check you were okay after last night,” he said eventually, concentrating a little harder than strictly necessary on walking in a straight line down a flat pavement.
“It’ll take more than some rude comments to upset me, I assure you.” Being the ugly duckling child had given me a crash course in rude comments from a young age.
“I mentioned it to Nico and he told me Coleman had been an immature asshole at fourteen and hadn’t improved since,” Kit said hesitantly, seeming to struggle to find the words he was looking for. “That’s why he doesn’t bother with them anymore.”
The evidence certainly seemed to suggest that Nico was Kit’s most tolerable friend so far.
“I don’t understand it,” Kit continued, more to himself than me. “And you were so polite to them, and conscientious of me. Perfect, really.”
I knew better than to read anything into that comment. “Well, Sinclair is a very beautiful omega. Young. Educated. Well-travelled. Giant fertile window remaining.” Kit made a strangled sound, and I gave him a moment to recover before I continued. “She’s the ideal as far as omegas go; it’s hardly surprising they thought she’d be a better fit for you than me. If I charitably overlook their appalling rudeness, I’d say it’s nice of them to be looking out for your best interests.”
“You and I are closer in age, both established in our careers, have mutual friends, and like chicken kebabs,” Kit countered stubbornly.
He was surprisingly worked up about this. Though, I suppose if I’d been matchmade as many times as he had, I’d have some strong opinions about who my friends were foisting on me too.
“It just seems obvious that you would be a better fit for me.”
Either Kit was deliberately ignoring the first thing I’d said, or he hadn’t registered it.
Sinclair is a very beautiful omega.
Coleman had the worst poker face of the lot, and he’d looked at me like I was a dowdy old maid, leeching on to a successful, attractive alpha that I had no business so much as breathing near.
We’d stopped in front of Nico and Violet’s house, and I felt a strange need to offer Kit some kind of reassurance before we went inside, even though I was the one who’d been disrespected all night. I didn’t care about their behaviour, but Kit clearly did.
“Look, it’s really fine. I’m not upset about how last night went—I was there to be your nice, safe omega buffer and it worked. Awkward rudeness aside, did you have a good night?”
It was genuinely hard to tell with the perma-scowl.
“It was okay. Near the end.”
“When we left?” I laughed.
