Page 27 of Scheme
“I bought you lunch,” he said gruffly, gesturing at the bag on the table. “Well, us. I bought us lunch. Rice bowls. Violet said you like them.”
“I do.” I fetched us some proper cutlery and some water, wishing I had some other drinks here to offer him. I was good at many things, but hosting wasn’t one of them. “This is an unexpected surprise. I wasn’t sure I’d see you before Brighton.”
Kit made a noncommittal sound, pulling out two containers and sliding the chicken one toward me. Violet had briefed him well. I definitely wasn’t going to object to his company when there were rice bowls involved.
“I’ve been scentmarking as I go past each day,” Kit said eventually. “I thought this would be more thorough. Stick around more. With the rain and stuff.”
“I imagine so,” I agreed mildly. Kit’s coffee and whiskey scent was truly going to linger now. I didn’t know how I felt about that.
It was close enough to my heat for me to question whether having Kit’s scent constantly around my house was makingmylife more difficult, rather than Jimmy’s.
“Where is your scent? Even your flat smells like… nothing,” Kit said suddenly, glancing up at me.
“Om-Guard.” I gestured at the family-sized pump bottle on the other side of the table—one of many I kept scattered throughout the house. While the white bottle was pretty inoffensive, the flower-clitoris-inspired logo was an abomination. Om-Guard Max—the blue and black version marketed to male omegas—didn’t have have an artsy-looking dick scrawled on the side of it.
While I was always liberal with my Om-Guard application, I went extra hard in the lead-up to my heat. Everything about my scent screamed ‘fuck me’, and I just didn’t need to go around projecting that while I was trying to get my groceries, or getting a cheese and bean pasty for breakfast.
“I didn’t realise scentshield lotion was that effective,” Kit replied cautiously, clearly fishing for a better explanation.
“You tricked me.”
Those three damning words had lived in my mind for over a decade now, and apparently I wasn’t going to shake them any time soon. I wasn’t about to tell Kit that story though. That was one I was taking to my grave.
“Well, there’s also an air purifier in each room that runs all day and night,” I added with a tight smile, pointing out the white cylindrical machine on the top of the bookshelf with a nod. It was probably the most expensive thing I owned. “I’m very diligent about it.”
Kit gave me a long look. “I can see that. Though I imagine it’s impossible to cover up at Bryce and Kane’s house.”
I paused, my spork midway to my mouth. “Well, no. I don’t bother with it there.”
There was no scentshield product on earth that could stand up to omega slick. I mean, the pre-heat industrial knickers were pretty effective, but I didn’t go to those parties to keep my knickers on.
“So I guess I’ll get a good whiff then.” Kit shrugged as though that was an entirely normal thing to say.
“You do know you are sitting in front of me, eating your lunch, bold as brass, talking about getting ‘a good whiff’ of my slick, right? I’m worried you don’t know.”
Kit’s lips twitched. “I know. Though I appreciate you clarifying the terms of the conversation. Very lawyerly of you.”
I narrowed my eyes, contemplating throwing an edamame bean at him. Then again, he was teasing me which was kind of lovely? Kit was so serious all the time, I hadn’t even seen him tease his friends the other night and he’d known them for years.
“I hope I didn’t interrupt a busy day?” Kit asked after we’d eaten in companionable silence for a while.
“No, it’s not too bad. I wind down this time of year in preparation for my heat.”
Kit froze. “Your heat is approaching?”
I frowned. “Didn’t I mention that?”
“No, you absolutely did not mention that.” He set his spork down as though he’d lost his appetite, giving me a look that definitely bordered onalarmed.
“Oh. Well, it’ll be here in a few weeks.” I shrugged, shooting him my best client-facing smile. “You don’t need to worry, Kit. I’m thirty-two, this is not a brand-new event for me. I’m more than capable of functioning right up until the last minute when I go into my nestalone.I’ll be fine to accompany you to Brighton and your dinner.”
Kit didn’t look reassured. I stood up, taking my empty bowl over to the counter to give him a moment.
“Did you know your heat was approaching when you spoke to me at the party?”
Usually, I was pretty even-tempered, but the doubtfulness in his voice really got my back up.
“It’s an annual event, Kit. If I’m not currently in heat, then it’s approaching.”
