Transition - Beta's Omega

( 4 )

( Decker )

I looked up at the house before me and took a deep breath before I headed up the porch steps and knocked on the front door.

“One second!” he heard someone yell from inside the house. When the door did get pulled open, I smiled and let the breath out that I hadn’t even known I had been holding in, whoosh out in relief when I saw Kayley.

“Hey,” I greeted her, which made her blush a deep shade of pink. Too cute! “You ready?” I then asked as I spotted Wyatt passing by behind her.

“Yeah…hey…” Kayley was flushed, and it didn’t matter that we had spent every evening together for the past week, she was still adorable. I always stopped myself from thinking of her as beautiful, sexy, or exquisite. I had already formed a crush on the omega, and I wasn’t helping myself by seeing her every evening. Kayley stepped out as she closed the door behind her. After that first night when I had taken her for milkshakes at Shake House, I had taken her out somewhere new each evening. Kayley enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed taking her to new places she hadn’t been to yet. I held open the door for her and offered my hand for her to climb up into the passenger seat of my ranger.

“How was your day?” I casually asked as I started the engine.

“It was good,” she said with a smile as she put on her seatbelt. “How was yours?”

“Yeah, no complaints,” I said, even though I could complain. Seff had finally returned home but that hadn’t been as much of a relief as I had hoped it would be.

“How’s Seff?” she then asked as she turned to look at me while I drove through the gate. I didn’t answer her until we were almost close to the town.

“He is…well, I mean he is fine,” although Kayley wasn’t aware of the whole story, she knew that something was going on and, since Seff is my best friend, she paid extra attention – which made me like her even more. “I wish I could tell you more,” I admitted as I pulled up into the parking lot of Toasty Buns. I wasn’t worried about bringing her to another food place, things had shifted between us, and we often discussed our place of choice during our lunch break at school.

“I am always here to listen, Decker, but of course, I do understand that it is a…well, that’s it's sensitive,” she said before she pushed open the door and jumped out before I could help her. It wasn’t that she wasn’t able to get in and out of the ranger herself, it was just that on the first night, she had clumsily tripped out and twisted her ankle. I quickly locked the car and followed her inside. The place was actually rather busy for a Friday night, and I cringed as I noticed her discomfort.

“Do you want to go somewhere else?” I whispered as I leaned in, close to her. Kayley shuddered and I would’ve liked to have thought that it was because of me, but it could’ve just been her horror and discomfort.

“No, it’s fine,” she said as she looked up at me over her shoulder and I was so tempted to kiss her. This was something that did happen quite often, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. Instead, I placed my hand on the small of her back and ushered her forward.

“Over there,” I said as I gestured her toward a table in the corner at the back and I felt her relax.

“Good evening, my name is Sandra and I’ll be your server tonight,” the server, Sandra, introduced just as we had sat down. Two menus were placed down on the table and before Sandra could say anything else, I spoke up.

“Thank you, Sandra, please give us a few minutes,”

“Of course, I’ll be back soon,” and with that, Sandra was gone. Kayley was already studying the menu and I took a moment just to look at her as subtly as I could as I picked up my own menu. I forced myself to look away to study the menu. Toasty bun wasn’t just about burgers – even though they made the best burgers – they also made a wide range of toasted sandwiches.

“Any recommendations?” she questioned, and I smiled as I put down the menu.

“Their burgers are the best in Apple Bridge County,” I did my best to say that with a straight face, but the second I saw her lips lift up in a smile, I chuckled.

“Who named this place?” she laughed, and I shook my head.

“No idea, but their burgers really are the best,” Kayley simply nodded, then as she glanced around, and I did the same. Toasty bun was one of my favorite places in town. The wooden floors looked rustic and didn’t shine like some of the other places in town. The walls matched the wooden floors and were pretty bare except for the daily specials as well as their announcement board. I knew that they held cooking classes once a fortnight. I had been once with Luca sometime last year and although the cooking class had all been about toasting bread and buns, it had been relaxing and fun. Because of that class, I was proud to say I made the best toasted pulled pork sandwiches in my pack.

“Well, I think I’ll let you order for me,” Kayley said softly, and my cheeks heated. She did this every single time. It wasn’t because she couldn’t decide what she wanted, no, she was simply too shy to place the order herself.

“What would you like?” I asked casually.

“I’ll have a burger and a chocolate shake,” I nodded at that, and I didn’t even have to ask her anything further, as I already knew she wasn’t mad about pickles. So, by the time Sandra came back, I was ready to order.

“What will it be?” she asked politely as she waited patiently for me to list of the items we wanted.

“And no pickles on her burger,” I said firmly as I watched her write that note down.

“Anything else?”

“No, thanks Sandra,” I said. Sandra threw me a flirty smile before hurrying off to put our order in. Unfortunately, I did notice that Kayley watched her rush off. I knew why but I didn’t entertain that thought either as I leaned forward and smiled at her. “So, do you want to tell me when I can expect Wyatt to descend on me like a mother hen?” Kayley immediately started blushing as she looked down at her hands.

“Oh…um…I have no idea if that is…well, I mean, would he do that?” she finally looked up at me questioningly and I shrugged.

“I don’t know if he would, but I have a feeling he will at some point,” I tried to play it cool, but I had a feeling all I had done was stress her out a bit. “Don’t look so worried about it, he cares about you, obviously,”

“I know but I…I mean, I don’t want him to…I don’t know…talk to you…oh my!” she was flustered, and I watched as she shifted in her seat uncomfortably and I immediately felt guilty.

“It was not my intention to freak you out, Kay,” I said as I laid my hand on the table.

“Why would he…what could he possibly…”

“Breath Kay,” I urged, and when she finally took my offered hand, I gave her clammy hand a gentle squeeze. I watched as she took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. This wasn’t the first time she had gotten like this with me, but I had hoped that she felt comfortable enough with me now. I guess I was wrong.

“Why would he descend on you like a mother hen?” she finally asked, and I let go of her hand and leaned back in my seat just as Sandra came over with our drinks. I didn’t answer her question until we had been left alone again.

“It’s clear that he is like a big brother to you, yeah?” she nodded at that. “So, that means he feels pretty protective over you, yeah?” she blushed but she nodded again. “Right, so I am kind of waiting for him to approach me and warn me…that’s all,”

“Warn you about what?” she asked softly.

“Warn me not to hurt you,” I said simply, as I shrugged again. I wasn’t trying to make a big deal out of this. It wasn’t, but clearly, she thought differently.

“Warn you not to hurt me…” she echoed as she pulled her milkshake closer and stuck her straw in before taking a long sip. I followed her actions as I kept my eyes on her. “Do you plan on hurting me?” she then asked, but it wasn’t as though she believed what she was asking, even though I could see that she was being careful about the way she asked me that.

“No, not intentionally,” I said honestly. “Can we change the topic now?” I then asked in hopes of steering the conversation away from the awkwardness that had settled between us.

“Yes, of course!” she said with a smile. “Are you excited about your transition tomorrow?” I immediately brightened at that.

“Yeah, I am,” I admitted sheepishly. “Seff keeps telling me how much easier it would be once I had transitioned,”

“How come?”

“The mind link is apparently super cool…much better than texting,”

“Yeah?” she looked intrigued by that.

“Yeah…and of course, actually being able to hear and feel our wolves and, of course, shifting,” I smiled as the excitement grew. “Seff promised me that he would run with me afterward,”

“Aw, that is going to be so fun!” she enthusiastically. “And of course, you could meet your mate,” she then added, and I blushed as I opened and closed my mouth – this seemed to amuse her. Sandra chose that moment to bring us our food and I was grateful for the second to recover.

“Ah…yeah…” I muttered as I picked up my burger. Kayley still looked amused as she squeezed out some tomato and mustard sauce over her potato fries.

“Has Seff met his mate yet?” Kayley questioned as she cut her burger into quarters.

“Um…” I didn’t want to lie and if I didn’t say yes, then anything else would be a lie.

“Something I don’t need to know…got it,” she said with a wink, and I breathed out in relief. We ate for a few minutes in silence, and it was finally comfortable. I didn’t pay much attention to her, as I knew how weird it would make her feel to have me watch her eat – even though I found her eating habits adorable. I couldn’t think about it being sexy. I couldn’t think about the way she’d use her tongue to find the straw while distracted. I also couldn’t think about the way she’d lick her lips after eating one of her fries. I shifted uncomfortably and pressed my palm against the bulge that pressed painfully against the zipper of my jeans.

“So…ah, do you want to come over tomorrow?” I asked, as I tried to look relaxed. Kayley glanced over at me and frowned. “For my birthday…”

“Oh!”

“I mean, if you don’t want to,”

“No, of course, I’ll come,” she quickly assured me, and even though I didn’t think about what that truly meant, I smiled. I was happy that she would be there, and I would probably have to explain it to my parents, but at least Luca was already aware of my crush on Kayley. He didn’t think it was a good plan and I suppose that was why no one – aside from Kayley’s family – knew that I was taking her out every evening. I could only hope that I wasn’t playing around with fire.