Page 16 of Alpha & Omega (Alpha's Rejects #4)

For once, I could admit I was stubborn. I’d been right to be angry with Harley, but I could’ve listened, too. Now my crew didn’t trust him because I hadn’t.

Harley left the bar with a huge smile on his face, and I probably mirrored him. He’d been right. If I just stopped and listened for a minute, we could fix the shit between us. It hadn’t taken much for me to forgive him once he explained himself.

I stepped out of my office and walked back to help Pippin serve drinks when Ajax stopped me.

God, he still looked terrible, but it was a vast improvement in how he’d been. At least he was recognizable again.

“Start talking. Who was that guy, and why did he make you pissed off one minute and smiling the next?”

“Didn’t Aiden do that to you?”

He rose a thick, dark brow. “You… Are you seeing him?”

“Let’s talk about this later. The bar is getting busy, and I can’t let Pippin get overwhelmed.”

Ajax pointed at me. “After work. I mean it.”

I rolled my eyes and gave him a dismissive wave as I walked off.

Thursday night hadn’t been too bad. We had a decent crowd, with everyone itching for the weekend. It could’ve been better, but at least it wasn’t dead. Every dollar counted at that point.

I counted the money from the till while Pippin wiped down the bar, and Stix washed the glasses. Nacho and Ajax mopped the floors, Stone wiped down the tables, and Aiden picked up the trash. The twins got bathroom duty since they showed up late for work.

Blondie came out of the men’s room with a look of disgust, carrying a sponge with his tippy fingers while wearing large yellow rubber gloves. His black see-through lace button-up shirt had the sleeves rolled up, and the shoulder fell to the side, exposing creamy skin.

“This is fucking disgusting,” he whined.

His sister, Jazz, wasn’t far behind, feigning a gag. “How many times do we need to tell the assholes not to flush tampons?”

I smiled at them and shrugged. “You shouldn’t have been late.”

Everyone stopped working and stared at me.

“What?” I asked, knowing exactly why they stared at me.

“Spill the deets. Who’s this Harley?” Stix asked, drying his hands before resting them on his hips.

They all gathered close to the bar, starving for gossip.

“His name is Harley Creed. I met him on that dating app after you all nagged me to death.”

“We only want to see you happy,” Nacho said, pouting a little .

“I get that, but still… Anyway, we hit it off right away. We have so much in common with really good chemistry until…”

How much did I want to tell them? They would go into protective mode, even if I was okay with everything.

“I just got suspicious of him because he’s the chef and owner of the restaurant next door, and we had a bit of a misunderstanding.”

Jazz smacked her forehead. “Duh! Harley the man… Harley’s the restaurant. Not like there are a ton of ‘Harleys’ out there.”

“Right. Because… shit. Look… Alpha’s is struggling a bit, guys.”

“W-what do you mean?” Pippin asked. His green eyes were wide, and he hugged himself, always stressed and worried about the world around him.

“It’s nothing for you to worry about, but… If you all wouldn’t mind not getting hurt anymore, that’d be swell.” When they looked guilty, I raised my hand before they opened their mouths to apologize. “And I would do it over again in a second. You all are everything to me. Things will get better. I only need to catch up, is all.”

I wish it were that simple, but I didn’t need them to stress out about their jobs.

“Are you sure? Can we do anything?” Stix asked.

“No, I’ll be fine. Everything is fine.” Maybe if I said that enough, even I would believe it.

“That dude left here smiling. Are you two getting along now?” Stone asked.

“Yeah. We talked things out and are trying again. Honestly, it’d be a waste not to. It’s hard to find someone to match my freak,” I winked, making them all roll their eyes and groan.

Stix chuckled. “Freak? You’re as vanilla as they come.”

I huffed. “Please, I’m interesting. I’m at least pistachio flavored.”

“ Riiight , as interesting as a growing mushroom. You’re all work, work, work. That’s all you do.”

“Well… I’m getting out now. At least Harley finds me interesting.”

Stix smirked and raised his hands, backing off. “Yes, as long as he likes you.”

“Speaking of liking Harley, be nice to him. We sorted our shit out, and he’s a good guy. I just… overreacted.” I hadn’t, but they didn’t need to know that. “Now, I’m done talking about this. Get back to work so we ca n all get home.”

They scattered to wrap up their jobs, and we closed down for the night.

As I headed upstairs to my apartment, my steps were lighter, feeling better than I had all week.

The following evening, I stood in front of my mirror, trying to find something that didn’t look like I rolled out of bed. Most of my jeans had holes in them, some intentional, some not. I mostly owned T-shirts, hoodies, and thermals. I had a few short-sleeved button-ups but only one long-sleeved one. It wasn’t like I went anywhere nice, so I never bothered.

While Harley said his restaurant was casual, I read the menu displayed in the window, and the food was fucking pricey. Hell, just buying one drink and a dinner would be over a hundred bucks, including taxes and tip. No wonder I never got a lot of stragglers from his place to mine. They wouldn’t hang out in a bar like mine with a bunch of ragtag queer skateboarders. If that were true, though, why was I losing customers since the restaurant first opened?

I hadn’t been to Harley’s Haven Bar & Grill yet, but it was time I did.

I’d tried to make reservations, but they didn’t take any. There was generally a line on the weekends, and since it was Friday, I’d just hit his place earlier than I would normally eat. Besides, it wouldn’t be really busy at Alpha’s until around nine at night, so I had time to have some dinner and get back to my bar.

The long-sleeved shirt would have to do. I sniffed it to make sure it didn’t need washing since I hadn’t worn it in a while. It smelled fine, so I slid it on over a white T-shirt and buttoned it up. The pale blue brought out my eyes more, at least.

Next, I put on a pair of black skater chinos—the best I could do. As for shoes, I wore black Chucks. It wasn’t the fanciest outfit, but at least I didn’t look like trash.

After a few spritzes of my cologne, I fingered back my hair from my face using some hair paste.

Making sure I had my wallet and keys, I left my place, walked downstairs, and headed outside .

Harley’s was bright, with outside lighting and large windows that showcased the attractive restaurant. The place wasn’t quite packed yet, but it was getting there.

I walked up to the hostess, who smiled brightly.

“How many?” she asked.

“Just me. Is there a way to sit at the counter facing the kitchen?”

She checked her restaurant layout sheet and nodded. “You’re in luck. I have one stool available.”

After grabbing a menu, she led me toward the back of the restaurant, past the large cocktail bar. I smiled when I saw Harley with his head down and a concentrated look on his face as he plated food.

The kitchen was bustling but orderly and organized, quickly getting dishes out to the diners.

Like we were two magnets, Harley suddenly looked up. His dark eyes turned wide before his smile stretched across his face wide enough that it looked like it hurt.

He said something to a woman working at his side and stepped out of the kitchen to approach me. After wiping his hands on a towel tucked into his apron, he stopped in front of me.

“You’re here. What a great surprise.”

I kicked my foot a bit, suddenly embarrassed, but I smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I figured I would check out all the hype.”

“Thank you. This means so… Thank you. Can I hug you?”

“Yeah.”

We held each other for a moment as everyone stared. Before we parted, I cupped his cheek and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

His smile never left his face when he pulled my hand off his cheek and threaded our fingers together, tugging me toward my seat.

“Anything you want. It’s on the house.”

“No… really. I can—”

“Zip! It’s. On. Me.”

“Okay. Thanks, Harl. So, what do you recommend?”

“I’ll pick it out for you. Trust me.”

I nodded. “Sounds good. ”

I sat down in between diners, but I had a first-hand view of Harley cooking.

My server took my drink order and ran off as I watched Harley. His eyes bounced back to me, still smiling, until he became focused on his job. The female chef kept chatting with him. I couldn’t hear her, but whatever she said, his face pinked, and he shook his head, smiling shyly.

My server brought me a drink—a cocktail I’d never heard of, but it had bourbon in it and sounded fancy. Pippin specialized in cocktail making, so I simply followed his recipes whenever I helped him tend the bar.

I took a sip, which was surprisingly smooth and tasty but not too sweet, which I liked.

Before I could take another sip, my server brought me some food. “For starters, Chef Creed would like you to try the fried broccoli with chicken skins, shiitake ranch, and pickled peppers.”

“Uh, thanks.”

I forked a piece of broccoli with some chicken skin and peppers, which were all drizzled with mushroom ranch, and took a bite. There was a burst of flavor from tartness to earthiness, along with assorted textures. It was fucking delicious.

“What do you think?” Harley suddenly asked, his chocolatey eyes begging me to like it.

I quickly wiped my mouth and swallowed. “It’s so good. I love it.”

“Awesome. Your dinner tonight is a favorite here. Birria tacos.”

“Tacos? Sign me up.”

“Oh, you haven’t had tacos like these before. You’ll never look back after you try one… Unless you’re Hudson, of course. He’d be happier with Taco Bell , my traitorous son.”

I chuckled as he went back to cooking.

I finished my drink but didn’t order another because I had to work after dinner, replacing the bourbon with water.

Watching Harley was a treat. He moved fluidly in his kitchen, searing some tortillas I assumed were mine. Once he added some meat on top of them, he handed the tacos off to the pantry chef, who added all the garnishes to my meal .

Soon, my server placed a literal wooden plank in front of me with three tacos covered in tender stew meat, diced avocados, pickled onions, cilantro, and two lime wedges.

My mouth watered at the sight.

“You’re going to love these,” Harley said. “The meat has been braised for hours, so it should melt in your mouth.”

He eyed me as I folded the corn tortilla and took a large bite.

“Holy shit,” I said with my mouth full.

“Right? These are some of my favorite dishes.”

I used my napkin and shook my head, smiling. “You’re going to get me addicted. I’ll never look at fast food the same.”

“Now you’re speaking my love language, baby.” He stopped himself, his face pinking again. “Uhm…”

“I like that.”

He smiled broadly again and ran back to work. I had to admit he was quite cute when he was like that.

When dinner was over, I had to head back to Alpha’s. The restaurant was packed now, so when Harley tried to leave the kitchen to see me off, I waved my hand. He approached me at the counter instead.

“I’ve got to go. Thanks so much for dinner. It was fantastic.”

“You’re welcome.”

“When’s a good time to see each other?”

“I’ll make the time, King.”

My insides twisted yet softened at that, reminding me that if I found someone special, I’d find the time, too, except on the weekends. I just couldn’t leave my crew alone to handle the craziness.

“Wednesday?” I asked.

“Wednesday is it.”

“Stop by my place, then.”

“I will.”

“Night, Harl, and thanks again.”

“I’m so glad you came, King.”

“Me, too.”

I dropped a hefty tip for my server, then left to head next door to Alpha’s.