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

Neither Kingston nor I could take time off from work on the weekends. It was way too busy for us, so we chose to go on our date on Wednesday night, his day off. I usually worked Wednesday nights, but I had some flexibility because I had enough staff for it.

Hudson insisted on staying the night at Oliver’s place, his best friend. They would go to school together in the morning, which was fine, since his last day of school was on Friday. My son insisted I needed some alone time if my date worked out. I wasn’t sure if I should’ve felt grateful or worried he knew way too much about the need for sex.

I picked out a popular gastropub near the waterfront at Harbor Place, sitting outside with a view of the water. I’d been there before, so I knew the place had good food.

My slightly trembling hands grew clammy, and I kept wiping them on my jeans while I waited for Kingston. I could be a confident man, but damn, it’d been so long since I’d done this with very little experience in dating men in general.

The restaurant brewed its own beer, so I sipped on one, being fifteen minutes too early for the date, hoping it would calm my nerves.

I had the perfect view at the front of the restaurant, so I kept checking to see if I recognized Kingston. The cool breeze coming off the harbor water ghosted over my skin, which carried a hint of fish in the air, which was typical Harbor Place. Baltimore wasn’t the most beautiful city, but it had its charm.

Ten minutes later, a man strolled casually toward the restaurant, his hands shoved into the pockets of his black cargo chinos. His black short-sleeved button-up shirt opened to a plain white T-shirt. Even from here, I could see the inked sleeves on his arms. He was nearly as tall as me. It was his blond hair, with long bangs falling in his face, that had me recognizing Kingston in the distance.

Damn, he oozed confidence, whereas my insides threatened to revolt.

He stepped inside the restaurant, not yet seeing me as my stomach fluttered nervously. Fuck, I hope I didn’t mess this up. Kingston looked promising and attractive. I hadn’t expected that.

Wiping my hands on my pants one more time, I stood and plastered a confident smile on my face as he headed outside toward my table.

Kingston smiled back, exposing slightly crooked, white teeth, showing he’d never worn braces. He held out his hand, which I gripped, and we shook.

“Hey, Harley. Nice to meet you.”

“You, too, Kingston.”

As soon as we sat down, our server came out to take our drink order. I ordered another one of their lagers, and Kingston ordered the same thing.

When she left, I leaned back in my chair and finished off the last sip of my beer. With a sigh, I tackled the most difficult part of the date first, so we didn’t waste our time. It was something I hadn’t wanted to discuss through text. “So, I guess I should tell you off the bat that I’m kind of inexperienced with men. Not that I haven’t been with any, but I was married to a woman for a long time and haven’t really dated all that much while I raised my son. ”

Kingston smiled with ease and ran a hand through his bangs, pushing them away from his face. “That’s cool. We all gotta start somewhere, right? It doesn’t bother me. So, you just want to try your hand at dating men? Experimenting?”

My body started to relax, the muscles releasing their grip. “Not really to experiment, meaning I’m not looking to dip my toes or anything. I’ve always known I was bisexual, but I married my girlfriend when she got pregnant. I actually prefer men. It is what it is, but I never minded stepping up for my son.”

Our server came out and put our glasses on the table, then took our food order. I chose a steak salad, and Kingston chose the seafood gumbo.

“And that’s where I come in?” he winked, making me chuckle.

“I suppose so. My son, Hudson, is the one who talked me into dating again. Here’s another bit of honesty. I’m not looking for a quick lay, just to get that out there.”

Kingston raised his beer glass in cheers. “You’ll get no argument from me. Been there, done that.”

God, I liked him already. He was so easygoing and accepting. “So, tell me a bit about yourself besides being a bar owner, an amazing skateboarder, and a hoarder of kids in need,” I asked.

He laughed easily and shrugged. “Eh, my past is a little depressing. Too depressing for a date.”

“I don’t mind. I want to know you.”

His smile was crooked. “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. So, my parents kicked me out of my house pretty young when I came out as gay. Gotta love those religious hypocrites. At least I had my grandmother, who took me in. She was sweet and didn’t talk to my parents much, but she loved me until she died a year later. With nowhere else to go, I put myself into the foster care system instead of choosing to live on the streets. Foster care is never easy, and I was stuck with some abandonment issues until I finally had the chance to get some much-needed therapy.”

“Wow, and I thought my past was rough. It pales in comparison.”

Kingston shrugged. “It is what it is. If it hadn’t happened that way, I wouldn’t have ended up skating to win a lot of money, own a bar, and take in a bunch of kids who were like me. My life’s rewarding, even if it started out roughly. ”

We clinked glasses. “That’s cool, man. I’m impressed. Tell me about these kids.”

Before we could continue our conversation, our server came out with our food and set our plates down in front of us. We both dug in and ate a bit before Kingston washed away his food with some beer.

“Well, as I’ve said, they’re all adults now, but they came to me one by one as teens, meeting up at the skatepark. Two of them were foster brothers, living on the streets, and because I related to them, I took them in until they could get back on their feet. As time went on, I befriended more of them. All were struggling in their own way and had been abandoned, much like me. The last two to come to me were runaway twins, who are now eighteen.”

I hadn’t lied when I told him I was impressed. The amount of understanding and empathy it took to help those in need, especially when he didn’t have much to give, either, was astounding. He did more for those kids than any billionaire. Then again, the wealthy separated themselves from any sort of community while we were in the middle of it, in a way.

“Damn, if only others empathized and cared as much as you. Perhaps the world would be better.”

“Usually, those who have little tend to understand better. Those who are wealthy are so greedy and out of touch they just quit caring, if they ever did.”

“Still, that’s a lot to take on for someone who didn’t have much.”

Kingston’s confidence vanished, replaced with shyness, as he dug into his gumbo, shrugging humbly. “They’re everything to me.”

“I can imagine. How many are there?”

He stared up at the night sky and counted. “It started with six and continued to grow as they’ve been finding love, which is a big reason I’m here tonight. Now there are nine of them. Like your son, they all nagged and pushed me to date.”

We laughed and sipped our beers. Fuck, I felt really good about this. Kingston and I had so much in common.

“Cheers to overbearing and pushy family members,” I said.

We both laughed again and worked on our meals, chit-chatting about all sorts of things. The conversation was easy, and our food was delicious .

When our server took away our plates, we ordered one more beer, prolonging our date.

“So, you’re divorced?” Kingston asked.

“Yeah, but… it took forever.”

“Was it messy?”

“Do you really want to hear this? My story isn’t exactly a good date topic.”

“Like you, I want to know. Really.”

“Okay, well… She abandoned us with a note stating she couldn’t do it anymore when Hudson was only eight. Do what, exactly? Raise a kid, be married, life… who knows? She never specified. If you can’t find your spouse, it makes divorcing them hard. I had to take all these steps to get it done. First, I needed to file for divorce, but where could we send the papers? Her parents had died in a house fire while we’d been married, which didn’t help our relationship at the time. When I couldn’t find her, we literally had to advertise the divorce in local papers as a last resort. It took two years, but finally, I got the marriage nullified, and I got full custody of my son. In all that time, I had to deal with a grieving and angry child, putting him through therapy.”

“That’s fucking rough. I bet you were angry, too.”

I eyed him and nodded. “You could say that. Honestly, I was over the marriage, anyway. We weren’t getting along, but I was angry on my son’s behalf. Things are good now. I’ve got an amazing restaurant, a confident kid, and a nice home. It was a lot of work, but worth it.”

Kingston grinned and leaned forward. “I wasn’t sure what to expect tonight, but one thing I know is that I don’t want it to end. I’m really liking you already.”

My relief was palpable. “I don’t want it to end either.”

Was it that simple to meet my match? It felt too easy, but there was no denying how alike we were along with our budding chemistry.

I leaned forward, too, until our noses were only inches apart. “Want to come back to my place? I don’t live too far.”

“Your son won’t mind?”

“He’s staying the night at a friend’s house.”

“Then I don’t mind if I do. ”

Kingston tugged on my T-shirt and pulled me closer until our lips met. My body tingled with electricity, proving we definitely had chemistry. Never had a kiss send zings through me before. Maybe my romance novels were right all along. He was a damn good kisser, too, with just enough control that wasn’t overwhelming, and very little saliva, as his tongue slid into my mouth.

My hand rested on his scruffy jaw, and his hand threaded through my hair as our kiss deepened.

I enjoyed kissing women, but kissing men was an entirely different experience. There was more force and ownership behind it, not to mention his scruff rubbing against my beard that I really liked.

And damn if he didn’t smell good. His scent was light but spicy—a hint of masculinity without it being overwhelming.

A sudden cough had us separating.

“Apologies, but I wanted to hand you the check,” our server said. “I hope you enjoyed your meals.”

I snagged the bill before Kingston could. “Yes, everything was delicious.”

“I can split that with you,” he said.

“Nope, I asked you out. You can pay next time.”

His smile turned crooked. “I’d like a next time with you. Sounds like a plan.”

After I paid, we left the restaurant. “Did you drive?” I asked.

“I took the bus since I didn’t want to struggle to find parking. It’s usually pretty crowded around here.”

“I’ve got my bike if you want to ride with me.”

Kingston stood toe-to-toe with me, standing a couple of inches taller than my six-two frame, and tugged me into another kiss. My dick tried to pulse to life, but I kept it under control.

“Ride behind you on your bike ? Sounds fun.”

I took his hand and threaded our fingers as we walked toward my motorcycle. When we reached it, Kingston whistled and walked around it, touching the chrome.

“What a beauty. I love all the black with that touch of red. She’s a Harley-Davidson , right? Did you get it on purpose because of your name? ”

I laughed. “I was actually named after the bike. It was my dad’s favorite. He had a Harley and would drive it across the country every summer with his buddies.”

“What model is she?”

“I just got her last year. She’s a 2023 Heritage Classic.”

“I bet you look good on her,” he said, winking.

“I don’t know about that, but I feel good on her. Let’s get out of here.”

I handed him my only helmet, having left Hudson’s at home.

He took it from my hand and asked, “What about you?”

“I’ll be fine. My house is only about a mile away, over in Fell’s Point. Better me getting injured than you.”

After hopping onto my bike, Kingston climbed on behind me with the helmet on, and wrapped his strong, tattooed arms around me like he belonged right there, holding me.

We’d just met for the first time tonight, but I felt like I’d known him for months instead of hours, which was a clear sign we were a good match—at least for me.

“Let’s go make some fire,” he said through his helmet.

I laughed and started the engine. “Let’s do it.”