Page 8 of Alpha & Omega (Alpha's Rejects #4)

Kingston: That’s wild. I’ll have to check it out.

When I texted Kingston back, he never responded. I tried to shrug off the worry, but after reading what he wrote several more times and him never responding, I had a bad vibe. I couldn’t pinpoint why.

The fact that his bar sat next to my restaurant made me excited, like we were destined to find each other or something. Or perhaps I read too many damn romances. Regardless, it was something else we had in common. Perhaps it was ridiculous, but it felt almost like we were meant to be. The date and the sex had been perfect. We got along amazingly, and we had so much in common, along with being so much alike. I wanted to get to know him more… so much more.

I wasn’t due to go into the restaurant until five, and Alpha’s Rejects didn’t open until then, so I put in a quick call to my sous chef, Terri.

“What’s up, Harl?”

“Hey, I’m going to be running a bit late. I shouldn’t be longer than fifteen minutes or so.”

“I’ve got you.”

“You’re the best.”

We hung up, and I got showered and dressed before heading to the bar next door to my restaurant. My place hadn’t been open long enough to have met anyone over at Alpha’s, plus I was always working, usually in the evenings during the busy dinnertime hours.

I parked my bike in the garage across the street and walked toward the bar. Alpha’s Rejects was open, but since it was still early, no one guarded the door.

I stood in front of Kingston’s place with the sign of a skateboarder and the name of his bar hanging high above. In one of the large windows hung a pride flag. I still struggled to grasp how I never made the connection to Kingston until recently.

I noticed the place every time I came to work, but honestly, I’d never been interested in going inside until now, whether I had time or not. I didn’t want to go alone, and I didn’t have tons of friends, having spent my life taking care of Hudson, so why would I want to hang out at a bar alone?

I stepped inside and looked around. It was actually quite nice. Kingston had great taste. The building was a combination of modern industrial and old wood. The walls were brick, covered in another, even larger, pride flag and black-and-white photos of skateboarders doing tricks.

At the end of the place stood a small, raised stage for bands. It was one of those places where you instantly felt at home and connected, like an old neighborhood bar where you made lifelong friends.

It was quiet since the bar had just opened, with only two customers at the wooden bar. I sat down on one of the stools and examined more skateboarding photos hanging on the wooden paneling surrounding the glass shelving for the liquor bottles as David Bowie’s Starman played quietly in the background.

“Can I get you something?” asked the bartender. He looked young, in his early twenties, with red, floppy hair, and kind, shy green eyes .

I shouldn’t drink before work, but one beer wouldn’t hurt.

“I’ll take whatever lager you recommend on tap.”

“We have a tasty local lager.”

“Sounds perfect.”

He set a pint glass in front of me on a coaster, and I took a sip. “That’s delicious.”

He beamed a smile at me. “I like it, too.”

“Let me ask… who’s the skateboarder on the wall there?”

He beamed again. “Oh, that’s Alpha. He’s the owner of this bar, and he’s an amazing skateboarder. I met him with my Nate years ago when we were struggling on the streets, and we became amazing friends. He taught us some really cool tricks and let us crash at his place until we got on our feet. When he opened this place, he gave us a job. Alpha’s the best. He takes care of everyone.”

I hadn’t expected that much information, but I smiled at him. “He sounds amazing.”

“He really is. Everyone who works here has been rejected in one way or another by family or friends, and he took us all in and gave us jobs. We all skateboard, too. I wish he did it more often, but he’s so busy with the bar. We worry about him sometimes, but he seems happy taking care of the rest of us.”

I chuckled. The admiration just oozed from this young man. The ease with which he told his personal story was touching. “That’s impressive.”

He nodded, but ran off when one of the customers waved him down. I continued to sip my beer and look around.

If I liked Kingston before, I really liked him now. I knew he had those kids in his life, but I didn’t fully grasp the extent he went through to take care of them. I felt all the more comfortable introducing him to Hudson if and when the time came.

I only drank half of my beer. After I paid for it and left a generous tip, I headed out and walked into my restaurant, still in awe that it was all mine. Who knew a boy of only eighteen would become a father, be abandoned by his wife, and eventually own a house, a restaurant, and have a great kid? Hopefully, soon, I would have love in my life, too. Then everything in my life would be complete.

The place wasn’t quite busy yet, but as soon as people got off work, it would quickly get crowded. On the weekends, it was busiest, but I refused to accept reservations. It was first come, first served. I hated it when people got in first because they had a reservation while others waited an hour or more to get in.

I loved my restaurant. I kept it relatively casual but with fine dining, wanting people to come and feel comfortable, not out of place. There was a lot of warm wood and leather, but my favorites were the tall wooden bar tables with the bright royal blue velvet chairs that really popped in color. Customers could sit there, wait for their dinner tables, and sip on signature cocktails.

The food was varied, but I kept the menu small. Some dishes remained consistent, while others were specials based on what I could find in season from local farmers and the fish market.

In the middle of it all was the kitchen, where customers could sit and eat at the counter while watching us cook.

“I’m here,” I said, donning a black apron and thoroughly washing my hands.

My sous chef, Terri, smiled and winked. “I don’t know what we ever did without you.” She kept her long blond hair piled high in a bun and didn’t wear makeup, but she didn’t need it. She was only 32 and well-trained in culinary arts. If I ever opened a second restaurant, I would put her in charge of it.

I laughed. “You all would suffer without me.”

Her tawny brown eyes rolled with a smirk on her face. “Sure… and this is why everyone thinks chefs are arrogant and mean.”

“I’m a saint,” I countered.

“Fine, you’re pretty good as far as bosses go.”

I really tried to be. Some chefs could be assholes, but I wanted a loyal and reliable staff. Being an arrogant dick didn’t foster that sort of environment, and customers wouldn’t like it either, with us so out in the open.

For a Monday night, it wasn’t too busy, but we had a steady flow of diners, keeping us busy enough.

When ten o’clock rolled along, I wrapped up my night, leaving my staff to finish up and clean, so I could head home to Hudson, who, no doubt, would still be up since school had ended for the summer, playing video games online with his friends.

“I’m outta here, Ter. See you tomorrow.”

“Night, Harl. ”

When I stepped out into the warm evening, I glanced at Alpha’s Rejects, seeing a young man as big as Kingston with cropped dark hair taking IDs.

Once I got home, I found Hudson at the kitchen table, playing a game on his gaming laptop, as predicted. He kept his dark locks pulled back into a thick ponytail.

“How was your day?” he asked, pausing the game and removing his headphones.

“Good. Not too busy, but it wasn’t dead either. How about you?”

He shrugged. “Fine.”

“Great conversation, Hud.”

He smirked and looked at me. “Seriously, I didn’t do anything but sleep in and play games with Oliver. Only he keeps my life interesting.”

“How is your BFF, anyway? I haven’t seen him much lately. You’re always going over to his place.”

“Speaking of which, we’re going to hang out over at his house all weekend, if that’s okay.”

I headed to the fridge, grabbed myself a beer, and twisted the cap off. “More than okay.”

“So, are you going to go on another date with that guy?” he asked.

I leaned against the counter and took a pull from my beer bottle. “That’s the plan. Wednesday, he said.”

“Do you like him?”

“Yeah, I do. We have a lot in common.”

“Good. Finally . I hope you two work out.”

I walked over to him and kissed his cheek, much to his dismay, and he pretended to wipe it off. “I’m too old for dad kisses.”

“You’re never too old. Anyway, I need a shower and to hit the sack. Don’t stay up too late.” But I knew he would, anyway.

He waved me off, and I headed to my bedroom. After a shower, I grabbed my laptop and climbed into bed to do some research on Alpha’s Rejects. I couldn’t grab all the financials because it was a private business, but I checked their credit report. I loved the vibe of the place and that they brought in local bands. Out of curiosity, I wanted to see how well the bar did. It would be nice to get an idea of whether my place succeeded as well .

A weird thought hit me about combining the two businesses, which would boom in popularity. People could grab some great food and cocktails, then mosey on over to listen to live music. Patrons wouldn’t have to go anywhere else for the night. The thought was only a fantasy, but intriguing, nonetheless.

Did my restaurant bring him more business? Once patrons left my place, did they head over to his? I hoped so.

I filled out an online form on Alpha’s. I didn’t need to know all the details of the business, only wanting to gauge its success.

On Wednesday morning, I sipped coffee as I texted Kingston to make sure we were still on tonight. We’d texted back and forth the past couple of days, but he’d been a little standoffish ever since he learned our businesses were neighbors. I didn’t know why that bothered him, but I thought it was kind of cool.

I could ask him, but it also made me increasingly nervous. I finally found my person, and it felt like he was backing off. At least we still talked, and our date was still planned.

Despite my nerves, I shot him a quick text, keeping it light, and hoped he didn’t call off tonight for our second date.

Me: Ready for our hot date tonight?

He sent me a laughing emoji.

Kingston: Sure am. Looking forward to it. I’m tied up, but I’ll shoot

you a message on where to meet up.

Me: Sounds good.

My tightly wound body finally relaxed, and I smiled, relieved. I wanted to ask why my business bothered him. It could be nothing. Maybe he had other things on his mind, which had nothing to do with me at all. I didn’t have to internalize every damn reaction, but it wasn’t easy being so out of practice.

I checked my email to see that the credit report on Alpha’s Rejects had arrived, which would give me a sense of its performance. If Kingston had done well the past couple of years, then I would, too—or so I hoped. We didn’t quite have the same type of business, but it would help me get some idea of projected growth or loss and to prepare accordingly.

Alpha’s Rejects had been open since early 2022. The documents wouldn’t tell me his exact financials, but it showed he had a loan on the bar. The bar did quite well for a while, catering to everyone, being LGBTQ+ positive, and providing great live music. At the start, he hadn’t been in default on any payments.

While the business still did relatively well, it started to flounder late last year. Kingston had been late on rent and loan payments several times. He wasn’t delinquent, but being late wasn’t good either. It didn’t help that rent and his insurance had gone up in cost at the start of this year. His profits weren’t bad at all, so I didn’t understand where the money went. Surely, it wasn’t only rent and insurance increases, right? The increases had been fairly substantial because everything in the country had gone up, but still, I was curious about the lateness of his bills. Kingston didn’t seem the type to make late payments because he simply forgot. He appeared to have his shit together.

Then that little fantasy of a joint venture hit me. It could help him by expanding both of our businesses. We could turn it into something special. God, I was getting way ahead of myself. We barely knew each other. He’d have no reason to trust me.

But would it hurt to talk about it? If he wasn’t interested, then no skin off my back or his, right? A business venture was just that. We could be adults and put aside personal interests, right?

You don’t know that. You barely know Kingston , I reminded myself.

I locked up that idea, telling myself to forget about it, and got ready for my run. If I wanted to keep dating Kingston, who was sexually voracious, I needed to stay in shape, so I headed to my room and tossed on a pair of shorts, a gym shirt, socks, and my running shoes.

Outside my door, I locked it, put in my earbuds, and cranked up The Beastie Boys, which was my favorite band to run to. A quick jog and a few blocks led me to the waterfront harbor. The run was about five miles along the Patapsco River. Instead of heading toward the popular Harbor Place, I ran in the other direction, keeping my pace to the beat of ‘ Sabotage .’

I quickly grew hot and sweaty, but I had an amazing view of the marina, and even better, I lived close by.

After about two miles, I turned around and headed back, not wanting to exhaust myself for my date tonight.

As soon as I walked through my front door, panting, my phone buzzed. I unlocked the screen to find a message from Kingston. For some reason, my stomach dipped with thoughts of him calling off the date, but his message made me smile instead. God, I really needed to stop acting like an adolescent.

Kingston: Now that you know we’re neighbors, swing by Alpha’s,

but go through the alley. There’s a door that leads up to my

place.

Me: Are you planning to do naughty things to me?

Kingston: Absolutely.

He followed it up with a trail of smiling devil emojis, making me laugh. Any residual worries or doubts I had completely vanished. That was just me being an idiot and way out of touch with dating. I needed to fucking stop it.