Page 9 of Gamers' Omega

“You know how the weather is,” Tony griped. “Come on, let’s get home.”

I took a deep breath and made several strides toward the parking lot. Unfortunately, I’d barely made it a handful of paces when the cement turned slick under my feet.

“Walk like a penguin,” I muttered. “Walk like a penguin.”

“Damn, that’s icy,” Ian grumbled from somewhere behind me. “We’ve still got salt in the garage, right?”

“I think there’s half a bag,” Tony replied.

“Good enough,” Ian stated.

I slowed as I reached the curb ramp. Unfortunately, as soon as I started down the slight incline, my feet slipped out from under me. I pinwheeled my arms in an attempt to catch my balance, but to no avail. A second later I was on the ground with a throbbing ass where I’d hit the concrete.

“Eric!” Freddie cried, rushing over as fast as he could penguin walk. “Are you ok?”

I groaned and shifted to rub my ass, noting how wet my pants already were. “No lasting damage, except to my dignity.”

A hand appeared in front of me, and I smiled as Beck helped me to my feet.

“Do you think the streets have been salted?” Tony asked.

Ian snorted. “Of course not. This is way worse than what was expected.”

I shivered as I looked out at the road.

I shook my head, said my goodbyes, and resumed penguin walking toward my car. I was about halfway to it when Ian called out. “Eric?”

I paused and waited for him to catch up. “Yeah?”

He motioned to my car. “Please tell me that’s not yours.”

“Umm…”

“Where do you live?” he asked, a frown crossing his face.

“Near Sunlit Hills and Juniper.”

The frown deepened. “Absolutely not.” He grabbed my shoulders and steered me back toward the group.

“Wait… what?”

“Look,” he stated as he guided me toward an SUV, “you were already clearly nervous when you thought it was just snow. But it’s ice, and your car is rear wheel drive. The weather will only get worse as you go. It’s always worse on that side of town.”

“It’s not as if I have another option,” I argued.

“Weare your other option,” he huffed. “We’re only a few blocks away and have a clean guest room. Text our address to a friend if you’re worried, but I promise you’re safe with us. We’ll bring you back in the morning once the roads have been salted.”

The cautious part of me tried to argue that it was a bad idea to go home with the four alphas. But they’d never been anything but kind to me, and the part of me that was scared to attempt driving on thick ice won out.

“Ok…” I sighed.

The others were already inside the SUV as Ian held a door open for me. Tony glanced back from the front passenger seat and gave me a tight smile. “Sorry. I know you’d rather go home, but I drove a little rear-wheel like that back in high school and I was terrified every time it got icy. I would have been a nervous wreck until we heard from you.”

I took a seat in the rear row while Ian climbed into the swivel seat behind Beck—who was driving. “I-it’s ok. I’m not comfortable driving on ice, so it’s a good thing.”

Tony’s smile loosened into a relieved one.

“What time do we need to have you back to pick up your car tomorrow?” Freddie asked as we started moving. “The roads will be salted by then, though probably not great. Give yourself plenty of time to get home and ready for work.”