Page 40 of Knot Enough (Fruity Omegas #1)

G raham

“How much longer?” I called out from where I was standing outside Gabriel and Lydia’s room. We were already ten minutes late.

“Hold on! Perfection takes time!” Gabriel yelled back.

My smile widened at his excited tone. Gabriel had taken it upon himself to help Lydia with most of her outfits before our dates.

I think it was his way of spending as much time as he could with her before she felt the house.

He tended to be clingier when Lydia was around.

So far, we’ve managed to keep her birthday party a secret.

Gabriel had to message Corretta on my phone so Lydia didn’t accidentally see.

“Alright, done.” Gabriel’s voice rang out as the door opened.

Lydia appeared in a short grey dress with noodle straps from behind the door.

A gift I’d gotten her when I saw one of my workers wearing a similar dress.

I knew as soon as I saw it that it was perfect for Lydia.

She wore a long-sleeved sweater underneath to keep her warm and tall black boots.

Her hair was done up in a messy bun. She was adorable.

Her outfit would be perfect for where I planned to take her.

“Took you two long enough,” I said as I guided Lydia in my arms. “You look adorable,” I whispered in her ear before giving her a twirl. She giggled as she spun, and the sound melted my heart.

“I expect her to be back by 12 tonight. You do anything nefarious and I’ll know about it.

” Gabriel said with mock seriousness, using two fingers to point to his face, then mine.

I ignored him, but not before giving him a quick kiss.

I pulled him closer, angling his head with one of my hands to where I wanted him.

I felt his hands fist my shirt the longer I kissed him.

When I felt him relax into the kiss, I stepped back, returning to Lydia’s side.

“Let’s go, Lydia. I have the whole night planned out.” I commented, guiding her down the hallway. I glanced back to see Gabriel standing there with a hazy look.

“You love riling him up, don’t you?” Lydia asked as I opened the door to the car for her.

“I assure you, I have no idea what you mean by that,” I said as I buckled her seatbelt, making sure it wasn’t too tight on her. She rolled her eyes .

“Sure.” She relented. My smile grew wider as I kissed her forehead lightly.

I closed her door and went to the driver’s side.

When I was situated, I handed her the stereo cord and told her to listen to whatever music she wanted as I pulled out of our garage.

She looked momentarily surprised before plugging the cord into her phone.

I almost swerved off the road when heavy metal played at full volume.

“Sorry, I forgot that was the last thing I played when I went out with Finn.” She apologized, quickly switching to a pop song and lowering the volume.

“No need to apologize, just warn a guy next time,” I laughed.

I shifted one of my hands onto one of Lydia’s legs.

I gave her plenty of time to swat my hand away if she wanted, but she seemed to relax at my touch rather than avoid it.

Her scent got sweeter too, letting me know she didn’t mind my hand being where it was.

With my confidence increased, I started rubbing circles along her skin absentmindedly.

My hand remained on her leg till we finally arrived at our location.

Lydia practically squealed with excitement once she realised where we were.

I had barely parked when she exited the car.

After I closed my door, I found Lydia staring up at the county fair that was in town.

I wrapped my arms around her midsection and rested my head on hers.

“You like it?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“Like it? I love it!” She gushed, turning around to quickly peck me on the lips before grabbing my hand and dragging me towards the fair.

Some alphas would have hated being pulled around by their omega, but I loved seeing her take control of her happiness and getting what she wanted. I wouldn’t trade anything for this.

I paid for the unlimited rides and our entrance ticket.

Lydia was nearly floating off the ground with impatience as we waited in line for admission.

Once we were inside, she grabbed my hand again and dragged me to the ride she wanted to get on.

Regarding amusement parks, I had very few limits to what I would ride.

Lydia seemed to prefer things that went fast and high, but nothing that would go upside down or spin a lot.

She continued dragging me towards every ride that caught her eye for about the first couple of hours we were there, when she stopped suddenly.

I nearly walked into her when she did. I followed her line of sight towards a large pumpkin spice latte pillow.

It was shaped like a coffee cup, but you could see a cinnamon stick and the orangish liquid from the clear cup.

Lydia walked up to it and rubbed the fabric between her fingers, and I could practically hear her purr in satisfaction.

The game the pillow was attached to was a fake shooting game.

“I want to play,” I said, pulling out a 20 and handing it to the worker at the stall. Lydia’s eyes shoot from the pillow to me.

“You don’t have to do that, Graham. These games are usually rigged anyway.” She pleaded. I took the rifle from the man and looked down at her .

“Honey, nothing you say will convince me not to get that pillow. I saw the look on your face when you touched it. You want that pillow for your nest, and I want to show off a bit for my girl. Now let me make both of us happy.” I clarified before giving her a quick kiss on the forehead.

I turned my attention back to the game. My father was the owner of a shooting range when I barely started walking.

I already knew how to shoot several kinds of guns with ease.

I shoot the first of three bullets, not expecting it to hit anything.

Like I expected, the bullet went to the left, missing every target.

I adjusted the gun and my aim, now that I have a better idea of the wind and pattern of the bullets.

The second shot hit closer to home, but still missed all the targets.

Next to me, I could feel Lydia’s excitement and nervousness through our bond.

My ego was stroked when I realized she expected me to win the game.

Not wanting to disappoint her, I doubled my efforts on the game.

After double- and triple-checking my aim and stance, I shot the last bullet.

It hit the edge of the target, knocking the plate off the stand it was on.

The worker honked a horn on his outfit and congratulated me on being a good shot.

“You did! You did!” Lydia squealed as the worker handed her the pillow she had eyed at the beginning.

“Of course, I did. My father would’ve cried his eyes out if I hadn’t. Besides, I have 5 more 20’s I would’ve used to keep trying.” I admitted, putting my arm around her shoulder.

“This was fun. Thanks for bringing me here.” She leaned against me with the pillow in her hands. A warm feeling started in my heart, and I pulled her closer to me.

“You ready to go home?” I asked. I could see her eyes drooping as we walked, but if she wanted to do something else before we left, I wouldn’t stop her.

“No, I think I’m ready. We did everything I wanted to do. Is there anything you wanted to do before we left?” She asked, looking up at me. I couldn’t resist kissing her face before responding.

“Nope, I just wanted to have fun with you. Are you sure you don’t want a candied apple or a funnel cake? There’s fried Oreos, too,” I reminded her. I saw her eyeing a couple of the food stalls earlier.

“Nope, if I eat those, I feel sick from the sugar, and I don’t want to end the night feeling nauseous.” She explained, moving closer to me to escape from the chilly air.

“Let’s head home then,” I said. Pulling her closer.

The crowd has thinned since we got here.

It made the trek back to our car a lot easier.

We had just gotten to the parking lot where our car was, and I felt Lydia stiffen underneath my arm.

I looked in the direction of where Lydia was looking and grimaced.

I recognized the man from the pictures I had.

It was also the same man who I threatened not too long.

Like his two other pack mates, Connor’s hair was short, dark, and slicked back as if he had just come from a meeting.

I would never say this out loud, but to me, the Jameson pack looked like copies of each other.

“Connor, what is he doing?” Lydia asked.

Her voice was cold and even, but I could hear a small trembling in it.

Connor didn’t say anything as he closed the distance between us.

When I figured he was close enough, I glared at Connor, warning him not to take another step, but the first time Connor didn't know how to take a hint.

Meeting my glare with one of his, he stopped with about five feet between us.

“I suggest you get what you have to say out fast. Lydia and I were about to head home, and I have very little patience with other alphas outside of work hours.” I said with the same politeness I used when I spoke with him the first time.

Connor's eyes moved from my face to my hand wrapped around Lydia’s shoulder.

I felt smug when his eyes narrowed at the contact.

I moved forward a bit to let Lydia hide behind me.

“My business is with Lydia, not you,” Connor grunted.

“What you have to say to me can be said with Graham here,” Lydia stated. Connor’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing to contradict her.