Page 4 of Curtis & Jae (Mate Match #1)

Four

Curtis

Oh, shit! Jae was gorgeous, like outta my league levels of stunning.

What the fuck was he doing on a dating app when he could have his pick of any alpha out there?

Looking around myself, I clocked maybe three other alphas who’d be down for taking him out if I fucked this up.

I was so going to fuck this up! There was no way—

Get it together , I mentally berated myself. I stole another look at Jae and our surroundings while I tried to focus on what he was saying.

A strange feeling of possessiveness swept over me at the looks they were shooting him. He was here for me, not them, I reminded myself, so I shoved the feeling back. Sometimes my lack of self-confidence was my worst enemy. I didn’t want to scare Jae off by being an alphahole.

His pic on his dating profile hadn’t done him justice at all.

Didn’t show his bright smile, beautifully clear golden tawny skin, angular features or trim body.

His eyes were so dark they were almost black, they were stunning, and his dark hair was styled like in those K-dramas I’d caught Jennie watching.

He honestly could have been an actor or a K-pop idol. He was certainly pretty enough.

What the hell was he doing with someone like me?

While I was active in my job, I knew I was carrying a little extra around the middle.

My eyes were okay. According to my sister, they were my best feature next to my mouth.

I had straight white teeth. My mama made sure I got braces when I needed them.

She hadn’t been there to see them removed, but I thanked her often for making me take care of my teeth.

In my line of work, renovating homes, the customer needed to see a friendly smile to set them at ease. When they gave me their homes to upgrade, they gave me their trust. I needed to look dependable because that’s what I built my brand, my reputation, on.

Seemed like it worked on Jae, too, since he beamed at me, immediately soothing my nerves. Everything would be fine if he was smiling at me like that.

“Your table is ready if you want to come over,” a server said, distracting me from my date.

Being a gentleman, I held out my arm for him. He took it, squeezing gently with another happy grin. There was a zing of electricity between us when we touched. Even over the pheromone blockers in the restaurant, I caught a trace of his enticing scent.

His touch sent a feeling of rightness over me. It felt like we’d been doing this for a while. Like this was a practiced motion between us. His hand was always meant to fit there. By the way he leaned into me as I led him to our table, he felt the same.

I pushed in his chair after he was seated, earning me a soft look and a muttered, “thank you.”

So far, so good. Like Mama always said, manners got you far in life.

“Are you as nervous as me?” I asked him as I pretended to scan the menu, too interested in looking at him instead. He just had such a captivating face! His lips held a slight pout without him seemingly trying. I wondered if they were as soft as they looked.

“Not anymore, actually.” He was gazing straight at me, studying my features just as hard as I was with his.

“Really?”

“Yeah.” He let out a low laugh. “Chatting with you on the app isn’t the same as meeting in person, I get that. It’s just I feel like I already know you, and well…” Jae blushed, the pink on his cheeks melted my heart further. I was desperate for this date to turn into more dates.

“Well?” I prompted, eager for his answer.

“I like you already. Is that weird?”

Relief flooded me. Whatever this was, it clearly wasn’t one sided. “Not at all. We’ve barely started our date and I already want more dates!”

Jae laughed. “What if I have really bad table manners?”

“Then I’ll cook for you next time.” Having Jae in my house would be nerve-wracking, but worth it for more of his smiles.

He smirked. “Good answer.”

The server appeared to take our order. We had to ask them to come back since we were too busy chatting about our days to have properly looked at the menu.

“Have you been here before?” Jae asked.

When I said that I had, he asked for recommendations. “You said you eat meat, right? What about dairy?”

“I don’t eat a lot of red meat, but I’m not restricted in what I eat by allergies or anything.”

“That’s right, I remember you said in our messages.” His eyes practically glowed with happiness. Marty and Grace would be so happy I’d remembered details about Jae. They’d coached me to prove I paid attention to him. “Any preferences?”

“Maybe something light? I thought it was my nerves, but my stomach feels a little off.”

Shit! Was he okay? Was he wanting to bail on our date? I’d be disappointed, sure, though I’d understand. He couldn’t help being unwell. “Huh. Are you sure you want to try to eat? I can take a raincheck on dinner if you don’t feel well.”

“No! You’re sweet, but that’s not necessary. I’m enjoying being with you.” He picked up his menu and looked it over. “I’d rather try to eat. Maybe a salad?”

His words gave me a measure of comfort. He did look paler than before. I hoped he wasn’t getting sick. Did he have anyone close by to look after him if he was?

I tried to make a joke and lighten the mood to make him feel better. “Well, I could do with eating a few less burgers and more salads, so—”

“Stop.” Jae’s face was stern. “I’m sure you’ve heard a lot of body shaming shit over your lifetime. Don’t put yourself down, okay? You want the burger? Have the burger. You’ve got an active job, and the cuddly middle you’ve got going on is sorta hot, not going to lie.”

“Really?” I didn’t know what deity had put Jae in front of me, but I thanked them all.

Jae’s face flushed, a sheen of sweat beaded his brow. He took out a tissue from his pocket and dabbed at it before wincing.

“Hardly attractive.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” My fingers itched to do something to help him.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Is it hot in here?”

The restaurant was a perfect temperature for me and I ran a little warmer than most, so it was probably on the cooler side.

This place was one of those nicer chains which had the pheromone control and decent AC.

I liked visiting them so I wasn’t blasted with alpha and omega pheromones all the time.

It was common now to wear neutralizing scents, though they only worked short term and often were overpowered by a powerful emotion like lust. It wasn’t something I liked to rely on, hence a decent place with climate control.

“Would you like me to see if we can move outside? Might be harder to talk, but if you’d be more comfortable…”

“I’ll be okay, thank you.” Jae flashed a grateful smile. It was gratifying he was persisting with his date even though he wasn’t at his best. “Oh, my goodness, I feel terrible about this. You’re exactly like your profile. Things were going well, and now there’s this. Whatever it is.”

“It’s fine. As long as you want to continue our date…”

“I do.”

When the server returned, we both put in our orders.

Mine, a burger, since he’d been so determined I get one, Jae’s a light chicken salad.

He ordered a virgin cocktail, and I followed his lead.

His drink sounded delicious. Besides, while I liked the occasional beer, I preferred not to drink on dates.

We chatted a little more while we waited for our food. I took a sip of the cocktail, only to be assaulted by the tangy flavor.

“Wow!”

“Right?”

Jae looked brighter now that he had a drink. Maybe it was a blood sugar thing? Whatever it was, the sugar appeared to help. We talked about a few things while we waited for our food. He told me about his project he’d just wrapped up and the transition from a political science degree to an art one.

“Both were a waste of time, according to my mom’s parents.”

“Do they have a lot of influence in your life?” I wanted to understand the dynamic since it was different from mine.

“They try. Mom pushed me towards a couple of matches they made for me. My ex—”

“Hwan? The one who cheated?”

“Yeah, him. I feel bad you know that already.” Jae grimaced. “Isn’t it breaking dating etiquette to talk about an ex on the first date?”

“Well, you told me about him before our date, explaining why you were wary and why you were on the app, so if I wasn’t put off then… I wouldn’t worry. You can tell me anything. I like learning stuff about you,” I told him honestly, meaning every word.

Two flags of red graced his cheeks as he blushed once more. He was so damn attractive. I was punching above my weight with him, but if he was happy to be with me, I wasn’t going to question it, just enjoy it while it lasted.

Our food arrived, interrupting the conversation. We thanked the server before trying our meals.

“This is good!” Jae ate a piece of chicken covered in the dressing, his hand covering his mouth as he spoke. “Sorry, hungry.”

He ate like he was starving until he was finished.

Seeing I’d barely started, he gave a nervous laugh.

It was actually pretty cute how quickly he’d eaten.

Instead of making a comment, because I would have been so embarrassed if someone did it to me, I cut some of my burger off and put it on his plate.

Then I followed it with half of my fries.

“But—”

“No.” I fixed him with a firm look. “I can share. If I’m still hungry after, we can order dessert.” He tentatively ate a fry, making me smile. The alpha in me loved feeding this omega, seeing to his needs.

Jae smiled. “I’m really glad I accepted the date. You…” he paused, looking for words. “Curtis, you’re really great.”

“But?” I’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“There’s no ‘but’ waiting here. I like you.” His eyes met mine. Determination filled his expression. “Really, I do. And I think we should have another date after this one.”

My heart felt like it was beating double time. I was so damn happy I could burst from it. “I’d like that.” It was a struggle to keep it simple, not to pour out all my feelings.

Happy with my words, he nodded, then tucked into the burger and fries with some seriously sexy moans of pleasure. I wanted to adjust myself just from the sounds coming out of his pretty mouth. Seeing him so pleased with something small, like sharing food, made my day.

My friends always said I was a caretaker at heart.

This was what I wanted in a relationship with an omega.

Seeing a need in them and fixing it without being asked.

Jae seemed to be the type to allow me to do that as long as I wasn’t overbearing.

I was pretty sure he’d tell me if I crossed a line.

He struck me as having and keeping firm boundaries.

As long as he talked to me, I could cope with that.

“Um,” Jae suddenly looked concerned. His face paled again, and there was a new layer of sweat on his brow. “I think I know what’s wrong with me. Oh, fuck.”

I tensed, instantly on alert. Without thinking, I was half out of my seat. “What? Is there anything I can do?”

“Oh, damn!” He looked panicked. “This was… I had weeks. The plan… Oh, shit.” He looked to the floor, working something out.

“Jae? Are you alright?” I slipped out of my seat to crouch next to his feet and meet his eyes. That close, the neutralizers couldn’t cover it. The reason why he’d been so off.

My omega date was in heat.

“Um, Curtis…?”

“You’re in heat,” I said in an undertone. We needed to avoid too many people figuring it out. It could be dangerous for him in such a vulnerable state.

“I am. It wasn’t supposed to be for a while.” He gripped my hands tightly. “Maybe it’s your pheromones… When we touched, I scented you and, wow, you smell great,” he whispered. He leaned forward to take in more of my pheromones.

“You’re getting distracted.” I looked around.

So far, no one was paying much attention to us.

Maybe they thought we were having a sweet moment.

I had to figure this out to keep him safe.

“Do you have a plan? For handling your heat, I mean.” We continued to speak in low voices, though I was sure half the place was now staring at us because I was still kneeling at an omega’s feet, having quiet conversation.

“Uh, um… you were the plan,” he said, sheepishly. “I was hoping that by the time my heat came, you’d feel comfortable enough to take me through it. With contraception, obviously.” He winced.

“Obviously,” I muttered dryly. I was honored he thought I could be that for him. It made me feel like he was also thinking long term.

“This is so out of the blue.” He hesitated. “Really, I shouldn’t ask you, but… I can’t do it alone again.” Another pause. “Would you…Do you still want to? Take me through my heat?” Jae met my eyes. “I think… I know I’d like you to, if you’d be willing.”

Fuck! He was going to melt me into a puddle with how earnest and sweet he was. His pheromones were doing a number on me, too. The sheer amount of trust he was placing in me was a heady thing.

“Willing? I’d be honored you’d trust me so soon. I’ll happily take you through your heat.” It was crazy to do this with a guy I just met in person, yet I felt like I knew Jae. I was so attracted to him. The pull was wild! If he was sure about it, then I’d give him the best damn heat he’d ever had.

Taking his hand, I helped him to his feet. I got my wallet out and put down more than enough to cover our meals, plus a hefty tip without waiting for the bill.

Jae came into my arms, tucking his head under my chin. “I knew you’d be a great pick.”