Page 26 of Small Town Shy Omega (Applewood Falls #1)

Layla

I curtseyed, glad that Blake let me walk in before him. “Thank you, Blake.”

He rolled his eyes as he held the door. “You are such a pill.”

“I know you are,” I muttered sweetly, entering into Delilah's Diner, “but what am I?”

“A pill,” Dreydon said in agreement, and Josh and Blake laughed.

We waited for Delilah to come and lead us to our booths. Our snarky hostess was taking forever.

“You know, you three really ought to be nicer to me. Here I am, wearing my Saturday best… and all I’m hearing are jokes. Jokes, shmokes. My Omega can only take so much of that, especially since I’m still in heat drop.”

Blake rolled his eyes again.

“Layla, you’re in a perpetual heat drop. We’re buying you some ice cream and you’re gonna be in a good mood for the rest of the day. Got it?”

I put my hands on my hips. “Takes one to know one, Blake. I put out for all three of you, and none of you have ever seen an Omega slick like me. You shouldn’t just be buying me ice cream, you ought to be buying me a ring.”

Dreydon turned to Josh, then let out a laugh.

“A ring? Get real, Layla… This is the modern era, and Omegas don’t wear rings anymore. This isn’t like that Beyoncé song. We liked it, but why put a ring on it? Why put on airs? An expensive, silly ring doesn’t affect the love we have for you.”

“Oh, I want a ring, all right,” I snorted, ready to die on this hill. “Without a ring, you’re not welcome in my cottage… and you won’t enjoy any more of my heats. With all my slick, boys. And you know, I’ve got a lot of slick. So there’s that.”

“We reno-ed, like, half your cottage,” Blake groaned, peeking around for Delilah. “You have no right to banish us from the premises.”

“Last I checked, only my name was on the deed. I can pretty much invite who I please.”

At last, Delilah arrived.

Instead of her customary black rubber-soled shoes, she donned cute Converse low-tops. I spotted a fresh-baked tangerine pie behind her.

I sniffed the air. Burgers, fries, chicken sandwiches, pot pie. Delilah's Diner’s was buzzing with deliciousness today, and I couldn’t wait to grab a bite to eat.

“Well, well, well.” Delilah looked us up and down.

“Enough small talk, D. I’m in my post-heat.” I tried to go for humor, but I probably just sounded hangry. What else was new?

“Ohhhh, so you must be really hungry?” Delilah waggled her brows. “Not that you aren’t hungry usually. It’s just that, I bet today the hunger pains are double.”

I groaned, feigning immense pain. “If I don’t get a triple-bacon dinner, I may die.”

“Wouldn’t that be a relief,” Delilah retorted with a smile.

“Funny,” I laughed, clinging to my Alphas for support. “You know, you’re lucky you’re a girl like me.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Any guy who made those comments would wind up six feet underground.” I smirked at my Alphas, looking for backup. “Right, guys? Right?”

Blake turned his head to the left, letting out a whistle. “Not today, they wouldn’t,” he breathed.

Josh swatted Blake. “Don’t be rude to our queen. She’s hangry… and that excuses her attitude.”

I bowed politely, then smiled at Josh. “You have exclusive rights to my slick during my next heat, Josh. Thanks for understanding.”

Josh gave me a nuggie. “Anytime, hot stuff.”

My eyebrows waggled, and I felt feathery and light. “He called me hot stuff. I’m really in a good mood now.”

“Hear that?” Josh growled, turning to Delilah. “Her Omega’s purring. I think that calls for… a free slice of pie.”

“Absolutely not.” Delilah decided this was the hill she would die on, apparently.

Josh crossed his arms.

“Come on, Delilah. Our Omega is huuuuungry, and we’ve spent our pack savings on renovating her cottage.”

“And?” Delilah wondered.

“She needs free pie,” Josh muttered, blessing me with a wink.

Delilah whipped her head back and forth.

“Falls into the category of Not my problem, sweetheart. Watch it, Layla. Your pack is clearly bad with money… they didn't keep a pie budget! I mean, seriously. I could never be with a pack without a pie budget. Imagine the shame of walking around begging for freebies? Not on my watch, no ma’am.”

I frowned, my glare bouncing off Delilah.

“They de-installed my gutter guards, Delilah. Re-shingled my roof. And… they even installed an entire wooden walkway when I sprained my ankle, so I could wheel around. Then, they disassembled the walkway and used it for firewood after my ankle heeled. Oh, and Dreydon carved me a statue. Using a chainsaw. They’re pretty great, if you ask me. ”

“Sounds like they deserve the free pie more than you,” Delilah huffed.

Blake waggled his brows, a happy smile on his face. “She gets it,” he hissed.

“She’s on our side,” Dreydon hissed, nudging Josh’s ribs. “I like her.”

“I most certainly am,” Delilah retorted proudly. “Like I said, Layla is one of my worst customers. She’s always waltzing in… crying when we get her order wrong.”

A low growl escaped Josh. “And do you… frequently get her order wrong?”

“Well, we’re a popular diner, and our chefs get anxious during the lunch rush.”

Blake slowly turned to Delilah. “How can you hire chefs… who get anxious during the lunch rush?”

“They’re not on meds. Claim the government’s trying to control them. Hence, they sometimes start screaming and throws pans when grilling burgers.”

I scratched my temple. “That… doesn’t sound safe.” No, it really didn’t. I prayed for their mental health.

Josh whacked my back. “Hey,” he growled, “Delilah’s providing work for people… who probably wouldn’t be hired elsewhere.”

“Yeah, most of my chefs come straight from the Applewood Falls prison,” Delilah snorted. “Pay ‘em less than a buck a day. Don’t say I’m not a good business owner. They’re grim reapers, though. They’ve got at least a body to their name… I’m keeping the rest of the townspeople safe, really.”

“A little exploitative, perhaps,” I murmured, though my stomach rumbled for a burger. “We may have to report you to the board.”

“What board?” Delilah asked. “I am the board, sweetie.”

“The… board,” I muttered. “Isn’t there a board that takes care of these things? Protects workers?”

“There’s gotta be a board,” Josh whispered in agreement, and we shared a nod.

Delilah put her hands on her hips. “The City Council is in my back pocket, know why? Because I give them first dibs on my huckleberry pie.”

“Small towns and their secrets,” Blake snorted, turning to Dreydon.

Dreydon couldn’t help but agree. “Someone might want to peel back the onion layers of this place. Not everything is what it seems.”

I waggled my brows. “Hey, you mentioned onions. I want onion rings.”

My heart was full, and so was my belly. I looked around at the table: my Alphas were eating well, and it made my Omega happy to see them so content.

Delilah brought us our enormous orders. My triple-bacon cheeseburger was radiant, and each bite brought me closer to Fate… Literally. The thing nearly gave me a heart attack, but dang was it good. I could basically eat that all day.

My onion rings were stacked high, and when it came time for dessert, my slice of pie was divine.

“I can’t deal with this.” A moan slipped from me as I ate. Wow, this was heavenly.

Blake made a face. “Sweetie, can you not make those moans?”

“It’s my burger,” I teased, "I’ll moan if I want to.”

Josh smiled. “My, you’re so… hot. You sound like one of those sketchy ASMR channels.”

“Sketchy?” What was sketchy about orgasmically eating food?

“They toe a line,” Josh muttered.

Dreydon nodded. “They seem to be… right up against ban-able content. They slip through.”

I shrugged. “You can pry my food noises from my cold, dead hands.”

Josh grinned. “I could listen to you eat all day, baby.”

Outside, pink petals were swirling through the air.

Delilah's Diner boasted a view of Main Street. While I chowed down on greasy onion rings, drinking the tall glass of milk that my Alphas ordered me for my pie, I watched the townspeople scurry.

Bronwyn rushed by, her emerald-green hair billowing as she hurried to her funeral parlor. She was a pretty badass Omega, and while most townspeople would never guessed she was cool with death, her skull-and-crossbones pendent gave it away.

Gretel walked by, her blue hair flowing in the wind.

Her oversized, light-blue crocheted sweater was gorgeous, and she carried three wicker baskets of blueberries.

There’d been a storm earlier, so I just knew she’d been out in the fields, gathering berries by hand.

Fighting off bears… who also wanted the berries.

Then, I saw a black-haired Omega scurry by.

Irene, I thought as I sipped my milk, glad to see my friend was okay.

She’d had some trouble selling her tangerine-and-pineapple cups in the Public Gardens lately, but she still had to do it to support her grandfather.

The City Council was giving her grief, though.

“Poor Irene,” I said as I sipped my milk.

“Why?” Josh asked. Clearly, he didn't know her backstory.

“She’s the Omega you always see selling fruit cups in the Public Gardens,” I explained. “The one selling the tangerines.”

Blake nodded. “I’ve seen her around a time or two.”

Dreydon frowned. “Is it safe for an unbonded Omega to work alone in public all day?”

I smiled, slicing into my pie. “This is Applewood Falls. We may not be the biggest or most exciting city, but Omegas are generally safe here. If an Alpha tried to take advantage of her, she’d be in her legal purview to slap him.”

“Slap him?” Blake looked shocked.

I shrugged, lifting an enormous onion ring. “Omegas can always slap Alphas… who give them grief. It’s part of our town rules.”

“Better watch myself, then.” Blake scooted away from me.

“You’re safe,” I drawled.

“Why am I safe?” Blake asked.

“We’re bonded now. It’s Dreydon and Josh who need to worry.”

Dreydon frowned at me. “Oh, so if I give you grief… You’ll slap me?”

I held Blake’s hand, then sipped more milk. It was two percent. So rich and creamy. “Yep.”