Page 15 of The Bear, the Eagle, and their Wombat Omega (Omegas of Animals: SD #14)

Steve

Date night. Arkyn and I were going to go out, just the two of us.

I was excited and terrified, all balled into one.

What if, when the two of us were together, we didn’t really get along?

Maybe we needed a third person to be our buffer.

There’d been no indication that was the case, but that didn’t stop my mind from wandering.

Everything had been going so well with us that part of me wondered when the other shoe would drop.

I really needed to get over that. These were my mates.

Fate sent them just for me. Just because my own family and wisdom was shitty didn’t mean I should expect it from everyone else. It was unfair to them.

The plan was Arkyn would pick me up at my office. I had a meeting I’d been unable to reschedule. The event was getting too close for it not to impact the final results.

My client looked at me funny when he saw I was wearing jeans and a polo instead of my normal business attire, but that was the way it was. I’d always prided myself on being very professional, even wearing business suits in summer.

I often left my jacket at home and ties were rare now, but this level of dress down was new. I’d been thinking about doing it for a while but hadn’t been brave enough. The college professor’s advice constantly echoing in my head.

Today, I ripped the Band-Aid off. And I used the day as an excuse, even though it was true…I didn’t want to waste time going home and getting changed.

How quickly it changed me in little ways like this. I did something I’d wanted to do for a long time but hadn’t been strong enough. I had a feeling it was the first act of many.

“I’ll get back to you when we have the finalized contract,” I assured my client, holding up my hand for a shake.

He was human, and I tried to keep as many human business etiquette weirdnesses as I could. I still made mistakes, usually forgetting the handshakes or overdoing them, but I was a lot better than when I first left my wisdom. Progress was being made.

“Excellent. I’ll get out of your way. I see your next client is here.”

I turned to see Arkyn standing in the doorway. He wasn’t exactly my next client, but I wasn’t going to correct him.

“Perfect timing.” I stepped into his arms for a hug once we were alone.

“Not exactly perfect. I was outside in the parking lot for half an hour then in the hallway for fifteen minutes.” He smiled and then rubbed his cheek against mine, putting his scent on me…possessive and hot as hell.

“So you’re a little excited about our time together?”

“You have no idea, omega. None.”

“You never told me where we were going.” I nipped at his bottom lip.

“If you keep doing that, we’re not going anywhere.” He gave my ass a playful pat, and we went back to his car.

“You’re really not going to tell me?” Now, I was extra curious.

“Nope. My lips are sealed.”

We drove for what felt like forever.

The conversation was great, and normally time would have flown, but because my curiosity was getting the best of me, it was dragging.

Eventually, we pulled into a former fairgrounds, or maybe it was still active, although the sign definitely looked ancient.

He drove down a dirt path to the far end where he parked.

“There’s no fair.”

“I’m aware.” He put the car in park and unclicked both our seat belts. “Come. I have a surprise.”

He led me to the other side of a large barn where there were three hot air balloons on the ground, two with people inside them.

“You must be our final reservation!” A woman with lavender in her hair bounded over. “I’m going to be your guide today.”

A quick scent told me she was a dragon. A dragon shifter owning hot air balloons. I guessed it sort of made sense.

“Come on, we’ll get you inside.” There was no preamble. We were just getting into it.

“We’re going up in a hot air balloon?” It wasn’t something I’d ever thought was a possibility, much less an item on my bucket list.

“Is that okay?”

If I’d said no, he would’ve walked away without a second guess. Yes, this was a surprise. He was excited because he wanted me to enjoy it.

“Oh yeah. I’ve never done anything like that, but what made you pick it?” Heights weren’t my thing, but I was willing to give it a go.

“I wanted you to feel what it was like being in the air, but I’m not big enough to fly with you, so I thought this would be the next best thing.”

And just like that, it went from a cool adventure to one of the sweetest gestures I’d ever seen. I was low-key terrified we were going to end up in Oz or crash into a building, but being with him made it okay.

I spent a good chunk of the time in the air with my eyes closed. The woman in charge had offered us choices: to go for a ride or stay tethered. My mate read my face well and told her we’d rather be tethered.

“Are you okay with this?” I hugged him close, and he kissed my forehead. I felt bad for him missing out because I was scared.

“As much as I’d love to go on a journey with you, being tethered means we don’t have to have anybody in here with us, so I’ll take it.”

I wasn’t sure if that was because she knew he was an eagle shifter or if that was normal protocol, but being alone definitely had its benefits.

He kissed me soundly then turned me around so my back was against his chest, his arms still holding me close. “Take a look around, omega ours. Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”

“I know, Arkyn. I know.” And in his embrace, I took in the beautiful view.

Time was weird, and I thought we were up there for a long while, but fifteen minutes later, we were on the ground. I was thrilled with the experience, but also had been a little apprehensive throughout.

“Thank you so much,” I said to the woman running the place. “That was really fun.”

“I was wondering if you were going to have me pull you down,” she admitted.

“Had I been with anybody else, I probably would’ve. But have you seen my mate? He’s not letting anything happen to me.” I snuggled into Arkyn’s side.

“I’ve got one of those at home, too. It’s pretty nice, isn’t it?”

“It is. But I’ve got two.” I held up two fingers.

She smiled back and smirked. “Next time, bring your third. Maybe I’ll let you stay up there longer.”

And maybe we would.

Our date didn’t end there. We went for a nice steak dinner, a walk through some of the shops along the seashore, and ended back with Bruno so we could all snuggle together.

It was a really good day.

And to think I’d been worried.