Page 12 of Unforgettable Omega

He’d stopped trying.

He looked around at the kids of different ages playing and laughing, he even watched Nickolas as he let himself get chased by his twins and some other kids, including Grayson’s older son. Nic had a huge smile on his face, and actually looked like he was having the time of his life. If he hadn’t been witnessing it, he wouldn’t believe it himself, wouldn’t believe that this washis previously perpetually serious, usually always scowling friend.

Drew couldn’t help but wonder if that would ever be him. He also couldn’t help wondering if he would ever be the one someone called dad.

Drew didn’t stop the sigh that escaped. How could he become a dad if he couldn’t commit to anyone longer than the time it took for him to realize they weren’t Shay?

He'd considered adopting briefly, but his heart wasn’t in it.

Gods, even thinking the man’s name made him... sad, angry, confused… Shay’s image, the mere thought of him never ceased to raise turbulent feeling in Drew. Even now…

It was the not knowing, at least that was what he tried convincing himself of. Maybe if he understood why, he could move on.

For the life of him, and till today, Drew could never figure out what had gone wrong. He’d gone over the night repeatedly, broken it down, dissected every word, every action, every touch, response, wondering if he’d fucked up, or imagined the connection… He’d replayed it all, but still, he had no answers.

A part of Drew felt like maybe he’d built the night up, built the man up in his mind and memories. And maybe he had, but he’d searched for that feeling again, that moment of knowing your future was in your arms. He was still searching.

At least his younger brother had gotten married and provided the next Walker-Thompson heir. So it had taken some of the pressure off from his parents, but even he didn’t get a happy ever after. Austin had lost his omega before they ever had a chance to live their happily ever after. His brother had a child who was born from the love he had shared with his omega. The love that Austin knew was reciprocated. Austin had that certainty, even though sometimes that came at a high price too. All Drew had was a small glimpse of what could have been, and it was gone before it could be.

He sighed again, melancholy, his old friend, was visiting it seemed. Drew looked around at everyone chatting and laughing, kids playing in the mini theme park that his friends had set up for their child’s birthday, even though in all likelihood a one year old would remember none of it. Yea this was definitely not the place for him, and he should probably leave before his horrible mood rubbed off on what was supposed to be a fun day.

Drew looked around for Grayson to make his excuses, when he found him, his friend had joined Nickolas in entertaining the kids. He shook his head and glanced towards where Riley, Grayson's omega, was sitting with his friends and a couple of other parents. Drew considered making his excuses to Riley, but he didn’t really want to call attention to himself by going over there.

When Drew looked up, towards the escape route, also known as the door leading into Grayson’s home, and to the front door and to freedom, what he saw made him believe he was hallucinating—it wouldn’t be the first time—coming out of the house was someone he recognized, but hadn’t seen in a very long time, at least not outside his dreams. But it couldn’t be, because well it just couldn’t. But the closer the man came, the more he came into focus, and the more he came into focus, Drew realized he wasn’t hallucinating.

It couldn’t be. How?

He would recognize that face anywhere.

Shay, the man who had haunted his dreams for five long years. Here… now. How?

Seeing him in the flesh again shocked Drew rigid. Anger, fierce and intense, had him stepping forward involuntarily, moving towards the man who had broken his heart after running out on him.

But then, just as quickly as he started, he stopped, freezing in his tracks.

For the first time in his life, Drew wasn’t sure what his next move should be. And for a man whose job consisted of split-second decisions that affected hundreds of lives, it was a new feeling for him, and it certainly wasn’t one he relished.

Everything in his soul was screaming for him go right up to Shay and ask him why. Why he had left, what Drew had done, justwhyhe had left?

That question had haunted him for so many years, but with Shay in front of him, Drew wasn’t even sure he wanted the answer.

As ashamed as he was to admit it—especially since alphas were supposed to strong and unflappable—the fact was, Drew wasn’t sure he would like the answer.

Drew had a feeling closure wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

When he finally came back to himself, Drew took a moment to look his fill, his gaze roaming over every inch of Shay taking everything in until he came back up to Shay’s eyes. When their gazes met, the man that had haunted his dreams, was standing less than ten steps away, but unlike the first time they met, Shay’s whole body language screamed keep away, and was that fear he saw lurking in the omega’s eyes?

None of that stopped Drew from noticing Shay’s luscious full kissable lips. Lips that he could remember the taste of, just like it was yesterday. Drew took everything in, from Shay’s soft skin, to his lithe body, that Drew sometimes felt beneath his for a split second on awakening from some particularly vivid dreams. A body that Drew had never gotten a chance to explore as much as he’d wanted.

Drew hadn’t been wrong, even with the knowledge that the man before him had walked out on him with no explanation, with the knowledge that Shay had rejected him, and clearly didn’t feel the same way he did, there was still that thing,that thingthat people went their whole lives searching for. That elusive connection that bound one human to another. That Drew hadn’t been able to find with another soul.

Or maybe Drew should sayhestill felt that thing, because clearly Shay hadn’t, didn’t, or he would have never left.

There was something about this omega that had Drew twisted inside out, and it wasn’t just the fact that he was the first man… the first person that had rejected Drew.

Drew wished it was only his ego that had taken a beating, but his heart hadn’t been spared.

He pulled himself together, his expression going blank, as it did when he was walking into a negotiation with a business rival.