CHAPTER 1
Chase
The reception was unmanned, and the new guy, Ziggy, was nowhere to be seen. In his defense, the gym was nearly empty at 10 p.m. on Saturday.
Frigid air blew into the room as the sliding door opened.
A small man walked in and paused by the reception desk, craning his neck to look around. I recognized him immediately. The omega was a regular, but he usually came in late afternoon on weekdays, wearing scrubs under his winter clothes.
Tonight, he wore an open black coat over a white shirt and very nice charcoal slacks. The glistening drops on his shoulders and in his dark hair suggested it was still snowing outside.
At least I hoped it was snowing, not raining, or my walk home through all that slush would be hell.
He was short, slight, and cute with clever eyes and a sarcastic, crooked smile. There were many reasons why I’d noticed him before, and most of them weren’t very professional. I’d never had a chance to talk to him before because I’d always been busy during rush hours. But today…
Feeling all giddy, I marched up to the desk and twirled around the edge to stop right before him.
“Evening, sir. How can I help you?” I gave him my best smile.
His eyes twinkled with humor when he assessed me and leaned in to read my name tag. I caught a hint of a scent, sweet and flowery, before the persistent stink of alpha sweat and damp carpet smothered it.
“Good evening…Chase. I need shorts and a shirt.” He pointed to the nearest rack, where we had a few pieces of clothing with the gym’s logo for sale on-site.
“Okay.” I eyed him up and down. “Extra small, right?”
“You don’t have to rub it in my face,” he said, his lips twitching.
“Oh. Sorry.” I felt my ears heat. And here I had thought I’d be charming toward the handsome customer. I must have been blushing like mad. “I meant…”
“Just kidding. I know what you meant. Yes, size extra small.” He smoothed his hands down his slim torso under the coat, encased in the thin white button-down, and put his hands in his pockets. The move was nowhere near sexy, more like a resigned this-is-all-I-got, but I could see his nipples outlined under the thin material of his shirt, and…
My face in flames, I flipped through the T-shirts.
“I’m afraid the only thing we have in your size is the singlet.”
I wanted to see him in the sleeveless cut-out top. And shit, I really shouldn’t be having such thoughts about a customer, dammit. I never did! But this guy was my exception.
“Whatever,” he said. “I just need something other than this.” He gestured down his outfit, complete with polished boots.
“Forgot your gym bag?” I asked as I plucked a pair of black shorts and a singlet from the rack and brought them to the register.
“Something like that. When do you close?”
“Midnight. You’re fine for a couple more hours.”
“Great. Thanks. It’s quiet here. I might come late more often.”
“After ten, it usually empties out, especially on Fridays and Saturdays.”
Ziggy showed up just then, smelling faintly of vape. “Oh, sorry! I was just…” He pointed behind himself. “I can finish this.” He moved to the register, but I waved him off.
“Almost done.”
I took the payment and turned to grab a bag from the shelves along the wall.
“I don’t need a bag. I’m going to change right into it,” the omega said. He’d already taken off his coat and held it over his arm.
“But you’ll need something for later.”
