I knew that. I’d seen him in those scrubs. “So you must have an asswipe sensor too.”
“Pretty quick one, yes. Hence, the date was one hour. It could’ve been under forty minutes, but the lasagna was good. It would’ve been a shame not to finish it.”
“Well. His loss, someone else’s gain.”
His lips curved into a knowing smile. “Is it?”
I tried not to squirm as I smiled back. “You’re obviously a catch.”
Shaking his head, he pointed a finger at me. “Are you even allowed to flirt with customers? Isn’t it, like, against the personal trainer code or something?”
“I’m not flirting.” I lifted my hands, palms up. “Just stating empirical facts.”
“Sure you are. How old are you? Twenty-two?”
“Twenty-five,” I said, trying to sound self-assured, but it came out a little petulant.
Looking up at the ceiling, he blew out a breath. “Oh God.”
Of course, he thought I was too young for him. Dammit.
“I’m sorry you had a shitty evening, Jay.”
He squinted at me. “I haven’t told you my name.”
“Oh. Um. I noticed it when you swiped your card at the turnstile. Sorry.”Oops. Would he think I was a stalker?
But he was still smiling. “Smooth, Chase. Real smooth.”
“That date, was it the first one?”
“First date number five in a row.”
“You’re chopping them like trees, aren’t you?”
His rich scent lingered where we sat, and it felt as if it created a cloud around me. It was fucking powerful. I worked at a gym, and an intense omega scent wasn’t uncommon when people of all ages, at various phases of their cycle, sweated in here. But I rarely reacted to anyone this strongly.
I prayed my dick would remain limp in my track pants.
After a moment of quiet, Jay exhaled and rubbed his neck. “You might have heard alphas of a certain age and relationship status saying that omegas these days have too high standards.” He sounded serious, and I wondered if what he was saying was a test of some kind.
“I have. Always sounded like bullshit to me.”
“It is.”
“You don’t have high standards?”
He let out another laugh, but it sounded sad. “I really don’t.”
“What’s your ideal man, then?”
“There’s no such thing.”
I studied his face, waiting for him to elaborate. The play of his features and the shape of his plush mouth were most distracting. I wanted more time to just look at him and learn his expressions.
“You probably won’t need this for years to come,” he said. “But one day in the future, if you find yourself dating omegas my age, word of advice.”
“I’m listening.”
