Page 56 of Shifter Omegaverse AU

They bounced over to the entrance to the strawberry patch while Rowan hurried to catch up. He was simultaneously trying to pocket his wallet while separating their tickets from the receipt. Milo plucked both tickets out of his hand and gave them to the entrance staff, who was wearing an appropriately red straw hat and matching cowboy boots.

“Hi, this is for my boyfriend and me, and I love your outfit!”

“Thank you! I love yours, too. Your boyfriend’s could use a little work, though,” the guy said with a wink, tearing both tickets in half before handing them back.

“We’ve only been dating for ten minutes, so it’s still a work in progress.”

Milo wasn’t sure whose jaw dropped lower, Rowan’s or the staff person’s.

“Well…thanks for choosing our little farm for your first date,” the guy said, scratching the back of his neck before turning to face the customers behind them.

Milo beamed up at Rowan, who shook his head again, but that small smile was still firmly in place.

13

Author’s note:

Again, I would just like to reiterate that this was NOT PART OF THE PLAN! I want to say I blame Ray, but really, I blame Andrew. Somehow, I’m sure this is all that jackass’ fault.

Rowan

“I told you I was good with my mouth!” Milo announced as they stepped out of the elevator onto their floor. “And now I have a ribbon to prove it!”

Milo had somehow managed to stuff eight very large strawberries in their mouth like a chipmunk and had been given an award for it.

“That wasn’t exactly what I pictured when you said it this morning,” Rowan admitted.

Any number of wonderful, sexy, sweet, and somewhat stress-involving things had gone through his head, the first of which was simply kissing, which he was worried might be an essential part of a first romantic date.

As far as Rowan was concerned, though, their date had been perfect thus far. They’d spent over an hour picking strawberries, Milo flouncing up and down the rows of fruit, looking cute as can be in their sundress. Every time Rowan pressed his shoulder or his arm against theirs, their cheeks turned the most endearing shade of pink, and they babbled about farms and flowers and produce.

They’d then spent another two hours trying out all of the treats, stations, and activities around the farm, which was how they had somehow ended up at a strawberry eating contest.

Milo had signed themself up, and Rowan had stood on the sidelines, his stomach in a tightly wound knot. The previous evening’s anxiety seemed to have blended with excitement over their new relationship, creating a potent concoction in his belly that kept him from eating much more than a few bites here and there.

Ice cream and strawberries probably wouldn’t solve his stomach issues, but sitting down with Milo and continuing to discuss their relationship might.

“Oh, well, I’m also a great talker, in case you hadn’t noticed, and I can tie three cherry stems in a knot in my mouth at once,” Milo said, looking back over their shoulder at Rowan with what may have been intended as a sexy look but came across more as a wide-eyed stare.

It was somehow still endearing.

Every damn thing Milo did seemed to be endearing today, whether it be catching Rowan's eye across the strawberry field to wink—badly—or calling Rowan sweetheart with that too-wide grin on their face.

While Rowan was sure the fated mate bond was at least partially to blame, the sense of safety and rightness he felt with them had always been there. It was more like everything between them had been dialed up a few notches, like they’d been plugged into one of his brother’s amplifiers.

Actually, that was a pretty good way to describe how Rowan was feeling. It was as if someone was plucking his heartstrings, and the vibrations were reverberating all the way down to the tips of his fingers and toes. Maybe that was why multiple times throughout the day he’d found himself pressing closer to Milo, drinking in their sunny smile and too-loud laughs.

“Three? That’s pretty impressive, baby,” Rowan said, unsure as always how they’d gotten on this topic. “I could only ever manage to tie one in a knot, if I was lucky.”

“That’s still an accomplishment! You know, that's probably why fate put us together. We’re great kissers,” Milo said, blowing a kiss over their shoulder before turning a corner in the hallway.

If only things could be that simple. All afternoon, Rowan had been staring at Milo’s red-stained lips, trying to gauge whether he would be ready to take that first step towards intimacy today, or if he could at least try and hold their hand.

The only fated mate pair Rowan had to go off of was Raina and Troy, and they’d mated on their third date. Rowan would definitely need a slower cadence than that, but a first kiss didn’t seem like too much to ask for. His hawk bobbed his head in agreement, as if he wasn’t half the problem.

On the drive back, Milo’s smell had gone to his head, his hawk nearly drunk on it. He wanted to climb inside Milo’s jacket and burrow into the layers of their dress. Apparently, while he still didn’t appreciate being touched when shifted, his hawk had deemed Milo’s lap as the perfect nesting spot.

There wasn’t a chance in hell he would be asking Milo to do that, though.