Page 15 of Full Body Hit, Part 1

The bartender handed him a Fader. He sat on a stool and took a tentative sip.

Damn. Okay. That was pretty good. Fuck this place, but a good beer was a good beer.

“Good?”

Auston twitched, glancing sideways at the Omega who had planted herself on the stool next to him. She was pretty, with dark skin and a straight, dyed-blond bob that made her look like an assassin or something.

“Better than I expected,” he replied, practically shouting over the damn music—if what was piping into the room could be considered music.

“Yeah, that’s a good one. You seem like an old-fashioned kind of guy, so I’m not surprised you like it,” she said, a little catty smile on her face.

Auston raised his eyebrows. “And how would you know I’m old-fashioned?”

The Omega traced her gaze up and down him. He peered at himself—his jeans and henley and baseball cap. Right. Probably didn’t fit the glittering masses surrounding him.

She, on the other hand, was wearing a little black dress with exaggerated shoulders and a tight, tapered waist that, in Auston’s fashion-stunted opinion, made her appear vaguely futuristic.

“Sorry we can’t all be dressed like an extra in a Bowie music video,” he teased.

She laughed, sidling a little closer.

It was a nice distraction, talking to a pretty, interesting Omega, even though his throat was getting hoarse from trying to be heard over the noise.

“You wanna go somewhere quieter?” she suggested eventually.

Every ache in his body hit him all at once. It was trying to rally, to be interested in the beauty in front of it, but his mind just wasn’t in it. The thought of the whole song and dance needed to ‘go somewhere quiet’—the way he’d have to figure out what she liked and provide it when all he wanted was to fall asleep.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like pleasuring his partners, obviously. But the surface-level pleasure that came with a semi-anonymous hookup seemed so much more trouble than it was worth.

If he were to go somewhere quiet with someone, he wanted it to feel real. Wanted to sink his teeth into it until he tasted blood. Until the person underneath him stopped moving and began to beg.

He shook his head. “Sorry. Just…” He didn’t have a good excuse.

The girl’s mouth pursed, twisting to the side, but she shrugged. “No worries.”

He managed to untangle from the encounter and make his way to the boys—which was a fucking mistake.

“Damn, strike out?” One of them laughed.

Auston rolled his eyes. “I’ve got more game in the tip of my dick than you have in your whole body,” he lobbied back.

The rest of the guys howled like a bunch of idiots, probably drunk enough to find that hilarious.

“Imma head out, actually. See you guys tomorrow.”

There were some perfunctory protests, but they let him go. He swept his gaze over them, taking in how Noah was engaged in conversation and not too drunk, giving him a wave, Sammy plastered to his side. Auston snorted at the sight and returned the wave.

Auston made it outside, preoccupied with his phone as he thumbed the rideshare app and almost tripping over Chase.

Chase stumbled sideways from where he’d been leaning against the damp brick wall. He was hunched into himself, not even wearing a coat to protect him from the chill.

“Sorry,” Auston said automatically.

Chase’s tight expression didn’t lighten, brows furrowed dramatically, eyes hazy with drink. “Of course it’s you,” he mumbled, words slurring together.

Auston took a deep breath. He could just step away from this. Leave Chase to whatever foul mood he was in. But… “It’s too cold to be outside without a jacket.”

For some reason, this seemed to infuriate Chase further, his mouth flattening. “What the hell do you care?”