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“Me,” she agreed without skipping a beat. “Let’s just cover this part of it too because I intend to enjoy myself tonight. Yes, I followed you. Your aunt paid me to see if she could get something interesting on you, but you were a boring target, so that was that. Case closed.”
Maximo’s jaw twitched as she rambled on, but I could see him relaxing as amusement sparked in his eyes.
“That old bat.”
“Hold your tongue! She’s a genuine badass,” Hazel scoffed. “For one, what woman her age can rock outfits like that? Answer… no one.”
“How do you two even know each other?” Maximo asked. Ever the gentleman, he pulled out the chair for her.
Instead of answering him, her eyes were trained on the twins. She gasped, and I couldn’t wait to hear what was going to come out of her mouth next. “Oh man! The twin sandwich? You guys are what fantasies are made of.” Her cheeks tinted pink like she hadn’t meant to be so blunt, but they were anything but embarrassed by her comment. They exchanged a pleased smirk before turning that look on her, in perfect unison, of course.
“Alessandro and Emiliano, actually,” Alessandro replied. “I’m glad we get to see you again. You had us wound tighter than Maximo on a bad day.”
She snorted at that and finally took her seat. Maximo dutifully pushed it in before settling beside her.
“You know them now, too?” he asked, shaking his head. “I stand by my earlier comment. Old. Bat.”
“She’d kick your ass for saying that,” Hazel sang out. “And I know her because I flirted with her at Neon Nights to get some creep to leave her alone. Then she kidnapped me from work after my shift, and that’s where we met you. I doubt it’ll be our last adventure.”
“Oh, you have no idea,” Sutton laughed. “Make her some Happy Herb brownies, and you’ll be a quick favorite.”
“Noted.” She grinned. “Now, what’s good here?”
Everyone fell into conversation, sharing their favorite dishes. Our two packs melding so easily with a stranger was something I’d never have predicted. Sure, the twins and Maximo were family, but they were so different that it would take a rare omega to keep things settled between them. It helped that Hazel was blunt, cheeky, and unapologetically herself. Any tension that might have ramped up was easily stamped out under those boots of hers. It wasn’t lost on me that Valentina had predicted this, but I kept my mouth shut. I was still waiting for someone to comment about her scent being all over me; but I had no delusion that the alphas would go the entire night without noticing.
“Zaven?” she finally asked. She’d listened to the others, and she’d actually noticed I hadn’t answered. Man, that fucking filled me with pleasure. She’d thought ofme.
“I order the same thing every time. The steak hibachi is phenomenal.” She thoughtfully tapped her chin before focusing on her menu again. It was extensive enough that you could come every day for a month without eating the same thing twice.
“Just wait for dessert. They make this amazing Daifuku,” Emiliano gushed. He was the one with the biggest sweet tooth, and from the excitement on Hazel’s face, they shared that.
“This is going to be hell to choose,” she joked as she looked through the menu. Of course, the waitress chose then to come in with a flourish and a low bow.
Maximo being Maximo, he took charge. “We’ll take a round of saké for the table,” he started, then added a mix of appetizers and entrees, essentially one of everything we’d mentioned. He’d locked it away as important information to be used when the moment struck. The stoic alpha was observant and used everything to his advantage, even now.
She took individual drink orders before leaving. Once we were alone, everyone looked at Hazel as if to assess her reaction. She seemed so independent that I didn’t know whether she’d enjoy or be offended by Maximo taking the lead. Frankly, I enjoyed it, but I wasn’t a headstrong omega.
Finally, she shrugged. “Well, that made things easy.”
“Okay, this girl wins. I don’t know about you, but I already demand a second date. We deserve to finish our night of dancing and debauchery,” Alessandro declared. She huffed out a laugh and shifted in the chair. It was a tense movement, uncomfortable, not her being turned on like I expected in that situation. I sensed that familiar urge to run, and I realized that this girl was not as happy and sure of herself as she seemed. She had skeletons in her closet just as we all did.
“I don’t do second dates,” she hedged before she let out a breath, “but you had me at debauchery.”
We didn’t argue with or question her comment. She’d said it like she was convincing herself, not us, and from one overthinking person to another, I knew she needed a subject change. It was funny. Usually, I could read people so easily and knew what they wanted. I was always trying to ease tensions and ensure things ran smoothly. It was ingrained in me as second nature now, but while strangers rarely elicited the same reaction, this crazy, sassy omega had settled right into that category.
“So… tell me about the flirting with Valentina thing,” I said before things got awkward again. She laughed at the question then launched into the story of meeting the woman who’d orchestrated this entire dinner. We were all cracking up by the time the drinks arrived, and we did a round of shots in salute to Valentina. She’d be pleased to know she was the center of that.
“Girls’ night? That’s really a thing?” Alessandro practically purred when she mentioned meeting up with her friends.
She rolled her eyes. “Clearly, you need to stop watching cheesy porn, Alessandro. It’s much less dirty than that. Think cheap wine, junk food, and gossip. Unless we’re out, then it’s us drinking and dancing while Eliza mother hens us.”
Even Maximo broke out in a laugh at the porn comment. “Damn, she’s got you figured out already.” The twin just shrugged, fully unapologetic.
“If I choose to believe that there are sexy omegas pillow fighting in their lacy underwear, then that’s my prerogative,” he huffed, but it was all for show. He wasn’t actually offended. If I knew anything about the twins, her back and forth with them would only pull them in faster.
“Oh, sweet summer child,” Hazel teased. “If only you knew how crude girls truly are. There are no boundaries or TMI. We let all the stereotypes and boundaries fall away. What happens at girls’ night, stays at girls’ night.”
“You know,” Emiliano said as he pointed at her, “that’s actually refreshing. No one wants a fake, preening woman. Give me one who’s unafraid to tell it like it is, one who will fight back.”
