the rest of their evening. Khory, Aeron and a sleeping Asher returned home right as the movie ended—they’d had a dinner date with Aeron’s family—and once Asher was settled, they celebrated with a round of whiskey shots. Hyatt wasn’t a huge fan but downed his anyway.
He was sad to see Dorian go, but they were having lunch together the next day since Hyatt didn’t work, and Dorian had a very flexible schedule. Hyatt chose Petrova’s, an institution in Sansbury for their loaded tacos and burritos, because Dorian had somehow never been. Dorian seemed a bit overwhelmed, so Hyatt ordered them loaded nachos and the deluxe sharing platter full of all different kinds of tacos.
Hyatt was not embarrassed to eat way more than his bondmate. He had no idea where his bottomless pit of a stomach had come from. Maybe living most of his life eating whatever was fed to him; maybe he’d inherited it from one of his parents. Didn’t matter, because he liked food and enjoyed eating it. After a very filling lunch, they strolled around the neighborhood for a while, ducking in and out of shops. Existing together in an easy, familiar way Hyatt adored.
Late in the afternoon, they bought soft pretzels from a street vendor, and then Dorian led him to a small park. One of the things Hyatt loved about Sansbury was how many green spaces it had in most parts of the city. They were slowly creating more in River Row and the Narrows as those areas were renovated and revamped, but downtown especially had quite a few to wander around in and enjoy nature. Lots of trees in the middle of their spring growth of leaves hid the majority of the tall buildings around them.
“I don’t think I’ll make the big polyamory celebration tomorrow night,” Dorian said after they’d walked for a while.
Hyatt nearly dropped his cinnamon-sugar pretzel. “What? Why not?” He’d gotten the invitation this morning and extended it to Dorian as his plus-one. Dorian hadn’t said a thing about not wanting to go.
Dorian stopped in the middle of the path and gazed down at him, his dark eyes serious. “Because based on past timing, there is a good chance that I will be indisposed tomorrow for most of the day.”
“Indisp—oh. Oh, right.” Dorian’s slick cycle. He’d said it occurred roughly every three months, just like an omega’s heat. They’d discussed this in a roundabout way but now it was actually happening. Soon. “I mean, are you prepared? Do you need me to do anything?”
“I’ll be fine. Once it begins, I’ve been lucky in the past to easily take off from whatever work I’m expected to do or meeting I should have attended. I tend to stay holed up in my apartment with, um.” He glanced around. “Incontinence underwear so I don’t create a mess.”
“You stay alone the whole time?”
“It’s only part of a day. Besides, I have no idea how my own slick smells to other alphas, and I don’t want to risk going out, even with protection, and having an incident.”
He means being attacked.
Hyatt had never thought about it from that perspective before. Omega slick was said to be irresistible to alphas, especially unmated ones, and if Dorian’s slick was anywhere near as potent as an omega’s slick…protecting himself was definitely in Dorian’s best interest. Much better safe than sorry. “Are you sure you want to be alone the whole time?”
Dorian studied his face, his own eyes intense. “In the past, the only person who knew was Samuel, and I didn’t want him to see me like that. I’ve never had someone to share the experience with that I…might not mind as much. But I think it’s a little too soon.”
“Oh.” Hyatt tamped down on his disappointment. “I get it.” Not really. Kind of. “It’s an incredibly private and personal thing, especially for an alpha.”
“I imagine heat is incredibly personal for an omega too. I’m just…still wrapping my head around who I am. And how I’m different from who I thought I was.”
“You’re still you, though, Dorian. Sure, your body acts a little differently than other alphas but that doesn’t change you at your core. It doesn’t change all the amazing things that make you who you are. You just happen to, you know, leak for eight hours every three months.”
Dorian laughed out loud. “Now that’s an interesting way of phrasing it.”
“And yet accurate. At least you don’t leak for forty-eight hours straight and crave a dick up your ass.” Hyatt