Playing You (Omega's Luck #3) - Claire Cullen Page 0,52
It’s a date. A dinner date.” He wasn’t sure how he’d managed to screw this up so spectacularly. They hadn’t even reached the restaurant yet.
The omega twisted in his seat to stare at him. “You want to date me?”
“I want to marry you. But I figured if I opened with that, you’d run a mile. So, yeah… dating.”
Riley was still staring at him open-mouthed, so Brendan took the next opportunity to pull in so they could talk properly. He thought back over the moment he’d asked Riley out, trying to understand what had gone wrong.
“I can see where the confusion comes from. I probably shouldn’t have asked you out at the office. And, you know, made it sound like work. Um, if you don’t want to go…”
“You want to date me?” Riley repeated.
“Yeah. You may not have noticed, but I’m crazy about you. Have been since we met in that alleyway. But back then, you needed a helping hand, not… not a partner.”
“Then things have changed?”
Riley looked hopeful. That, in turn, gave Brendan hope. Maybe he wasn’t barking up the wrong tree.
“Sure. You’re standing on your own two feet now. If you needed to land a new job tomorrow, you’d have no trouble. And you have a safe place to call home. We’re on an equal footing, more or less.”
“So… dating?”
“Only if that’s something you want. If it’s not, I won’t hold it against you.”
“I know.” Riley started smiling.
“What?” Brendan asked.
“You want to marry me?”
Brendan flushed. “The thought has crossed my mind.” More than once.
Riley’s smile turned shy. “Maybe we could start with dating and work up to it?”
Brendan grinned, relief mingling with happiness.
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
They made it to the restaurant just on time. Riley still looked a little stunned as they handed over their coats. Brendan guided him to their table with a light hand on his back, pulling out the omega’s chair. When Riley giggled, he gave him a look.
“What’s funny?”
“You’re such a gentleman, even when we’re not playing at being a couple.”
“Isn’t that what dating is? Playing at being a couple?”
“I guess, when you put it that way…”
They perused the menu, quickly deciding to choose tapas so they could share dishes. They hemmed and hawed over wine before Brendan suggested beer and the omega happily agreed.
Riley downed half his bottle in a matter of minutes before blurting out, “I thought you didn’t feel the same way.”
“Huh?” They didn’t usually have so much trouble communicating.
“About me, that I felt about you.”
That didn’t make it much clearer.
“Are you trying to say you wanted to date me too?”
“Date, marry, all that stuff.” Riley waved a hand vaguely in the air, flushing with embarrassment. The beer seemed to have gone right to his head. And Brendan was pretty sure it was non-alcoholic.
“You thought I didn’t feel that way about you?”
The omega shrugged. “I figured I was reading too much into things. Mateo thought you were a jerk.”
“Oh? Your friend, the one who works on film sets?”
“My only omega friend now,” Riley said, sounding a little sad. “I need more friends.” The omegas he’d befriended at the hostel had left the city, hoping for a fresh start elsewhere. It hadn’t occurred to Brendan that Riley was lonely for omega company.
“You’ll make lots of friends,” Brendan assured him. “You’ve just been so focused on survival up until now. It’s hard to make friends when you’re worried about keeping a roof over your head.”
“I guess.”
“Why does Mateo think I’m a jerk?”
“Because I thought you didn’t want a relationship, and he thought you were using me for sex.”
Brendan almost spit out a mouthful of beer.
“Oh,” he said, once he’d caught his breath.
“I wasn’t telling it right,” Riley assured him. “And you do feel the same, so I had the wrong end of the stick. Don’t worry, I’ll tell him that.”
“Good.”
The food arrived, and they both dived in.
“Here, try these,” Riley said, passing over some stuffed peppers. “Just the right side of spicy.”
Brendan hummed in pleasure at the taste that exploded across his tongue.
“Yum. Take a bite of this.”
He held out a slice of tortilla, and Riley obligingly took a bite before stealing the whole slice from Brendan.
“Oh. That’s so good.”
Any awkwardness between them fell away, and for once, Brendan was completely focused on Riley for the duration of the meal. There was no mark to watch, no information to be gleaned. They were just enjoying each other’s company as the evening passed.
“Dessert?” the waiter asked what felt like hours later as he took the