James leaned back against the back of the couch and sighed. “That’s disappointing.”
Blake snorted. “I don’t make it a habit to have sex with all of my dates.”
“Why not?”
“I just don’t. Why are you so concerned about my sex life anyway?”
“Because you don’t have one.”
“I do.”
“Yeah? When was the last time?”
“I…” He trailed off. “I can’t remember.”
“Was it sometime in this century?”
“Probably a year ago.”
“A year?” James yelled. “Is your dick still working? Or has it turned rusty? How about your balls?”
He gave James the middle-finger salute. “My private parts are fine. Thanks.”
James stared at him in disbelief. “I think you should visit the doctor.”
“Why? I got tested last month. I have no STD.”
“That’s the least of my concern. What if you can’t get it up and hard anymore?”
He snorted. “Don’t worry. My dick is in excellent working condition.”
James smirked at him. “You polish it every day, eh?”
“None of your business. I—” He turned toward the door when he was interrupted by somebody knocking on it. He narrowed his eyes at James. “If that’s Tony, I’ll murder you.”
“It can’t be. Tony’s busy at the shop.”
Blake stood and made his way to the door. A beta delivery man stood outside. “Mr. Blake Hill?”
“Yes.”
“I have a special delivery for you.”
He gasped in surprise when the beta delivery man thrust a huge box at him. “Uh, thank you. Do I have to sign anything?”
“No, sir. Have a wonderful day.”
“You, too.”
When he carried the box back into the apartment and placed it on the table in the living room, James hovered next to him and eyed the box with an obvious curiosity.
“What’s that?”
He shrugged. “Beats me.”
It took Blake a few minutes to peel open the tapes at the edges of the box. After lifting the cover, he found a handwritten note on top of the container inside the box. He didn’t recognize the handwriting, so he picked the note up. His heart thumped hard against his chest when he detected the familiar scents. They belonged to Kian and Mason. He smelled the note a few seconds longer before reading the words on it.
We hope you love cupcakes.
We used berries and caramel because they reminded us of you.
Blake smiled to himself and lifted the container out of the box before taking off its lid. He gaped at the twelve cupcakes. Each of them had a layer of violet-colored cream cheese on top. They smelled incredible even from a distance.
“Kee and Mase are definitely courting you.”
“Courting?”
James stared at him. “Are you sure you’re an omega?”
“Of course I am. What does my secondary gender designation have to do with the courting stuff?”
“I know Kee and Mase are nontraditional alphas, Blake, but they choose the courting method from ancient times to woo you.”
“Woo? Are we back in the stone age or something?”
“Hush! Listen to me. I’ll teach you everything that you need to know.”
Blake narrowed his eyes at James. “For real?”
“I learned this stuff from my parents. You know they’re old-fashioned. Besides, I’m your best friend, ass-breath. I won’t lead you astray. “
“It won’t be the first time,” he muttered.
“What?”
He grinned at James. “Nothing. So, courting?”
James harrumphed and pointed toward the couch. “Sit down. We have so much to talk about.”
For the next hour or so, Blake listened as James informed him about the courting methods from the past. He concentrated as hard as he could, especially on the parts where James touched on the things that he, the courted omega, was expected to do in response to the gifts from the alphas. By the time James left his apartment, Blake already had a vague idea of the gifts he wanted to send to the alphas. He hoped the alphas would enjoy them.
Chapter 4
Kian loved his job. He enjoyed molding the minds of the future generations. He was glad his seven-year-old students respected him and liked his lessons as much as he relished every precious moment he spent with them. He attempted to educate them by making Mathematics as fun as he possibly could. However, there would always be a handful of students, or more, who couldn’t seem to catch up with the rest, no matter how hard he tried.
He’d just finished grading a stack of worksheets from one of his classes when Mason startled him by running into the dining room and screaming out loud in joy. He stared at Mason to make sure his alpha mate was still sane. Out of the two of them, he was the more relaxed and outgoing alpha, while Mason was more serious and formal. He was tempted to pick up the smartphone next to him and call for an ambulance when Mason began waving a note in front of him.
“It’s here. It’s here.”
“Okay. What’s here, Mase?”
“The note!” Mason exclaimed, looking at him as if he were an idiot.
“What?”
“The note!”
“Mase, I love you, but I think the cooling fall temperature has rattled your brain somehow. Let me call the ambulance for you, so you can get your head checked out at the hospital.”
“I’m fine, Kee. It’s the note we’ve been waiting for. There are twenty-four cupcakes waiting for us on the table in the living room.”
“What cup…oh!” He got to his feet in a hurry and snatched the note from Mason’s hand before reading it.
Twelve hazelnut cupcakes with cookies and cream topping that remind me of Kian’s beautiful eyes.
Twelve milk chocolate cupcakes with vanilla cream topping that remind me of Mason’s sexy eyes.
I hope you’ll think of me when you bite into them.
He rushed toward the living room and knelt on the floor next to the table before opening the container. He grinned to himself as he picked up the first hazelnut cupcake and took a huge bite. He couldn’t stop the deep, satisfied rumble that burst from his throat as he chewed. He and Mason had been hesitant to employ the ancient courting ritual at first, but Blake was special. They wanted to court the omega properly, and if Blake was
