“Hey,” he said to the man on the far end of the lockers.
The alpha looked over. Then he recognized Gage and tensed, his shoulders straightening, his entire body pulling tight in a show of aggression.
“It’s fine,” Gage said. “I just thought I’d check up on you.”
“Why, because you thought I’d break some bones with all this fat?” the man snapped.
Rude. Gage reined in his temper. He was part of the staff. Whatever that man said to him, he couldn’t answer in kind. “It’s part of protocol to make sure our guests don’t get hurt,” Gage said. He was kind of fibbing. But the man wouldn’t know that. “Liabilities and all.”
The man glowered, shoving his towel into his duffel bag. “I’m perfectly fine.”
“That’s great to hear.” Gage tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. He knew the sort of power he could wield, if he wanted. He had the looks. He had the strength. Someone like Chubby had nothing on Gage when Gage wanted to play suave.
But Gage didn’t want to be a bully. He’d seen others like him become abusers. His own sister had fallen prey to some looker of an alpha who had beaten her up and swindled her of her hard-earned savings. By the time Gage had gotten to him and punched out his daylights, all that money had been long spent.
So he kept silent, watching as the man yanked his duffel out of the locker. The alpha strode over to where Gage stood in the locker room doorway, his eyes narrowed, his mouth a thin line.
He wasn’t a looker; he was plain in the way that Gage sometimes wondered about.
Gage never had trouble landing a hookup or a favor, or any item he could possibly want. All he had to do was smile. But his looks were a double-edged sword—he’d never had a relationship that lasted. People flocked to him demanding things—always hungry for what he could give them: If not sex, then his connections, or money. Because good-looking alphas were always rich, right?
So when Chubby spurned Gage’s offer to pick him up, Gage had been... offended. And also intrigued. What did it feel like to be someone invisible? To have people befriend you not for your looks, or what you could offer them?
He couldn’t help studying that face—hazel eyes, brown hair that looked soft. Chubby smelled like honey oak, and his chest wasn’t so defined. Neither were his arms.
But if Gage knew anything, it was that Chubby very definitely had some muscles beneath those curves. If he were to punch Gage, it would hurt. A lot.
“The fuck are you looking at?” Chubby muttered.
Gage glanced up, only to catch the alpha glancing at his chest. Chubby’s gaze swept down, heavy on Gage’s body, all the way to his hips. Gage’s skin prickled.
Alphas at the gym sized Gage up all the time. But none of them had gotten hard because of him, not like this man had.
He’d glimpsed that length hanging between this alpha’s thighs, and it had been clear that it wasn’t only Chubby’s arms that were thick. Then Chubby had looked up, he’d seen Gage, and his hard-on had been... flattering. It was the sort of cock that would make an omega throw his head back and beg for more.
Gage shouldn’t be curious about the feel of it against his palm. He shouldn’t want to know if he could make this alpha come.
He was in enough trouble with that eviction notice. He couldn’t afford to play around with his job, checking on someone who didn’t need the attention.
All the same, Gage couldn’t help seeing the thick line behind Chubby’s shorts, and he couldn’t help remembering the heavy balls that hung beneath.
Chubby narrowed his eyes, curling his fingers in to flip Gage off.
Gage’s instincts roared, Pin him. Subdue him. Let him take your cock.
He barely bit down his response. Because he could see it now—this man beneath him, snarling, Gage’s cock opening him all the way up.
Gage growled, his own length shoving against his pants.
“Fuck you,” Chubby muttered, shouldering past Gage as he stalked off.
From the way Gage throbbed, he was sure Chubby wouldn’t be the one ending up on top.
3
Ulric Forgets His Phone
Ulric had gotten all the way home, unpacked his duffel, eaten three juicy beef burgers topped with sautéed onions and mushrooms, when he thought about checking his phone. His mom probably wanted to know if he’d found an omega.
He’d said multiple times over the past years, that he wasn’t into omegas.
She’d told him not to come home until he had one.
Maybe he didn’t need his phone, after all.
But it didn’t sit well with him, knowing that it was somewhere out there. Ulric double-checked his house, before turning his car inside-out. He checked the duffel again. And he arrived at the stomach-sinking conclusion that he must’ve left his phone at the gym.
That bastard was probably still there, secretly laughing at the fat ass who’d fucked up and was a mess enough to drop his phone. Ulric sighed and scrubbed his face. This wasn’t the fresh start he’d envisioned.
He pulled on some better clothes—a baggy button-down shirt that hid his belly some, and dark pants. At least he knew he looked better this way, than with a clingy T-shirt showing off all the curves he didn’t want to see. He imagined Mr. Handsome’s reaction when he stepped in.
I shouldn’t care what he thinks. Ulric ignored the thrum of his pulse, the heat creeping up his neck. Why the hell would he fixate on the most handsome alpha around? That was a sure path to heartbreak. Or embarrassment. Or humiliation. Or all of the above.
He clenched his jaw and made his way back to the gym, praying that Mr. Handsome had gone home for the day. He didn’t breathe until he’d scanned his membership card and stepped in.
There was one lady behind the receptionist’s desk. Relief filled Ulric’s chest; he hurried
