“Still feeling bad?”
“Kind of. I’m still nauseous, but it’s... not as bad now.” Dale leaned against the front door, breathing deeply.
“Sorry,” Greg said. At Dale’s raised eyebrows, he said, “I knocked you up.”
Dale chuckled. Then he laughed harder, doubling over until he gasped for breath. Through Greg’s stay, the only time he’d seen Dale laugh this hard was when Greg had made a dirty science joke. Greg watched him now, mystified.
When Dale calmed, Greg offered him more water. Dale gulped a mouthful, then another. “I’m really fine, you know,” Dale said between gasps. “I guess the pregnancy feels real now.”
Greg shrugged; he still felt bad. “You didn’t ask to be pregnant.”
“But I’m glad that I am.” Dale’s smile softened. He cradled his belly with his hand, reaching out to trail his fingertip along Greg’s forearm. “I’ve wanted a child forever.”
He looked so joyful about the pregnancy that Greg relaxed. He’d thought the morning sickness might make Dale a grump, but Dale took this in stride. When Dale leaned away from the front door, Greg supported his by the arm, leading him to the passenger side of the car.
Dale paused. “I’m driving.”
“No, I’m driving,” Greg said. “You’re pregnant.”
“Greg Hastings.” Dale tried to look stern. He turned to the driver’s side, and Greg held on firmly, pulling the car door open with one hand. “I’m just pregnant, not—”
On impulse, Greg kissed him hard, on the lips.
Dale froze, and Greg pulled away, looking around. He’d known there weren’t witnesses.
“I’m not having you drive when you’re feeling sick,” Greg said. “Get in.”
Dale pouted. But he slid into the car, and Greg rounded the hood, settling into the hibiscus-scented driver’s seat.
When the car door slammed shut, Dale muttered, “That was risky.”
“It got you to shut up.” Greg smiled, sagging when Dale continued to frown. Well, Dale had a point. “I understand. Not gonna do that again.”
Dale sighed. He reached over, though, squeezing Greg’s thigh. “You’re forgiven.”
The little coil of tension released Greg’s lungs, and he could breathe again. This, he hadn’t expected either, not for himself to need Dale’s approval this much. He drove them out of the parking lot, pulling onto the main road. “There might be something for morning sickness at the bookstore. Want to go look?”
“I probably should. I’ve got two lectures and a short class today.” Dale shuddered. “I can’t imagine emptying my guts during a lecture.”
“Gods, yeah, that would suck.”
The bookstore parking lot was mostly empty when they pulled in. At 8:30 AM, most students were making their way to class, not buying emergency supplies for a pregnancy.
“Morning,” Sam Brentwood chirped when Greg opened the door for Dale. “Two customers at the same time—it’s getting crowded in here!”
Greg blinked. With his concern for Dale, he’d forgotten that they shouldn’t be seen together. Crap. He stood back, allowing Dale to move through the store first.
The college bookstore was a place Greg had visited time and again. At eighteen, he’d gotten into law school, going to the bookstore for the textbooks his lecturers had listed. At nineteen and unable to focus, he’d dropped law, entered med school, and bought a whole new set of first-year books.
Then he’d dropped out of med school and gone into chemistry at twenty, and Sam Brentwood had raised his eyebrows, looking dubiously at Greg’s textbooks. I had no idea law school made you study med and chem, he’d said.
I switched majors, Greg had told him.
Then he’d taken his second year of Chemistry, and Sam had finally shut up about Greg not staying in his majors past a year.
Today, there was a couple at the cashier stand—an alpha and an omega, from their pine and lavender scents. The omega cradled a smiling baby girl to his chest. Greg watched as Dale sucked in a breath, his hand coming up to touch his belly.
They hadn’t been out shopping together before. Dale had been the one doing the groceries, in case someone spotted them together. And the basketball game in Highton had been an exception.
But the way Dale looked at the baby now... there was a deep yearning in his eyes, joy mixed with anticipation and longing, and Greg could’ve kicked himself for not noticing sooner. How long had Dale watched infants, wishing for his own? It had to be decades.
Greg wanted to reach out for Dale, pull him close.
“Morning, Sam,” Dale said, glancing at the register. “Busy today?”
“No, no, this is family,” Sam said, grinning. He was tall for an omega, his dark hair falling over his eyes. He waved at the couple with him. “Kade’s my brother, and Felix is his omega. They’re just visiting before they head on a road trip.”
Kade nodded at Greg and Dale. He seemed to be in his thirties—not the typical college student, if he were even a student here. His omega seemed the same age, blond with green eyes, leaning into his side as he cuddled their baby girl.
“Hello,” Dale said, before turning to Sam. “I need help with nausea pills. Do you know a good brand?”
Sam winced, glancing at Felix. “Do you think you could help, Felix? I’m not very familiar with those pills at all.”
Felix brightened. “Sure!” He grinned at Dale, hefting his daughter in his arms. She gurgled and patted his chest. “I’m not sure what the bookstore carries, but let’s see what they have.”
Greg watched as Dale and Felix headed past the shelves, murmuring quietly between themselves. He was tempted to follow—Dale was his omega—but both Kade and Sam were watching him now. His cheeks prickled with heat. Shouldn’t have stared at Dale so long. “I need ballpoint pens. They still in the same place?”
“Yeah. Over in the corner with the notebooks. See the sign?” Sam pointed.
“Thanks.” Greg ducked down an aisle.
“We’re headed for Red Rock Canyon,” Kade rumbled at the register. “Felix wants an adventure. I told him it’s way too ambitious. Bethy’s one—she won’t remember the Grand Canyon, anyway.”
“We’ll take photos, Kade,” Felix called from the other end of the store. “Tell
