“Oh my days, yes.”
They sleptfor several more hours, waking again during the early hours of the morning. Engulfed in darkness, Oliver listened to the sound of Lucas’ heart as he caressed the shell of his ear. The mating bond was a funny thing. It wasn’t as though Oliver could hear the alpha’s thoughts or read his mind, but sensing his contentment lulled him into a state of bliss.
“I want you to meet my family,” Lucas said, the words barely above a whisper.
Oliver swallowed, and after several moments, he replied, “What if they don’t like me?”
Lucas chuckled. “I like you. So they’ll like you.”
“Do they know about me?”
“Yes.” And something about that made Oliver feel all funny inside. “Aliya, mainly,” Lucas continued. “She’s incredibly nosey, so don’t be surprised if she knows more about you than you do.”
“What have you told them? About us, I mean?”
Lucas hummed. “Well, my dad and pai tried to catch a train to West Newton when I told them I’d met someone. So at the risk of overwhelming you, I just said we’re working through things. But after this, I?—”
“I’ll meet them,” Oliver said. “But I can’t promise it’ll go well. I’ve never met anyone’s parents before.”
Lucas’ face split into a wide smile. “Yeah? I’d like that. What about your parents? What do they think?”
Oliver hesitated, guilt gnawing at his insides. “I… haven’t told them about you. But I don’t tell them a lot of things. Afterhim,my mum became really unwell with stress. So I just try to keep personal things to myself, you know? But I’ll tell them, if that’s what you want.”
Lucas shifted, cupping Oliver’s face. “I want you towantto tell them. In your own time.”
Oliver let out a relieved sigh. “Thank you. Lucas, I can’t promise it’s going to be easy from now on, and I’ll probably make a mess of things every fucking day. But I want to try.”
Lucas let out a breath, brushing away a strand of hair that had gotten stuck to Oliver’s forehead. “I love you, Reed. So I’ll take the rough with the smooth.”
They kissed for a while after that. The movements of their mouths slow and purposeful. Sucking, and licking and tasting every inch of one another as if to solidify their bond even further. That was until Oliver’s phone rang.
“Piss off,” he whispered against Lucas’ mouth. But then it rang again, so with great reluctance he rolled over to the bedside table. His eyes grew wide when he saw Pember’s name flash on the screen.
“Is that?—”
“Pember,” Oliver replied. “The omega from the Cock and Bull.”
“The one that came to the station?”
“Yeah. Oh,heknows about us, by the way. Said you gave him a death stare to end all death stares.”
Lucas grinned. “I did.”
Pressing answer, Oliver said, “Pem?”
“Ollie, thank god—” He sounded out of breath. “Ollie, I messed up.”
TWENTY-TWO
LEFT, RIGHT GOODNIGHT
“Oh God, sorry Ollie, I’m so sorry to call you at this hour,” Pember slurred, and Oliver couldn’t tell if he was drunk, high or in a state of panic. Frowning, he kicked his legs around to detangle them from the sheets, before sitting on the edge of the bed. Lucas followed, propping his chin on his shoulder.
“Pember, it’s okay. Slow down.”
“Oh shit, Ollie. I think—I think I’ve been spiked. I can’t—my head it?—”
Oliver’s stomach dropped. “Where are you? Are you safe?” He clutched the phone to his ear, there was music and loud chatter in the background.
