21. Twenty One - Rebel

twenty one - rebel

. . .

My afternoon has been stressful, so what I'm looking forward to most when I get home tonight is taking a long ass soak in the jacuzzi tub. My muscles are sore and achy from practicing with the ice crew. It's been a while since I've spent that much time on the ice, but it's cathartic. It brings back the poetically beautiful, yet sad, memories of spending all that time with Drake at the rink.

I still have a niggling feeling in the back of my mind about the name on the locker beside Tate's the other day in the locker room. Why did the name seem so familiar? I wish I knew what he looked like now, but it pains me to say I don't remember his last name.

It's been so many years. My heart palpitates on overdrive every single moment the thought of him comes to mind. I'm mated now. I shouldn't be thinking about it, but I can't help it. What if he was my one? What if I'm stuck with Tate for forever? I doubt he'd let me go.

Sweat trickles down my back on my drive home. Nova's been talking my face off since we left the rink, but I honestly have no idea what she's saying.

As we pull up to Nova's place, I notice the car in the driveway. It's one I'm starting to know all too well. A matte silver Audi S7 sits as though it belongs there. Seeing the car brings a warmth to my chest despite the fact that I don't want it to.

"Well, well, well…. Looks like he just makes himself right at home." Her tone is sarcastic as she says it.

"I'm sorry, Nova."

She looks over at me, a somber look on her face as she grabs my hand. "As long as you're happy, that's all that matters. Maybe you should consider moving in with him since you're both mated now."

I shake my head. "I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet. Besides… what happens if I run into Drake again?" My eyes find hers, and she reads me all too well. She's known about Drake since I first moved into Eberly's house. She's heard all the stories and knows how absolutely heartbroken I was when he moved out.

"You know it's no longer uncommon to be mated to more than one alpha these days, right?"

I look at her and deadpan. "Do you really think Tate Geekies would ever share me with anyone?"

"Only one way to find out…." Her comment makes my eyebrows furrow. What the heck?

"What do you mean?" She chews on her bottom lip. A tell tale sign that she's been hiding something from me. I narrow my eyes on her. "Speak. Now."

"Well… I may have posted your photos on my website, and my views skyrocketed. I've never had that many views before either. Maybe you should open yourself up an OmegaFans account. Could bring in some extra money, and you're hot…. Plus…. Tate may actually hate it. In case you, ya know, wanted to get him all hot and bothered."

"Hmm…" It's my only response, but the sad part is that I'm considering it. Tate needs to realize that he doesn't own me despite the fact that his mark lives on my skin. Eventually, he'll leave me. They always do.

I was let down by the people who were supposed to love me the most, and they left me. Drake was the second person I ever loved, and he walked away without another word. Tate will tire of me. He'll get over this infatuation and move on. Will it wreck me in the process? Probably.

Is it bad that I'm considering doing OF to make him angry with me? Possibly. Do I think pushing him away before he can throw me to the curb is a good idea? More than likely.

A small part of my chest hurts at just the thought of living without him now that he's carved a permanent way into my heart.

I know. I'm a disgrace to omega's everywhere. Any other omega would be thrilled to have the attention of a famous hockey player alpha. And just because I have lewd fantasies about him nightly doesn't mean I'm going to act on them. That would just give him the wrong idea, but I also can't stop remembering how he felt inside me and wishing it would happen again.

We get out of the car and make our way to the house. The rich aroma of garlic and peppers tingles my senses. God, that smells glorious . "Guess, he's not totally useless." Nova smiles over her shoulder at me as she goes to put the key in the door. "Whatever he's making smells fucking delish."

Knowing I can't just run to my room and lock myself away from him, I decide to deal with him head on. Making my way into the kitchen, I open my mouth to say something, but he holds up both hands in a placating manner. "Look, I know that feisty mouth of yours is about to get you in trouble by saying something spicy about me being here again. But let me just talk for a minute? I wanted to make something nice for you. I know you've been practicing today, and you're probably tired. So, I wanted to make you some dinner before I offer to give you a massage and treat you to a magical bubble bath."

Tate looks handsome tonight standing in dark jeans that hug his muscular thighs and firm ass. A tan henley clings to him, displaying those glorious biceps of his. It should be illegal to look this good in street clothes.

His hair is damp and mussed like he's just showered and been messing with it ever since. His scent permeates the air around me, leaving me lost in how amazing he smells; like, all alpha, mixed with white chocolate, and a small part, mine.

It's sexy seeing him in a kitchen, stirring things in a pan, making food as though he's domesticated.

The way he acts like a caveman tells me otherwise, but I'll imagine just for a minute that he's a normal alpha and not an over-the-top, demanding, asshole alpha.

"Tate Geekies… please explain to me why you seem to think this place belongs to you? Last time I checked, my name was listed on the homeowner paperwork." Nova's snarky tone comes up behind me.

"Well, if I had it my way, Rebel would have moved in with me already, but since she insists on staying here to protect you from whoever broke in, that means I'm going to be here, too."

"Fine." Her tone is clipped as she heads down the hallway.

I stroll over to where he's standing in front of the stove and look around to see what all he's made. He leans over and kisses my neck. "Mmmm… you smell so good. Maybe I should eat you for dinner instead."

The blush crawls up my face from his naughty words. "Tate," I admonish.

He gives me that charming smirk and levels me with a wink. "It's the truth. God, you smell so sweet. Your heat must be coming soon."

"Okay... well, I need to shower and change." Not willing to acknowledge my heat, I move on immediately. I still haven't decided what I want to do about it. I should spend my heat with Tate. He is my mate after all, but if I do that, then I'll only fall harder.

"If you wait, I'd be more than happy to help wash this sexy little body from top to bottom." I tighten my thighs at the mere idea of it. Tate Geekies may be the death of me.

"Depends on how good this yummy food is." I find myself cheekily grinning over the flirtatious tone I use.

"Well, then. Take a seat so I can woo you with my food cooking abilities." He points to the kitchen table, and I make my way over.

He pulls my chair out for me like somehow he's at a fancy restaurant and the maitre d has only brought us to our table.

Nova makes her way back out to us after changing, and her chair squeaks as she pulls it away from the table over the wooden floor. "You two make me want to gag."

"Where's Gunnar tonight?" I ask Nova, and she shrugs. I haven't seen him in a couple of days, and I'm wondering what happened.

Tate goes back over to the stove, grabs some plates from the cabinet, and starts to pile the food onto the plates. "How much do you want?" He asks after he's already started stacking up my plate with food.

Looking over, my eyes widen at the pile. "That's more than enough. I'm going to be the size of a barn with all that food."

"I will love your sexy body even if it gains a few pounds."

I snort because that's highly unlikely. Not after you've had a mother who drove it into your head day after day that you need to lose weight to fit into dresses. When you live in a society where people judge you for every little thing, you have to put on a certain level of fake to keep up with the social elite, so to say.

You gain a little bit of weight, and it's the talk of the town. Get knocked up by someone, again, talk of the town. The good news is that, eventually, you become old news.

"It smells delicious," I declare as the glorious scent of the food wafts into my nose. "What did you make?"

"It's garlic black pepper chicken."

"Fancy," I reply.

"It's easy, and I'm used to making it." There's a far away look on his face as if he's sinking into a past memory. I wonder what it is, but I won't ask now. Not in front of Nova. There's still a part of him that's shut off, and I don't plan on pushing it.