Chapter 1: Tyler - Wrong Date, Right Mates

Waves rumble and crash at my back, vibrating through the sand as I rub coconut surf wax on my board with more aggression than necessary. Sunrise was five minutes ago and I’m already sweating.

“Have you ever thought about how coconuts are basically hairy bowling balls?” Alden asks.

“I can’t say that I have.”

“I prefer my bowling balls hairless.” Alden tosses dishwater-blond waves back from his face, and wraps a towel around his waist. “I hate coconut.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

I really am. I’m sorry that he smells like a fucking meadow in the Swiss Alps and huffing Mr. Zog’s Sex Wax is the only thing keeping me from popping a boner for my best friend. “It was the only flavor they had left.” It wasn’t.

“Flavor?” Alden arches a brow, then turns his back to me.

“Scent, whatever.”

“Right,” he says slowly, and shimmies out of his board shorts while holding his towel in place. His shirt hikes up in the back, revealing the twin dimples on his lower back. “Remember that time you ate a scented crayon?”

“I was six and you dared me.”

He laughs. His trunks land on the sand in a heap, and his vetiver scent drifts toward me. I lean my palm harder on the wax.

“Come on, Ty. I mean it. That stuff’s giving me a headache.” His towel hangs perilously low on his hips as he steps into his wet suit, then yanks it up and slides his arms through the sleeves. “Zip me up?”

I swallow hard, steeling myself for the task. Alden and his wet suit are frequently featured in my wet dreams. There’s something about black neoprene hugging his fit body, and cupping the bulge between his legs that does it for me.

“Uh, Ty?” Alden extends his hand toward me.

I take his hand and he pulls me to my feet with an exaggerated grunt.

“Phew.” He wipes his forehead with the back of his hand. It’s a self-deprecating shtick he’s had since we were kids, back when I was a head taller than him.

He was sure he was going to present as an omega, but he was just a late bloomer. Now our height difference is negligible, and he’s just as strong as I am, but his insecurity remains. I wish he understood that at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how big he is or whether he’s an alpha or an omega. He’ll always be Alden to me.

Society just likes to put alphas and omegas into boxes with strict stereotypes. It’s bullshit.

I step behind him, and stop short at the sight of his exposed back and the wet suit tight over his ass. Up close, he smells so fucking delicious, I fight the urge to nuzzle my nose against his neck.

I’m not into Alden like that. I don’t want to fuck my best friend, but that draw to him grows with each rut I fuck into a flesh light, and I don’t know how to fix it.

Breathing through my mouth, I yank Alden’s zipper up so fast he jumps. Then I smack his upper back in a very platonic, teammate sort of way and step back, pressing my hand against the base of my erection, willing it to disappear.

It doesn’t.

Alden turns. His blue-gray gaze dips down my body and back up, then his nostrils flare faintly, which means he scents my arousal too. Great. His vetiver scent intensifies. We keep getting caught in these awkward loops of turning each other on.

“You need to fix that zipper or get a new suit,” I say. I know he’s not trying to tease me on purpose, but it feels like it.

Alden blinks. His lips twist into a playful smirk. “I’m not getting rid of my lucky suit, and I don’t need to fix the zipper when I have you to do it for me.”

He’s not wrong. He never surfs without me. Thanks, Jaws. I tried to talk him out of watching it, but he was in that cocky teen phase, and insisted it wouldn’t be scary. He’s been afraid of sharks ever since.

“Ready?” He bends to fasten his ankle leash, and I definitely don’t look at his ass. “Or do you need to buff your board one more time?”

I push my lips to the side in a thoughtful pout, pausing as I slip on my leash. “You know what? Maybe I should.” At his crestfallen face, I add, “Joking,” and pick up my board.

“Finally!” He races past me, nearly jousting me with the tip of his board on the way to the shore break. “Last one past the waves buys breakfast.”

“Asshole,” I mutter fondly, and hurry after him.

Hopefully a dip in the Pacific will douse the embers of my desire.

* * *

Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.

Surfers clutter the waves as the sun rises higher in the sky. This year’s El Niño keeps bringing massive waves and people to surf them.

Alden and I float out beyond the breakers. We can surf here anytime, so there’s no point elbowing our way in line.

“Hey, Ty?”

A wave gathers. I let it pass, then swivel my board toward him. “Yeah?”

“Remember that app I was telling you about?”

My shoulders tense. “Which one?”

Alden has successfully managed his family’s philanthropic efforts for years, but he has a knack for investing his own money in doomed start-ups.

“Heat Seekers.”

“I see.” I point my board toward the beach, setting myself up to catch the next worthy wave if I need to. We had a huge argument the last time he tried to sell me on the dating app. When I pointed out the potential safety concerns and how dystopian it sounded, he accused me of never taking him seriously and suggested I use it to find an omega to fuck so I’ll stop being an asshole. Naturally, we both went to bed angry and never spoke about it again.

The current nudges us closer until our thighs touch.

“Anyway,” Alden says, “I have exciting news.”

I groan. “Don’t tell me you found an omega for me.”

“Please,” Alden scoffs, rolling his eyes to the cloudless sky, then back to me. “As if I’d inflict you on some innocent omega.”

“And that’s why I don’t like that app. It’s dangerous for omegas to order a random alpha like a pizza when they’re in a vulnerable headspace and can’t consent.”

“Call me a pizza then,” he says in a breezy tone.

“Wait, what?”

He shrugs a shoulder. “Yeah, I thought I’d give it a try, and matched with a cute omega.”

“Congrats,” I say with droll sarcasm and let another wave pass.

“We’ve been talking for a few weeks.” He looks at his board, then up. “I really like him.”

“Oh.”

The contents of my stomach curdle. I don’t know why I’m so shocked. This was bound to happen eventually. But I’m not ready for him to carve me out of his life like he did when he was with Niall, and during the weeks after they broke up.

I should have moved out when Alden and Niall started having problems, but Alden was against it, and rent in Orange County is expensive. I should probably start looking for an apartment now. I can’t get in the way of Alden’s happiness again.

“Okay. Well, that’s… That’s good.” I scan the horizon, searching for a more enthusiastic statement. “Sorry. I’m just surprised.”

Why didn’t he mention the omega sooner? He’s been closing himself off more and more over the last few months, and I don’t know how to fix it.

He drums his thumb on his board. “And for the record, Heat Seekers gives omegas a chance to select a partner before they’re in heat. Sounds safer to me. He’s on suppressants, and I’m not taking advantage of him.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“We’re just getting to know each other. But if we hit it off, I want to help him through his heat.”

“Oh,” I say again, because what the hell am I supposed to say when someone tells me about the potential fuck fest they’re planning?

“At our place,” he adds.

“What?”

“He shares a room with another omega, and he told me he had a bad experience the last time he was in heat, so I invited him to stay at our place.”

“Alden.” I drag the back of my forearm over my forehead to wipe the saltwater off my brow.

“I know. I’m sorry, but I want him to feel safe and pampered.”

“And going over to some strange alpha’s house is safe?”

“I’m not strange.”

“That’s debatable,” I mutter.

“Haha.” He splashes me.

Wait. “Is the roommate the one who made his last heat bad?” Now, Alden has me worrying about the omega barging in to take him from me.

“I don’t think so.”

“Does he know about me?” I ask.

“Duh. He’d scent you from a mile away.”

Good. A promising wave peaks with enough room for me to take it, the perfect excuse to collect my thoughts before I say something I’ll regret. “Be right back.” I paddle toward the swell, arms slicing through the water to propel my board forward before I miss it.

Endorphins flood me as I plant my hands and stand, dropping into a decent pipe. Breathing fast, relishing the stretch in my abs and legs, I shred the wave, feeling ten times better by the time I finish.

Alden catches the next wave, and we paddle out together without comment. Once we’re back to idling on our boards, he picks up where he left off.

“I know it’s less than ideal, but I really⁠—”

“Like him. Yes, you said.”

He exhales another tight sigh. “I need this to go well, what with Niall and⁠—”

“Fuck Niall,” I snap. A few surfers look our way. I lower my volume. “Good riddance to that prick.”

Niall crushed Alden’s confidence and nearly destroyed our friendship. Alden still won’t talk about it. He’s dated a few omegas since then, but they never last long and he hasn’t been forthcoming about why. He seems so lonely, and I’ve been spending so much time at the lab.

I should be more supportive. I mean, I do want him to be happy.

I cross my arms over my chest. “Well, tell me about your omega, then.”

Alden’s blue-gray eyes brighten with his smile. “He’s not mine yet. He might not even find me attractive in person.”

“That’s highly unlikely.”

He pauses, brow wrinkled.

“What?” I ask, cheeks heating. “You’re conventionally attractive.”

“Umm, thanks?” He stares at me.

Silence stretches. Why is my heart racing?

His smartwatch chimes and I exhale. Saved by the literal bell.

He frowns at the screen. “Shit. I better go. Your little wax routine made me late.”

I roll my eyes and hold out my fist. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.” He bumps it, then paddles in, leaving me adrift.