At First Blush

Chapter 24

CW: derogtory words for Omegas are used, parallels to homophobia.

Note: vetiver is a powerful-smelling oil is quite smoky and earthy, with herbaceous and spicy undertones

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Ollie sat in the car, nervously fixing his mask. He somehow kept forgetting that having sex with Juls ended up having him smell so strongly of Omega that it was like he lit a road flare over his head. Hopefully, people would think he was just virile. That thought made him snort so hard he nearly choked as he popped the car door open.

Okay, so it wasn't as strong now that he wasn't sitting in the car. The car was probably going to need like eight Febreezes before he stopped getting hard over Juls. He pulled out his phone as he settled his mask firmly on his face. He'd asked his mom to text the list over after Juls had fucked it out of his brain.

As he walked to the Super Store, he paused as a hot wave of Alpha hit him like a brick wall. He glanced over to his right, and sure enough, there were like six Alphas all gathered by the row of movie vending machines. Two were smoking, and one was rocking back and forth on a skateboard. He couldn't see the faces of the other three as they leaned in the shadows. But all six of them...their Scents were...unpleasant. Not even in the overpowering way he associated with most Alphas. There was something mean about them. Something that made the Omega in him skittish and made his stomach and muscles clench hard.

He held his breath as he passed them, managing, barely, to walk normally. He couldn't help the sigh of relief when he passed into the store without them so much as glancing at him.

But as the automatic doors closed, one of the smokers' head whipped over, and Ollie made uncomfortable eye contact with him. His eyes were gold. A little red. His lips were pursed around the cigarette and there was something serpentine about how his gaze traced over Ollie.

Ollie shrugged a shoulder and sent him a two fingered salute, hoping his hands weren't shaking. The Alpha's gaze chilled out to a warm brown, and his lips curled up in a bit of a smile, and he nodded back at Ollie before turning back to the Alpha on the skateboard.

Ollie pressed his lips together, his spine tingling as he turned away. Grabbing the handheld basket, he walked towards the dairy and egg section. It wasn't until he was perusing the spice aisle that his shoulders relaxed and he felt like he could breath again.

But as he rounded the end of the aisle, hot, almost wet Alpha musk slammed into him like a physical blow. His stomach cramped and he blindly grabbed out for a shelf. His eyes burned as he gasped for air. As his vision cleared, he saw that the group had come into the store. They were joking and laughing, making the other patrons look up. The Alphas in the store frowned at them disapprovingly. Everyone else was determinedly not making eye contact with them. Ollie's stomach still hurt, but at least he no longer felt like he was choking on Musk.

Clutching his basket, Ollie stiffened his spine and moved to stand in the checkout line. Standing in the bright lights, surrounded by people, Ollie exhaled slowly, smiling at the woman in front of him, who had a toddler in the cart seat. His gaze fell to the baby.

His vision went sparkly with shock as he suddenly realized that he could make one of those. Jesus fucking Christ. He could make a baby now. Well, maybe not now, because his uterus was probably the size of a grape, but still. He would now be able to get pregnant three to four times a year.

His mini panic attack was suddenly interrupted by a large hand coming down on his shoulder. Ollie was not responsible for the ultrasonic squeak he emitted: it was a purely reactionary response.