The Alpha in His Corner

Chapter 11

Dan had never been inside J Bar before. He'd passed it a few times since it was close to campus, but he always saw groups of big, alpha-looking men going inside and had avoided going there himself.

As he approached the dingy front door, he wondered if he should have requested a different meeting place. But he was already here, a bag of freshly laundered clothes clutched in one hand and a swarm of butterflies fluttering in his stomach. He took a breath and stepped inside.

The low lighting of the interior was splotched with bright colors from neon signs on the walls. Grumbling music played from a distant corner of the room, and a handful of patrons were scattered among the tables and along the bar that spanned the right wall of the establishment.

Right away, Dan saw Jaekyung sitting at the bar. He was impossible to miss with his large build and dominating aura. Dan noticed that no one had chosen to sit close to him.

Jaekyung turned his head when the door opened. Dan's stomach shuddered a little when their eyes met, but he managed to keep himself from blushing.

He waved at Jaekyung, then felt stupid and dropped his hand. He hurried over to Jaekyung's seat, trying to convince himself that the other surly-looking patrons of the bar weren't watching his every move. "Good evening," he said to Jaekyung. "Thanks for meeting me. I brought these to give back to you." He extended the bag with the borrowed clothes.

Curious, Jaekyung took the bag and peeked inside. His interested gaze flattened when he saw the contents, and he chucked the bag onto the bar. "You didn't have to bother."

Dan's shoulders fell a little. "Oh? But I remembered you said they belonged to some of your...friends?"

"Fuck buddies," Jaekyung corrected.

"R-right," Dan stuttered, which Jaekyung seemed to enjoy. Dan pressed on. "You don't want to return those to them...?"

Jaekyung shrugged. "It isn't my job to keep track of the shit they leave around at my place."

A nervous sweat formed on Dan's palms as he searched for something appropriate to say in response.

Jaekyung quirked a smile, then reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out Dan's wallet.

Dan brightened. "Thank you so much," he said, accepting the wallet when Jaekyung held it out to him. "Again, I'm so sorry for all the trouble. I'll be more careful in the future."

Jaekyung's dark eyes trailed lazily over him. "I'm sure you will, Dan."

Something about the way he said it made Dan's insides twist up.

"What are you having?" Jaekyung asked.

Dan blinked. "Sorry?"

"To drink." Jaekyung waved down the bartender, who came over and waited expectantly.

"Oh, uh..." Dan hadn't been planning to order anything, but it would be rude to refuse, wouldn't it? "Just a beer is fine."

Jaekyung ordered two beers, and Dan watched nervously as the bartender popped the lids off and slid the icy bottles across the bar top.

"Thank you," Dan said as Jaekyung handed him his drink.

Jaekyung lifted his own bottle to his lips, then paused to raise an eyebrow at Dan. "You gonna sit down or what?"

Unable to think of a reason why he couldn't stay, Dan slid onto the stool next to Jaekyung. He handled the beer bottle nervously with both hands and glanced at his huge companion.

Jaekyung tossed back a swig of beer and closed his eyes with a sigh. "Just what I needed." His eyes opened and shifted to Dan. "You made it to class okay?"