Corinthians

Love is not Easily Angered

The rest of the day passed in a bit of a daze for Ed. When he made his way out of the locker room to Soren's car there was already a girl in the passenger seat. "Oh, hi Sam." He greeted. He could see Zane standing by his car a few spaces away, watching.

"I've offered Sam a ride home today. I can still drive you too, but it looks like your boyfriend would rather have that honor." It was approval from his best friend, in the most face saving way he could give it.

"Yeah, I think I'll let him take me home. Grandma asked me to anyway. You have fun with Sam. She's one of the good ones." Ed gave him the same courtesy.

Soren scoffed, "you think I couldn't figure that out for myself?"

Sam sat there glowing bright red at the unexpected compliments. The omega girls generally agreed there was no room between these two men for any of them, but it wasn't true at all. There was a space waiting, no, needing to be filled so they could both be happy. And fate was smiling on her. Soren was always the hottest alpha to her mind. And a gentleman to the core. She smiled up at Ed and mouthed "thank you." He nodded and waggled his eyebrows at her so she giggled. Then, he walked away, waving a last goodbye to the season of comfortable car rides home with his best friend.

The passenger door was open for him when he reached Zane's Lexus. The smell of leather and alpha permeated the air and made his mouth water. "This might be a bad idea," he muttered as he stepped around Zane to get in the car.

"It might," Zane acknowledged. It was a wonder he could drive safely the way his heart pounded. Next to him he could hear Ed's irregular breathing. He pulled into the parking space Ed pointed out for him and was kissing his beloved omega breathless before the engine died. Ed's hands went up to push him away but ended up gripping the front of his shirt instead. A short honk from a disgruntled neighbor jolted them apart. They both opened their doors at the same time knowing fresh air was their only hope.

Grandma was home early again, cooking steak. "We got a bonus and half days through the next week," she answered the questioning look on Ed's face. "It was a big case and we handled it well. Now, who's this?"

"Don't you already know?" He teased.

"I know well enough, but you haven't introduced him," she accused. "Grandma, this is my boyfriend...," she prompted.

Ed slipped his hand in Zane's for courage before making the introduction. "Grandma, this is my boyfriend Zane. Zane, this is my grandma, Carol."

"Grandma is good enough for Zane's friends," she offered and stuck out her hand. He had to let go of Ed's hand to take it and his reluctance to do so made him slow to take up her offer. "Good boy. You should be reluctant to let go of your loved ones. Now that you've done it though, give me a good shake. There it is."

"Your stroganoff is amazing," Zane said the first thing to pop into his otherwise blank mind. This warm beautiful, relatively young, soul was Ed's grandma‽ He understood instantly where everything he loved about Ed came from, and what made him so much more desirable than other omegas. He didn't just have the hormones that made alphas want to stake their claim, he had the warm gentle upbringing that would make any man want to embrace him and never let go. He had been loved well, so he knew how to love well in return, and if Zane had any say in the matter he'd be loved well for the rest of his life.

"I'm glad you liked it. But it's steak and mashed potatoes tonight. Ohh, and asparagus. It finally popped up along the fence line where I planted it four years ago. Go out and pick some for me, will you Eddie?" Ed had to comply, but when Zane moved to follow she added a stern, "you stay here," and that settled the matter.

When the back door banged closed she turned on Zane. "Does your father know where you are right now?"

He jumped a bit at the sudden change, but answered promptly, "no, but he'll know where I've been when I return home. Or would you rather I text him right now?"

"That will be sufficient. There are some alphas who think they ought to keep to themselves and breed for dominance. If you've anything to do with them you can pack up your things and head home. They've done enough damage in this house."

"No, ma'am. Rather, what's the point of nature giving us alpha and omega to bear the future if we rebel and keep to ourselves. It was the population collapse that set off the genetic variants for alpha, beta, and omega. Nature didn't make us alphas so we could dominate, but so we could provide," Zane answered with passion. He wasn't a politicians son for nothing. He knew about the alphas who hurt this precious woman, and how they were trying to wrest political power out of the hands of the beta majority. In a few short years he expected to join the fight against them as his fathers protégé.

"Well damn, you argue well. You plan to become a lawyer?" She asked.

"Initially," he answered. "Then, politics."

"You'll do well at it. Just be sure you never disagree with me and you'll be alright." She shook a fork at him as she said it, then went back to poking it in the pot of boiling potatoes as the sound of the back door opening reached them.

When Ed stalked back into the kitchen with his hands full of asparagus he found Zane laughing, and Grandma doing her best to pretend she hadn't just been unforgivably meddlesome. His heart thumped wildly at the sight. He was definitely addicted to his alphas laugh. And it was a good sign that he was laughing and not seething. Grandma was definitely testing him behind Ed's back.

At the end of dinner she suggested Ed show Zane his bedroom. Ed nearly choked on his last bite.

"Mind if I use the restroom first?" Zane asked, already starting to rise from the table.

"It's just around the corner dear," Grandma pointed with her spoon this time.

As soon as the door clicked Ed whisper yelled, "I haven't even called him by a pet name yet. What's with the 'dear'? And what's with sending us off to my room?"

"It's an old lady's privilege to use endearments for anyone at any time. You know I call my boss 'sweetie'," she argued.

"You do not call your boss 'sweetie' and you'd better not call Zane that either. Let me pick an endearment before you go snatching them all up," he protested.

"Good idea. That's something you can do while you're showing him your room. Alone. You're welcome. Parents wouldn't be this understanding but you've been raised by your grandmother."

He groaned. She spent too much time in the company of lawyers and he was trying to argue against himself in the end. He wanted to be alone with Zane every bit as much as she thought he did.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom Zane was staring up at a peculiar picture from his seat on the toilet, a quote of some sort, all words about love, and he began to understand his omega's reluctance a lot more. He snapped a picture of it with his phone so he could look at it again when he had more time. "Love is Patient," he mumbled. "If only he knew."