My stalking seemed to pay off around lunch, leading me to witness one of the biggest assholes our school had to offer, cornering Avery when the guy tried to slip around the side of one of the buildings, probably just needed a moment to himself to decompress. I was grateful for my strange, completely out of character behavior, since it became very clear within two seconds of the confrontation that Avery was a pacifist.
I was not. I was also not some dainty omega.
I was from a big family which was pretty much overrun with omegas. In fact, my brother Evan was the only alpha to come out of the family in over twenty years.
It was kind of an old-fashioned notion that omegas needed to be protected. That there should always be alphas around to make sure that we weren't attacked… by other alphas. Clearly, in our family, being surrounded by alphas wasn't an option. So, we were all taught to take care of ourselves.
That was why, when that asshat of an alpha actually hit Avery with no provocation whatsoever at all, I lost it on the man. I didn't even feel bad when I made him cry in front of all his friends. If I'd had a reputation after the science book incident when only a handful of people had been around to see it, people definitely gave me a wide birth after that, when the near two dozen members of his entourage had all stood around, watching in shock as I'd nearly destroyed the man's future ability to impregnate.
From that moment forward, I made it my job to protect Avery, and he'd treated me like I was the most amazing person to ever come into his life.
He might be a big, incredibly strong alpha, but he didn't like confrontation, and unfortunately, because of his size, he drew trouble without even trying, and I stayed busy keeping him away from asshole alphas who wanted to fight.
We've been inseparable since that day—unlikely best friends who would rather spend every moment possible with each other than doing just about anything else in the world.
Sure, I was head over heels in love with my best friend, and with each passing day, I only fell further, but romantic relationships were complicated and terrifying, and I would never jeopardize what we had for something so uncertain. This camaraderie was the highlight of my life. What more could I ask for in a romantic relationship?
Sex? Kisses? Yeah, those would be nice, but my experience with both told me that wasn't worth losing what I had with him.
"I'm so glad I only have four kids today," he grumbled, nuzzling deeper into my neck, and sending goosebumps along my skin as he slid his hand further up my shirt, just barely missing my nipple, and making me shudder. "I feel so drained and we didn't even do anything this weekend."
Honestly, we rarely did anymore. We might both be single men, but going out with some of our other friends was usually just more energy than it was worth, and we found ourselves camped out on the couch watching movies or crime shows all weekend rather than trolling bars or clubs more often than we didn't. There really wasn't anything there I was dying to get my hands on anyway, and I wasn't going to complain about him not bringing some lucky omega home.
I got to go to work every day and do what I loved, teaching at a college, and tutoring after my classes were done, and then I got to come home every single night to the sweetest, most encouraging and amazing alpha in the whole world. I might not get to do all the dirty things I wanted to do to him… well, not in real life, but I thought I might actually just be content with the way things were.
He stood there like that, like he always did, finding ways to touch me that weren't necessarily platonic, but didn't push far enough into sexual to make me think he meant it any other way than in a cuddly way we both seemed to crave. The coffee brewed slowly, and I prepared my lunch with my favorite alpha draped over me… feeling hot.
I frowned, turning my head slightly to press my cheek against his forehead, surprised by the heat coming back at me. Were my cheeks cold, or was he fevered?
Putting my sandwich makings down, I reached up with my arm, pressed my wrist to his skin. "Are you getting sick?" I asked, jostling him slightly so I could turn to check him over. "Damn, Avery, you look flushed, and you definitely feel like you have a fever."
He groaned, pulling me back to him, and putting his head back down on my other shoulder. "I hope not," he said against my skin, sounding miserable. "I don't have time to get sick."
"Ave, I hate to tell you this, but you're probably gonna have to call someone in and stay in bed. You can't take care of kids feeling like this, and you might get them all sick."
He groaned again, pouting against my skin. "I hate being sick."
I pulled out of his hold, leading him over to the table and pushing him down into one of the chairs. I ran my fingers through his hair a few times before moving over to the medicine cabinet and pulling out the large drawered bin that contained the medicine. We had to keep it high on a shelf behind a child-safe door because of the daycare kids, and most children's unique ability to find exactly what they shouldn't.
"I won't be home till about seven," I said, digging the cold medicine out and setting it aside before putting the container back up. "I need you to take this with you to your room and make sure none of the kids get into it, okay? The alpha dose is different, so make sure you read the label." I pushed my hand into his hair again, tilting his head back so he'd look at me, while he reached out and grabbed my hips, pulling me in closer until I was straddling his legs, and he was resting his chin on my stomach looking up at me with fevered green eyes.
"Please, don't take too much," I whispered, licking my lips. "This shit can be dangerous."
He nodded, but made no move to let me go, and I sighed, wondering if I should stay and take care of him.
"I'll be fine, Arch," he said, still looking up at me with a small smile on his firm, shapely lips.
"Maybe I should call in today," I said, biting my lip as I watched him, glad he was so tall, since it meant he was completely unaware of the erection that was blooming below his chin. "You're gonna need somebody to be here and make sure you get lots of water. You're probably not gonna want to get up, either. You'll need soup, and someone to come in and take your temperature."
He shook his head, giving me a smirk. "I'll be fine, I promise. I'll call Darla. She'll come watch the kids and make sure they stay in the front rooms, and I'll lock my door and watch movies… or sleep all day."
When all I did was stand there, staring down at him with narrowed eyes, he gave me a small smile, slowly lifting his head and sitting back, though he didn't immediately release my hips. "If I need something, I'll call you, okay?"
I sighed, stepping back, and reluctantly going back over to finish making my lunch. "Fine, but don't forget to drink your water."
***
I was running late, and of all the nights to be running late, it had to be when I had spent the entire day worried about my best friend.
I knew he was a big strong alpha, but I also knew he tended to let his own health go in order to get other stuff done, so I'd been texting him all day, making sure that he was taking it easy and drinking his water.
Thankfully, he'd listened to me for the most part, and Darla had been able to come in and watch the four kiddos he was set to watch that day with very little issue.