by Kenna Grace
“No, it’s fine,” Donovan reassured me, giving me a smile. “It’s nice to see someone working who’s passionate about their job. Besides, the clients here aren’t the only ones getting to see a viewing.”
I turned around to face Donovan, who was checking out my ass. “You’re bad,” I joked as I rolled my eyes, but I was actually enjoying the attention.
Hours passed in the blink of an eye. With Donovan’s help, the show was going perfectly according to schedule and I was grateful to have someone keep me company during the downtime.
As the show was wrapping up, I started to pack things up while Donovan did a sweep of the place to tidy up. I couldn’t help but wonder what our future would be like. I started to daydream of coming home from work and telling each other about our day as we enjoyed dinner. How we would go to bed and wake up next to each other.
Suddenly, I flashed back to the present moment. What am I doing? I asked myself, as I shook the thoughts from my mind. I realized that thinking about our future together was nuts. We barely even know each other, I reminded myself.
For all I knew, this was still all just a façade and Donovan could still be a jerk. I mean, weren’t all relationships great in the beginning? And there I went with that word again, relationship. We had only gone on one actual date and never discussed anything about what we were.
“So, that went pretty well, I think,” Donovan said as he came back behind the booth next to me. He put an arm over my shoulder.
“Yeah, it was good.” I brushed his arm off and locked up the front door. I didn’t want to push him away, but I knew I needed to withdraw a little from him.
Donovan went to open my car door for me. “I got it,” I said, reaching for the handle before he had the chance.
Donovan shrugged it off and went back around to his side of the car and took a seat.
As I started the way back to my place, I rested my arm on the center console. Donovan reached over and held my hand.
I wanted to pull away, but I couldn’t bring myself to. I loved the way his hand felt holding mine. As much as I tried to withdraw, Donovan pressed forward, putting my attempts at bay.
“We should go for a drink,” Donovan suggested as we pulled out on to the main street. “It’s on me,” he insisted.
Reluctantly, I agreed. As much as I felt like I should still try to withdraw a little, I couldn’t help but resist Donavon's charm. I pulled into a parking spot just down the road in front of a comfy-looking lounge.
We made our way inside and took a seat by the bar. The place was empty, which I was actually happy about. Donovan ordered us a couple of beers.
“So, do you go to charity events like that often?” I asked, trying to learn more about him.
Donovan took a swig of his beer. “Every couple months they have one. I try my best to make it. I don’t go out very often, so I figure if I show up to the events people at work won’t assume I’m anti-social or something.”
I laughed. “Don’t go out often? Can’t be from lack of being asked, I assume? I mean you’re good looking and a doctor. What more can someone ask for?”
Donovan rolled his eyes and laughed. “What about you? One of the leading realtors of the city and an ass that doesn’t quit.”
I gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. “I was seeing a guy named Pat. Got out of that relationship a few months back. To be honest, you’re the first guy I’ve been on a date with since.”
“Oh?” Donovan inquired.
“Yeah, turned out he was just another alpha-hole.” I took a sip of my hoppy brew.
Donovan smiled at me and took another sip. “We’re not all alpha-holes, you know. So, what happened between you two? I mean, if you don’t mind me asking.”
I shrugged. “He just lied one too many times and I figured out he was cheating on me.” I winced a little at the memory of finding the slip of paper Pat dropped.
“What a jackass,” Donovan replied, shaking his head with a frustrated look on his face. “Nobody deserves that.”
“Thanks,” I replied genuinely. Donovan looked legitimately hurt hearing that Pat had cheated on me. More hurt than most people probably would have. I figured he probably had a similar experience, but I decided not to press it.
“You know, I’m glad were doing this,” I said.
Donovan finished off his beer. “What’s that?”
“Just getting to know each other a little more.” I gave him a smile.
“Yeah me too.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief. It felt good letting Donovan know more about my past. Learning a little more about each other made what we had, whatever it was, seem a little more real. I hadn’t realized it before, but I noticed that Donovan and I had slowly started to drift a little closer together.
“So, what do you have planned for today?” I asked, hoping his schedule was open so we could spend a little more time together.
“Hmm, I don’t have anything planned. Honestly, I’m having a great time right now and this is exactly what I want to be doing, with who I want to be doing it with,” he said, leaning in a little closer.
“Oh?” I could feel my heart start to race in my chest. “There’s nothing else you want to do today?”
His voice hushed, almost to a whisper. “Well, there’s something I’d like to do now,” he purred into my ear.
I leaned in even closer. “And what would that be?”
He let out a little laugh and brushed his hand along my forearm, his face now inches away from my lips.
No longer able to resist, I leaned in the rest of the way, pressing my lips against his, giving up on my attempt to withdraw from him. A rush of excitement washed across my body as our lips collided. Just then, Donovan’s phone rang. He pulled away, breaking our kiss.
“I’m sorry, I need to take this,” he said, as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. “It’s work.”
“Sure, go ahead,” I said, giving him a smile to assure him that I didn’t mind.
Donovan brought the phone to his ear. “Yeah. Right now? Are you sure you need me there? Alright, I’m going to have to cab there though, so you may need to start without me. Alright, see you soon.” He hung up the phone and slid it back into his pocket with an exhale.
“Is everything alright?” I asked.
Donovan clicked his tongue off the roof of his mouth. “Yeah, a patient of mine just arrived at the hospital. He’s going into labor now and the hospital is short staffed. They need me to go in to help with the delivery. I hope you don’t mind?”
I let out a laugh. “No, that’s fine. I mean, it’s not like you can tell someone to hold off from giving birth for a couple more hours. Besides, they need you there. I can give you a lift if you want, though?”
He leaned back in closer and gave me a kiss on the forehead. “Thanks for understanding. And I think I should probably just get a cab. I need to get my car back from the charity event and you should enjoy the rest of your day off.”
Donovan called the bartender over and took care of the bill. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow. Promise.” He gave me one last kiss before running out of the lounge and I watched from the window as he made his way to a taxi waiting outside.
8
Donovan
The taxi pulled up right in front of the emergency entrance for the hospital. I paid the tab and quickly bolted in. Making my way to the emergency delivery room, I changed into a pair of scrubs and washed my hands before putting on a pair of medical gloves.
Before I could even make it into the delivery room, I could hear a man shouting and panting while Katy tried to instruct him to take deep breaths.
She let out of a sigh of relief when I came through the doors. “Thanks god you’re here.”
“What do we have?” I asked.
Katy took the clipboard with the man’s information from the desk and passed it to me. He was a couple weeks earlier than what we’d expected. “How’s the baby doing so far?”
“So far so goo
d, but he’s persistent on wanting to join this world today,” Katy said, before sending a nurse out to grab a towel.
Suddenly, the man started to groan. His face turned crimson and beads of sweat started to drip down. “How far apart are they?” I asked, referring to the contractions.
Katy looked at the clock on the wall and took the clipboard back from me to compare his last recorded experience. “They’re about four minutes apart and lasting eighty seconds. His cervix has only dilated about six centimeters.”
“We’re going to have to use a C-section,” I said, concerned for both the man and the child. Normally, females were able to deliver the baby vaginally, but due to the biological structure of a male omega’s body, it was often better to use a C-section. Structurally, their bodies had a harder time dilating to the required ten centimeters in order to deliver the child. Fortunately, our facility was cutting edge at male C-sections with a near perfect success rate.
I walked closer to the man and stood next to him. “We are going to have to go ahead with a C-section. It’s the safest option right now for you and your child. Is it alright if we administer a sedative to help with the pain? It’s completely harmless to you and your child.”
The man thought for a second. He looked as though he was going to refuse the epidural until another contraction rocked his body. He took a few heavy breaths using a technique I assumed Katy had showed him.
“Yeah, I consent,” he replied, his voice shaky.
I gave Katy a nod and she went to grab the anesthetic and administered it.
When the epidural seemed to take hold, I grabbed my sterilized razor and made a horizontal incision in his skin and abdominal wall just below the pelvic line. With the abdomen opened, I carefully made a horizontal side to side incision in the uterus to rupture the amniotic sac that surrounded the baby.
With the protective membrane now ruptured, I had full view of the child. Slowly, I removed the baby from the uterus and passed her to Katy, who was standing next to me. I cut the umbilical cord and removed the placenta. The man looked down at me between his legs with a concerned look on his face. “Everything’s fine and going well,” I assured him with a smile.
Katy took the child, who was now free of the umbilical cord, and washed her off before doing a quick examination. When she was sure the child was healthy, she passed him back to the man for skin to skin contact.
“Do you mind if we take her back for just a little bit so we can wash her up? That way we can stitch you back up.”
The man looked down at his baby with a smile that warmed my heart. It didn’t matter how many babies I’d delivered, seeing the moment the parents first got to hold their baby and the adoration in their eyes always warmed my heart and reminded me why I loved my job. He handed his baby back to Katy, who left the room with the nurse to clean her up and take some notes on her weight and whatnot.
While they were doing so, I stitched up the man’s uterus. Eventually, the stitches would dissolve under the skin. When his uterus was all stitched up, I closed the abdominal skin with some staples that would be removed before he left the hospital. Just as I was finishing up, Katy returned into the room with his baby wrapped up in a blanket and passed her back to him.
“Thanks Donovan,” she told me, relieved that I was able to come in to help with the procedure. “Look, I can finish up here. Why don’t you head out and enjoy the rest of your day off?”
“No worries, Katy. Anytime.” I took off my gloves and tossed them in the trash bag before leaving the delivery room. I removed my coat and washed up by the sink and made my way back outside.
Fortunately, the parking lot for the charity event I was at with Lachlan was only a couple blocks away from the hospital. I was relieved when I got there to see that I hadn’t received a ticket for extended parking.
When I got back home, I noticed my phone was dead. I went into the kitchen and plugged it in before deciding to make a cup of coffee. I put a paper filter into the basket and placed a couple spoonfuls of Alpha Xpress ground coffee into it, then added water and hit brew.
A few minutes later, the machine started to gurgle and a steady drip of black coffee started to fall into the pot. I took in a whiff of the aroma. There was something about the smell of coffee that always made things seem simpler. When the machine beeped, I grabbed a mug from the cupboard and poured the coffee into it. I brought it to my nose and took another whiff before having a sip.
Suddenly, my phone turned back on and chimed, letting me know I had an unread message. I walked over with my coffee and picked it up. It was from Henry, my omega father.
I ran my hand through my hair and paused for a second before opening it. I hadn’t talked to him in a while and I wasn’t sure if I was ready to now. Finally, I decided to open it up and see what he had to say.
“Hey Donovan,
I’m going to be in the city for a bit tomorrow. Was wondering if you wanted to meet up for lunch? Let me know. Hope all is well.
Henry.”
I thought about replying for a few minutes. Hesitating, I wondered whether or not I was ready to have him back in my life. He was absent for most of my childhood. Not in the physical sense, but in an emotional one. I typed out a reply, saying that I wasn’t able to make it, but I hesitated, not able to hit the send button. Instead, I deleted his message altogether.
When I thought about Henry, all it did was make me feel uncomfortable. Images of trying to get his attention after he and Jim split filled my mind. I’d tug on his shirt as he laid in bed, curled into a ball crying, withdrawn from everything and everyone around him. I wanted to see him, I wanted a relationship with him, but I couldn’t help but shy away every time he tried to come back into my life.
I hadn’t heard from Lachlan for the rest of the day and by the time I was getting ready for bed, I started to debate whether I should send him a message. I didn’t have anything in particular I wanted to tell him, but I loved just being able to have a conversation with him.
I was sure he would have loved to hear from me, but when I glanced over at the alarm clock, I realized it was nearly ten at night. It was already pretty late and I didn’t want to send him a message in case he was sleeping. That was what I told myself. Really, the reason I choose not to was because I realized that I was starting to like Lachlan in more than just a casual way.
After seeing my parents’ marriage shatter, permanent relationships were something I promised myself I wouldn’t get involved in. I was into casual dating, the excitement of being with someone new, but as soon as it turned more serious than that, I always had to split. I knew what falling for someone could do and that the reality was that most people never had a happy ever after ending. Just perfect moments that were corrupted by the pleasure of a moment shared with someone other than their partner. Perfect moments that you told yourself you’d never forget, then when the relationship failed, you were just defeated, and wanted nothing more than to forget it all.
I put my phone back down on the nightstand. Lachlan and I were getting close. Too close. I could feel myself becoming attached to him in a way I never intended. The way I felt about him was more than just lust and that was what scared me the most. I decided that some space between the two of us would be good. I could still see him, but I could try to limit it. Hopefully, Lachlan would clue in and realize that I was just looking for something casual. Though that didn’t explain why I called him immediately the following morning to invite him out again.
9
Lachlan
The next week I spent every moment I could with Donovan. I saw him every few days, but it never seemed to be enough, and I could feel myself getting more and more attached to him.
When we weren’t hanging out, we were making plans to, or talking through phone and text. It came to the point where I couldn’t tell when one conversation ended and a new one started. We talk just for the sake of talking to each other.
I couldn’t get Donovan out of my mind and the more I thought about i
t, the more I thought I was alright with that. I still wasn’t sure if I was ready to be in another relationship, but I also didn’t think I’d be able to walk away if Donovan were to ask.
We hadn’t had the conversation about what we were yet, but I knew he wasn’t seeing anyone else and neither was I. The more time I spent with him, the more time I wanted to spend with him. It came to the point where if we weren’t together, all I could do was look forward to the next time we would be.
We had gone on a few dates this week. Each one was better than the last, and I could feel myself growing more attracted to him and his personality as the days went by. Though not sure if I was ready for a relationship, I was happy with how things were going.
Before I met Donovan, I was sure all omegas out there were too sensitive for me and all the alphas were just a bunch of alpha-holes. I felt even more confident in that assessment after things ended between Pat and me. Then I met Donovan. All signs pointed to him being an alpha-hole like the rest. He was attractive, smart, and always said the things I wanted to hear.
But, the more I got to know him, the more I started to think he was actually sincere. He made me start to doubt my beliefs. He didn’t seem like an alpha-hole at all. In fact, he seemed like a genuinely caring alpha who saw me as an equal.
The way he treated me and the way I felt around him even had me reconsidering my plan to get inseminated. I still wanted a child, but things were going well with Donovan and I had to consider the prospect that things could work between the two of us.
He had no idea I wanted a child and though I knew it would have to be a conversation we would have to have at some point, I knew right now wasn’t the right time. I mean, we had just started seeing each other.
