Blizzards and Brews (Holiday Hollow Omegaverse)

Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Lindsay

I was going to strangle someone.

Either that, or I was going to break out a new tap and waterboard them with beer.

All I wanted was a moment alone, but no matter where I went there was always someone there. Someone who I couldn’t give them what they needed.

And the worst part, is that they were all being so fucking nice.

Sure, we were all a bit sleep deprived, but all the guys were going out of their way to make sure I had everything I needed.

After the first night, at Spencer’s suggestion, we combined our camping equipment together, making a comfier pallet to sleep on. Of course, Ollie, the snuggle bug had ended up on Spencer’s chest with his arm wrapped around me where the alpha had tucked me into his side.

I would have protested, but Ollie finally looked peaceful and I couldn’t break that.

Dustin had taken to sleeping on the other side of me while Adam hovered on the other side of Spencer.

It had been four long days and we were still snowed in. I honestly didn’t know how much more I could take. Namely because of Adam.

“Hey, angel, could you do me a favor and grab me a water from the storage room please?” Spencer asked.

“Sure,” I said, jumping at the excuse to escape the heated stare Adam had been branding me with the entire time.

I wasn’t sure how quickly Spencer needed the water bottle, but I found myself grabbing one and then just slipping down, sitting on the floor in the quiet for a moment.

The lantern I took with me provided enough light to see, so I was content to just exist alone for as long as I could get away with it.

I leaned my head back against a stack of boxes and let out a long breath.

At least no one followed me. My thoughts were company enough.

My mind was a hot mess of conflicted thoughts. On one hand, I was happy to have the guys all in one place, and even I could admit how right it felt with us all together.

Then there was the tension. Ollie, Spencer, and I had something brewing that Spencer wasn’t letting me run from. Adam and Dustin both wanted me, and I wasn’t sure that I could give them what they needed.

Again, I wasn’t an omega, and the only omega in our pack was their brother. I wasn’t naive enough to assume they wouldn’t find an omega.

The thought of anyone else joining us made my stomach turn. I wasn’t sure I could live with it if they did find someone they wanted more than me.

The alternative was leaving them behind, and that thought had my chest aching. No matter how much I considered pushing them away, they were still a huge part of my life, and selfishly, I wanted them there.

I couldn’t just let them go. As much as I kept telling myself we could remain friends, it was becoming increasingly clear that was a pipedream.

The heart wants what the heart wants, and my heart wants them—all of them.

I closed my eyes and bit back a groan as heavy footsteps moved into the storage room. Was some alone time to brood too much to ask?

“Are you all right in here?” Adam asked gently. He didn’t hesitate to slip down to the ground next to me.

Our bodies were close enough that I could feel his warmth, which was kind of nice since it was getting pretty chilly in here, but it was his scent in this small space that was killing me slowly. The caramel-coffee scent was bitter, sweet, and rich. It tempted me far too often to give in and right now, I was on the cusp of it.

Before I could open my mouth to answer, the door slammed shut and the lock clicked.

“What the fuck?” I gasped, jumping up and going to the door. The door groaned as I jiggled the handle but it was to no avail.

“Ollie, is that you? I swear to all things holy, I will hide your snacks for the next week.”

The deep chuckle told me that it was Spencer, not Ollie. Though, I didn’t think the omega was off the hook either.

“Spencer, let us out now,” Adam said. He moved up behind me and checked the door, but he wasn’t willing to push too hard. It was our bar, after all, and the last thing we needed was a broken storage room door.

After the first time someone had stumbled in here in a drunken stupor and ruined far too much merchandise, we knew better than to leave it unlocked during business hours.

“No can do, I’m sorry. We have been in here for four days and you guys are refusing to listen or talk things out,” Spencer argued. He sounded amused and exasperated, and I couldn’t blame him. I felt the same way half the time.

But right now, I was ready to throat punch him.

“Dustin put you up to this, didn’t he?” Adam growled.

“He may have mentioned that this was one of the ways that you guys used to work out your problems. He even mentioned the time that your dad locked all three of you in here to talk because fighting between you had gotten so bad.”

Adam cursed under his breath and knocked his forehead against the door in defeat.

“We were thirteen then, we’re adults now. This is insane.”

“Sorry, I can’t open the door. I’m working on something out here. This old generator needs fixing up. We never want this to happen again, right?” I could hear the clink of tools as he got to work, and I almost started laughing at how crazy this was.

Almost. It was all too clear that I was currently locked in a closet with Adam.

I may not have known Spencer for long, but I knew he was stubborn as hell. This was a losing battle and I chose to go back to my spot instead of wasting energy on fighting him.

Adam looked back at me and shook his head, trying the door one more time before joining me.

“Well, we’re stuck here. Maybe we should really talk.”

“I listened before and didn’t argue when you told me you all wanted a shot,” I said, but we both knew that was a cop-out.

“Lindsay, this is not you giving it a shot. This is you appeasing us, wanting it but still holding yourself back. I don’t want only a part of you, I want all of you.”

I swallowed down the lump forming in my throat. Fuck, he always knew just what to say. My resolve was crumbling and I was holding onto the final shreds of it, refusing to let go.

“You can’t want me. I’m not an omega.”

Spencer let out a frustrated growl that reverberated in the room.

“I don’t give a fuck that you’re a beta. I care about you , not your designation,” Adam insisted.

“You do now,” I agreed, “and I don’t doubt that. But what happens when you find an omega that matches with you? Do you think I would really be able to stick around while you, Dustin, and Ollie all fell for another woman? That would break me.”

My voice broke and I fought off tears. I wasn’t usually the emotional type but I was far too vulnerable right now to keep my composure. I could count on one hand the number of times they’d seen me cry. Between my house, and the whirlwind of meeting Spencer, and now this, it was all too much.

“Look at me,” Adam demanded. His voice bordered on angry. I was rejecting him all over again, and I had promised to not shut him down right away, but I couldn’t take anymore.

“Have you ever seen me with another omega? Have you ever even seen me touch another woman in general?”

My eyes widened, and the silence settled between us, heavy and intense. Was he serious?

“Are you saying...?” I trailed off, my mind not able to put the words together. There was no way this man was saying he was a virgin and had held himself back for me.

Me. A beta.

Their best friend and who they’ve wanted for years , I argued with myself.

If I thought I was conflicted before it was nothing on how messed up my head was now.

“Am I saying that I have wanted you my entire life, and no one else does it for me? Am I saying that I’ve held myself back from ever getting into another relationship because I was holding out hope that you would finally give in to this? Yes. I’ve only ever wanted you , Lindsay. Only you.”

“So, you’ve never...” I breathed out, still unable to wrap my head around it. I needed him to say it.

“No, I’ve never fucked anyone,” he said bluntly.

“Holy shit, that’s unexpected.”

Understatement of the fucking century.

“If you want to stay delusional and not believe what I’m saying to you...” His mouth opened and closed a few times as he fought for the words.

He didn’t need to say the rest. I could feel his pain as if it was my own. We may not be bonded but I could read him easily. I knew what he was working through and I hated that I was the one making him suffer.

If I gave in now, it would feel like I was doing it just because Spencer was here, and that wasn’t right. I couldn’t do that.

“Firefly, please just listen to me,” Adam begged as he wiped a tear off my cheek. I hadn’t even realized one had escaped. “I have never, nor will I ever, want anyone but you. When I go to bed at night, I think about you. When I wake up in the morning, I think about you. Every time you work next to me or brush against me, it’s pure, blissful torture. I would give everything up for you.”

My eyes locked onto his warm, blue gaze and I couldn’t find the right words to reply.

He broke the silence for me.

“I just wish you would take a real chance on me. On our pack.”

His thumb stroked my face again, his warmth and want seeping into me. I leaned into his touch, my heart absolutely wrecked by his words.

A shuddered sigh rushed out of him at my acceptance of his touch and drew my attention to his mouth. His strong jaw, normally clean shaven, was covered in thick, brown stubble that was doing things to me.

Adam’s grip on me tightened, drawing my attention back to the heat in his eyes as he slowly leaned closer, his intent clear.

I didn’t move. I didn’t dare breathe. My heart galloping into overtime as he pressed his lips to mine for the first time.

While his lips were softer than I expected, they were demanding, kissing me over and over again until he shattered me out of my shock and I began to kiss him back.

The groan that spilled from his lips as I swiped my tongue along his bottom lip did me in. He kissed me harder, his tongue stroking alongside mine in a dance that made my head spin.

I wanted to laugh, cry more, and fuck his brains out at the same time.

Kissing Adam felt like coming home.

“Fuck, firefly.” A growl spilled from his chest, as he broke the kiss and rested his head against mine breathing harshly. “If I don’t stop now, I’m liable to lay you out on this floor.”

A broken laugh left my lips, the tears freshening.

I was so fucked. So complete and utterly fucked.

There was no way I could go back now.

“Talk to me,” he urged, kissing my tears away. “Please.”

His scent was thick, wrapping around me and adding a comforting layer for me to be honest as he still held my face in his hands.”

“I’m scared, Adam.”

“Can I tell you a secret?” he asked, waiting for me to nod. “I am, too.”

My lips twitched and I couldn’t resist the wide opening he gave me. “A big alpha like you?”

“Oh, I’ll show you how big I am, firefly. As soon as most of that fear leaves your face I’m going to show you just how good we can be together.”

A shiver racked my body at his words and he pulled me into his arms, hugging me tight as he rubbed his head against mine, no doubt scent-marking me.

I let myself close my eyes, taking a moment to enjoy his warmth without the normal guilt that plagued me. If we were going to survive then I had to believe that we’d always have this. We weren’t going to throw away almost thirty years of friendship.

The sound of the door unlocking brought me back to the moment.

“Ready to get out of here, firefly?”

I shook my head. “I think I need another minute to myself. Can you bring a bottle of water to the evil genius who locked us in here?”

“As long as you don’t overthink about this too much,” he said, placing one more kiss on my forehead. “If you’re not out in five, I’m coming back in.”

When the door closed behind him, I leaned my head back against the wall taking a deep drink of my water.

It was then that I realized I could overhear Spencer and Adam talking in low voices just outside the room.

“Look,” Spencer was saying. “I’m not going anywhere and I know you aren’t, either. It’s clear as day that she loves you and your pack. I’m not a threat to that, alpha.”

Adam grunted, a sound I’d heard so many times, I could almost imagine him crossing his arms and staring down Spencer. The fact that he’d finally have to look up at someone was hilarious.

Although, I got the sense that Spencer didn’t mind giving and taking.

“Fine,” Adam finally said. “But if you so much as harm one hair on Ollie or Lindsay’s head, I’ll make sure you’ll regret the day you ever took this consultation.”

“Harming them would be harming myself. I don’t expect you to take my word for it, as long as you give me a fair chance.”

Their words drifted away as they no doubt walked further into the brewery, but Spencer’s words echoed in my head.

A fair chance.

A fair chance.

Adam’s confession had shocked me, but it also made me realize that there were different sides to my best friends, ones that I wanted to know.

As scared as I was of getting my heart broken I owed it to myself and them. To give them an opportunity to prove everything they were telling me and to give myself a chance to embrace all the feelings I had shoved down deep inside of me.