Gamers’ Omega (Gimme MMMMMore #5)

Chapter 11

Every muscle ached. It was a good ache, but it was there nonetheless.

“Your bath is ready,” Tony murmured. “Do you need a hand?”

“Mm-hmm,” I replied, too sore to want to speak.

“Ok.”

I’d somehow made it to the edge of the bed when Tony had announced that he was drawing me a bath, but the thought of walking the few feet to the en suite had seemed daunting.

“Up you go!” Tony chirped as he slid one arm under my legs and supported my back with the other, lifting me into a bridal carry. “Hold tight, Sweetheart.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and clung to him as he awkwardly carried me into the en suite. He stopped beside the tub and lowered my feet to the floor.

“I didn’t want you to slip in the water,” he said softly. “So use me for support as you step over.”

“Thank you,” I mumbled.

He turned to kiss my temple. “You’re welcome, our gorgeous omega.”

Heat flooded my cheeks. Pleasure-drunk me had admitted to liking them calling me their omega, and they’d taken quickly to using the term.

Tony held me steady as I eased into the hot water and got settled.

“Do you want privacy?” he asked once I was reclined against the wall of the tub. “Or do you want company?”

I considered the question, but my brain was still too mushy to come to an answer. “I don’t know,” I finally admitted.

Tony laughed. “Valid. How about I partially pull the curtain so you’re not just in there balls-out while I’m in sweats? I can sit here and be moral support, or chat, or whatever you need.”

“That… sounds nice,” I replied, leaning my head against the wall and closing my eyes.

The sound of movement. Metal against metal as the curtain rings slid along the rod. Then Tony sat on the closed lid of the toilet again.

The warmth seeped into my aching muscles, and after several minutes I let out a long sigh as the tension started to ease.

“Is… is it normal to be so sore after?” I murmured.

Tony chuckled. “Sweetheart, anybody would be sore from taking knot after knot during their heat. Sex is fun, but it’s also exercise. Think about how long your heat was, then imagine spending all that time working out at the gym instead. You’d be just as sore.”

“Hmmm… I guess that makes sense.”

There was a moment of silence, then he spoke again. “It was also your first time. It was all new, and your body has to figure things out. Most people would be sore after strenuous sex, but until your body knows what’s up, you’ll probably be a bit sore after even gentle sex.”

“Oh.”

“I’m sorry, we should have thought about that.”

Ripples lapped against the edge of the tub as I shifted slightly. “It’s ok. Sore is different than pain. And… it’s a good sore. I’m sated in a way I’ve never been after a heat.”

He blew out a long sigh of relief. “That’s good.”

I allowed my thoughts to wander, and the fuzzy memories of my heat seemed to be what my mind latched onto. How even as they started to tire, my alphas had made sure that I had what I needed.

“How are you guys?” I asked.

“I haven’t asked the others,” Tony started. “But I’m a little sore, mostly in my legs. Worth it though. Watching you come over and over, feeling you around me as pleasure overwhelmed you… I’ll gladly take a few complaining muscles to experience that.”

My face heated as I remembered Tony inside me, the way his knot pulsed against my sweet spot as he bred me. “It felt good,” I whispered.

“I’m glad.”

I ran my fingers across my belly. “Do… do you think I’m pregnant?”

He chuckled. “I’d say the odds are good. But we’ll know in a few weeks, once a test will work.”

“What if I’m not?”

He hummed. “Then you’ll have to decide if you want to try again your next heat.”

“Me?” I whimpered.

“Yeah. Why does it sound like that worries you?”

“Isn’t… isn’t that a group decision?”

He chuckled, then paused. “Oh, Sweetheart. Yes, decisions are made as a group, but it’s still your body. I can no more demand to put a baby in you, as you can demand I put a tattoo on my skin. And it’s a big decision, regardless of potential pregnancy. None, and I mean none of us expect one good heat to erase years of trauma and fear. We all knew there was a chance that after your heat you could decide that having us inside you wasn’t something you enjoyed, and would ask to not have penetrative sex again. We’ll discuss things like we always do. But there are some decisions that you’ll have to make yourself.”

I considered his answer. It felt scary to have such a decision on my shoulders, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was part of why I’d fallen in love with them. They didn’t place expectations on me to do certain things. They expected me to consider my own needs and communicate them.

It was how they worked. They’d known each other long enough they anticipated things with each other in a way I didn’t yet. But… I’d get there.

In the meantime, my mates trusted me: trusted me to tell them what I needed; trusted me to trust them.

The sound of the curtain, then of Tony touching the water.

“Want me to add some more hot?” he asked.

“Actually…” I started. “I think I want a cuddle pile.”

I could hear the smile in his voice when he spoke. “I’ll get the towels from the dryer. They should be warm. Then we’ll have a cuddle pile.”

I smiled. “Thank you.”

“I’ll be right back.”

“Ok.”

I listened as Tony left.

I really did have the best mates.

∞∞∞

~July~

“I want to know as soon as you’re done celebrating with your mates,” Micah declared over the phone as I stared at the assortment of pregnancy tests on the shelf.

“And what if it’s negative?” I asked.

He snorted. “You were in flaming heat and bred by four alphas. Trust me, there’s a baby in you. Probably more than one.”

“I just don’t want to get ahead of myself,” I sighed. “Now which were your favorites again?”

“The ones with the digital readouts. No trying to guess if there’s a second line or a plus symbol. Pregnant, not pregnant. It’s worth the extra couple dollars. The brand doesn’t matter.”

“Ok,” I replied as I scanned the shelf. I found one, grabbed it, and dropped it in my basket.

“I’ve gotta go,” Micah said. “My break’s almost over. You’re still going to go pregnancy clothes shopping with me this weekend though, right?”

“Of course. You need somebody other than your alphas to tell you which pants make your ass look the best.”

Micah laughed. “Yeah, they’re biased. Everything makes my ass look good to them. But I’ve got to pick out things that make me look fabulous, while also being able to handle the fact that I’m cooking three babies.”

“You sure there’s going to be room in you for three?” I teased.

“I’ll make room,” he declared. “That’s what baby bellies are for.”

I laughed. “We might need to rig up something with wheels and a padded cushion to support it for you.”

“As long as I can make it sparkly and fabulous.”

“Small fortune in rhinestones, got it.”

“Ass,” he laughed. “Ok, I really gotta go. Call me later with the good news, and I’ll see you this weekend.”

“Thanks for walking me through the test selection.”

“No prob. It seems like a silly thing to stress about until you’re staring at the shelf.”

“Yep. Ok, chat later. Bye.”

“Bye.”

The call disconnected and I slid my phone back into my pocket. Then I turned my attention to the pregnancy tests again. I found another digital one in a different brand, then grabbed one with a plus sign as the indicator just to see if it was as stressful to read as Micah had suggested.

The clerk, a young male omega, eyed the tests as he rang them up and slid them into a bag. “Hope you get the results you want,” he said cautiously as I paid.

I smiled and patted my stomach. “We’re hoping.”

His customer-service smile brightened. “Always a crapshoot when selling these things. Some are hoping, and some are scared. I hope it’s good news for you.”

“Me too.”

“Have a nice day,” he said automatically as I grabbed the bag.

“You too!”

Excitement started to build as I drove home. Micah was probably right. My alphas had bred me while I was in heat.

More importantly, the voice of hope was stronger than that of doubt.

I pulled into the garage when I got home, my alphas already insisting that I get used to it so that I wasn’t trying to do things like scrape the windshield or brush snow off the car while pregnant.

That it was the start of summer didn’t seem to factor in. Neither did the fact that we hadn’t even confirmed that I was pregnant yet, and when I pointed that out, they asked if I’d rather get into an oven or a shaded car.

They had a point.

The house was mostly quiet as I entered—the only sound being Pico chattering to himself in the living room.

I paused as I passed Beck’s office, and could hear the sound of typing from within.

I walked into the kitchen and saw Beck had scrawled something on the whiteboard on our fridge.

Tony called. Working late. I need to finish this week’s article. If you don’t want to cook, get whatever you want for delivery.

I smiled, then opened the fridge. After a minute of digging, I confirmed that we had everything I needed to make lettuce wraps, which the guys had enjoyed the last time I’d made them.

Dinner plans sorted, I continued to the living room and opened Pico’s cage. “Hey, pretty bird.”

“Pretty bird, pretty bird,” he echoed in his scratchy budgie voice. He climbed out and to the top of his cage. “Pico, Pico.”

“I kissed a bird…” I started.

“And I cannot lie,” he replied.

I burst into laughter. “Wrong lyrics.”

Pico started beatboxing to inform me that, in fact, I was the one mistaken.

I spent a couple of minutes running him through some of his tricks, which he always seemed to enjoy, then I grabbed my bag of tests from the kitchen. I laid them out on the table and stared at them.

When should I take them? Obviously, once all my alphas were there. But as soon as everybody was home? Should I wait until after dinner?

My eyes landed on the wall of games, and I remembered all the evenings spent discussing what we wanted to play.

When to take the test was my decision, but it was also our decision. I didn’t have to make it alone.

I checked that Pico was playing happily on his play stand, then returned to the kitchen to prep ingredients. That way dinner would come together quickly once everybody was home.

Freddie and Ian arrived first, deep in discussion as they walked in.

“They have a right to bid, just like everybody else,” Freddie stated.

“They had a right,” Ian retorted. “Last year, like the rest of us. It’s a five-year contract. It’s stupid for them to breeze into town with a big-name firm and expect the city to just bend to their will. They can bid when it comes up for renewal.”

“Did you guys bid?” Freddie asked.

Ian snorted. “Of course not. There’s a lot more to that contract than meets the eye. I’d be willing to bet money they haven’t looked at previous bids to see what’s included. Set storage is a huge part of it. The city isn’t just paying for it to be rebuilt every year, which I bet is what they think is happening. No, all those temporary buildings are reused year after year. Lowell has the space for them, but we don’t. We’ve got enough for current projects, and maybe a bit for things that are priced too good to pass up, but there’s no way we’d be able to just have the winter market sets hanging around nine months of the year.”

Freddie walked over and pulled me into his arms. “Hey, Sweetheart. How are you doing today?”

I smiled. “Good.”

“Good.” He looked at the counter. “Where’s Tony? Wasn’t he cooking tonight?”

I motioned to the whiteboard. “According to Beck, he’s working late.”

Freddie glanced over, then nodded. “Fair enough.”

“What were you guys talking about?”

“The Valle Granja Winter Market,” Ian stated. “Some new national chain contracting firm is trying to establish themselves here, and are pitching a fit that bids aren’t open for the building and labor of running it. But bids were last year. They missed their chance. They’re just hoping that if they raise enough of a stink the public will force the city’s hands.”

“Jokes on them though,” Freddie laughed. “I’ve seen the bids since they have to be public and all. Lowell’s not taking a loss, but he’s not making anything either. He charges for expected labor and upkeep, and only a nominal amount for storage. And his firm has the benefit of experience. They know how it all goes together so it’s fast. It would take anybody else extra time to streamline that process. Any attempt for anybody else to match labor costs would put them in the red for at least a few years until they got it all figured out.”

“Not to mention that, according to surveys, the Winter Market is one of the highest-rated events the city puts on,” Ian added. “Sure, this big firm might get a few transplants from other areas riled up, but the majority of citizens won’t support them. Why reopen bids early when there’s no problem with the firm that’s been handling it for years? That’s a stupid waste of time and money.”

“And what a way to piss off your competition too,” Freddie said. “Bidding is one of the worst parts of things like this. Nobody wants to do it just because somebody’s crying that they missed their chance.”

“Shooting themselves in the foot, for sure,” Ian agreed.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “Why would they care if they’re pissing off the competition?”

“Because we all get busy and have to pass on projects from time to time,” Freddie explained. “We all want as many as come our way, but it’s not always feasible. The polite thing to do is tell the client that it’s not possible, but also suggest other firms that we’ve worked with or have good results and track records. Potential clients are happy to have good referrals to work off of, which is something they remember when making their own recommendations, and other firms are happy to give referrals back when they can’t do something.”

“Guess who isn’t getting any referrals,” Ian laughed. “Why would we want to suggest somebody who wants to make more needless work for the rest of us?”

I nodded slowly. “I think I get it.”

“Good,” Ian replied as he moved in to kiss me. “Now, how was your day?”

“Decent,” I replied. “Busy, but not slammed. Good tips.” I took a deep breath. “I-I picked up tests on the way home.”

There was a moment of silence.

“Have you taken them yet?” Freddie asked.

I shook my head. “I wanted all of you here.”

“So as soon as Tony gets home?” Ian asked.

“I thought we’d discuss it.”

“As soon as Tony gets home then,” Freddie laughed. “There’s no way he’ll be able to focus on anything else.”

“What are we doing when Tony gets home?” Beck asked as he walked into the kitchen.

“Pregnancy tests,” Ian replied.

“Oh, yeah.” Beck chuckled. “He’d be like a kid before Christmas if we made him wait.”

Ian released me and strode over to Beck for a kiss. “Are you done with your work?”

Beck nodded. “Just finished. Everything’s sent off to my new virtual assistant for them to post and do all the email and social media things.”

“So you’ll be able to relax and celebrate with us tonight?” Freddie asked.

Beck grinned. “Yep.”

“Are you sure you want to cook?” Ian asked, eying my prep work. “We can totally order in.”

I laughed. “I was just making those lettuce wraps you like. Most of the work is already done. I can do the rest of the cooking faster than delivery would arrive.”

“Are you sure?” Freddie asked.

I smiled. “I’m sure, but if you’re so worried, you can all surprise me with dinner out another day. Just not on Saturday, I’m shopping with Micah that day.”

“Dinner out, not on Saturday, probably not pizza. Got it,” Ian stated.

“Do you need help with anything?” Freddie asked.

I shook my head. “I was going to put everything back in the fridge for now. It’s all ready except for the cooking part.”

“Ok.”

I covered the bowls of chopped vegetables and set them in the fridge, then wandered into the living room.

Beck was sitting near Pico’s play stand, chatting with the bird. Freddie and Ian were reading the backs of the pregnancy test boxes.

“Do you two want to read the instructions too?” I teased.

“Can we?” Ian asked.

I shrugged. “Sure? I assume it’s piss on the stick and wait however many minutes. But if you want to be positive…”

Ian immediately opened the box in his hands and pulled out the instruction sheet.

Freddie shrugged and followed suit.

I laughed as they scanned the papers, exchanged them, then opened the third box to read those instructions as well.

“So how many minutes am I waiting?” I laughed as they set the instructions aside.

“Five minutes on the blue one,” Ian replied. “Three on both the gray and green.”

“Got it,” I replied.

The sound of the hall door opening and closing. I took a step back to see Tony putting on slippers. Then he shuffled toward me.

“Hey gorgeous,” he mumbled, burying his nose in my neck. “Sorry I wasn’t here when you got home.”

I smiled. “Beck let us know where you were. Long day?”

He nodded. “The afternoon assistant manager called in sick, and the general manager had a meeting that couldn’t be rescheduled. I’m the only other person with keys, so I had to stay to close.”

“Need me to cheer you up?” I asked.

“Yes, please.”

“I picked up pregnancy tests on the way home.”

He immediately perked up, eyes glittering. “Good news?”

“I haven’t taken them yet. We were waiting to ask if you wanted me to do it now, or wait until later.”

“Now please!” he begged. “I need good news.”

“We thought you wouldn’t want to wait,” Freddie stated. He stood, grabbed the tests, and walked over. He put the three tests in my hand. “Do you want us with you?”

I laughed. “I think I’d like to piss in peace. I’ll bring them back out so we can wait together.”

My hands trembled as I headed to the bathroom, and I silently prayed for three positive tests.

“Start the timers,” I shouted as I finished.

Everybody had moved to the couch as I walked back into the living room, and that gave me comfort. I set the tests results-side down on a towel that somebody had placed on the ottoman, then took my place in the middle of my mates.

“Longest three minutes of my life,” Tony said, breaking the silence. “Are we sure that’s counting down?”

“It’s going,” Ian laughed. “About forty-five seconds left on the first two, almost three minutes for the blue one.”

“Those first two better agree,” Tony huffed. “I don’t want to wait on a tie-breaker.”

I smiled and leaned against him. “They probably will. Everybody says there’s not a huge difference between tests.”

Silence fell again until the first timer sounded.

I took a deep breath and reached out with trembling hands. Then I turned over the tests.

“I’m pregnant,” I breathed.

My breath hitched as I looked again. “I’m pregnant,” I repeated as tears started to run down my face.

Freddie took the tests from my hand and placed them on the ottoman again, then tugged me onto his lap as I started crying.

I was going to be a papa.

∞∞∞