Talk About… Rivalry (Rockwood Valley Omegaverse #2)

15. Sidney

Sidney

T he Landing loomed ahead of me. I always thought it was gorgeous. The dark stone of the building had ivy crawling up the sides. The lakeside backdrop reflected the sun, making it sparkle.

Usually the view brought me comfort, the soft mountain wind relaxing me.

Today, I was a mess and nothing could stop it.

I’d been in a mood since Maverick accepted that date. I blamed myself for being a coward, knowing deep down that I ruined any chance I had of him choosing me.

Then, there was Taylor.

He had asked me on a date and I was too fucking terrified to agree. I was also positive that if he asked me again, I wouldn’t say no this time. My resolve was weakening. I was so fucking tired of being alone and sad.

If I agreed, the guilt would eat me alive. How could I start a life with them knowing I could never give them the basic needs of a pack. I had no scent, no heat, and likely would never have children.

“Are you going to go inside or are you just going to stare at the building?”

I groaned as I looked over at Leo Valor, the current bane of my existence.

“Why do you care, Leo?” I asked. My tone was defeated today, I had no real fight left in me. He studied me, those sharp eyes roaming over me before answering.

“Because my best friend does,” was all he offered before glancing back at the door. “You know, I never took you for a coward. Is there a reason you’re afraid to go inside?”

His words are laced with challenge and I narrowed my eyes. Part of me recognized that he was playing me, the other part was unsure why he was looking at me so intensely.

“Again, why do you care?” I asked.

Telling me because of his best friend made no sense. He just moved back to town. Who the hell would he even be friends with at this point?

“Who hurt you?” he asked, trying to be playful but something in his eyes told me it wasn’t a joke.

“No one has time for that,” I said, tearing my eyes away from him and forcing my feet to move so I didn’t have to stay in this awful conversation any longer.

I didn’t care how adorable my former rival had grown up to be, he was still the one who made my life miserable when I was in middle school. During some of the darkest parts of my life, he was right there making it worse. That wasn’t something you forgot easily.

I heard a deep chuckle behind me but he didn’t follow me right away.

Taylor was over by the kitchens when I walked in, his smile lighting up when he spotted me. He gave me a quick wave and I tried to return it, but I knew it was more of a grimace than anything.

He frowned but I kept walking through the dining room and out the patio door to my usual table.

I shivered as the wind coming off the lake hit me. Even the lake didn’t capture me for long today and I sighed, turning away to take my seat.

The days were getting colder and I’d either have to move inside or stop coming until spring.

That thought didn’t improve my mood in the slightest.

As I sat, I watched the autumn trees sway in the wind. A few stray leaves danced across the surface of the lake, adding color to the endless blue.

“I was wondering if you were going to come today,” Taylor teased as he walked up, breaking me from my trance.

“Honestly, I was thinking the same thing,” I admitted, giving him another strained smile. His own dropped as he looked at me.

“Hey, are you okay?” The gentleness in his voice nearly broke me.

“Not really,” I admitted as I let out a shaky breath. “But I’m sure I’ll be fine. I always am.” The bitterness in my voice startled me but he didn’t call me on it.

When I didn’t say anything else he just stood there for a minute, studying me. I wasn’t sure what to say to move along the conversation, other than to give him my order.

“Can I just get a burger and fries?”

“Of course,” he said, not bothering to write it down before he turned and walked away.

Movement to my side had me turning to see Leo taking a seat directly next to mine. He leaned back in his chair, his jacket tossed half-assed over the next as he smirked at me.

I studied him for a moment, my face a mask of no emotion. He really had grown up even more gorgeous. His hair was darker than I remember, though the top held some of the lighter highlights left over from the summer sun. It was cropped short and longer on top in that artfully messy way guys did. His defined jaw was covered in a dark stubble that made him look more rugged. Those striking green eyes of his were more emerald than mossy like mine and focused right on me.

“It’s a lovely spot you’ve got, back here.”

I didn’t bother to hide my groan as I purposely turned away from him.

“It was peaceful until you showed up. Why are you so intent on mocking me today?”

I wasn’t looking at him anymore to see his reaction and I wasn’t about to turn around again. He didn’t give an explanation and I hoped he’d just let it fucking drop.

Taylor was back in a few short minutes with my drink. I raised my eyebrows when he set down an order of mozzarella sticks.

“They’re on the house,” he promised. “I just thought you could use a little pick me up today.”

“Thanks,” I said, blinking away a fresh wave of tears.

When he stared at me expectantly I forced myself to pick one up, nibbling on the end to be polite. The truth was that I wasn’t hungry at all.

As soon as Taylor walked inside, Leo was interrupting me again, likely to call me out for dropping my food back on the plate.

“I wish I was cute enough to get free food.” There was a hint of bitterness in his tone and I was so angry that my eyes started burning and I cursed myself for being an angry crier.

It was just that everything was compounding on top of me right now and I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. Leo was poking a cornered animal.

When I didn’t engage with him, Leo refused to let it drop.

“You know, I heard that he asked you on a date, and you turned him down. What… is Taylor not good enough for you?”

“Leo, shut the hell up, you know nothing about me. You didn’t then and you sure as fuck don’t now.” I shot him a glare over my shoulder, but he hadn’t lost his cocky smirk yet.

I wasn’t about to let my former rival know that he’d hit the nail a little close to the head. I would love nothing more than to let Taylor take me out, but I had to cling to self-preservation. Even if it hurt this much to stay away, I couldn’t imagine how much it would hurt when he left me behind.

“He hasn’t dated anyone in a long time. He thinks that you’ve hung the moon.”

“I take it Taylor’s the friend you were talking about,” I said, still not bothering to look at him. I knew it was driving him crazy because if there was one thing that Leo Valor craved, it was attention.

Who knew betas could be so needy.

“He’s my best friend, in fact,” Leo answered. “We’ve been friends since back then too, not that you ever noticed. You were only obsessed with the Whitakers. So, you can imagine why I’m annoyed that you think it’s cute to string him along.”

In my defense, we had a small town but our school was full of kids from all the other surrounding small towns, meaning that there were plenty of people I wouldn’t remember from school.

Not to mention, I was dealing with enough back then.

“You don’t know anything about us.”

“I know him and I’ve heard enough. You haven’t changed a bit since middle school, have you?” he asked. The disgust in his tone sent a sharp pang through me. “You always had to be the best and have the best. So again, why don’t you think my best friend is good enough for you?”

His words burrowed deep into my chest, slithering along the darkest parts of me and refusing to be ignored. They settled among all the other self-deprecating thoughts that I told myself throughout the day.

Usually I didn’t let people get to me or allow my mask to fall, but today I couldn’t help it. I was already too vulnerable before he dug his claws in.

“Tell me, do you always drive away everyone who cares about you? Just like your mom?”

That was it. The last of my control. The tears were falling down my face before I realized it, and of course, Taylor chose that exact moment to walk outside. I angrily swiped them away, flipped Leo my middle finger before dropping a few bills on the table to cover my food before I was moving.

Their voices were rising behind me but I ignored them as I hurried to my car. I couldn’t climb in or shut the door fast enough. Hell, at this point I could barely see.

I managed to crank up the air, hoping a blast of cool would ground me, but nothing was going to help.

A broken sob escaped me. I felt so weak, hands shaking, body quivering, head spinning. I fisted my hands together and pushed them into my eyes, trying to make the tears stop.

God, I was such a fucking mess. No wonder I was destined to be alone. No pack wanted to deal with this level of crazy.

An undignified shriek escaped me as my door was wrenched open.

I tried to look and see who it was but I could barely see through the tears that were still continuing to fall.

“Oh, Sidney.” Taylor’s voice was so soft that it only made me cry harder. He leaned down and crushed me in a hug, refusing to let me go.

The tenderness of it wasn’t the reassurance that he thought it was. It was just a taste of what I craved and couldn’t have.

“I’m sorry for Leo. He’s always been an asshole and way too competitive. He told me about your guys’ rivalry growing up. I just didn’t think he’d still be holding on to old shit.”

“He doesn’t even know me,” I managed to croak out.

“He doesn’t,” Taylor agreed, “and he’s a dick.”

I nodded, a wet laugh echoing through the tears.

Taylor was relentless. He refused to let me go, holding on tight and offering his warmth.

For once, I just closed my eyes and soaked in the warmth of his embrace. The tight hug grounded me until the tears started to ebb away and then eventually stopped.

My breath was still shaky, small sniffles breaking the silence as I scrambled to figure out what to say.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered into his embrace.

“No, you don’t get to apologize for his behavior. Hopefully the black eye I just gave him will make him think twice before talking to you like that again.”

“Wait, what?”

“Look, he asked for it,” Taylor defended. “Now please come eat. I’m taking my lunch and I put in my order already, so I’ll eat with you.”

“No, I don’t want you to miss out on work.” Having him lose out on money would only make me feel worse.

“Sidney, the only reason I wait tables is because you come. My family owns this place, I’m a floor manager and I do behind the scenes things like inventory and bookkeeping.”

“What?”

That felt like the only word in my vocabulary during this conversation and he let out a little laugh.

“Sidney, I wanted to ask you out for a long time. In fact, that first day you walked in, I forced the waiter to give me your table. I just helped out around the room to make it look like I was supposed to be there and not just a pathetic omega, pining after this sexy woman who didn’t know I existed yet.”

That revelation hit me square in the chest, stealing my breath away.

It was a glimmer of hope that I never expected. If he would do all of that without knowing my scent. Then maybe I could give him a chance.

If I could give him a chance, could I do the same to Maverick?

That look he gave me before he accepted the date was loaded. He wanted me, we just had skirted around it for so long. Maybe it was time to stop.

Then the doubts kicked in.

Maybe I was just clinging to anything that could bring me joy and pull me out of the slump.

As I looked up at Taylor’s gorgeous, blue eyes, I found it impossible to deny him.

“Okay,” I finally relented. Taylor stepped back and held out a hand. I was still shaky so the moment he had me on my feet he tucked my arm in his to keep me steady.

This moment felt monumental and the smile he rewarded me with was everything. It lit up his entire face, dimples deepening on his cheeks. One of his curls fell in front of his eyes but he didn’t seem to mind.

He was too busy focusing on me. His gaze was swirling with hope and I couldn’t find it in me to dash it.

He finally broke that stare, letting out a little chuckle as he led me inside again.

“Sorry, sometimes I look at you and get a little lost,” he said.

The sincerity to the cheesy words had me biting back a laugh.

“So cheesy,” I teased.

He winked in response. “Only for you, sunshine.”

The happy bubble faded as we made our way back to the table. The asshole was still sitting at his table when I walked up, holding his cold water glass to his eye.

The pure venom he glared at me with now made me shiver.

“Ignore him,” Taylor said firmly, putting my back to Leo again. He sat across from me so I had someone to focus on.

And so he could keep an eye on that asshole.

A waiter came out. Likely one of the actual waiters who worked here. He slid over my burger and fries, along with a chicken salad for Taylor.

“Need anything else?” he asked pointedly, giving me a polite look then narrowing his eyes at Taylor, telling him silently he’d demand answers later.

“Does this whole place know you asked me on a date?” I hissed as he walked back inside. Taylor shrugged.

“We’re all family here. My parents have been teasing me for months about asking you out. I just wasn’t brave enough yet.”

“Oh,” was all I could offer, popping a fry in my mouth so I had an excuse not to talk back. Honestly, what the hell was I going to say to that.

Then guilt hit me and I knew what I had to do. Taylor deserved to know what he was walking into. Only then could I give him any sort of date.

After I swallowed the fry and took a drink of my soda, I looked up at him, finding his blue eyes already locked on me. The soft smile on his face just made it that much more important.

“Taylor… I don’t have a scent. I’ve never had one and I can’t scent you, either.”

“I know,” he said as if it was as simple as that.

I blinked at him, stunned. What the hell did he mean he knew?

He must have realized my confusion because he rushed in with an explanation of his own.

“You and Avery were having lunch and I happened to walk out right as she was talking about it. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop or anything, and I really don’t care, Sidney. I mean, I do care if it upsets you, but it’s not going to stop me from wanting you. Scenting isn’t everything. I want you , Sidney.”

The way he emphasized it was all encompassing like this man craved me for everything I was.

I chewed on my bottom lip as I looked up at him trying to figure out what to say to that. My eyes were stinging with tears again but they were different this time, a mix of relief and hope.

“Will you go out on a date with me, Sidney?” he asked again, gently this time.

Even though my heart wanted to protest it, I also wanted this more than anything else.

Was I really willing to risk another potential date just because I was too scared?

I took a breath and strengthened my resolve. Maybe the time we spent together would be worth the risk of heartbreak.

Maybe Grace and Avery were right, I was punishing myself and I had been for far too long.

“Yes.”