Page 47 of Lilacs and Leather
Mateo chuckles. “No, but I still want your oath of secrecy. Trust me; it’s worth it.”
I study his face again as I wait for my instincts to warn me away. But Mateo looks at me with eagerness in his little grin, and my heart dips as I realize I do trust him. I have since the moment I met him.
“Promise. But this better be good,” I say at last.
Mateo’s smile widens for a moment before he leans down and slants his lips over mine in a brief but intense kiss. My stomach swoops like I’ve just gone over the first hill on a roller coaster, my head spinning with the lemonade scent of him. He pulls away, wrapping his arm around my waist again, guiding in the direction we’d been heading.
The silence stretches between us, and I can feel my memories creeping back in. I look around, trying to find something to talk about but come up short.
“What brought you here?” I blurt, throwing out the first thing I can think of.
“This moment or Everton?” Mateo replies, unruffled.
“The city, I guess,” I say, trying to focus on the sound of his voice, the warmth of his body pressed against mine.
“Rhett and I came here with Lex. She had her sights set on restoring Bright Hills, and no one wanted to take the job but us crazy bastards,” Mateo starts with a fond sigh.
“How did you meet her?” I ask, curiosity replacing the anxious churning in my gut.
Mateo looks down at me for a moment, smirking. “We were trying to get our business off the ground, and Rhett had this feeling about going to a trade conference in Las Vegas. It cost us almost every penny we had to get a flight and hotels and admission, but Rhett was adamant about this one. And it led us to Lex. He’s been smug about it ever since.”
Mateo and I laugh at his joke, and I relax a little in his embrace, resting my head in the crook of his arm. His scent is clean and fresh, a metallic ozone undercurrent that enhances the tart lemonade taste on my tongue. My body still hums from the aftermath of his kiss, and the way he holds me close as we walk. I can feel the steady thumping of his heart, and I let my mind empty as I focus on the sound.
“Want to talk about it?” he asks gently.
I sigh heavily, feeling my face drop. “When I was a kid, my parents thought I was going to present as an alpha,” I start, picking my words with care.
“No kidding,” Mateo huffs sarcastically.
“Yeah, no kidding. I was friends with everyone, always standing up for the underdog on the playground. My school was small, but I knew everybody in my grade, and the ones above and below me. My parents, my mom especially, were so proud to have a social butterfly for a daughter. I remember having one really close friend in elementary school, Brittany. She had the most beautiful curly red hair, and we were inseparable,” I explain, trailing off as the memory comes back.
“I’m sensing abutcoming on,” Mateo says cautiously.
“Yeah. My parents thought it was cute that Brittany and I were so close, calling each other wifey and making promises to get married if we were still single when we turned twenty-five. But then middle school came, and when Brittany presented as a beta, and I presented as an omega, suddenly my wifey and our plan were unacceptable and unnatural,” I finish, swallowing against the sudden lump in my throat.
Mateo’s grip tightens on my waist, but he doesn’t speak for a long stretch. I look up at him as we’re waiting to cross at a crosswalk, and his face is set in a stony glare into the middle distance. I swallow again, looking down at my feet as we start walking again. My skin flushes, embarrassment filling me. He’d asked about tonight, not my life story. Did I overstep? His face is still stony, unreadable for the first time since I’d met him. I try to steady my heart, but it kicks as nervousness overwhelms my senses.
“My family disowned me when I brought home my first boyfriend,” Mateo says suddenly, his voice making me jump.
My feet pull to a sudden stop, and Mateo turns back to face me. My heart slams in my chest, and I have to fight to pull my jaw off the ground. Mateo’s expression doesn’t change from that cool frown, but he tilts his head slightly in silent question. All of my nervousness drains, leaving me feeling cold and unbalanced.
“How... when did they—”
“Tell me to fuck off? Junior year of college. I’d had partners of every gender before that, but Alex was the first one I wanted to introduce to my family. My mom was so nasty that Alex ended up leaving halfway through dinner, and my dad told me I had an hour to pack whatever I wanted and never darken their door again,” Mateo explains, shoving his hands in his pockets.
I take a few steps to close the distance between us, reaching out slowly to rest one hand on his forearm. My heart aches in my chest, and I hum softly, trying to soothe his pain. Mateo takes a deep breath and chuckles to himself, but the sound lacks any genuine humor.
“It worked out for the best, honestly. Alex is still a good friend, and Rhett’s mom, Sarah, took me in, no questions asked. Wanna know the best part?” Mateo says, still chuckling ironically.
I look up into his face, and his smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes. I slide my arms across his waist until I’m pressed against him. I nod, captivated by the warring emotions in his eyes.
“They had the fucking nerve to ask me for money a few years back, after it came out that I’d joined Lex’s pack and the business was finally making a profit. And I got the supreme pleasure of having security escort them from the building,” Mateo says, smile finally turning warm.
I smile back, though I still pucker my brow in confusion. Mateo pulls his hands from his pockets and wraps his arms around my shoulders, pulling me close. I can feel the flex of his muscles against my skin, and I shiver despite the warmth in the humid air.
“It’s the best part because I get to be my authentic self while they’re broke and miserable. Your parents might have taught you that whatever you felt tonight, or back in the day with Brittany, was wrong. But it’s not. One day, you’re going to be able to be exactly who you want to be, and love whoever you want. And you’ll be happy, and they’ll still be bigoted and miserable,” Mateo says emphatically.
My heart squeezes as he talks, the hope and confidence in his face infectious. Mateo leans down and kisses me again, softer this time, but still dripping with emotion. I melt into him, humming a little with pleasure. When Mateo pulls away, I can feel his smile and I can’t help but return the expression.