Quinn could not get a read on this man. If someone asked him to describe Mr. Winters, he'd be at a loss for words.
Quinn knew he had biases. Everyone did. He also tended to work with alphas and dominant alphas more because of the company he worked at and the industry he was in. That was fine, but that did mean that he had a few…beliefs about dominant alphas and their habits.
Mr. Winters seemed intent on making Quinn second guess everything he'd ever known.
For one, as soon as Quinn had finished taking off his coat, the man had placed his hand on Quinn's lower back and escorted him towards the counter. That had never happened to Quinn, not in this life or another.
Quinn's face had burned at being treated like that. It was how omegas were normally treated by dominant alphas, but when Quinn had loved over at Mr. Winters to scold him, he'd just given Quinn a warm, welcoming smile. The words had died in Quinn's throat and he just had to deal with it.
What could he say? Don't treat me this way? That this was uncomfortable? Yeah, it was, but he was also here to meet the man and ask questions of him that he couldn't ask him over the phone. If Quinn was honest, there was a chance they would get up to far worse if Quinn was allowed to go to this party.
This should be the least of his worries.
There was also the fact that no one else in the coffee shop seemed phased by this behaviour either. If Quinn had been anywhere else people would have been staring. No one would think the tall man next to the even taller man was an omega. Quinn knew that.
His cousin Patrick could practically fit in the palm of Mr. Winters' hand by comparison and thinking about that helped Quinn relax. Noah had said that they often recruited betas for this kind of thing. Whether that was to be bottoms or tops, it was clear that they had their own preferences. Quinn would never discriminate against others who did.
Quinn had his own, after all, it was just…unusual to be treated like this out in public. After all, his year-long situationship with Michel had been behind closed doors and no one but Noah had known about it. It wasn't common for betas and dominant alphas to get together. Some men just didn't like how masculine some betas could get, and while Quinn knew he had softer features thanks to his genetics, he still towered over lots of people.
Quinn let out a soft sigh, trying not to belittle himself before they even got to the question and answering period. It was clear that Mr. Winters didn't find him repulsive, so that was good. He also thought that Quinn had dressed up for him. These were good signs.
"Mr. Rivers? Are you alright?" Mr. Winters asked and Quinn jerked. How long had they been standing at the counter? Quinn's face burned as Mr. Winters peered down at him, his lips still smiling as his grey eyes scanned Quinn's face.
"M-My apologies. My thoughts have been a little hectic lately. I've been rather busy at work." Quinn wasn't lying as he told Mr. Winters that. Mr. Winters stared at him before he chuckled. His hand on Quinn's lower back patted him softly.
"That's alright. Take your time, then. I've already ordered so pick whatever you like." He said and Quinn wanted to kick himself. He had wanted to see what the other man ordered so that he could gauge what to order from that. Now, because he'd had his head in the clouds he couldn't do that. Damn it Quinn, get it together!
"A-Alright." Quinn stuttered, shuffling closer and staring at the board above the nice worker's head. Quinn gave him a soft smile before his eyes drifted upwards again. Goddamnit, the list was huge. There were so many things on the board and Quinn normally just drank pot coffee. He wasn't used to going to coffee shops because he'd always felt out of sorts there. He only went with Patrick on his campus because his cousin insisted that he buy him the most sugary thing imaginable when he was visiting.
Quinn's eye kept drifting to the drink feature, this chocolatey, peppermint thing that seemed to look good? Quinn licked his lips nervously and approached the counter.
"Hi, would I be able to get the feature drink for the month?" Quinn asked and the man nodded. Mr. Winters chuckled.
"Mr. Rivers, where on earth have you been hiding?" Mr. Winters asked and Quinn turned, confused.
"Pardon?" Quinn asked and Mr. Winters stared at him, taking in Quinn's genuine confusion, and shook his head.
"Now I'm feeling like Noah hid you intentionally. He probably worried I'd eat you up." Mr. Winters joked, his voice dipping low. Quinn felt his face flush, his mouth open in surprise as Mr. Winters passed him to pay for their drinks. Quinn heard him order more than just the drinks but he was having a hard time processing what the man had just said.
Eat Quinn up? Him?
Quinn's heart raced in his chest.
Mr. Winters' hand on his lower back again made Quinn look up at him and the man's smile hadn't faded.
"They'll bring it over when everything is ready. Shall we?" He asked and Quinn nodded. They headed back to the table, Mr. Winters pulled out Quinn's chair for him like a gentleman and Quinn wasn't sure how to behave. He'd never been treated like his in his whole life. Noah didn't even treat him like this. Quinn sat awkwardly, Mr. Winters chuckling from behind him. He leaned in, his breath fanning over Quinn's ear.
"Not used to this, I presume?" He asked and Quinn let out a weak laugh.
"You tell me how often betas are treated like this, Mr. Winters?" Quinn shot back. Mr. Winters' laughter filled Quinn's ear, making him shiver.
"Well, when they're around me, always." Quinn knew he was blushing as the man pulled away and came around the table, sitting across from Quinn. He smiled, relaxed in his own seat as Quinn shuffled uncomfortably. He had to be the colour of a tomato and there was no way he was going to be able to control it.
"Are you, um, always this welcoming?" Quinn asked, curious. Mr. Winters' eyes curled up at the corners at Quinn's question.
"Hmm, I can be, but I mostly behave like this when someone has caught my attention." Mr. Winters said. His eyes scanned Quinn in his seat and Quinn felt his eyes like a brand. Quinn swallowed thickly, his gaze dropping to the table.
"I-I see." Quinn stuttered. He wasn't sure what to say to that. He'd never met a man who was so…open about this kind of thing. Almost as a distraction, Quinn moved to his bag and pulled out the crisp piece of paper with his information on it. He slid it to Mr. Winters who stared at the paper in silence. "I know that you wanted this." Quinn said. He watched Mr. Winters' expression, that same smile in place but noticed that something wasn't quite right about it. It was a little…off as he picked up the paper and stared at it.
Quinn sat in silence, glancing around the coffee shop as the other man went over his sexual health. Quinn's face burned. Even Noah hadn't seen that kind of thing before, but if that was what he needed, Quinn would get it for him.
"You're a very dedicated friend, Mr. Rivers." Mr. Winters spoke up softly, and Quin nearly choked. He coughed, surprised, but nodded.
"I try to be." Quinn replied while Mr. Winters' eyes flickered from the paper and up to Quinn.
"Do you get sti panels for your other friends so you can go to parties with them?" He asked and Quinn blushed. Right. He knew this as Noah and Quinn going together as friends. Noah hadn't told him about the reason why Noah wanted him to go, and why he'd also suggested it outside of them being friends.
"Well, I don't exactly have other friends." Quinn muttered, embarrassed. "I was a bit of an outcast during high school and university." Quinn admitted. Mr. Winters raised an eyebrow.
"You? Really? We went to the same university, Mr. Rivers. I was aware that you were popular." Mr. Winters said. Quinn felt his face warm.
"With omegas, Mr. Winters." Quinn reminded him quietly. "And that was only because they thought of me as a safe space. I have family members that are omegas." Quinn said carefully. Mr. Winters grunted.
"I see. So you didn't form close bonds with them?" He asked and Quinn shook his head. "Why not? Omegas are cute. I'm sure they probably all would have jumped at the chance to have a man such as yourself as their partner." Mr. Winters was pushing. Quinn knew that he had to, but that didn't mean that Quinn felt good about it.
Quinn let out a soft sigh that felt like it held a part of his soul.
"I'm protective of omegas, but I'm not attracted to them. Not standard ones. I have…preferences." Quinn mumbled the last part. They were in a public space, after all, and this was an awkward conversation. When Quinn raised his eyes he nearly shat himself.
Gone was the soft, smiling dominant alpha who had escorted him to and from his seat. In his place was a beast who was staring at Quinn like he was trying to dissect him.
"Preferences? What kind?" He asked. Quinn wanted to look away, he wanted to not have to meet the pressure coming off of him. Quinn even felt a little ill, sweat forming on the collar of his dress shirt.
"Do I have to say that out loud?" Quinn knew that sounded childish, but damnit, he had never had to confront this so openly before! Mr. Winters' lips twitched.
"Yes, you do." He said. Quinn frowned, unaware of how upset he looked. Mr. Winters almost laughed.
"I have a preference for men who are taller than me." Quinn mumbled. "And bulkier, and manlier. Most omegas aren't that." Quinn was burning from the inside out. It was a good thing that their drinks arrived at that time otherwise Quinn would have combusted.
There was just one problem, the same drink arrived for both of them. Quinn stared in shock as Mr. Winters picked up his drink and took a sip, licking some of the cream off of his lips as Quinn blinked.
"Mr. Rivers, I would have to agree. Most omegas are not taller than you." His eyes sparkled as he leaned in. "But I do believe I know a group of people who might be." He was making fun of Quinn. Quinn frowned, finally able to drop his gaze away from the piercing grey stare. His heart was racing in his chest as he reached for his own mug and pulled it closer.
He was regretting agreeing with Noah's plan all over again.