Hearts of Deceit (ManxMan)

Ch 6: Date

Part of me noted that it wasn't a very intelligent thing to do. To accept Misha's date. Right after I had sworn off relationships with James present. He was a lawyer. He'd be all over this with his cross-examining and re-crossing and over-analyzation. Why did I do it?

Misha was different from Joe. It was the first thing I noticed over the months. He was quiet and almost as reserved as I was. He'd fold up his calloused hands on the counter as he leaned in to talk to me while I was working the bar. There wasn't any of Joe's wit or sarcasm. There wasn't the smug satisfaction. Whether or not it was because Misha was a beta, I couldn't really say. Maybe I was being fooled by the pine green eyes and the way his curly brown hair would fall over one side of his face and he'd brush it back with a small smile. 

He seemed...fragile. It was a weird thing to say for a beta but talking to him over the months, there was always something behind his eyes, a forlorn smile when he thought I wasn't looking, the look of hurt and disappointment when he thought he'd done something wrong to have me ignore him. 

So I said yes. We met at 6 pm and he drove me out to Central Park. We walked for a bit, joking about silly things, annoying customers, poking fun at the mysterious alpha ladies who never seemed to show up at the bar they owned. 

"Do they really even exist? Can we even know the answer to such a question?" Misha said in the most serious tone he could pull off, holding his chin and looking off into the distance with a thoughtful expression. I chuckled. Some light feeling blossomed in my chest. 

Finally, after an hour of small banter, we found a bench in front of an angel statue. 

"You think angels are omegas? Deltas maybe?" I joked as we sat down. Misha shrugged and pointed out that angels weren't even thought to be male or female. It was a nice way of avoiding the question. Angels being omegas came from stereotypes and many found the idea contentious. 

I leaned back on the bench, hands under my head. "No sub-gender, huh? Must be nice. Not having to deal with all that crap. You think angels have it pretty nice? Not being held back by being born a delta, omega, or whatever else."

"I think anything is possible," Misha said simply. "Anyone can overcome who they are, to do something great."

I stayed silent, not even bothering to muster up the energy to scoff. I didn't want to, anyways. Unlike Joe, Misha tried his hardest not to make me feel bad about my sub-gender. Joe would have laughed in my face by now. 

"What sub-gender were your parents? They ever shit on you for not being born an alpha?"

Misha sighed. He wasn't exactly partial to my language. The thought had me smirking up at him. 

"My mama was an omega and my father a gamma. They were...good people. They owned a small toy-store in Kirillov....they are gone now."

I blinked in surprise. There was a silence as I contemplated his words, realizing that in all our months of talking, I barely knew anything about Misha or his past. I leaned into him without thinking about it. He jumped slightly, coming out of his stupor, but didn't stop me as I rested my head on his shoulder.

"Funny story but my parents are also...gone. Been gone for a while now. My dad was a mechanic and craftsman and my mom always took care of us. She sewed on the side to keep money coming in." 

"I'm sorry to hear that. Where'd you grow up?" Misha inquired. He tilted his head so that it was resting on mine. I could feel his hand was very close to mine.

"Brooklyn. It's not a bad borough but...some parts weren't the best. Grew up in a small neighborhood, Tulach's Hills. It's kind of a shit-hole but it was my shit-hole, y'know?"