Chapter 57

Dane asked, still directing his gaze at George.

"Is your bed big?"

George, his eyes shining, answered in an excited voice as if he had been waiting for this.

"It's big, very big. Big enough for us to roll around together! H-how about seeing it for yourself? Then you can check right away! My house is just a short distance from here, as you might know. Right over there...!"

To the urgent, consecutive exclamations, Dane lightly responded.

"I don't mind if it's small. I like it because I can put it in deeper."

It was an extremely explicit statement, but George didn't show any embarrassment at all and instead asked happily, as if pleased.

"The bathtub is really small, um, how about getting in the bathtub together?"

"Not bad."

Dane readily accepted the question asked with shining eyes. Excited, George got into the car hurriedly, breathing heavily. Greyson was once again dumbfounded by his completely normal appearance, as if his inability to even walk properly just moments ago had all been a lie.

"Are you saying you're going to sleep with that guy now?"

Greyson asked from behind Dane, who was about to walk toward the driver's seat. Dane stopped walking, turned around, and asked back.

"What else? Am I perhaps going to clean for him?"

"Of course not."

Greyson backed down a step, but he was still bewildered. The situation unfolding before his eyes was very different from what he had imagined.

"Weren't you a Beta?"

"I am a Beta."

Dane answered nonchalantly, but Greyson became even more confused.

"But you're sleeping with a man?"

Sleeping with the same sex was something that happened when the phenotypes were different. It was about an Omega sleeping with a Beta or an Alpha, not a Beta with a Beta, or an Alpha with an Alpha—that was nonsense. But Dane Striker in front of him didn't seem to be bound by that at all.

"If I want to sleep with someone, I do. What does phenotype have to do with it? I didn't know you considered such things when sleeping with partners."

That meant he didn't discriminate based on phenotype or even gender. Just how promiscuous was this man?

Moreover, Dane added this advice.

"You should love everyone in the world, have a philanthropic spirit."

"Huh."

Greyson let out an empty sigh in disbelief.

"Did you know that man before?"

"No, I saw him when there was a fire, and this is the second time."

That made it even more incomprehensible. Betas don't even need to release pheromones, yet he's sleeping with someone he's only seen twice? So naturally, so casually? It was still full of things he couldn't understand, but Dane had not the slightest intention of making him understand. Naturally.

Greyson already knew this, but nevertheless, he couldn't suppress his curiosity. There was only one reason left.

"I never thought that guy would be your type. Surely you're not going to say you don't have preferences either?"

"Of course, I too have criteria for choosing partners."

Dane answered lightly, but to Greyson, those words were even more absurd.

"Really? You're saying you came here to stick with that guy? From the beginning?"

With that Chupa Chups? Greyson kept asking as if to confirm, and Dane asked back with a snicker.

"Then why would I have bothered to come all the way here to eat lunch? If you have a brain, you should use it."

Dane tapped his head demonstratively with his second finger and added, as if finding it pathetic.

"I came to eat George, idiot."

Greyson was so taken aback that he was at a loss for words. It was the first time he had been left speechless like this. What kind of development was this?

But it wasn't the time to stand there blankly. Seeing Dane about to leave again, Greyson hurriedly called out to stop him.

"Wait."

Once again, Dane stopped walking and turned around. This time, he frowned as if annoyed, suggesting this might be the last chance. Feeling unnecessarily urgent, Greyson hurriedly opened his mouth. And the words that came out next were unexpected even to himself.

"How about the three of us?"

A cold silence descended on the spacious parking lot.

4

Dane silently looked at Greyson. But his clearly revealed expression of disgust vividly expressed his emotions without needing to use language.

"What nonsense are you suddenly spouting?"

Dane expressed his irritation in a voice slightly higher than usual, as if he found it absurd. Naturally, Greyson was also bewildered by his own words. But that time didn't last long. Though it was a spontaneous idea, wasn't it not a bad one?

"Chupa Chups isn't my type, but you are. So I'm asking how about the three of us doing it."

Greyson regained his usual composure and added leisurely.

"It's also time for me to release pheromones."

Of course, the latter part was solely for his own circumstances. But there couldn't be a more appropriate reason for the three of them to sleep together. That's what Greyson thought, but Dane's opinion differed.

"Since you asked about my preferences earlier, I'll tell you."

Dane looked Greyson up and down meaningfully from head to toe, then frowned.

"I like guys smaller than me. You're too big to be held."

To Dane, who pointed out his innate limitation, Greyson brightened up as if pleased and answered.

"Oh, we have the same taste. I also like guys smaller than me. Like you."

"Hahahahaha."

To Greyson, who demonstratively brought his hand near Dane's head and then to himself to show the height difference, Dane laughed out loud with the corners of his mouth raised. As if he genuinely found it amusing. And instead of answering, he showed his third finger before getting into the car. George, who had been waiting in the passenger seat until then, asked Dane.

"Is it really okay to leave like this? Just leaving that person?"

"He'll manage."

Dane said as he started the car.

"I hate being bothered the most."

<Don't bother me.>

...Huh?

Greyson, who had been standing there until then, suddenly came to his senses. It was right after that when Dane drove off with George's car, just the two of them. Leaving behind a shocked and frozen Greyson alone in the parking lot.

* * *

"Puhahaha!"

Seeing Greyson return alone, his team members burst into laughter as if they had been waiting. Greyson immediately made an unpleasant face, but they ignored him and mocked him.

"You got burned by Dane!"

"Miller, do you think you're the only one who calls Dane out separately to express gratitude? When Dane follows someone out, it means he's going to sleep with them. You had no idea!"

"Three of you left, but you got out of the taxi alone—I've never seen such a lonely and desolate scene in my life!"

As he said this, he laughed so hard his waist bent. Greyson silently leaned against the wall and waited for their laughter to stop. Only after the sound finally subsided after a long time did he open his mouth.

"Had a good laugh? Well, I have something to ask."

"What?"

"What is it?"

The guys, who had barely calmed down, asked with faces still full of laughter. Despite being such an antagonized opponent until now, laughter indeed has a way of making people's hearts comfortable. Greyson, who had patiently waited for that moment to come, asked with a smile.

"How long does it usually take for Dane to return in these situations?"

"Well, he'll probably just use enough time to have lunch, so at most 1 hour? 2 hours?"

As DeAndre said with a hearty laugh, the faces of the guys who had been chattering together froze a beat late. Why is that bastard asking that? What is he planning to do?

Soon, Greyson frowned at their reaction as they cautiously looked around with suspicion.

"What's wrong? What's the problem?"

"Uh, huh?"

"Um... no, nothing."

"It's nothing. Haha, hahahaha!"

The men retreated stealthily while letting out laughter that anyone could see was awkward. And as they went outside one by one, Greyson was soon left alone indoors.

* * *

"Hey, what is it? What's going on?"

DeAndre, who had been dragged out in a daze, asked in confusion. To the tactless colleague who still didn't grasp the atmosphere, Ezra pressed him angrily.

"Why do you think that bastard is asking about Dane? Have you forgotten what the team leader said before? That we should keep Dane and that guy apart as much as possible! What if he finds out that Dane knocked him unconscious twice, what then?"