The rest of the heat passes in a haze of sex, knotting, sleeping, and Ollie forcing me to drink water. By the fifth day, I am exhausted, and I wake up for the first time without the haze of heat over me.

Blinking open my eyes, I wince at the light coming into the room. My head is pounding, more so than usual when my heat ends. An arm is draped over my waist, and this time I know that it belongs to Ollie.

Despite the pain in my head, I roll over and right into Ollie's chest. He is passed out, not even startling from me rolling into him. His plush lips are parted in sleep, his hair flattened against his forehead in the front while standing straight up in the back. The sheet is pushed to the bottom of the bed, and I can understand why. It is stifling in here, too dangerous to open the window during my heat to get some fresh air. But the kicked down sheet leaves Ollie's body completely on display, and if I wasn't so sexed out right now, I would be eagerly showing my appreciation.

The thought has me stopping short, giving my head a small shake in confusion. Sure, I have always known that Ollie is attractive: being a little taller for an omega and shoulders slightly wider. His dark hair made the gold in his eyes pop, and the dark lashes didn't hurt either. Even the freckle above his top lip is attractive, something that would seem out of place on others but just seems right on him.

But I have never allowed myself to indulge in those thoughts, always shaking them away before they could get too far. It is much harder to do now, though, since we spent this heat together. The draw that I felt before is becoming stronger, something that I can't shake away.

Letting out a small sigh, I roll out of the bed, careful not to jostle Ollie awake. He just continues sleeping, though, rolling over to my side of the bed and hugging my pillow to his chest. With a fond smile on my face, I walk over to the bedroom door, opening it to see Emmie sitting right outside, obviously waiting for us.

"Hi, Emmie," I whisper, bending down to pick her up. The motion has me wincing, and combined with my headache, I decide that I could really use an ibuprofen. She allows me to pick her up, carrying her into the bathroom so I can quickly swallow some pain medicine before going into the kitchen.

My paperwork is still scattered across the dining room table where I left it days ago. Setting Emmie down, I walk over to organize everything, eyes catching on the few apartment options that I had printed out. They aren't too badly priced, but the thought of moving just adds more to my headache.

There is too much to think about right now in terms of financials. September will be over in a little over a week, and I have to find a new place by then. I'll just have to settle with one of the apartments until I can find something better later on.

It is soothing to be in the kitchen, making a skillet along with country style potatoes and bacon, while sipping on some coffee.

Ollie's house is adorable. It is relatively private, a nice backyard with a few fruit trees and bird baths. It isn't too big or too small, and the fact that it is a couple decades old adds some character to it, rather than having all crisp lines and gleaming exterior.

While I wait for breakfast to cook, I make sure to call and check up on the coffee shop and bookstore. They are connected, making it a comfortable place for people to relax and unwind, especially on drizzly days like today. I'll have to go in sometime this afternoon to take over for Xenia in the bookshop and finish payroll, but other than that, they are doing fine.

Ollie is stumbling in right when I am ending my call with Dr. Cole's receptionist, making an appointment for next week to see her.

"Good morning," I say, smiling as Ollie stumbles over to one of the stools to sit down. "Coffee?"

He gives a small nod of his head, easily taking the mug from me. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Ollie periodically sips his coffee, laying his head on the counter as he tries to wake up. He doesn't completely perk up until I am sliding the plate across the counter to him, a surprised look on his face.

The silence between us, while we eat, is somewhat awkward, and I can't take it anymore. Clearing my throat, I look up at Ollie, watching as he pushes the last few bites of food around on his plate.

"We should probably discuss what happened."

He looks up at me then, giving a small nod of his head. "Yeah, probably."

He doesn't say anything else after that, so I push my plate away, leaning over to grab his hand. "Thank you for helping me, Ollie, and for the offer you made before. You're the best friend I have ever had, and if I end up getting pregnant, then it was meant to happen. With how out of whack my body is right now, I highly doubt it, especially since I am practically infertile. But- But thank you, for everything."

His lips turn up with a small smile, and he gives my hand a squeeze. "You have no reason to be thanking me. You would have done the same for me. That's what we do: we take care of each other. And like you said, if something comes out of this, we will work it out."

Leaning over, I press a kiss to his cheek before standing up to get ready for the day. Ollie tries to convince me to stay home for the rest of the day to recover, but I am already behind in everything. This heat caught me completely off guard, not leaving me any time to get some work done ahead of time.

"At least come back over here for dinner tonight," Ollie says.

Knowing that Ollie will just keep pestering until I give in, I agree. The coffee shop is packed, just as it usually is on gloomier days. There are windows all along the front, allowing for people to watch the world go by from the comfort of a warm room with a mug of something hot in between their hands.

"Hi, Mr. Harris!" Xania calls when she sees me come in, her and the new hire working quickly behind the counter to get drinks made. "Feeling better?"

"Much, Xania. And it's Mr. Katz, now," I say, giving her a warm smile. She raises an eyebrow but nods her head anyway, correcting a drink that the new kid messed up.

A few people wave to me as I walk through the room, winding around the well-used couches and recliners in order to get back to my office.

The day passes rather quickly. Xania brings me a cup of steaming coffee, a freshly baked biscuit on the side, while I finish up all the paperwork that I had been putting off. Xania had stacked some of the art receipts on my desk as well, telling me which artists to call for some new work. It is a slow process, but it gets their work out in the world. I get thirty percent of the sale, so it is a nice little extra bit of money coming in.

Xania and the new kid head out after noon, so I move up front. The coffee shop closes at four, while the bookstore stays open till eight. After around one o' clock, though, the coffee shop really starts to slow down. A few people trickle in once I am left there by myself, and I am easily able to get their orders completed.

The only trouble comes when I am about to close the shop and one last customer comes in.

Looking up with a smile, it falls away from my face when I see who it is. "Aaron. What are you doing here?"

He walks up to me, a snide smile on his face as he hands me a stack of papers. "Sign these and get them back to me by next week. I want this whole thing over with as soon as possible." He pauses when I grab the papers from him, hand snatching my wrist and bringing it up to his nose to scent. "Figures I would leave before your heat and miss out."

Disgust rolls over me, and I snatch my wrist back, trying to wipe his scent off on my pants. "Get out of here, you asshole."

"Oh, Milo, no need to be that way," he says, leaning down on the counter.

"You need to get out before I call the police."

That has him standing up, his lips turning into a snarl. "I would be careful what you say to me, Milo. It's just the two of us in here."

The universe must be looking out for me because just then, the door connecting to the bookshop opens, and David, the beta who closes over there, is watching us with worried eyes. "Everything alright, Mr. Katz?"

"Went back to your maiden name so soon?" Aaron says, eyes narrowed.

"I want to be rid of you as quickly as possible." He looks like he is barely keeping himself from lunging over the counter, so I turn to look at David. "David, if you would please go call my brother." My eyes flick back over to Aaron, raising a brow at him. "Unless you were planning on leaving?"

He truly does snarl then, pushing away from the counter and storming out of the coffee shop, door slamming behind him. With him gone, my shoulders lose all their tension, my body trembling at what just happened. Aaron had always had an undercurrent of danger to him, but never have I felt afraid around him before.

The whole incident has me rattled, and clutching the papers to my chest, I turn to look over at David. "I'm going to close down early tonight, David. Thanks for speaking up."

"No problem, Mr. Katz. Have a good night."

He leaves then, leaving me in a completely quiet coffee shop, just the soft music in the background keeping me from going crazy. It is a little difficult to lock the till up with trembling hands, but I somehow manage.

The weather outside has really picked up, the drizzle from earlier turning into a steady rain. It makes me want to curl up into a ball with a cup of hot tea and a blanket wrapped around me. Instead, I have to grab my stuff, lock the coffee shop doors, and endure the rain as I race to my car.

The clock on the dashboard reads twenty before four. I had promised to go over to Ollie's for dinner, but I don't really feel like being alone right now. As quickly as I can, I run home. The house is almost completely empty, Aaron having taken nearly everything when he moved out. At least it will not take me long to pack.

The house just looks creepy now. With my stuff in hand, I walk back out to the car, throwing everything inside as quickly as possible.

The door is unlocked when I get to Ollie's and Emmie greets me when I come in. Once I lock the door behind me and set down my stuff, I pick her up, scratching behind her ears as she purrs.

Ollie is in the kitchen stirring something in a large pot. He jumps a little when I call his name, whipping around to look at me with startled eyes.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"No, no, it's fine." He puts the lid back on the pot before turning to look at me fully. His brows are scrunched in worry, as he comes to stand in front of me. "What's wrong, love? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I-I'm fine," I tell him, eyes flicking away from him.

He is not in the slightest bit convinced and he steps closer, ducking down to catch my eyes. "Milo, what happened?"

As soon as his eyes meet mine, the words come tumbling out of my mouth. I tell him about the whole ordeal with Aaron, how I was only able to get him to go away by threatening to call Nico.

"Thank God your brother is a cop," he murmurs and then proceeds to wrap me in a tight hug. "Milo, I think you should stay here."

"I was going to ask if I could spend the night. Didn't want to go back to the house after everything that happened."

He gives me a tight squeeze before pulling away, his brown eyes meeting mine. "No, I mean I think you should move in."

His words catch me off guard. "No, Ollie. I don't want to invade your space."

He gives an exasperated shake of his head. "You wouldn't be 'invading my space'. You need a place and I have an extra bedroom. Besides, I don't think it is such a good idea for you to be on your own after the way Aaron acted. What if he decides to do something rash? I don't want him to hurt you."

The worry is clear in his eyes, and I find myself agreeing before I can think more on it. He pulls me into a tight hug and I close my eyes, reveling in the comfort. Ollie is right, and besides, the thought of being alone has me trembling. My old house no longer feels like home, anyway, not when I have the option of staying in a warm house with a clingy cat and a worried best friend.

"I'm paying rent, though," I whisper.

Ollie doesn't answer for a few seconds, telling me that he is barely restraining himself from arguing. After a minute, he finally murmurs a quiet, "Fine."