Phoenix reacted just how Remi expected. The alpha spluttered and looked at Remi with the most offended look that he could imagine.
“Don’t even JOKE about that! You stay away from my man, Remi Laroche or I swear to god!”
Remi burst out laughing and covered his mouth as he looked at Phoenix who was getting red in the cheeks and looking heated.
“Calm down, Phoenix. I don’t think I’m really his type.” Remi said and Phoenix relaxed. “If you must know, I have a date this evening.”
Suddenly the alpha’s mood shifted and he was giddy and giggling as he leaned conspiratorially toward Remi with a huge grin.
“With your new boyfriend?”
“Yes.”
“Where is he taking you that’s so fancy?” The alpha asked, eyeing Remi’s attire.
“It’s a business dinner, he needed a date.”
“A business dinner… Wait. How old is your boyfriend?”
“He’s 35.”
Phoenix gasped and looked at Remi with wide eyes, mouth hanging open as if this was the most scandalous thing he’d ever heard.
“YOU’RE DATING A GRANDPA!” Phoenix screeched.
Remi reached over and slapped the back of his head, his eyes flicking to Cade who was looking at them with raised eyebrows.
“He’s 35, not 65. Now if you don’t shut the fuck up, I’m going to talk to Aiden and you’ll be lucky if he lets you park your car in the parking lot to sleep in it.” Remi hissed, glaring at Phoenix.
“Ow! You’re so mean. I can’t wait until I meet your boyfriend, I’m gonna become his bestie just so I can turn him against you.” Phoenix complained.
“Good luck with that.” Remi replied with a smirk.
Phoenix was rubbing the back of his head and pouting at Remi. What concerned the omega more were the tittering whispers from all around them and the shuffling as several people pulled out their phones, tapping rapidly at their screens. Remi had a really bad feeling.
The omega tried to ignore the whispering. It wouldn’t be the first time that the omegas who crushed on Cade spread lies about Remi. After their break up, there had been a popular rumor that Remi had been cheating on Cade, which was laughable. He and Cade had never even slept together.
Cade had been the one who quashed those rumors, but that didn’t stop the most vicious of the believers. In their insane school of thought, Remi had somehow manipulated the alpha into defending him. The entire situation was ridiculous. Remi felt like he was in high school again, dealing with the petty, immature drama.
Remi could admit that one of the reasons he had avoided hurting Cade was because the alpha supported him during the periods of rumor-mongering. Cade hadn’t turned on him, or encouraged the other student’s mistreatment. The alpha had defended Remi when he didn’t have to, when he was still suffering the pain of their breakup. However, it appeared that his past decisions were now affecting his current…relationship… for lack of a better word.
Throughout class, Remi tried to ignore the fact that there was probably the worst game of‘telephone’going on across campus. The omega had no doubt that as he sat there, listening to the lecture, facts were being warped into something completely horrible. Remi just rubbed his eyes as a headache began to form in his pulsing temples.
Walking to his next class, Remi was waylaid by a small group of his fellow students. The group, which consisted entirely of omegas, were the same crowd that had been making his life hell for the last year. This particular group couldn’t get over his relationship (or lack thereof) with Cade.
Truthfully, Remi didn’t get what their damned problem was. When Remi and Cade had been dating the omega was never good enough. Then after they broke up, somehow that was worse? Everyone could tell that Cade wasn’t over him. The alpha wasn’t exactly locking that fact away in the recesses of his diary. Cade was not a subtle man, and it was obvious that he still carried a torch for Remi.
“So, is it true?” Asked the little de facto leader of the group, a male omega whose name Remi could never remember. Privately, in his own mind, Remi called him Knotbreaker, because he’d managed to scare off Cade, one of the clingiest alpha’s ever born.
“Iswhattrue?” Remi asked, copying his bitchy tone.
“That you’re some old man’s side piece.” Another clarified, and they all collapsed into giggles.
Remi’s face flushed right up to his hairline, which only seemed to egg them on further. The whole group started spitting out venomous suggestions at such a rapid pace that Remi couldn’t tell who was saying which awful thing.
“I heard he’s a grandpa.”
“I heard that he pays you to suck his dick after classes every day.”