Chapter Five
Things were getting better, which wasn’t something Chris had expected. He’d thought it would be harder, but he’d only had to open up once, and now, here he was.
He had no idea how he’d gotten pulled into this group, although between Dennis and Drake, it made . The problem was that neither Dennis nor Drake were here right now, so why was Chris spending time with Taylor and Jacob?
At least they were mostly ignoring him, which was what he wanted. The less they focused on him, the better it was. He didn’t dislike them, but they were firmly on Drake’s side, and Chris felt they didn’t like him much because of how he’d left Drake on the sidewalk the first time they’d met. It was weird because why would they want to spend time with him if they didn’t like him? Chris had no answer, and he didn’t understand these people.
He looked around the living room, wondering what he could use as an excuse to leave. Maybe he could mention he was planning to spend time with his sister?
“You’re not going anywhere,” Jacob said without looking up from his phone.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Chris answered.
Jacob glanced up and rolled his eyes. He was a gorgeous man, but that wasn’t what pulled people in. More than his face, Chris liked his personality. He was sassy and mouthy, and from what little Chris had seen of him, he never hesitated to tell people what he thought of them to their faces. He was never cruel about it, but if someone needed to hear some truth, he’d be there to tell them.
Apparently, that included Chris.
“You’ve been ready to run since you came in and saw Taylor and me sitting here,” Jacob pointed out. “I’m not sure why you stayed, since you don’t seem to like us very much.”
“I never said I don’t like you.”
“You didn’t have to say it. It’s in the way you behave.” He arched a brow. “Or are you trying to tell me that you don’t wish you could be anywhere but here?”
It was true that Chris had thought about leaving when he’d walked into the living room looking for his sister and had found Taylor and Jacob instead. They might be friends with Dennis and Drake, but Chris didn’t know them well, and he always felt uncomfortable meeting new people. He realized that if he didn’t spend time with new people, they would never become friends, and he wanted friends, but those two parts of his personality pulled him in different directions, and he never knew which one to follow.
He hadn’t had a choice. As soon as Jacob had seen him, he’d beamed at him and pointed to one of the armchairs. The order had been clear, and Chris had been unable to resist. He kind of wished he had now, but it was too late. Jacob had cornered him.
“I struggle to make friends,” Chris admitted.
“You don’t say?”
Chris flipped him off. “And I don’t like snarky people.”
“Please. You already love me, and you know it. Besides, even if you don’t, it doesn’t matter because Drake loves me, which means we’ll be in each other’s lives forever and ever.”
“Just my luck,” Chris muttered.
“I’ll tell Drake you don’t like me,” Jacob threatened.
“I’ll tell him you’re lying.”
“Why does it feel like I’m sitting in a room with two toddlers?” Taylor wondered out loud, interrupting the bickering.
He didn’t look angry, so Chris forced himself to relax. Jacob wasn’t wrong when he said that they’d be in each other’s lives forever. With Chris being Drake’s mate, he’d see a lot of Drake’s close friends, and Jacob and Taylor, along with Eddie and Dennis, were it. That meant that Chris needed to get along with all of them. He didn’t have to become their best friend, but they had to tolerate each other.
He wasn’t sure where he and Jacob stood. Jacob had ordered him to stay, but he kept poking fun at him. Coming from anyone else, Chris might have been offended, but something told him that this was just how Jacob took care of people. He pushed and prodded until they told him how they felt, and once he knew, he took charge and solved the problem. Chris wasn’t sure what he did when the problem came from the person themselves, but he thought he was going to find out soon. Jacob wouldn’t let this go.
“You love kids, so that shouldn’t be a problem,” Jacob told Taylor.
“Yeah, but I can make kids happy by giving them a lollipop, and I can’t do the same with you.”
“I wouldn’t mind a lollipop,” Chris offered.
Taylor grinned at him. “I’m sure Drake can give you something to suck on.”
Chris spluttered. He should have expected that kind of joke, really. From what Drake had told him, he and his friends were pretty boisterous when they were together. Besides, it felt as if all of them had been placed on this earth to tease Chris. Being with Drake was going to keep him on his toes, and while initially that had made him nervous, now he realized he didn’t mind. Maybe that was why Drake was his mate. Maybe he needed all of this—the friendships, the snarkiness, the teasing, and of course, the love.
Because these guys loved each other. Chris had always been close to his family, but it had been kind of a necessity because no one else in the pack would let them come close. They’d all known that the alpha was angry at Chris’s mother for not choosing him and for having children with other men, and even though Chris and his siblings had nothing to do with that, they’d been proof of it. The alpha led, and the pack followed, so Chris hadn’t had friends. Kyle and Jennifer were his friends, he supposed, but they were also siblings, so it wasn’t quite the same. Some days it felt like they were forced to love Chris because they were related, but the same couldn’t be said about Taylor and Jacob.
They didn’t have to be here, teasing Chris. They didn’t have to work on their friendship. They might be doing this for Drake, but Chris knew that if he allowed it, they could build a strong friendship.
And he wanted it. He was surprised, because he always thought of himself as a loner, but maybe he’d been alone by necessity rather than by choice.
Either way, there was no getting rid of Jacob, Taylor, and the others, which meant that Chris would have to learn how to live with having them in his life.
“Oh, there you are,” someone said.
Chris looked up to see Liam, the alpha mate, stepping into the living room. For a moment, he thought Liam had been looking for Jacob or Taylor, but instead, the man moved to sit in front of him on the coffee table. He reached out and gently patted Chris’s knee, smiling gently at him. “It’s nothing bad, so you can wipe that worried expression off your face,” he said. “I was just looking for you because I wanted to ask how you’re settling in.”
Jacob snorted loudly. “He’s not settling in. Can you believe that we almost had to tie him to the armchair to get him to stay and spend time with us? We’re Drake’s best friends.”
“I don’t see any rope,” Liam said with an arched brow.
“That’s why we didn’t tie him,” Jacob pointed out. “We didn’t have rope. There’s still time to find some, though.”
Chris decided to view those words as a threat since they sounded so much like one. He glanced at the alpha mate, wondering what he’d have to say about one of his pride members threatening to tie someone up.
Liam was smiling and kept looking from Chris to the other two. “I feel that you’re making friends,” he told Chris.
“Not by choice,” Chris grumbled even though, yeah, he was becoming friends with these two.
It felt weird, but since they were in Drake’s life and weren’t going anywhere, and neither was Chris, Chris had decided he might as well do this. It was better than keeping his distance and making Drake sad, and Chris was starting to realize that he’d do pretty much anything for his mate, even though they hadn’t met that long ago.
He’d known Drake was it for him as soon as he’d smelled him. He’d been frightened, and he still was, but he was starting to realize that there was no need for him to be afraid.
He and Drake belonged together, and that was never going to change. Everything else could, but not their bond.
* * * *
Drake needed to get a grip. So far, Chris hadn’t said anything, but he still didn’t realize how bad Drake could get. Drake had slipped up a few times during their date, but not so badly that Chris would have noticed. He had to be careful, because if he wasn’t, Chris would realize that he was a needy dork, and he wouldn’t want anything to do with him anymore.
That was how it always went. Once Drake was relaxed enough in his relationship to be himself, the guys he dated ran. When they saw just how needy he was and how much time they had to dedicate to him to make him happy, they weren’t willing to put in the work. Drake couldn’t blame them. He was a lot, even for himself sometimes.
But Chris wasn’t just a guy. He was Drake’s mate, which, in theory, meant that he would love all of him, including his neediness.
Right?
Drake didn’t know for sure, and he wasn’t willing to risk it. If he had to, he’d hide his true self for the rest of his life. As long as Chris was happy, Drake was sure he would be, too.
Maybe if he kept telling himself that, he’d eventually believe it.
“How was your date?” Dennis asked.
He and Kyle had both come to the coffee shop today. Eddie was there, too, although he’d been mostly silent until now while Kyle and Dennis chatted. Drake had expected Dennis to turn his attention to him eventually, and he wasn’t surprised the time had come.
“It was fine,” he said.
Kyle arched a brow. “Just fine? Do I need to have a talk with my brother?”
“Haven’t you already taught him about the birds and the bees?” Eddie asked.
Kyle narrowed his eyes. “Why are we friends again?”
“Oh, we’re not really friends. You tolerate me because of Dennis.”
“Right. Well, you’d better be careful, because I might not tolerate you for much longer.”
“Children,” Dennis intervened, sounding serene. He was used to separating bickering idiots. Eddie was usually the quiet type and didn’t bicker with anyone, but it seemed he’d found a friend in Kyle.
Could they be friends if they poked at each other the entire time? Drake didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. Whether they liked it or not, they were in each other’s lives to stay.
“The date would have been better if Karl hadn’t been there,” Drake explained.
“Wait, your blind date?” Kyle asked.
“Yes. I still don’t know what he was doing there beyond having a meal with someone, but I haven’t looked too hard into it. I don’t care.”
“That’s the right spirit,” Kyle said as he patted Drake’s shoulder. “Please tell me one of you told him to fuck off, though.”
Drake laughed. “Oh, it was better than that. We got him kicked out by the manager. Well, the waitress decided to get the manager involved, and we didn’t actually ask for Karl to be kicked out, but you know what I mean.”
Surprisingly, Kyle seemed to, because he nodded. “I never met him, but from what Chris told me about the way you two met, I can guess that Karl isn’t a good person.”
“I wouldn’t wish him on my worst enemy. I don’t actually have enemies, but still. If I did have some, I wouldn’t want them to be anywhere near Karl.”
Kyle grimaced. “That bad?”
“Probably even worse than you’re thinking. He started yelling in the middle of the restaurant and insisting that Chris was abusing and hurting me. It was horrifying, especially in the beginning when the waitress wasn’t sure who to believe. I had to tell her that Chris is my mate and that Karl didn’t take it well when he found out. That’s when she got the manager.” Drake hesitated, but he might as well go all in. “Chris took care of me after that. He asked for our food to be put in boxes so we could take them when we left, and we had dinner sitting on a bench watching the stars.”
Dennis sighed. “That sounds romantic.”
“It sounds cold,” Kyle snarked. “But that’s what I would have expected from my brother. I hate that you had to deal with Karl, though.” He looked around as if he expected Karl to walk in. “Just point him out to me if you see him, and I’ll take care of him.”
Drake wouldn’t have been surprised by the offer if it had come from Dennis or Eddie, but it was coming from Kyle. He didn’t really know his brother-in-law beyond the fact that Kyle and Dennis were together. The two of them were still very much in the honeymoon phase, which meant that they tended to spend all their free time in their room. Dennis didn’t have a lot of that since he’d opened the bakery, but he and Kyle seemed happy, and that was all that mattered in the end.
“I appreciate the offer, but I think Chris would rather deal with Karl himself if he ever comes back. I don’t think he will.”
“You can’t know that for sure.”
“There’s no need to fight. Karl’s an asshole and an idiot, but he doesn’t have a reason to continue bothering me. He knows Chris is my mate, and we told him to fuck off twice. I’m sure he learned his lesson.” And if he didn’t, Drake could take care of that himself. He wasn’t harmless. Karl was human, so even if he was to become violent—and Drake didn’t think he would—Drake wouldn’t have problems taking him down. Hell, if things came to that, he’d shift and nip at his heels. He might not be big in his aardwolf form, but he was big enough to do some damage if he really wanted to.
And he had no doubt he’d want to do if he ever crossed paths with Karl again.
“So meeting your ex didn’t deter Chris?” Eddie asked.
Drake smacked his arm. “Karl isn’t my ex. We had one failed blind date.”
“The rest of my question still stands. How are things going with Chris?”
Drake glanced at Kyle. It was weird to talk about Chris when Chris’s brother was right there, but unless he asked Kyle to leave, he didn’t have a choice.
Kyle raised his hands. “Whatever you say, it won’t leave this table. I’ll always be on my brother’s side, but since I know him so well, I realize he can be a bit of an asshole and that he tends to push people away and close himself off. I can help you with that if you want.”
“It’s not him. He’s pretty perfect.”
Kyle snorted. “There’s nothing perfect about Chris. Trust me, I grew up with him, so I know.”
“I think that what Drake was trying to say is that he feels that Chris is perfect, but he’s not,” Dennis declared.
Drake could feel him staring, and he knew precisely why. Kyle might know Chris like the back of his hand, but Dennis knew Drake just as well. They’d only been friends for a few years, but they’d instantly felt comfortable with each other. They still did.
“Well, no one’s perfect, but you guys are mates,” Kyle said.
He was frowning as if he didn’t understand what Dennis was talking about. He didn’t know Drake as well as the others, so it was understandable.
“You can’t make yourself into a man you’re not just because you think it will make it easier for Chris to accept you,” Eddie said. “What happens when the two of you bond and you slip up? Because you know you will.”
“We’ll be bonded, so I hope nothing.”
“I don’t think Chris would dump you, but don’t you think he deserves to know the real you? What would you think if you realized he’d been hiding his personality from you?”
He wasn’t wrong, and Drake was aware of that. That didn’t make it any easier for him to let go of the thought that if he wanted Chris to stay, he needed to not be himself.
It had been hammered into him time and time again that he was weird, talked too much, was too needy, and a bunch of other stuff. Over the years, he’d tried pushing all of it down, but it had never really worked.
Drake needed it to work this time around. He couldn’t afford for Chris to leave him. Chris was his mate, and he was the most important relationship Drake would ever have. Even if he had to sacrifice a bit of himself to make sure Chris stayed, he felt it would be okay.
* * * *
After spending what had to be one of the weirdest afternoons of his life with a bunch of Drake’s friends, Chris felt pretty good about their date. Even though Drake hadn’t been there, Chris had gotten to know him better, which was all he wanted. Hopefully, he’d find out many more things about Drake during their date.
He was excited. Initially, he’d been panicking and wary because he hadn’t known what to expect. In the movies and books, everything was always perfect from the beginning. What they shared was special, so of course the movies made it look like it didn’t take any kind of work. What kind of fated mates fought or disagreed?
But that wasn’t real life. This was, and Chris was finally getting over the feeling that he didn’t have anyone.
He did. His family wasn’t going anywhere, even though they were now focusing on other things and people, and he had Drake. With Drake came a bunch of friends, and there would always be the pride. They were still giving him a wide berth, but he’d realized it was his fault. They didn’t know what to make of him, and they couldn’t get to know him, because he wasn’t letting them in. Maybe he could change that.
He grabbed everything he needed from his room after getting dressed, looked around one last time, and headed out, satisfied. He wasn’t taking Drake to a restaurant this time. That had led to the ugly scene with Karl, and he didn’t want to go through that again. No, he had something else planned, and he hoped Drake would like it.
He made his way through the house, whistling. Some days, he couldn’t recognize himself. That was how much meeting Drake had changed him, and he kind of liked it.
He hadn’t liked the person he was before very much. He’d been wary of everyone, always certain he’d lose the people he cared about, to the point that he didn’t want to start caring about anyone else. He already had his family, and they were related, so they weren’t going anywhere. Why did he need anyone else?
But that kind of life was lonely, and Chris was glad he was finally making changes. It would take time for him to feel part of the pride, but he was taking steps in the right direction, and eventually he’d get there. Maybe the pride would even start feeling like home.
He walked past the open living room door and reached for the front door, but before he could open it, he heard footsteps behind him.
“Hey, Chris, can I talk to you for a second?” Dennis asked.
Chris looked around him, but he couldn’t see his brother. That was weird, because even though Dennis was Kyle’s mate, he and Chris weren’t really that close.
That was another relationship Chris had to build.
“Of course. What’s going on? Is it Kyle?”
“It’s not. It’s Drake.”
Chris frowned. Drake and Dennis were friends, so if there was anything wrong with Drake, Dennis would know. “Has something happened?” he asked, already pulling his phone out of his jeans pocket.
“No. I mean, something has happened, but he’s fine.”
“That’s not as helpful as you seem to think it is.”
“I just wanted to tell you what he’s doing. I think you should know, even though he’s not going to be happy.”
“Well, if he doesn’t want me to know, you shouldn’t tell me. I don’t want to break his trust.”
“I get that. I don’t want it, either, but it’s necessary before you find yourself in a situation you don’t know what to make of.”
That didn’t sound good, but there was only one way for Chris to understand what was happening, and that was allowing Dennis to talk. “Fine. I’m listening.”
Dennis looked around, but they were alone in the entrance. He leaned against the stair railing, looking like he was trying to find the right words.
“I don’t know if Drake has told you this, but he has several exes in town. He’s always been in love with love, and he’s wanted a relationship since the day I met him. He tried very hard to make things work every time, but since he was single when you met him, you can guess how that went.”
Chris’s memory flashed back to when he’d met Drake. He’d been on a date with Karl the asshole.
“Anyway, one thing Drake’s exes had in common was that they all felt the same way about him.”
“They loved him until they didn’t?”
“To be fair, I don’t think they actually loved him. I’m not going to speculate on that, though, because they weren’t my relationships. I just wanted you to know that Drake always feels like he should be the perfect partner. With the many times he’s been told he’s needy and too much, he’s been trying to soften himself down with you. He doesn’t want you to be overwhelmed or to run screaming for the hills.”
Chris frowned. “That doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t I want to be with him? He’s my mate.”
“We’ve already pointed that out to him, but I think he’s going to do things his way. You can expect a lot of awkwardness and glances, but he’s going to take a step back and give you space. He doesn’t want to appear needy or feel like he’s too much for you to handle.”
“Do you happen to know his exes’ addresses?” Chris asked, feeling more than ever convinced he needed to beat all of them to a pulp.
Dennis chuckled. “I don’t, and I believe that’s a good thing, from the murderous expression on your face. I don’t think the people you have to deal with to solve this situation are the exes.”
Chris crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. “It’s Drake. He’s so convinced that he has to change to find love that he’s going to lose himself if he’s not careful.”
“Exactly. I was afraid he wouldn’t fully understand what I was saying, so I’m glad to see that you have. Drake is so used to being told he needs to change that he’s decided to do exactly that for you. He’s going to change so he can be a more acceptable mate.”
“That’s ridiculous, but thank you for telling me. I don’t want him to be different. I want him to be himself because that’s who Fate chose for me.”
“You should probably tell him that. I already tried to convince him that you’d love him the way he is, but it’s not easy for him to believe it.”
“I’ll try, but I can tell him that he’s perfect for me a hundred times, and it doesn’t mean he’ll believe me.”
“You keep trying,” Dennis said as he patted Chris’s shoulder. “You should probably go. He told us about your date tonight, and he was excited. He’s going to tone it down when he sees you, but he’ll break eventually. He always does.”
Chris thought that was a good thing, because he loved the way Drake was independent but also how he needed him. He loved everything he’d seen in Drake, and he couldn’t wait to see more of it.
It looked like he was going to have to convince Drake to show him that part of him, and he wasn’t quite sure how to do that, but he knew what he wanted, and he was stubborn. The situation called for that, and maybe tonight he would manage to see more hints of the real Drake.
Chris was no stranger to trying to hide, but he was the one person Drake wasn’t supposed to hide from. He hoped he’d be able to get Drake to understand that.
And if he couldn’t, he’d try again and again until Drake did understand. They were mates. They were perfect for each other because of who they were. If Drake was different, he wouldn’t be perfect for Chris, which meant they wouldn’t be mates.
Chris just had to get him to see that.
* * * *
Drake could tell there was something on Chris’s mind when he picked him up at his apartment. He was nice and kissed Drake on the cheek to say hello, but he was quiet.
Chris was always quiet, so Drake wasn’t initially worried. When Chris kept glancing at him, though, he knew something had happened that involved him. He couldn’t think of anything he’d done, which meant it had been one of his friends.
Dennis.
He’d been so adamant when they’d talked this afternoon that Drake knew he had something to do with this. It was the only thing that made sense. It might have been Eddie, but he didn’t live with the pride, and he wouldn’t know how to contact Chris. Dennis, on the other hand, lived in the same house, and they shared Kyle. It would have been easy for him to reach Chris.
He probably had.
Drake swallowed and rubbed his palms on his thighs. What happened? What had Dennis said? It couldn’t be too bad, since Chris was here and they were still going on their date, but Drake needed to know.
He couldn’t believe one of his best friends had betrayed him. He understood Dennis’s point of view and even why he was pushing so hard for Drake to be himself, but it was Drake’s choice. Dennis didn’t have a say in it, and it wasn’t his business, but he’d made it his by talking to Chris.
Drake kept expecting Chris to say something, but they both stayed silent the entire drive. It was awkward and tense, and Drake hated it.
He didn’t want their date to continue like this, so as soon as they were out of the car and had enough space that one of them could step away if he needed to, he turned to Chris. “You talked to Dennis,” he said.
“It’s more like Dennis talked to me, but yeah. He had something to say.”
“Of course he did.”
“He’s looking out for you.”
“Or maybe he’s looking out for you . You’re his mate’s brother. That trumps best friends, doesn’t it? Besides, I’m not even sure I’m his best friend. It’s always been the five of us. Maybe Dennis feels closer to Jacob or Taylor, or even Eddie.”
“Or maybe he’s worried about you and trying to look out for you,” Chris repeated. “He didn’t say anything bad.”
“But he did say something.”
“Yeah.”
At least Chris wasn’t going to lie. Drake had been afraid of that, and he wasn’t sure what he would’ve done. Pushed him until he admitted what had happened? Ignored it and put on a smile?
“I don’t want you to act any differently than you normally would,” Chris said. “I don’t care if you feel like you’re needy or goofy or a nerd. I don’t care what your exes said about you. You wouldn’t be my mate if the real you wasn’t the right man for me.”
Drake blinked and told himself not to cry. He was going to kill Dennis, dammit. He’d told Chris everything. “You weren’t supposed to know all of this,” he croaked.
“I know, and I don’t like that Dennis went behind your back when it’s clear you didn’t want me to know any of it, but I’m also glad he did. You wouldn’t have told me, and I might not have realized what was happening until it was too late.”
“Too late?”
“If the man I’m supposed to fall in love with is the real you, how could I have fallen for the fake you? I think that eventually I would’ve thought that things between us couldn’t work, even though we’re mates.”
Drake sucked in a breath. “You can’t say that.”
“And you can’t say that I wouldn’t fall in love with the real you. Why would Fate have chosen you, of all people, for me if you weren’t what I need?”
Drake had never thought about it like that. He’d been focused on the way he’d ruined his previous relationships, and he hadn’t considered the mate angle. If he was Chris’s mate, that had to mean something, right?
He sighed. “Being myself hasn’t worked great for the past few years. I was terrified that it would ruin everything again, and I wasn’t ready for that to happen. I’m still not.”
Chris was incredibly gentle when he took Drake’s hand. He linked their fingers together, and Drake found himself stepping closer because how could he not?
Chris wrapped his free arm around Drake’s waist and held him close. He was tall enough to bury his face against Drake’s hair. Drake was pretty sure he heard him sniff, but he wasn’t offended. It wasn’t as weird for a shifter to sniff his mate as it would be for a human to sniff his boyfriend.
“I can’t promise you that I’ll love all of you,” Chris said. “I’m sure there are things you’ll hate about me, too, like maybe that I never make my bed and that I’m messy or that I’m happy to let the dirty dishes pile up in the sink. I wouldn’t say I’m dirty, but I am messy, and that’s been a problem for my sister and my grandfather. It doesn’t mean they love me any less, though.”
“But we’re not talking about dirty dishes here.”
“ What are we talking about? I already know you talk a lot and that you’re passionate. I like it, Drake. If you want to talk my ear off, I’ll listen to every word you have to say. I realize I’m a quiet person, but it doesn’t mean you have to be. Can you imagine if we were both like that? We’d never talk.”
Drake couldn’t resist anymore. He buried his face against Chris’s chest, doing what he’d noticed Chris do earlier. Chris smelled like home, and Drake prayed he’d never have to give that up.
That was why he’d been so anxious about getting Chris to fall in love with him. It was why he’d tried to change himself. No one else had wanted him before, but it was important that Chris want him.
“Look, I can promise that if it becomes too much, I’ll talk to you,” Chris said. “But no more hiding. I want to fall in love with my mate, not with a weird version of him.”
Drake looked up. “You want to fall in love with me?”
“Of course. I really like you, Drake. I think all I need is a little more time with you, and I’ll be there.”
Drake felt the same way. He’d never really understood how mates could fall in love with each other so quickly, but now he realized it was because he’d never felt the bond before. Knowing that the person in front of you was supposed to complete you and make you happy for the rest of your life helped. Technically, there was no danger with Chris. He’d be there for Drake, whatever Drake needed, which was more than Drake could say about any of his exes.
Chris smiled sweetly, and when Drake reached up to kiss him, he met him halfway. They were out in the open in the parking lot, so the kiss didn’t turn deep, but it helped Drake feel more settled. Feeling Chris’s arms around him, his lips on his, grounded him.
He was sure he’d have trouble reminding himself that he could let go because it was so ingrained in him not to take up too much space, but he’d do it.
Chris stepped away, but he didn’t let go of Drake’s hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Drake finally looked around. He’d expected another restaurant—sans Karl this time—but there were no permanent buildings. His eyes widened when he saw the ice rink. He’d been in Green Hill for two years, so he knew that every holiday, the town set up the ice rink and a few rows of stalls that sold anything from food to warm drinks, but he’d never gone. He’d always meant to, but things were always busy during this time of the year.
And now, he was here with Chris.
“Have you ever skated?” Chris asked.
Drake shook his head. “I wanted to, but it feels a bit dangerous to go on my own because I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“I’m not going to say it’s easy, but I’ll help you.”
“Then I’m sure I can do it.”
He couldn’t do it. As soon as he was on the ice, his legs started going in opposite directions. He clung to the boards on the side, refusing Chris’s hand because he didn’t want to take him down with him. He pushed one foot forward, then the other, and it felt like someone had yanked a carpet from under his feet. He tilted back, and it was only by some miracle that he didn’t hit his head on the way down.
“Everything okay?” Chris asked as his face appeared above Drake’s.
“I’m not sure. I think my dignity is broken.”
Chris laughed. “That’s fine. You can live with no dignity, but it would be better if you didn’t hit your head.” He offered Drake his hand, and this time, Drake took it because he had no idea how he was supposed to get to his feet on his own.
“Ready to try again?” Chris asked with a smile that would have gotten Drake to say yes to pretty much anything.
And if Drake ended the evening with more bruises than he’d had when it had started, it didn’t matter. He also ended the evening with more kisses from his mate than he could ever have hoped for, and that was what he chose to focus on.