Chapter 14
I regretted comingto meet Zach. I wanted to surprise him and take him to lunch. I was so lost in the continued bliss from the night before that I completely forgot about the humans at Zach’s work until I stepped through the door. I was considering waiting outside when that old woman started shouting at me, demanding I leave. And then Zach came out of nowhere to protect me, and I was stuck standing there like an idiot, making his day worse.
And now he was in trouble with his boss because of me. My carelessness was the reason such a perfect man was struggling, and I hated myself for it.
“Yesterday. We’ve hung out before as friends, but it didn’t go anywhere until last night. It completely slipped my mind this morning that I needed to report it to you,” Zach said honestly.
His boss looked suspicious, her eyes narrowed. I didn”t want Zach in trouble because of me, so I stepped forward to defend him.
“He’s not lying. This is my fault. He was being kind yesterday when I was having a rough time. I came on to him. He shouldn’t get into trouble for that.”
The corner of her mouth twitched, but I couldn’t tell if it was to hide a smile or a frown. She pursed her lips, studying us both, and let out a sigh.
“Well, I’m going to choose to believe you. Zach has never given me reason to suspect he was breaking the rules before now. Nothing happened here, right?”
I shook my head quickly. “No.”
“Okay. Well, as I’m sure you’re aware, Zach can’t continue to be your massage therapist. Not here, at least. It’s not appropriate. We can assign you a new massage therapist and–”
“No. Thank you, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Not after what just happened. That old lady was the only one yelling, but I saw the frightened looks of the other customers. No one else said anything to argue with her. They probably agreed. I didn’t want to cause any more trouble.
Zach’s boss frowned, but it was Zach who protested.
“Mal, you still have a lot of tension to work out, especially with everything going on at home. Having me help you at home isn’t the same as coming here. You should pick another massage therapist and–”
I loved that he wanted to take care of me, but I shook my head anyway, cutting him off. “She’s not the only one who feels like that. It’s okay. I don’t want to make things more difficult. I can look and see if there’s something similar in the Other Realm.”
That part was a lie. I didn’t think I’d ever be comfortable getting a massage from anyone but Zach. I didn’t say that out loud, though, because I didn’t want him to think he needed to help me if we were in a relationship. He called me his boyfriend. I wasn’t going to use him like that. He should be able to rest at the end of the night.
“Well, it’s your decision if you don’t feel comfortable switching to another massage therapist,” Zach’s boss interjected. “But I hope you don’t feel like you have to leave because of Mrs. Beckerman’s comments. She’s not the voice of this establishment. I am. And I fully believe in equality for all.”
When we first integrated into the human realm, my friends and I struggled to trust humans at their word. Especially after Felix was attacked. I spent a long time thinking humans were dangerous and tried to stay away from them. But ever since Callum found his human mate, I was meeting more and more humans who stood out against the majority. People like Zach, who were helpful and kind without asking for anything in return. And people like his boss, who stood up for us despite most people disagreeing with them.
I was under no illusion that the small cluster of kind humans could do much against those who fought against us. But it felt nice not to face it alone. Even just a single person treating us like we belonged was something to be thankful for.
* * *
Since mine and the old lady’s appointments were canceled, Zach got to leave with me. He was more quiet than usual, his jaw clenched and his expression sour. I hated that I was the one who’d caused that look.
“I’m sorry. I never meant to cause you trouble.”
His head whipped up and for the first time since we met, he glared at me. “It wasn’t your fault! It was that old bat, Mrs. Beckerman’s fault! She’s such a bitch! If I ever see her again, I’ll–”
Cutting him off, I pulled him into an alley, fusing my mouth to his. I shouldn’t have, we were out in the open and I didn”t want to draw any more attention to us. But listening to him so avidly defend me made my heart race and I couldn’t help myself. And Zach didn’t hesitate to respond. He threw his arms around my neck, wrapping his legs around my hips when I pulled him off his feet.
I was about to push him against the wall when someone chuckled at the opening of the alley.
“Told you,” a familiar voice snickered.
“Oh, shut up. My guess was just as good.”
My annoyed growl was half hearted at best. I wasn’t really in the mood for teasing right now, but now that Tyler and Felix had found me, there was no escaping them without a discussion. They’d follow me around town like idiots.
Breaking the kiss, I rested my forehead against Zach’s and fought off a scowl. I’d do better not reacting. They’d get bored eventually.
“Is he ignoring us?”
“Obviously. If you wanted privacy, man, you really should’ve thought out your location better. Being so out in the open makes me think you want an audience,” Felix drawled.
“Friends of yours?” Zach murmured. He still hadn’t pulled away from me and I was content to keep him where he was, but I knew we’d have to face them eventually.
“Yes. I apologize in advance for those two.”
“Rude,” Tyler commented.
I finally pulled away from Zach, setting him on his feet so I could face the devious duo. These two were made for each other. They pulled pranks and made dirty jokes and just generally were mildly irritating. I swore they fed off each other’s energy. When Tyler was having problems with a stalker, they decided the best way to handle it was by pranking the guy until he gave in. I would’ve argued against the harebrained idea if I thought they’d listen. It still surprised me that it actually worked. Sort of. It drew enough attention to get the council involved anyway.
“Holy crap. You’re a tiny little thing, aren’t you?”
I shot Felix a dirty look, but Zach popped off a response before I could say anything. “The best things come in small packages.”
Tyler snorted. “I beg to differ, but, hey, to each their own. So, are you the guy who”s been making Mal late for poker the past few weeks?”
Zach shot me a confused look. “I thought your appointments ended before poker.”
“They did. But then we got dinner afterwards. It’s fine. They can start without me.”
Zach scrunched his nose. “I can’t tell if I should be happy or feel bad for keeping you from your friends.”
“Go with the first one. No one actually cares if he’s late. At least he shows up,” Felix commented with a scowl.
I couldn’t roll my eyes hard enough. “Are you really still mad at Callum?”
He waved his hands around, an incredulous look on his face. “He said he’d stop ditching us for his mate and he still only showed up once in the last three weeks! How does that not drive you nuts?”
I could point out that Callum didn’t come because his mate, Brandon, was so bad at poker, it wasn’t fair for him to play. Callum didn”t want to take part if Brandon wouldn’t enjoy himself. But I didn”t have the energy to deal with Felix right now. Listening to poison was draining, and I still felt guilty for what happened with Zach. He lost two clients because of me.
“Woah. What happened to him?” Tyler murmured, an edge of concern in his voice, elbowing Felix to stop his rant.
Zach’s hand rested on my arm supportively as he explained. “Some old bitch said some not nice things at my work. He’s got every right to be upset about that.”
That made Felix pause. He stepped up to me, squeezing my shoulder until I looked him in the eye. “You okay?”
I wanted to shrug, but I liked his and Zach’s comfort too much to move.
“It happens. She bothered me less than the trouble I caused for Zach.”
“I told you, that wasn’t your fault. We would’ve had to drop you as my client anyway. I just forgot to mention it before. It’s not that big a deal,” Zach reassured me.
“Wait, wait. You’ve said client more than once and it sounds off. What kind of client, exactly?” Tyler asked, coming closer like he was trying to keep it a secret. Zach rolled his eyes.
“I’m a massage therapist. I’ve been helping Mal once a week, but I’m not allowed to date clients. Things kind of happened between us and I forgot to mention it to my boss until I was screaming at that old bitch in the middle of the lobby. Since it’s only really been a day since we got together, she let me off with a warning and Mal was dropped as my client.”
Felix’s eyebrows shot up. “You get massages? Dude, unfair. Why didn’t you invite me?”
Of course, that was all he cared about. Really, he was the easiest to talk to about things like this because he was so easy going. He didn’t take offense to anything and wouldn’t be serious unless he absolutely had to. I considered waiting until tonight and just coming out with it all at once, but Zach shot me an encouraging look and I decided it was better just to start now.
“I started going to Zach after my dad got sick,” I murmured.