Chapter Four
Isaac
Our mate. Go get our mate. My bear had been grumbling at me for the last day and a half since we caught the scent of Thomas at the Pink Coffee Café.
I’d almost followed him out of the café and begged him to bond with me right there and then.
My beast didn’t mind that we were surrounded by our best friends and stay-at-home omegas meeting up for Tummy Time and Tea playdates; he’d only wanted to get closer to our mate and seal the bond between us.
But something in my mate’s expression stopped me from making our connection known to the public just yet.
I sensed I had to tread carefully and not scare my mate away.
I recognized the mixture of excitement and fear in his eyes.
It was similar to one my friend, Anthony, had when he first met his mate.
It was something that made me slow down and use caution.
If I scared my mate, it might ruin what we could build in the future.
So, I contained myself and let him lead our first meeting.
But I would definitely at least speak to him the next time I saw him.
There was such a thing as going too slow, after all.
We’ll see him again soon, I reassured my beast. Now that I lived in town and saw my bestie more often, it would only be natural to see their other friends from time to time. He’s Jamie’s best friend; he can’t hide from us.
I strolled through the aisles of the grocery store, replaying the meeting in my mind as I threw groceries into the cart.
Spencer and Liam were going away with Cookie for the weekend, so I was going to have to fend for myself.
That meant a bunch of frozen dinners and junk food were in my near future.
It wasn’t that I couldn’t cook; I was actually pretty great in the kitchen.
But I hated it. I would much rather spend that extra time doing things that were fun.
I liked reading, binge-watching some K-dramas, or playing video games.
If I had to cook for the family, I would.
But when it was only me, I was going the quick and easy route.
I wonder if Thomas likes to cook. Or does he prefer eating someone else’s baking? Would it be fun to make a meal for my mate?
“Got enough microwaveable meals in your cart? If you ask nicely, maybe I could cook you a homemade meal instead.” A honeyed voice brought me out of my daydreaming. A sweet and seductive aroma wrapped itself around me, causing me to trip and stub my toe on the cart’s wheel.
“Ouch. Fuck.” I closed my eyes and breathed deeply.
I allowed the scent of my mate to calm me until the initial pain in my foot faded.
When I regained my senses and no longer felt the throbbing pain in my foot, I opened my eyes to the beautiful sight of my mate standing before me, his brow wrinkled as he reached out a hand to my shoulder.
“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to startle you.
” I could feel the energetic warmth of his concern leap off him and reach for me.
A side effect of our bond as mates seemed to be that I could now sense the energetic signature of his emotions.
Not all mates got extra abilities with their mates like this; the goddess had deemed us worthy of an extra-special bond.
I felt my mouth form a smile as I processed that information.
“It’s my fault.” I chuckled, placing a hand over his on my shoulder. “I got caught up in my thoughts and didn’t expect someone to strike up a conversation. But I’m glad you did.”
“Well, I figured I’d better get to know my mate this time, since I sort of fumbled our first meeting by walking away without even giving you my number.” Thomas shrugged, a pink blush forming on his face. “Sorry about that.”
“Nothing to apologize for.” I took his hand off my shoulder but didn’t let it go, instead taking it between both of mine.
“I could feel your anxiety and decided you would find me when you were ready. If you weren’t friends with Jamie and Charlie, I may have acted differently, but since I knew I could find you later, I let you guide how the interaction would go. ”
“You could feel my energy, too?” Thomas’s eyes widened. Somehow he became even cuter with the expression.
“I can.” I nodded. “Our bond seems to have already grown stronger just by being in the same vicinity as one another. I could feel you had some complex emotions of fear and anxiety, with joy and excitement. I thought it would be better to wait until we could talk more privately, though.”
“I’m sorry.” Thomas lowered his head, and I sensed him blaming himself.
“No worries, mate.” I lifted his head with my pointer finger hooked under his chin so that he met my eyes.
“You’re perfect just the way you are. Don’t feel bad for needing more time to process what meeting your mate means for you.
Everyone has their own way of figuring out their feelings and thoughts.
I understood you needed time, and so I didn’t force you to acknowledge our bond right away.
And if you still need time before you want this to go public, I understand that, too.
We can do this on your time. As long as you are willing to explore this connection with me, I don’t care if we complete the mating process next week or next year. Just don’t run away from me, okay?”
“I won’t do that.” Thomas stepped closer. “I promise I won’t run. Unless you give me reason to.”
“Fair enough.” I gestured to his nearly empty cart and decided to make a joke. “Doing some light shopping, I see.”
“I only needed a few essentials. Milk, bread, and eggs.” Thomas looked over at my overflowing cart of unhealthy but extremely delicious junk. “Not one for salads and organics, huh?”
“Not really. Although I do try to choose healthier options most of the time. I swear that I do usually eat better than this. I wouldn’t want you to think I only eat cookies, chips, and frozen pizzas.
I’m not that bad of a bachelor alpha.” I chuckled.
“Actually, I live with my brother and his family. At least for now, until I find a place of my own.”
“There’s no shame in living with family.” Thomas nodded. “Or even with friends. Especially in today’s economy. I think multigenerational living or communal living might have a lot of benefits for most people right now.”
“That’s true. But sometimes it’s a lot when you are single and they are happy little families. I haven’t been back here in town for too long and it was just easier to stay with them at first.”
“Trust me. I’m not judging you at all for that.” Thomas laughed, a light and sexy sound.
“Good.” I shrugged. “Anyway, they’re going away for a few days so I figured I’d just buy some things for myself that are quick and easy instead of going all out on making homemade meals for one.”
“Makes sense. But—” Thomas tilted his head and paused for a moment, seemingly thinking something over. “How about putting some of that away and getting the ingredients for something truly delicious instead. Something for the two of us.”
“Yeah?”
Thomas gave a more confident nod. “You can come over and spend some time at my place. I’m off shift at the station for the next three days. We can get to know one another with no one else around.”
Okay.” I jumped at my chance to see my mate again. “Let me go put this all away and we can figure out what we need for our dinner.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Thomas smiled, and I returned it with one of my own.
Yes, it sounds like a really good plan, actually.