Chapter Eight
Briar
“Morning,” Foster said when I opened the door the next day. I’d been up a long time and had my sunrise class but spent most of the meditation excited and happy about our upcoming date. He looked me up and down, a growing smile revealing sweet dimples in both cheeks. Huh.
The man really needed to spend more time smiling.
“Morning.”
“Here.” Foster handed me a bunch of flowers. The florist was closed on Sunday, so he must’ve picked them up the night before. “For you.”
“Thank you. Come in while I put these in water.”
Foster stepped inside. “This house is nice. Cozy.”
The word cozy sounded foreign from him. Like maybe it was the first time he’d muttered such a curse.
“This is my place of solace. I love a cozy home.”
That made him squirm. “But you have Ebb and Flow.”
“I do. But it’s also my business, so it’s a mixed bag. This place is where I’m just Briar. Not the business owner. Not the yoga teacher. Just me.” I put the flowers in water and took a moment to smell them. They were amazing, but the alpha waiting for me smelled so much better.
“Ready?” he asked, glancing at his watch.
“I am.”
As we walked toward the café, Foster checked his phone over a dozen times. If Dorian was here, it would be a no. Immediately. But ever since seeing Foster that first time, I knew this alpha was different. My bear called him mate already, but for me, the human side, the jury was still out.
“Am I keeping you from something?” I asked as he checked his phone once more before we walked up to the café and were seated in the outdoor area.
“No. No, I’m sorry. I’m awaiting a message from one of my professors, and there are always work things online and social media.”
“I see. You usually work on Sundays?” Again, I realized Sundays were special to me but maybe not to everyone. Hopefully, Foster had a day to himself. Where he could let go and detach from his stressors a bit.
He blanched and put his phone down on the extra chair. “I…”
I took a cleansing breath and settled myself. Stopping myself from being reactionary was an attribute I worked on daily. Right now was practice. I wanted to be responsive in a sincere way, not let my emotions rule me.
It didn’t come easily.
“When I was opening the studio or getting it ready, I worked all the time, into the night. On days off. Everything. It happens.”
His shoulders stiffened. His jaw ground. “I work almost all the time and when I’m not, I’m studying. I never stop.”
That last sentence wasn’t a flex. Not to me, at least.
The café was bustling with business. Food at the other tables was served piping hot. I ordered a French dip with sweet potato fries and Foster got a burger and fries. He dug into his food like he was starved and at the same time, needed to be somewhere else.
I wasn’t offended. I’d been there. Rushing. Hurrying. Juggling an everlasting list in my head while simultaneously checking off other things. It never ended. I was burned out so hard that I began losing gaps of time. Zoning out. Disassociating.
Foster finished his burger and fries before I’d even taken a third bite.
The alpha had no clue how to slow down and enjoy.
It made me reconsider that he was my mate. I’d always been taught Fate had a plan and fated mates were bound by something otherworldly, but what if my mate was someone I couldn’t connect with.
We talked more as I ate. He wasn’t sleeping, by the looks of the bags under his eyes. His knee bounced under the table. I didn’t have to see it to know it was happening.
As much as I tried to center myself, he was making me anxious. I’d walked away from the stressful life a long time ago.
Not only would I not accept that way of life again, but having a mate who lived like that was out of the question.
It would rub off on me no matter how many yoga poses and meditations I did.
My skin rose with goose bumps and a tingling acknowledgement fingered down my neck.
I was far from perfect, but this man snapped with electricity and not in the exciting way. His stress oozed from his words, his tone, his posture, all of it.
If I wasn’t careful, it would ooze onto my life and my mental health.
By the time the date was done, I didn’t know what to do.
I wanted him. And my bear did too.
But my well-being came first.