Chapter Two
NORMALLY, WEST WOULDN’T still be thinking about Jonathan. Nothing had happened between them. Jonathan hadn’t even talked to West. They’d watched each other for half an hour, but almost as soon as West had decided to take a chance and talk to Jonathan, the man had left. The sound of the door closing behind him had been final, and West had left with the others, climbing back into the fire engine, ready to dismiss the cute guy.
But he was still thinking about Jonathan. He wasn’t sure why, except that he couldn’t explain Jonathan’s strange behavior.
The man had been tense, which made sense considering that someone had just fainted in his workroom, but West was pretty sure there’d been more to it. Jonathan had seemed fine enough initially. He’d been focused on the man on the floor, but West had noticed his gaze flickering to him a few times. That was why he’d decided to talk to him. He’d thought he had a chance.
Clearly, he hadn’t.
“West?”
Lisa’s voice snapped West back into the present. He blinked down at the cards in his hands, but he could barely remember what game he’d agreed to play, let alone what he should do with the cards.
He sighed and put them down. “I’m sorry.”
Jeremy and Lisa exchanged a glance. “It’s fine. You don’t have to play with us if you don’t feel up to it,”
Lisa said. “But we’re a bit worried. Is everything okay?”
“He’s still pouting over the hot tattoo artist not giving him his number,”
Austin declared as he put down one card.
The three of them looked at West as one. West resisted the urge to reach over the table and strangle his best friend. There was a reason he loved Austin, even though, right now, he couldn’t quite remember what that reason was. He was sure he’d miss the asshole if he killed him, unfortunately.
“Did you ask him out?”
Jeremy asked.
“You were with me the entire time. When would I have asked him out?”
“I don’t know. I wouldn’t put it past you to go back to the shop to do just that.”
“That sounds like something Austin would do, not me.”
Even though West had been wondering if maybe it was time to add another tattoo to his collection. Would it be so bad to go to Jonathan if he decided to do that?
It wasn’t like West was planning on harassing the man. He didn’t know what had happened the other day, but he could be professional if that was what Jonathan wanted. West was just confused about why Jonathan had reacted the way he had to him. It was almost as if he’d gotten scared halfway through, which didn’t make sense.
“Maybe you should try that,”
Austin offered. “You haven’t been on a date in how long?”
West pushed away from the table and got to his feet. “My love life isn’t your business. Stay out of it.”
He wasn’t harsh, but he wanted Austin and the others to know that this wasn’t something he wanted to talk about.
He left the three to their card game and decided to take a nap. He might as well take advantage of the fact that today had been remarkably calm.
It wouldn’t last.
He settled in one of the bunks, closing his eyes and sucking in a deep breath. If he wanted to sleep, he’d have to relax first.
He wasn’t given the opportunity to. The door opened again, and he groaned because he knew who it was.
“I’m sorry,”
Austin said.
West sighed and opened his eyes. He stared at the ceiling for a moment before turning to his best friend. “It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not. I shouldn’t bother you about getting a boyfriend. You’re not like me. I get that not everyone wants a relationship.”
“But?”
Because with Austin, there was always a but.
“But I don’t think you’re happy. You’re content but not happy.”
“And you think that dating a tattoo artist would change that?”
“I don’t think it would make you unhappy.”
West knew that Austin was only pushing this because he was worried about him. He was so focused on not wanting to end up alone that he projected his fears on West. He wanted both of them to be happy, and he thought they’d get that by finding someone to love.
West couldn’t say he wanted to be single for the rest of his life, but he didn’t mind it the same way Austin did. He was perfectly fine spending time on his own, and he didn’t need a boyfriend to make him feel better.
He didn’t say all that to Austin. Austin already knew what West thought of his love life and the way he went about it. He didn’t have to repeat himself.
“No, it wouldn’t,”
West admitted because it was the truth. He would be happy if he had a boyfriend. He just didn’t need one. “But it’s hard.”
Austin glanced at the door. He’d closed it, and they couldn’t hear anything. Hopefully, it meant they were alone and that no one was out there wanting to get some sleep.
“I get it,”
Austin said with a nod. “Even when you meet someone and start dating, and everything’s perfect, you’re still afraid that they’ll run when you tell them about your dragon. I feel the same.”
He huffed. “I wish there were more dragon shifters in town. It would make it easier to date.”
“Stay away from the clan,”
West warned.
“I’m not stupid or looking to die.”
“Sometimes, I wonder.”
“But you can’t be single forever just because of your dragon. It wouldn’t be fair to either of you.”
“I didn’t say anything about forever.”
“I just worry about you, West. You’ve always been a loner, but I feel it’s become worse lately.”
“I promise you that I’m fine and that I could find a date if I wanted to.”
He just couldn’t be bothered.
“Including with the tattoo artist?”
West wished he could say yes because Jonathan was cute and seemed interesting. He was pretty sure that the man didn’t want anything to do with him, though. The way he’d behaved the day West was at the shop pointed to that. “I don’t think he was interested, and I don’t want to be a creep by going to the shop.”
“You wouldn’t be a creep. You’d just be a guy who wants a tattoo.”
Austin wasn’t entirely wrong, but as much as West wanted to go, he still thought it would be better to stay away. Part of him wondered what would happen if he did go, though. Jonathan had no way to contact him, but West knew where to find Jonathan. He didn’t have to make the situation creepy. He could go there, ask about a tattoo, and leave once he got his answers. It was Jonathan’s job. Surely Jonathan wouldn’t see anything wrong with that.
JONATHAN COULDN’T STOP thinking about West.
Billy had tried coming back the following day to convince Jonathan to tattoo him, but Jonathan had held firm. He wasn’t about to risk Billy fainting a second time. That would be a mess, and it would bring the firefighters right back.
But he couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened. He wasn’t even sure he was right. He’d seen something in West’s eyes, but he couldn’t be sure it was a sign that West was a shifter. Even if he was, he might not be a dragon shifter. Jonathan had never seen Caleb’s eyes do anything like that, but maybe it wasn’t unique to dragon shifters.
Something in Jonathan knew. He wasn’t sure how to explain it. Maybe he was more attuned to dragon shifters after spending so much time with Sal. Maybe part of him associated dragon shifters with danger now, and that was why he’d identified West as one. Being a dragon shifter would be enough for West to be dangerous, even if he was a teddy bear.
“Christy wasn’t wrong,”
Caleb said as he flopped on the couch next to Jonathan, startling him.
Jonathan squeaked and glared at Caleb. “Was that really necessary?”
Caleb cocked his head. “Was what necessary? I sat on the couch. It’s not my fault you were so busy daydreaming about a hot firefighter that you didn’t hear me.”
“I wasn’t daydreaming about him.”
“But you were thinking about him.”
Jonathan hesitated. There was no one better for him to talk to about this than Caleb, though. Not only was Caleb his best friend, but he was also a shifter. He was the reason Jonathan had found out about that world. “I think the guy’s a shifter,”
Jonathan admitted.
“It’s possible. What makes you think that?”
“Something I saw in his eyes. Sal used to do the same.”
“Oh, I get it.”
Jonathan might’ve been offended if Caleb hadn’t been one of the few who knew everything that had happened with Sal. “Obviously, I don’t want to believe that all dragon shifters are the same, but I’m not willing to risk it. I’m never going to see the man again, anyway.”
“You could find him. Christy told me she knew which station the firefighters came from.”
“I don’t want anything to do with him. I’m not planning on talking to West again, so you and Christy can let it go.”
Caleb leaned forward. “West?”
Jonathan pondered if it would be worth it to strangle his best friend. He’d miss the asshole. “He told me his name. What am I supposed to call him? Hot firefighter?”
“Well, if the shoe fits.”
“It does, but he still has a name.”
“And that name is West. He told you out of all the people who were there that day. He was clearly interested.”
“I never said he wasn’t. I also never said I wasn’t interested.”
Because Jonathan had been until he realized that West wasn’t human.
Caleb sighed. “He’s not Sal, Jon.”
“I know, but what if they belong to the same clan?”
“I know you’re scared that things will go the same way they did with Sal, but what are you planning on doing? Spending the rest of your life alone because of that dick? Do you really want to give him that kind of power over you and your future? Besides, there are plenty of good people out there, and maybe West is one of them. I’m not saying you need to start planning your wedding, but at the very least, you should give him a chance.”
“I can’t. I’m just not ready to trust anyone else, dragon shifter or not. You know why.”
Jonathan wasn’t sure he’d ever be ready. He didn’t want Sal to continue to control him, but he didn’t know how to let go.
“Fine. I won’t bring him up again. I hope you’ll be able to find happiness eventually, though. You deserve it.”
Jonathan knew that, even though Sal had attempted to convince him that he didn’t deserve anything but him. Sal was an abusive asshole, and Jonathan had been to enough therapy that he knew he couldn’t believe one word that had come out of Sal’s mouth. It helped, but it wasn’t enough for him to want to reach out to West and go on a date with him, or even ask for his number. He couldn’t risk it.
Even though every time he thought about West, he wished he could.