Chapter 4 #2
I had, but that had been at lunchtime. I was actually still hungry, but a whole lot had happened in the last hour.
“I mean, I did have lunch at work. The restaurant has this amazing crispy chicken salad.” It was too.
It was huge, and for twenty bucks a week, we could have one meal per shift.
After two meals, it had more than paid for the fee.
I absolutely happily paid that twenty dollars every week and made sure I got my meal, even if I had to take it home with me because I didn’t have time to eat it while on shift.
That was rare, but it did happen every so often.
“A salad? Really?”
I nodded. “I like salad. A lot. And fruit.”
Clay made a face, and I smiled for the first time in a while.
I got it. I’d heard from Charlie about how Silver didn’t care much for fruits and vegetables.
He ate them, but they weren’t his favorite.
My absolutely favorite food was fruit. Any and all fruit.
Fresh fruit was a real treat, and I didn’t have it often, but I tried to grab a few cans every week if I could swing it.
“All right, a sweet tea for you,” Sally said as she set the drink and then a straw down in front of me.
“And a coffee and water for the grump.” She gave Clay a look.
“Don’t argue with me either. I saw you scowling at the sweetie here.
” Sally looked back at me. “Don’t let him be too grumpy with ya.
He and his brothers are all sweethearts, and I know they can all be grouchy at times. ”
I sighed. “I asked about the grilled cheese.”
“It’s good,” Sally said. “Not as good as others. Kind of plain. If you’re wanting a sandwich, I really recommend one of the paninis.
Or even the cheesesteaks.” She flipped the menu over for me and pointed to them on the back.
“My favorite is the bacon triple cheese. All sandwiches come with a cup of soup. Today’s soups are vegetable beef, chicken noodle, or tomato.
They also come with a large order of french fries, coleslaw, and a pickle. ”
My stomach growled loudly enough for everyone to hear. That all sounded so good.
“He’ll have that. His stomach is saying yes to that.”
He wasn’t wrong. It was. And the meal was only thirteen dollars, but I’d already spent six earlier.
I was arguing with myself because I was spending funds that, yeah, technically I had, but I really needed new tires on my car.
And it was probably going to need brakes before tires because every so often, they had started squeaking.
“Good choice. And for you?”
“I would love the corned beef. I want to add an order of onion rings, as well as cheese sticks.”
“Got it. I’ll have this all out for you in just a bit.” Sally walked off, leaving me with Clay before I could really say anything.
“If you didn’t already know, I eat a lot. Part of it’s because I’m a shifter, part because of the type. I shift often, and my gorilla burns a lot of energy, and I need to replace it.”
I nodded. “Yeah, so I’m a little red panda.
I can shift every so often, but I don’t have a private room.
I share it with Mark, and although he doesn’t mind sharing with a shifter, he’s a lion shifter, and my panda doesn’t feel the most comfortable around his lion.
I don’t think he’d actually harm me, but try telling that to my panda. ”
“Do you not have anywhere else you can shift?”
I shook my head. “Only in my bedroom. I have to do it when I know my roommates aren’t home because Jake and Chris really can’t be trusted.
They’re the ones who have signed me up for dating apps on their phones and then started conversations with others that have led to showing up at my jobs.
Most of the time, it’s easy enough to explain things, but there have been a few times that some people don’t take it well at all.
” I could not only see Clay’s displeasure, but I could actually scent it, which was saying something since we were in a diner with tons of different food scents. “You’re upset.”
Clay took several deep breaths. “Yes, but not at you in any way. Know that, all right?”
I nodded. I desperately wanted to pull out my phone and message Charlie, but it would be rude. I didn’t get a chance to do anything else because Sally came back with a tray loaded with food, and my eyes widened as she set plate after plate of food in front of us.
“You didn’t specify what soup you wanted, sweetie.”
I could only stare at her. “Umm…surprise me?” I didn’t care one way or another. My stomach was growling, and I couldn’t resist.
“You got it,” Sally said before walking off.
“Any of the soups are amazing, so you can’t go wrong with whatever she brings you.” I nodded and looked over at what Clay had. It was obviously the vegetable beef soup. Sally brought back a cup of chicken noodle, and I smiled up at her.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Let me know if the two of you need anything else.”
Clay pushed the onion rings and cheese sticks closer to the middle of the table. “These are for sharing. You’re welcome to eat some, all, or none.”
I smiled and took an onion ring. It had been a while since I’d had them. “Thanks,” I told him. I kept telling myself he was a much larger shifter, and he ate a lot more than I did.
We ate in silence for a bit, and I felt bad for it.
I was enjoying the food immensely, and I could understand why Clay and his brothers came here so often.
I would certainly work it into my budget, because there were so many other things that I had wanted to try.
Once I’d eaten over half of my food and had considerably slowed down, Clay finally started asking questions that I figured were coming.
“Not to be pushy,” he started, “but it sounds like your living situation isn’t the greatest.”
I shrugged. “It’s not great, but it could be worse. I’m saving for a different place, but I know I’m going to need some expensive car maintenance before winter, which will probably eat a lot of my savings.”
Clay held up a finger. “We’ll address the car situation later. First, I’m more worried about the assholes you live with.”
I sighed. I was thankful he’d waited until I’d eaten more than half of my food because my appetite was suddenly disappearing.
“I’m not trying to be that way,” Clay said. I nodded. I got it. I understood where he was coming from. He had his life in order, and I didn’t. “But I’m going to be that way.”
“How? And what way are you talking about, specifically?”
“I have a four-bedroom house. My bedroom is downstairs, and the three upstairs are set up but aren’t occupied.
I want you to move in. Rent-free because I’ll be the first to admit that my gorilla is telling me that you are my mate, and I would never dream of charging my mate rent.
” I tried to say something, but Clay cut me off.
“You can argue if you want, but I’ll resort to using a pregnant man as leverage and have him give you his pregnant-man, don’t-stress-him-out routine. ”
“That’s dirty,” I said.
Clay nodded. “It is, but I want you safe, and you say you are, but your roommates are dicks. You said the other one crawled out the window to keep your stuff safe? Keep others out? What?”
I sighed in defeat. And in all honesty, I didn’t want to live there anymore, but it had been somewhat cheap in comparison to other places. “All right. So, what? You want me to move in upstairs?”
“You are welcome to sleep in any room that you want. I’m not going to push for anything.
We’re going to take things at your pace.
My gorilla says you’re our mate, and once your red panda recognizes the same, hopefully, we can work on a relationship.
For now, I know me and my gorilla, and he’s not going to like you living there in a situation like that. ”
I nodded as Sally came over. “Any dessert?” she asked. “Danny made pies this morning. We have strawberry, apple, or cherry.”
I shook my head. Although it sounded wonderful, I absolutely couldn’t find room for much else.
“We’ll pass this time,” Clay said. “Just the check and maybe a to-go box or two.” Clay handed her a card.
“That’s new. I don’t remember the last time any of you ever took food home.”
Clay shrugged. “Duncan wasn’t nearly as hungry as I thought. He can have it later if he wants.”
“I’ll be back with those boxes and your receipt in a few.”
Clay nodded, but his eyes hadn’t left me in some time. “Well? Do I need to call Charlie and have him work on you?”
I rolled my eyes. “No. But I’ll have to crawl into the window to get some clothes.” Inside, I was smiling uncontrollably, but I was also incredibly nervous. I’d never dated. I’d never…anything. Would I be a complete disappointment to Clay?
“Here you go,” Sally said. “Come back soon, Duncan. Bring Charlie with you if you can. I’ve not seen him in a bit.”
I smiled up at her. “I’ll have to do that. Maybe we can figure out a time to meet the guys here for lunch or something when we both have a day off.”
Sally sighed. “You boys need to make sure your mates don’t have to worry about working.”
“I’m working on it,” Clay said. He smiled at me, and I felt my cheeks heat. I couldn’t do that. Could I? I’d never had anyone. Could I completely give myself to Clay like that? I wasn’t sure. Small steps at a time, I guess.