Chapter 13 #4
“Of course not. Nothing’s a sure thing. But I’m telling you, when we touched on the dance floor, it was like everything made sense.
” Ruben tipped forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“You were the reason I came back, but I think Ray is the reason I stayed here so long. You’re clearly doing okay now, and don’t need me anymore, but something kept me here, and I think it was Ray. ”
Wait, what? Ruben had come back…for him?
“I know you said the two of you still need to talk about it, but in your ideal world, when would you mate?” Ruben asked, oblivious to Rowan’s confusion.
“I…don’t…”
“So, not two weeks?” Ruben asked, with that all too familiar half-smirk on his face.
“No,” Rowan said because that was absolutely out of the question. “Or on date three, like Raina.”
The other side of Ruben’s lip slowly curved up, like shades being pulled back on a window. He let out a belly-shaking laugh, collapsing back against the couch. “Oh my gods, I forgot about that. As always, it seems like you’re the most mature of the bunch. Or, at least, more than Raina and me.”
Rowan snorted, his shoulders relaxing ever so slightly. “I’m not sure there’s another person on the planet as mature as Riley.”
“Gods, she’s going to have a whole-ass cow when she hears the news.”
She really would, as would both their moms. Somehow, the two Rangecroft bachelors had managed to find their fated mates on the same night.
He was, without a shadow of a doubt, waiting to tell the family until everyone was back in town.
There was no way this was the type of news for one of them, let alone both of them to drop in the group chat.
Besides, the more Rowan thought about it, the more he wanted to tell them in person.
He wanted to get one of his mom’s sunny smiles and ma’s approving nods.
He wanted to hear Raina’s squeal of excitement and have the chance to debrief with Riley on what this meant for him and his future.
It had been almost two months since they’d all been together, and the distance was wearing on him, as it always did.
Of course, now Ruben would be there, too, with his own good news, but that was okay. For once, maybe they could share the spotlight. There would probably be a few hard questions and maybe even a little doubt, but they could field that together.
Rowan tipped his head back to stare up at the ceiling, which somehow had scuff marks on it. “It’s probably best if we both tell them in person.”
When his words were met with silence, Rowan lowered his chin and found Ruben staring at him, eyes wide.
“Which means we should wait a little while, since everyone’s out of town?” Rowan added, in case that was the part confusing him.
“Oh, I forgot they were all out…” Ruben said, his eyes rounding and bottom lip jutting out.
Rowan knew this look.
He hated this look.
“What did—” he started to ask, but his phone vibrated in his pocket.
He pulled it out, and Ruben jerked forward, coming to the edge of his seat. “I sent the text earlier, but the photo must have still been loading,” he said, as Rowan clicked into his messages and saw that Ruben had already texted the group chat.
Ruben: You’ll never believe me, so here’s a picture to prove it. I found my fated mate.
Underneath the text was a selfie they must have taken the night before at Ray’s apartment. They both looked absolutely enamored, gazing at each other like they had been together for years, not hours.
“Are you serious?” Rowan asked even though the proof was right in front of him.
It just felt like he deserved a turn to ask.
“You can follow up?” Ruben suggested, but his voice was uncertain. “That’s sort of what I assumed you would do, obviously not knowing you wanted to wait.”
Rowan stared down at his phone, hoping to get one of those elusive apologies from his brother.
Somehow, he had once again found a way to steal the spotlight and make everything about him.
It figured that even when Rowan, against all odds, managed to find a fated mate, to find someone who wanted to spend time with him and even slept the night in his bed, it still couldn’t compare to the Ruben Show.
His phone lit up, as text after text came in, exclaiming, celebrating, and gushing over Ray and congratulating Ruben.
It was like Rowan was seventeen all over again, his phone blowing up in his pocket as his moms and sisters texted about Ruben and his wrist, while Rowan sat alone in the championship arena.
The team had gone out to dinner afterwards to celebrate, but Rowan had gone home because, despite how upset he was with his parents for leaving, he had also been worried about Ruben.
He’d arrived home to an empty house and made himself a TV dinner before going to bed.
Ruben hadn’t woken him up when he got home from the hospital, and the next day at breakfast, no one had asked Rowan how his competition went or if his team had secured the sponsorship.
Their alpha ma was leaving on a trip that morning and was fussing over Ruben while their omega mom lamented having to cancel a showing she had in order to look after Ruben.
Rowan had dumped his barely eaten cereal down the drain and left.
Sort of like how he wanted to leave right now.
Except, this was Milo’s—his Milo’s—apartment. He wasn’t leaving, but he sure as hell didn’t have to sit here and stew.
He stood up, ignoring Ruben’s wide-eyed look, and walked over to the counter. He started unpacking the strawberries, leftover donuts, and jam, taking care not to place any of them down too roughly, despite the way his hawk was screeching in his head.
“Did you have a good first date?” Ruben asked, his voice softer than it had been all afternoon. “I don’t need to go get eggs for their car? Or hair dye?”
Even though they were almost two years apart, they’d only been one grade apart in school due to how their birthdays fell. While this meant Rowan had spent the majority of his childhood living in Ruben’s shadow, there had been one giant perk.