Chapter Twelve
Matthew
I woke early, and at first thought everything that happened must have been a dream. Was it only yesterday that I attended the sales meeting that sent me into a whirlwind of emotions, none of them good. Five years of avoiding shifters for my mental health, and I was going to have to step into a club run primarily by shifters. During the time when they were open and filled with a whole lot of shifters. I had nightmares less frightening.
And then, I arrived at Animals and was wrapped in Fate’s magic. The only thing harder than going to the shifter club yesterday was leaving at the end of the evening. But I understood why we couldn’t all stay together there and then. Flora would have been right in the next room, and she had not been informed that we were all mates yet. Although I thought she was more aware than we gave her credit for, we had to do this right.
We had a lifetime together and the fact I woke up with morning wood that threatened to poke right through my sheet was no excuse for bad acting. I sat up and pushed my feet into the fluffy slippers I loved and wore even though it was not cold enough to need them either in Florida or here. Shuffling to the bathroom, I stopped and smacked a hand to my forehead.
Not only was the night before not a dream, I had a date with both of these men for breakfast and then we were going to see what the day brought. That meant a PTO day. But I couldn’t just do that online when my boss was going to want to know how my meeting went the night before.
The meeting I didn’t have.
I picked up the phone and dialed Bob’s cell number, unsure how I was going to handle this.
“Matthew, just the person I wanted to talk to.” I hoped he felt that way after I told him what I did or at least a version of it that didn’t reveal my personal life at this time. “I just heard from Zevo the manager of Animals. You made quite an impression on him. Your appointment wasn’t even with him. How did you manage to level up like that?”
“I had an opportunity to meet him, and he was very interested in hearing about our program.” I wasn’t a salesman for nothing.
“Amazing. He wants you back there later in the week to give details to their purchasing agent, but sounds like we have a good chance of getting the account not only locally but the other locations as well.”
“I guess I don’t need to give you a report then. That was very nice of Zevo to call, and I will do my very best at the next meeting.”
“Good job. Tell you what…do you have any appointments today?” he asked.
“No, I was going to work in the office, make some calls, but no actual meet-ups with any clients, why?” Please don’t say you have something you need me to do. If he did, I was going to have to play sick.
“You take the day off and go play golf or go to the beach or whatever you want to do. It’s a beautiful day and you’ve earned a reward.”
I thanked him and headed for the shower. My mates were meeting me at a local diner I’d discovered shortly after moving to town. They had the best chicken-fried steak, biscuits and gravy, pancakes… I’d never had a bad meal there, and I’d never been so excited to go there.
After a short decision struggle over what to wear, I put on the jeans that always got me second looks, a fitted polo, and my lucky sneakers, grabbed a hoodie, and drove to the diner. It was down near the beach with tables outside on the patio and if luck held, it would be warm enough to sit out there and get to know my mates with the sight and sounds of the ocean as background. Everyone thought because I came from Florida I must have grown up near the beach but nothing could be further from the truth. We lived in an area that was more swamp than anything, and my first actual sight of an ocean was the Pacific.
Half an hour later, we were seated at one of those outside tables. It was a little cool and breezy, but shifters run warm and we all had hoodies. It was extra special seeing these men in the sunlight. I hoped they felt the same about me.
Our server brought coffee for River and I and orange juice over ice for Allen. I’d never seen ice in OJ before, but as he sipped it, I couldn’t understand why anyone drank it any differently.
“What is everyone getting?” River asked, scanning the menu. “I’m starving.”
“I can recommend almost everything. Whenever I come here, I try to order something different, and they haven’t disappointed yet.”
“We could order several things you haven’t had yet, then, and share,” Allen suggested. “Unless there aren’t three left?”
These guys were so much fun. We decided on the Kitchen Sink Omelet, strawberry rhubarb pancakes, and eggs Benedict along with the giant cinnamon roll that I had enjoyed before but thought they shouldn’t miss the opportunity to try.
Waiting for the food, we kicked off our shoes and walked down to the water’s edge, letting the server know we’d be back before the food came. “You sure we have time?” Allen asked as we padded over the sand.
“Yeah. The diner is amazing, but they are not speedy. We’re not the only ones killing time. It’s nice down here, though, right?”
“Beautiful.” River slipped an arm around my waist and gave me a squeeze. “If the food is as good as the view, we’re in for a treat.”
We stayed down there for ten minutes or so before heading back toward the restaurant, arriving just as our food was being placed on the table. We shared everything and it seemed like foreshadowing for how we might live our lives together. Everything was delicious, as always, but I was much more interested in watching Allen and River eat than eating. Their strong jaws moving was incredibly sexy, something I’d never noticed in anyone before.
When we were stuffed to the gills, we didn’t want our time together to end, so we headed back down to the beach and strolled along for a while, just being together and talking about our lives up to this point. We decided to tell Flora this evening, so she knew about how her family was expanding.
And then I invited them to my house to spend some more time together until River had to pick up Flora. Our first date was a big success, but I for one wanted some time alone with them, and from their quick agreement, I believed they shared my feelings.