Chapter 10
REMY
I didn’t care that they were napkins and they belonged in the kitchen at the table. I had one under my pillow and one in my pocket, and they were going to stay there.
When I came home from the grocery store last night and saw the bag, at first, I was sad that I had missed my mate’s visit.
Then I saw what it was, and I was so excited about the gift that it made missing him not so bad.
It didn’t go away. I still wished he was there to hug, kiss, and thank, but it made it better.
It was such a cool gift. The napkins were amusing, functional, and cute. Best of all, it smelled just like him. I loved them so much.
All day long, I kept reaching in my pocket to feel it. Today was an in-office day, all of our laptops being upgraded with some new system, and because they didn’t want us to have any downtime, we got to have in-person meetings. I was so ready to be done when it was time to leave.
Quite a few co-workers, including Steven, were planning to go to happy hour down the street.
For a second, I considered going. It was nice to see everybody and was rare we were all in the office at the same time anymore.
But I had plans, or at least I had plans to make plans, and I called that good enough.
I drove to the furniture store, hoping my mate wasn’t too busy and that I wasn’t making things too weird.
My goal was to surprise him but was second-guessing the entire trip there about not texting ahead.
I justified it by telling myself his store was a public business, so if it was open, it was fine to just show up.
My koala spent the time being a little cheerleader in the background, encouraging me to get there faster. He wasn’t assisting my decision-making.
Car parked, I walked up to the front door, took a few deep breaths, and walked in. Before I saw him, my mate called out my name and was heading my way. His scent filled the place and surrounded me. I might’ve been in a business, but I felt like I was home.
“I didn’t know you were going to be here. Were you checking on your desk?”
“No, I wanted to thank you for these.” I pulled the napkin out of my pocket.
“You carried it with you? It’s a napkin, not a handkerchief.”
Great, I made him think I misunderstood his intentions.
“I know what it is, but I was in the office today, and of course, I had to eat lunch. Lunch needs napkins.” I shoved it back in.
So much for not making it weird. “Speaking of food, I was wondering if you’ve eaten yet.” I crossed my fingers that I wasn't too late and that he’d already had a dinner break. I definitely should’ve called ahead.
“No, I was just finishing up some paperwork, and then I was heading out for the day. Why?”
“I thought maybe we could grab something to eat together.”
“Like a date?”
My intention coming here was to make things between us clearer, and instead, I was back to muddling it up.
“Yes. Like a date.”
“I’d love to. Give me two minutes to find an endpoint and I’ll be ready to go.” He was back in one.
To my surprise, he took my hand as we walked out the door. It was the confidence boost I needed.
“Did you just want to find something around here?” I asked.
There were quite a few restaurants in walking distance, and I wanted this to be low pressure, no fancy restaurants. If he had a favorite, we could go there; if not, we’d find something else.
“That sounds good.” He gave my hand a squeeze. Did that mean he didn’t want to let go either? Because I sure didn’t.
We walked down the street where the majority of restaurants were. We ended up at a new noodle shop neither one of us had been to. Inside, there weren’t very many tables, but most people were getting takeaway, so it worked.
The food was good. The conversation, better.
I told him about my not-so-fun day at work, filled with in-person meetings and deadlines looming that I couldn’t deal with because my computer was going through the upgrade.
He told me about a customer who was having him match their twin bed from growing up so that their twins could each have one.
I loved listening to him talk about his work, the passion he had for it, and how seriously he took their request.
Apparently, the omega had always wanted his child to have his bed because a grandparent had made it for his dad, who gave it to him.
But then they had infant twins and weren’t sure how to handle the bed situation when they moved out of their cribs.
It was such a sweet story. I wanted to jump in and help, not that they’d want me anywhere near power tools. That was not my skill set.
From there we chatted about a new movie that was coming out featuring a local-to-us actor, the farmers’ market, and what we were like in high school. It was all very first-few-dates topics, and with each one, it felt like I knew him a tiny bit more.
“I think I’m in trouble,” he said, placing his hands on his middle. “This place is too good. I’m going to come here far too often. It needs to be farther away from work.”
I laughed at his joke. He wasn’t wrong, though. The place was amazing.
“So, I kind of wanted to tell you something, and that’s why I came.
” Our date was too close to the end. It was time to either say something or wait until our next time together.
Ever since my conversation with Steven, I’d wanted to give him as much of me as I could as soon as possible.
That meant telling him my intentions tonight.
It wasn’t koala time, and if it was, this 100% wasn’t the space.
But confessing my desires? Yeah, that was a now thing.
“Oh. Okay.” He looked nervous, which was the opposite of what this conversation was supposed to be doing.
“I… I like you, and I want to pursue you.” I gave him a few seconds to let it sink in before continuing. “I’m really not good at this dating thing, so I know it doesn’t always come across like I know what I want, but I do.”
I reached across and grabbed his hand. “I do know what I want, and it’s you, if you’re okay with that.”
He let out a long breath. “Yes, I want that too. I wasn’t sure you did.”
I was so bad at this. How many times had he wondered if I actually liked him or not? And how easily could all of them have been avoided if I’d only told him instead of being wishy-washy in some failed attempt to ease my own guilt.
“Aren’t we a pair?” I said.
“I hope so,” he said.
“Then let’s make it so.”
The place started to get crowded, so we left, giving new customers room to enjoy their own dates.
On the way back to the store, we stopped and got ice cream. I didn’t even want ice cream, but it was slowing our date’s approach to its end, and that worked for me. All too soon, there was no more dawdling to be had. We were at his car, and it was time to go.
“Thanks for the date. It was nice to see you.” I looked up and saw he had a little bit of chocolate ice cream in the corner of his mouth. I reached into my pocket. “See? So handy.”
“It is, but there are other ways you could have gotten the ice cream off. You didn’t need my napkin.”
“I didn’t? What else should I have used?”
He stepped closer, pressed his lips to mine, and then took a step back. “I mean, it’s just a suggestion to keep in mind for the future. I personally think it’s a really good alternative.”
“I’ll have to keep that in mind and take you for ice cream a lot more often.” Every day if it meant getting another kiss.
I drove away wishing we could’ve spent more time together, just like every other time we’d seen each other. Yes, he was my mate, but this feeling was more than that. I hadn’t been watering down my desire to get together with him when I said I liked him. I did like him… a lot.
I liked his smile.
I liked his humor.
I liked the way he talked to himself when he didn’t remember I could hear him.
I liked the way he listened to me as if every word I said mattered.
I liked everything about him.
And somehow, he was mine.