Chapter 12
REMY
Things were going ridiculously well with Hari. I couldn’t be happier, and there were days when I’d wake up wondering if it had all been a dream and had to pull out the napkin from under my pillow to prove to myself that it wasn’t.
Hari was the first person I texted in the morning and the last one at night.
Throughout the day, we’d send each other messages as well.
And it was not for anything important. We’d share what we were eating, something funny that happened at work, that kind of thing.
If I had been in the office, Steven would have been laughing at me, telling me I was lovesick.
Which was fair. I was. A thousand percent.
Today I was heading to the farmers’ market while my mate worked. The one thing about his job I didn’t love were his hours. Not that they could be helped. People needed furniture around their schedules, not mine.
Do you need anything? I shot him a quick text and grabbed my keys.
It was the first Saturday and Food Truck Fun at the flea market.
I planned to grab him some lunch on my way out, despite the fact that he was probably not going to be able to eat it hot.
This was one of his busy days at work customer-wise.
All his days were busy in their own way. He poured his soul into that place.
We were going to see each other later, but my koala was still grumpy about him needing to work. He wasn’t going to be happy until we were marked and living together. My beast needed to learn some patience. I did too, because this was something we both agreed on.
Hari replied right away. He didn’t need anything, but he told me he was looking forward to seeing me later. Those were exactly the words I needed to hear.
I hearted the message and drove the short distance to the market.
I didn’t have a lot to get, but it was a nice way to kill time, and I always enjoyed myself here.
At one time, you could only buy produce, eggs, milk, and that kind of thing.
But over the past decade, they’d expanded to include handmade personal products and some limited crafts.
You wouldn’t find jewelry vendors or cute little collectibles, but crocheted washcloths, detergents, and that kind of thing were pretty plentiful.
And of course, on every first Saturday, there was yummy food.
My first stop was a local soap maker’s stall who used a natural eucalyptus scent.
I had discovered them the last time I was there and had been skeptical about it, picking up only one bar, but now it was going to be my go-to forever.
I bought all they had, which wasn’t a lot.
They were a small dealer, but it made their jaw drop.
“You really like eucalyptus a lot. Maybe you were a koala in your last life,” she teased, not knowing just how close she was to the truth.
“Maybe,” I said, leaving off that I was one in this lifetime, too.
But they were human and didn’t need to know that. Heck, I hadn’t been strong enough to tell my mate who I was. There was no chance of me telling a stranger. Although with a stranger, I didn’t care if they rejected me or not. With my mate, it mattered more than my next breath.
I was walking down the rows, grabbing a loaf of homemade banana bread and a couple of ears of corn, the normal stuff, when I heard a familiar voice, one that usually came with a prewarning, his scent.
“Hey,” I said, as Kevin turned from the stall where he’d just picked up some jam.
My boss had been right. He didn’t stink anymore. Maybe I should’ve told him from the beginning. I hadn’t wanted to hurt his feelings, especially when he was doing it because it made him feel good about himself. I was starting to suspect I was a people pleaser in disguise.
“How’s it going with your new job?” I asked. After our trip, he got the new position he’d been gunning for, and he deserved it.
“So good. Thank you for all your help getting the promotion.”
I had not loved going on the trip, but seeing him happy like this made it worth it.
“And how about you? How are you doing? You look… peppy.”
Peppy? Who used that word anymore, and how was I peppy?
“Doing good.” Great. Magnificent, even.
“Heard you met a guy.” And that explained the peppy comment. He was looking for the tea.
The problem with having a drama-loving best friend was the tendency for them to share all the things. Steven was a vault with anything that required secrecy, but something like getting a partner? He was all for sharing the happy news.
“Yeah.” I wasn’t sure how much to say, so I left it at that, which I very quickly realized wasn’t enough for Kevin.
“How’s it going? Is he nice to you? Handsome? Rich?” He kept peppering me with questions, most of which I ignored, some of which I answered as briefly as possible.. Who asked someone if the person they were dating had money or what their abs muscles looked like? Apparently, Kevin did.
“That’s good. Really good,” he said. “Do I hear wedding bells soon?”
When people spoke like that I always internally swapped it over to mate in my head because it was as close as humans got to mating.
“I mean, we’re taking it slow, but yeah, it’s going forward.”
“It doesn’t sound like taking it slow is your choice.” When did Kevin get so perceptive?
“No, no, it is. I don’t want to, like, pressure him or anything.” The more words I said, the less it sounded like it was my choice. I needed to stop talking already.
“Oh gods, you’re being a people pleaser, aren’t you?”
I wasn’t, but I wasn’t about to explain what I was doing. Or maybe I was. I didn’t even know anymore.
“If you don’t want to go slow, tell him. Dragging your feet isn’t going to make him feel good about himself or you two as a couple.”
Damn, talk about getting straight to the point, and a solid one, too. We walked to a couple more booths together, and then he went in his direction and I went mine, but the conversation stuck with me.
Kevin was right.
Stephen was right.
Everyone was right, but me. I was stalling too much, and as great as this was, it could be better.
I decided that maybe a weekend away might be the way to go.
I couldn’t just plan it and surprise him with a trip, not with his job, but I could research, and that was what I did when I got home from my lunch delivery.
Hari had been with a customer designing a room and I hadn’t wanted to disturb his work, so I just left it here.
By the time I got home, he’d messaged me a thank-you and how I was the best.
It was wild how that tiny speck of affirmation fueled me to find the best vacation spot ever.
I looked for cabins for rent that weren’t part of homeshare sites.
Too many of them had cameras for security, I got it.
They were important. But for me, for this trip, that wasn’t going to fly.
If I was going to show my beast to my mate, it wasn’t going to be for public consumption.
I wanted to be someplace comfortable with trees, lots and lots of trees.
It was time. It was definitely time to quit hiding and show my mate who I really was.
I found a few places that looked good and weren’t too far away, and shot a text to Harry.
What do you think about getting away for a weekend, just you and me? Knowing he was busy and not second-guessing myself as I waited for his response were not the same. The minute he took felt like an hour.
Like a weekend-long date?
Every time he asked clarifying questions like this, it only highlighted how poor my communication had been. I promised myself I was going to do better.
Yeah, exactly like that. No pressure.
This time his response was nearly instant.
I’d love it.
Why don’t you pick out some dates, and I’ll see if I can find someplace for us to go?
Will do.
He sent me a handful of dates, and I started matching things up with what was available.
We were doing this. We were going away together.
I was going to show him my beast and finally let him know that he was my mate and not just some guy I liked or someone I was pursuing, but someone I wanted to make a life with. I was so ready for this next step.
Please let him be ready, too.