8. Kalen
8
KALEN
I wasn’t sad to see the man leave. Not in the slightest. And he might not know that I was a shifter or what a shifter even was, but he must’ve sensed I was a threat on some level because he didn’t come anywhere near me. He came across as the type of guy who would go out of his way to get me riled up again.
He did slam the house door and the car door and glared at me as he backed out, so it was safe to say he still wasn’t a fan of mine. Same, buddy. Same. I did, however, prefer his temper fit to another confrontation, and it was safer for him. It was getting harder and harder to keep my lion from at least showing through my eyes, if not through my claws or my scent. If he’d come over to be a dick again, I’d have had to leave or risk him seeing things he shouldn’t as a human.
I’d made two complete rounds looking for nails without getting a single nail before calling it done. I’d keep the magnet pole in the car and try again tomorrow, just to be safe. But I was feeling pretty good about the cleanup.
After securing it in the trunk, I went back into the house to let Arlo know that I was leaving for the day. I wasn’t sure how bad things had or had not gotten with his boyfriend, but from the way he was staring at the door as I walked in, I suspected it was for sure not sunshine and roses. But also… I couldn’t quite read his face. Was he scared, disappointed, tired?
“Hey, I just wanted to let you know the roof is done. If you wanted to come out and see it.” I slapped on my happy face, acting as if I hadn’t even met his boyfriend.
“I trust you.” He very much didn’t sound like he did.
“Okay, I can send you pictures.” Trust me or not, he’d need those for the insurance company.
“It’s fine.” Which never, ever, ever, in the history of ever, meant it was fine. Not a single time.
“And I did the best I could with the nails. I don’t think there are any left, but maybe just be a little cautious until I check it a few more times. If you’re going out barefoot.”
He didn’t meet my eyes the entire time, instead looking at the spot right above me.
“It’s a muddy mess. I won’t be out there without shoes.”
Something was definitely wrong. What did that man say to him? Now I wished he had come over to me so my lion could scare him.
“Hey,” I took a couple of steps closer, and when he didn’t move, I decided it was safe to cross over the rest of the way to him. “Is everything okay? For real? You just seem… off.”
He closed his eyes and took a few breaths before answering me. “Why did you help me?”
Yep, this was 100% that guy’s fault. Whatever he had said had Arlo doubting my sincerity. Crap.
“Because you called me. And you needed help.” It was the truth. Sure, he was my mate, but I couldn’t think of a scenario where I wouldn’t have stepped up. Not with a message like he left.
“That’s what I thought. I don’t understand.” He cracked his eyes open. This time I could read them… fear. But not fear of me or the beast he might be sensing within me. No. This was fear of my answer, and I didn’t quite understand the question.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean… it’s not because… because you’re interested in me?”
Oh. Did that mean he felt it too? Please let it be that he felt it too. But also, it could be that liking him was a bad thing and admitting it would get me kicked out. Given he had a boyfriend, I opted not to answer the question, but instead let him know my intentions as much as I hated them.
“Listen, I promise you, I’m not trying to intrude on your relationship.” As much as I wished it didn’t exist.
“My relationship?” He tilted his head to the side.
“Yeah, he already told me to back off. Not in those words, but yeah.”
“You mean my cousin? Cousin Stephen?” Arlo grabbed the back of his neck. “He was just here, I heard you arguing.”
“Oh. I guess I did mean your cousin.” I wish he hadn’t heard us fighting but was thrilled to discover he was family.
“He’s always so protective, like I’m a little baby lamb surrounded by lions and he is the only one who can save me.”
Only one lion, and while I may want to eat him, he was in absolutely no danger from my beast. That hit a little close.
“I’m gonna ask again. Are you helping me because you’re interested… in me?” He rubbed the back of his head with the heel of his hand. “Maybe answer it this time.”
I hesitated. He was right. My mate deserved a real answer.
“I’d have helped you regardless, but yes… I like you.”
He let out a long breath. “Good, because I like you too and not just because you are fixing my house.”
“Just to clarify, when I said I liked you, I mean that I’m interested… that I’d like to see… maybe…”
I brushed some hair out of his face before realizing I hadn’t cleaned my hands. Whoops. I pulled it right back.
“Same. I like you too and want to see where it goes.” Knowing full well I already had visions of the two of us growing old together.
“I thought… I thought a lot of things,” I confessed, “but one of them was that you were already taken. And I’m not that kind of alpha. I’d never step on anyone’s toes or try and get with their omega.”
“No problem with that here. I don’t have an alpha. I do have a cousin, though.”
“I’m kind of okay with a cousin who doesn’t like me.” He’d either grow to like me or not. He was being protective, so my guess was that with time he might not want me dead?
“Don’t take it personally.” He rolled his eyes. “Stephen is Stephen. But he means well, and he cares for me. And honestly? Not having a contract in place with absolute money values? That is a red flag.”
“Okay, fair. But I wasn’t meaning it to be. I just didn’t want to have you stress over it.” Which worked out not at all.
“Which made me stress more.” I loved that his timidness from when I walked in had fallen away and he was sharing more freely.
“Also fair. But how about this? I honestly think the insurance is going to pay far more money than I need. So let’s not worry about it.”
“And if they don’t?” Great. He was still worried.
“I’ll fight for you until they do.”
“Okay.” He didn’t sound enthused by the idea, but the reality was, with me doing most of the labor, they were going to pay out plenty.
“So now what?” He shoved his hands into his front pockets.
“I was thinking maybe we could go on a date?” Less thinking about it and more that it popped into my head. People were still big into dates. At least that’s how it was on the television. Most of my experience with humans was at the college, and college kids were not a decent sample set for how most humans acted.
“I’d like that.”
“Excellent. When did you want to go? This is my break, so I’m pretty open.” The storm couldn’t have come at a more perfect time in that respect.
“I’m free tonight.”
My lion puffed up.
Mine.
Ours.
Mine.
Ours .
My beast took his desire to see us sooner rather than later as a good sign. He wouldn’t have been so quick to offer tonight if he weren’t really interested, right? I was going with that.
“I can do tonight.” Even if I hadn’t been, I’d have made sure to remedy that. “I do need to go home and shower because—if you haven’t noticed—I’m pretty gross.”
“You could never be gross.” He looked me up and down. “You do need a shower. Or two.”
“I’m not that—” I glanced down at my hands. “Yeah, I am that bad. How about I go home, shower and change, and then we go on our date?”
“I’d like that.”
Normally, I dawdled when it came to leaving, not ready to be away from him. But this time, after a quick chat about the date, I left without hesitation. Because the sooner I got back to my place, took a shower, and came back, the sooner I could start exploring a real relationship with my mate—one that we were taking at his pace—which, as it turned out, wasn’t as slow as I feared it might be.
Go, fate, go.