Chapter 7
Toby
I sighed and pulled on the recliner, more relaxed than I’d been in weeks. Anthony had a roaring fire going, which probably would’ve stifled his human mate, but she’d taken their kids off somewhere.
We were having guys’ night with a few members of Anthony’s clan. “What’s on your mind?” my best friend, Porter, asked.
I sighed and looked at my new friends. Porter’s brother, Jace, was Anthony’s second.
And Anthony was the alpha of the Bluewater clan.
They were good guys and would probably have some good advice, so I decided to share.
“Things with Liza are very up in the air. She was almost skittish with me yesterday.” That was putting it mildly.
She’d practically run away in terror. Was I that imposing?
They all chuckled. Each of them had found their fated mates, and they were all humans.
It was an anomaly, making other clans wonder what was in the water here in Bluewater, but if anyone could give me advice, it was this group of guys.
“How should I approach her?” I asked. “My vision of how things were going to go is nothing like it’s happening, and I can’t help but feel a little discouraged.
” That was also an understatement. I didn’t quite want to give up, but I was totally lost about how to proceed and get Liza from running scared to in my arms.
Again, they laughed, albeit good-naturedly. I held out my hands and stared at the bunch of them. “I fail to see the humor.” I wasn’t offended, but if they didn’t explain soon, I might get that way.
“Sorry,” Anthony said. “We’ve just all been there.”
They nodded in unison. “Boy, have we,” Wayne muttered. I’d met him before; he was mated to Bianca and ran a catering company. We’d talked a lot the last time I’d been in town.
“None of us had a fairy tale. It isn’t like when your mate is a dragon. When she’s a dragon, she feels what you do, so you pretty much just start fucking,” Jace said bluntly. “And then you move in together and never look back.”
“That’s kind of what I’d been expecting,” I muttered.
“Well, reevaluate. You have to treat this like a human courtship, because to her it is.” Porter shook his head.
“I know, man, it’s not easy. Look at me.
I nearly screwed everything up with Kaylee because I was upset about her job.
But it boils down to that’s not important.
Nothing is, except showing her you care. ”
“Relationships take a lot of effort,” Anthony said.
“Even the ones that are fated on both sides, even when the mate feels that tug.” He drained his beer.
“Whatever you do, don’t try to deny the bond.
Give in to it, even if it’s slowly. Your dragon won’t give you crap as long as you’re working toward a goal, even if it’s slowly. ”
“And be patient,” Jace said. “Lots and lots of patience. I tried to deny it, to reject the bond, and it nearly killed me. In the end, I never knew I could be this happy.”
Anthony got up and returned with fresh bottles of beer for everyone before we turned our attention back to the game on the big TV over the fireplace.
At halftime, we went out into Anthony’s yard and shifted, going for a short flight together.
It felt nice to shift with someone again, to weave through the trees and race each other, shoot water at one another, and compete at increasingly difficult maneuvers through the air.
I’d flown a few times since moving here, but alone, and there was something our dragons loved about being with each other, shifted, wild, and free.
This really was a great location for a clan.
It rivaled my own clan’s properties in Northern California.
Eventually, we tired of playing and everyone branched off, letting our dragons lead us around, flying calmly.
It was better than any meditation or yoga, not that I’d really tried either all that much.
I was the first one back to the house and shifted to find Bianca and Skye sitting on the porch. “Take a seat,” Bianca said.
“Uh, okay.” I walked up the steps and sat beside the women, confused about what they could possibly want from me. I barely knew them. “What’s up?” Whatever they wanted, they looked serious about it.
“You need some female perspective,” Bee said. “If you listen to the guys all the time, you’re going to go all wrong.” She was Liza’s best friend. I had to listen to her, right?
“Some of their perspective isn’t wrong, exactly,” Skye said diplomatically. “I mean, they managed to land us.”
Bee rolled her eyes and laughed. “Barely.”
Skye snorted. “It did almost fall apart for all of us, didn’t it?” She turned her attention back to me. “We’d like to keep it from falling apart for you.”
“So, what would you tell me to do then?” I asked, totally willing to take the advice of these two women who were way more experienced than me.
And I trusted them to tell me what to do with Liza far more than their bumbling mates.
I liked those guys, but men rarely got this stuff right, as far as I’d seen in life.
“If we can help you avoid the whole breakup and get back together stage of your relationship with Liza, we will,” Skye said. She met my gaze and held it steady. “First, don’t be pushy. Don’t back off completely, but don’t push.”
I felt like I should’ve been taking notes.
“Second,” Bee said. “Take some time and get to know Liza. What makes her tick? What does she love and hate?” I was dying to know those things, anyway. I wanted to know everything about her.
Skye nodded wisely. “Find some common interests and exploit that. Use them as a reason to spend time with her. Don’t do that alpha dragon, gruff bullshit.” She rolled her eyes. “Anthony tried that crap. I had to shut it down quick.”
Bee nodded, then they started telling me what they could about Liza. Some of her favorite foods, pastimes she enjoyed when she was off work, and the like.
I ate it up. And I grabbed my phone and literally did take notes.
When they ran out of steam, I thanked them probably a dozen times, but then I had a question.
“How did you guys take finding out about dragons?” I asked.
I’d been wondering what Liza’d do when she found out.
What if I convinced her to date me, then told her the truth only to have her freak out and run away?
“Don’t stress that part yet.” Bee patted my arm. “Just focus on dating Liza. Getting to know her. Wooing her. Then, when she’s crazy about you, what you are won’t matter. Plus, we’ll help you.”
Skye nodded eagerly. “It always goes better if she has a friend there.”
It seemed much less intimate, but they’d been through it. I trusted their judgment. It would’ve been nice to show her my dragon on my own though. He was proud and wanted to show how gorgeous and strong he was. I wanted it, too.
After thanking them a few more times, and giving them both big hugs, I headed home. The guys must’ve been told to stay away, because I didn’t see hide nor scale of them. Skye and Bee promised to tell them goodbye.
I’d burned off any buzz during my flight, so I drove back to my apartment and started planning my strategy. My mind raced with possible scenarios, but there was no telling how things would go until I knew Liza better.
By the time I went into the office on Monday, I had a plan in mind, and I was ready to pull it off.
I strategically placed myself near her whenever possible, but not so close she’d realize I was spying on her.
It was easiest at lunchtimes, but I managed to get myself on her floor a few times, shadowing my nutritionists as they went around and talked to patients about their meal choices or advised them on what sort of diets they should follow once home.
Maybe a little underhanded, but I was taking any advantage I could. I used my dragon hearing to listen in on some of her conversations and picked up tidbits of things she liked and disliked. And on Wednesday, I struck gold.
During lunch, she sat with a group of nurses and mentioned how much she loved live music and that she’d traded shifts with someone else in her class so she could go see some jazz musician on Friday night.
Wasting no time, I pulled out my phone and got a ticket for the same show before they sold out or something else happened that would prevent me from going.
There was no way in hell I was going to miss that concert.
My plan was foolproof. It would be our first date of sorts. And I couldn’t wait.
It was all I could do to stay away from her Thursday and Friday at work. I kept listening, looking for any advantage that would help me convince her we belonged together.
But finally, time passed, as it does, and I was able to head to the only club in Bluewater.
I’d never known them to have anything but DJs, but I hadn’t been here long.
I hadn’t known what to wear, so I just wore work clothes, a gray button-down shirt and black slacks.
It was comfortable, so I didn’t have to worry about looking like a fool or something.
The place was packed, as busy as any other night when all the people would’ve been on the dance floor, but I spotted that gorgeous red hair across the room, sitting at a table against the wall, with a good view of the stage.
She sat alone, to my surprise. I didn’t know if she’d come without a companion, but either way, I was making my move. If she had a date, I’d be intruding.
I sent a glass of champagne to her table and watched as the server gave it to her. Liza looked around, and when she spotted me, she laughed a little and looked down, as if she were contemplating her next move. I sent silent pleas her way to ask me to join her.
After another second, she looked up and saw me watching her still with a big grin on my face, so she waved me over.
Thank fuck.