9. Gayme Night
Chapter Nine
Gayme Night
DYLAN
“Can you two stop being so…fated?” I teased Gabe and Eli, who were holding each other as if they were cosplaying Rose and Jack on the Titanic—before it sank.
We were in Emmy’s backyard, having just finished up a round of dominoes.
The entire pack was here tonight. Music drifted from a speaker and the mouth-watering scent of grilled burgers and hot dogs filled the air.
These were the kinds of nights I loved—hanging out with the people who meant most to me, laughing and joking.
We had our first game of the season coming up on Friday which meant my nerves were higher than usual, so this came at the perfect time.
“Sorry,” Eli said, grinning from cheek to cheek. “Can’t help it.”
Gabe leaned over and gave his fated mate a kiss on the cheek. They really did look great together. Hell, they were even in matching black athletic wear, the Bobcat logo printed on both of their black shorts.
They made the perfect pair. It didn’t matter that Gabe was a shifter and Eli was a human, they still found each other. Fate still wrapped them together, setting their lives on the same track.
I swirled the beer bottle in my hand. Now was a better time than ever to dig into how they felt about each other when they met. Maybe that would help me sort out what the fuck was going on between me and Miles.
“Quick question,” I broached, knowing it likely wouldn’t be quick at all. “When you two met, what, um, was it like? What did you two feel?”
“All Eli probably felt was his stomach rumbling from his hunt for pizza,” Gabe said. He had his arms wrapped around his mate. Eli leaned back into him.
“Not true,” he said. “I guess I didn’t feel the fated pull as strongly as you did, just because I’m not a shifter, but I still felt something. I remember seeing Gabe and feeling like the world stopped. Literally. It was weird. I’d never really felt that way before.”
“And you, Gabe?”
“For me, it was otherworldly. It’s difficult to explain. It was like—”
“Like tasting the finest wine for the first time? Like stepping outside after a fresh rain and seeing a double, triple rainbow arching over a field of butterflies and chirping birds? Like knowing that everything in life would be all right? That feeling like everything was falling into place?” I suggested.
Gabe blinked a couple of times. “That’s pretty much exactly it.”
“That’s what I figured,” I said, laughing, not telling them that it wasn’t just what I thought but also what I experienced.
I didn’t want to be all that open about how I felt with Miles.
Not until I figured out why he didn’t seem to feel the same for me.
Speaking about it would make me feel like a lovestruck fool, especially if for some reason fate had messed this up and Miles didn’t reciprocate any of these emotions.
It wasn’t that he was completely shutting me out, but there was an icy barrier there that I couldn’t seem to break through, and that just didn’t sound normal for someone who was meant to be my fated mate.
“I remember Eli’s scent really triggering me,” Gabe continued.
He separated from Eli, moving to stand next to him.
Even then, they still held hands, as though the other was seconds from floating off into the sky.
“I could smell him from what felt like miles away, even in my human form. It was intense.”
“And not because I hadn’t showered, either. I’m a very clean guy.”
I took another chug of cold beer, the hops fizzing down my throat.
I knew exactly what they were talking about.
I had followed Miles’ scent through the rain-soaked woods before I even knew what I was chasing down.
It had been instinct that drove me toward him.
And it was a scent that could only be described as intoxicating—something I wanted to bottle up and carry with me forever.
It was also something I could scent from a long distance.
Hell, I could smell it now, even though Miles was probably lounging in his house or maybe somewhere out on the town.
“Was there ever any doubt?” I asked innocently, even though it was one of my more important questions.
If they answered yes, then maybe this hesitation I was feeling from Miles was normal, but if they answer—
“No, none,” Gabe said.
“Nope,” Eli echoed.
Great. Not the answer I was hoping for. I swallowed down my disappointment and tried to keep my expression as neutral as possible.
It was immediately made difficult when a particularly strong breeze carried the scent I was just thinking about.
It hit me like a freight train smashing through a wall. I inhaled deep and closed my eyes.
“Everything okay?” Eli asked.
Gabe seemed skeptical. “Yeah, what’s bringing on these questions?”
I was a shit liar and couldn’t really make anything up on the spot, especially not with the way my brain currently sparked like downed wires whipping in a storm.
It reminded me of the feelings I had back when I was a kid and couldn’t get through homework problems, when my brain refused to connect the dots no matter how hard I tried or how prepared I was.
It was a frustrating way to live, and I thought I’d shed most of it once I left school behind.
Guess not.
Besides, this was my pack I was speaking to. Why would I need to lie? I could tell them the truth. “I think I found my—”
“Everyone!” It was Emmy’s loud voice booming through the buzz of conversation and music. His deep tone carried through the yard. I turned toward the sound of his voice and saw him standing there, a hand on… fucking hell.
A hand on Miles’ shoulder.
I kept my composure even though I wanted to drop to my knees from the intensity of the scent that drifted in my direction.
He wore a crisp white T-shirt and dark shorts, paired with clean white tennis shoes.
His gold bracelets and necklace glinted under the white lights from Emmy’s patio, matching the sparkle in his eyes as he looked directly at me.
He winked. I licked my lips, happy to see him but confused about why the hell no one told me he’d be coming. Chris gave me a look from across the yard, searching me for a reaction.
“This is my good friend and the Bobcats’ new athletic trainer, Miles. He’s also a shifter and moved out here on his own so I invited him to game night.”
Miles raised his hand and waved at the group. Rebecca walked over first and gave Miles a warm hug, breaking the ice and causing the rest of the pack to go over and greet him. I held back until the crowd dispersed and returned to the pockets of conversations they had previously formed.
“Hey,” I said, almost timidly, as I approached Miles.
My heart pounded in my chest. I couldn’t stop staring at his lips, couldn’t ignore the way my body reacted at having Miles in my vicinity.
There was a pleasant heat that spread through my core.
It tickled at my limbs and pooled in my gut.
He opened his arms and took me in a quick and friendly hug.
Except there was nothing friendly about how we pressed together.
My attention homing in on how his crotch pushed against mine.
The heat transformed into something more intense.
A fire that crackled with the same energy I felt in the park when I nearly turned to ash as I held Miles’ stiff and leaking cock in my hand.
“I didn’t know you’d be here,” I said.
“Emmy invited me last minute.”
“I’m glad you came.”
His reserved smile was like a challenge to me.
I wanted to see what he looked like when that smile spread across his face, how the corners of his eyes would crinkle.
I also wanted to see how he’d look with his lips formed into the shape of an O while pleasure coursed through him, when his body was under mine and his cock inside me and—fuck, I was starting to get hard.
I had to relax. These thoughts needed to stop before I made a fool of myself.
“Do you want a burger? Beer? Seltzer?” Maybe being a hospitable host would stop me from being a horny mess.
“I can use a beer.”
“Awesome. Coolers over here, by the side of the house.” Where we’d be away from prying eyes.
Ugh. Great.
I led him off the patio, across the stone steps, and around to where the barbecue and the coolers of drinks were. I popped one open and dunked my hand into the melted ice. I hoped it would work like a cold shower and stop me from thirsting so hard over this man.
Spoiler alert: It didn’t.
I handed him a bottle of beer. He thanked me and popped it open. He clinked it against mine, then tipped his head back and drank. His throat bobbed, marking the perfect spot for my lips to land on. I looked away. Miles must have noticed and followed my gaze.
“Oh, snapdragons, I love those flowers. The red ones are my favorite.” He walked over to Emmy’s small garden that grew against the fence. I wasn’t sure which flowers he was talking about but I still pretended like I did.
“Yeah, they’re beautiful,” I said, crouching down and admiring the pretty red flowers.
“These are the snapdragons,” he gently explained. He pointed at a tall bunch of odd-looking flowers.
I gave an embarrassed chuckle. “Duh. Yeah, I knew that, was just testing you.”
He crouched down next to me, smiling. “Gardening is one of my hobbies. Helps get me out of my head. My mom loved flowers, too, so it helps me feel a little more connected to her.”
“What are her favorite flowers?”
“Sunflowers. My dad said she loved them. He would always have the house filled with them.” There was a soft sadness to his voice that explained more than words could.
He’d lost his mother. It was a heartbreaking realization. “She passed before I ever got the chance to meet her,” Miles added.
“I’m sorry,” I said, my condolences being the only thing I could offer in that moment. There was a deep river of pain in him that I could feel as though it were my own, but now wasn’t the time to wade into those waters.
Miles offered me a sad smile. “I just planted some sunflowers today actually. But seeing these makes me want to grab some snapdragons from Home Depot after work tomorrow.”
“So why are they called snapdragons? Are they sassy?”
“Huh?”
“Snap? Like, you know…” I snapped my hands and tilted my head and felt quite dumb at my silly joke.
But if Miles thought it was stupid, he didn’t show it.
Quite the opposite. That shy and reserved smile of his grew wider.
“Not exactly,” he said, “but I do like your reasoning.” He leaned forward and gently held one of the red flowers.
“They’re called that because if you look from the side, they kind of look like dragon heads. And, watch, give me your hand.”
I held my hand out. He took it in his. My entire world flipped on its axis at the touch.
I inhaled sharply but he didn’t seem to notice as he guided my hand to the flowers, traced the lines of my fingers with his, placed my thumb and pointer finger underneath one of the flowers.
“If you squeeze—gently—then its mouth opens and closes.”
He applied a soft pressure against my fingers. I did as he said, pressing on the flower, watching as the snapdragon opened and closed its bright red jaw.
“Whoa. That’s pretty neat,” I said.
“They’re my second-favorite flowers.” He didn’t move his hand from under mine.
The moment between us was loaded. My gaze dropped to his lips, just as his did to mine.
This touch, this connection, it all felt right.
I yearned to explore it. Not just with my hands but with my tongue and my lips and my heart.
And so I started to lean in. A kiss, it would only be a quick kiss. And Miles wasn’t moving away. He leaned in too. His lips were almost on mine, his hand still holding mine, my body still aching for his—
“I will grab you beer,” Soren’s gruff voice sounded from around the corner of the house.
Miles and I separated, getting back to our feet just as Soren turned the corner.
“Oh sorry. You two need privacy?”
I rubbed the bridge of my nose as Miles shook his head—a little too vigorously. The answer was, of course, yes, please. Fuck yes, I needed to be alone with this man for longer than five minutes. But I kept that to myself and instead asked, “Want to see if they’ve started playing any games?”
He nodded, his gaze still pinned to my lips. “Yeah, let’s go play.”