Chapter Seventeen
Seventeen
Cyrus
Since our first glorious fuck, I’d been over the moon.
While it wasn’t the romantic encounter of my dreams, it was still progress with my mate.
With every waking moment, I was consumed by thoughts of him.
Fantasies of our future together. Vivid memories of the warmth of his skin and the steady tempo of his beating heart against my chest.
Because of his work schedule, we hadn’t been able to squeeze in another training session this week, but we did exchange frequent text messages. Just the usual What are you up to? and How was your day? It was almost like we were in a real relationship.
I grinned at the pair of vibrant green eyes staring back at me from the canvas. I was putting the finishing touches on yet another painting of Reece when my phone started to vibrate.
Atlas was calling.
Interesting. I was more of a text message kind of guy, and he was aware of that…
I tapped the phone screen with my tentacle, putting the call on speaker. “Hello.”
“Hey, are you home?” he asked.
“Yes, why?”
“I was wondering if I could come over for a little bit and hang out.”
I set my brush down and stared at the partially painted canvas sitting in front of me.
I wasn’t really busy. My creative well had been overflowing since I met Reece.
I could finish this painting anytime, but it was rare that one of my oldest friends wanted to get together with just me. “Uh, sure. I’m not doing anything.”
“Are you hungry?” I could hear his wolfish grin through the phone.
I snorted. “Are you?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Of course I am. I was going to see if you wanted me to bring some food.”
“I have stuff here I can make us.”
He chuckled, a deep rumbling laugh. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“I figured.” Like Fallon, Atlas enjoyed my cooking. “Do you remember the passcode?”
He paused for a moment before giving me an awkward, “Yes?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll text it to you. Just let yourself in.”
“Okay. See ya in a few.”
I quickly cleaned up my supplies and turned my easel away from the doorway on the off chance Atlas made his way into my studio. It was unlikely, but I’d rather he didn’t get an eyeful of his future brother-in-law’s naked body.
Just as I was shuffling out into the hall, the front door opened, and Atlas stepped inside. Gods, was he sitting outside the complex when he called?
“Hey, buddy,” he said. His ears perked up and his tail started to wag, gently slapping against the wall.
“Hey,” I called out over my shoulder as I scuttled to the kitchen with him following behind me. “No Tegan today?” I asked. The two were practically attached at the hip.
Atlas sat on one of the stools at the kitchen island. “She had a few things to catch up on at the bakery, then she’s going over to her mom’s to sort through her garage.”
I leaned against the counter and stared at him with a cocked brow. “And you didn’t offer to help her?”
Atlas was a big muscular wolven—the ideal assistant for that sort of task.
He shrugged. “She told me Reece would be there to help. I think she was looking forward to spending some time with him alone.”
Well, that was certainly an improvement from where things had stood between them a few months ago.
“Interesting,” I said under my breath.
“As pissed off as he makes her, I know she misses having a relationship with him.”
“Of course she does. It’s the same on his end as well.” Worried I’d said too much, I quickly tacked on, “You know how complex sibling relationships can be.”
Atlas sighed and shook his head. “That I do.” He had two older brothers, and while they got along, they weren’t exactly close.
“So, what are you in the mood for?” I asked, turning away from him to open the fridge.
“What do you have?”
I moved some things around, sorting through the groceries I’d picked up after training Reece the other day. “I have pork belly, so we can have ramen. Or there’s some leftover shredded chicken for enchiladas.”
Before I could list anything else, he said in a rush, “Oh, let’s have ramen.”
“Ramen it is.”
It was so much easier cooking for him now that he’d healed his relationship with food and with his body. If I had to calculate macronutrients for another one of my recipes, I was going to scream.
I grabbed all the ingredients with my hands and my tentacles and spread them out on the counter.
“Are you sure you don’t mind cooking?” Atlas asked. “We can always get something delivered from the diner.”
“Nonsense. I wouldn’t have offered if it was a hassle. I need to eat, too.”
I pulled a stockpot out of the cupboard, filled it with a container of chicken broth, then set it on the burner to boil while we chatted.
“I guess when Fallon’s not available, I’m the second choice for hanging out,” I said with a smirk.
His ears drooped, his puppy dog eyes widening. He was really playing up his cute doglike qualities. “Aw, come on. It’s not like that at all.”
“I’m joking. It just isn’t often that the two of us hang out like this.” I set to work chopping up the mushrooms and scallions.
“Well, you and Fallon live together, so we don’t exactly have a lot of opportunities to hang out without him.”
“True.” I couldn’t even recall the last time it was just the two of us. A quick conversation in his office at the gym didn’t count.
I dropped the noodles and vegetables into the broth, letting them boil while I sautéed the pork belly. The savory aroma of sizzling fat wafted off the pan, filling the apartment. Fallon was going to be pissed when he got home; ramen was one of his favorites.
When the noodles were cooked to perfection, I sat two giant soup bowls on the counter and ladled generous servings into each. Considering Atlas’s appetite, I added a few extra pieces of pork belly to his bowl.
“Fork or chopsticks?” I asked.
“Uhh, fork, please.”
I should have known. When we were in college, I tried to teach him how to use chopsticks, but it was a complete and utter failure. His massive hands just weren’t dexterous enough to use chopsticks without breaking them.
“Here you go,” I said, placing a bowl, soup spoon, and fork in front of him.
He leaned over the bowl and took a deep inhale of the steam rolling off the soup. “It smells so good.”
“Of course it smells good. I made it.” I sat next to Atlas at the island, watching as he slurped up a forkful of noodles. “How is it?”
The rapid thump thump thump of his tail gave it away before he could even speak. “Delicious. And even more delicious because I didn’t have to make it.”
I laughed and shook my head. “When Tegan started that raging inferno at the engagement party, Reece informed me that she isn’t much of a cook.”
“She’s not, but I’m not much of a baker, so it works out.”
It begged the question, what was Reece like at home? As into fitness as he was, I was certain he prepared his own meals. But what were some of his favorite dishes? Sweets, obviously. But what about actual meals? There was so much about him that I didn’t know…
“Maybe I should get you and Tegan cooking lessons as a wedding gift,” I suggested.
“That’s not a bad idea, actually.”
“Does it feel odd being engaged again?”
He shook his head. “Everything with Jade feels like a distant memory at this point.”
“I’m really happy for you.” I’d told him that so many times already, but I meant it. He went through so much with Jade that he deserved happiness with his fated mate.
“Thanks, buddy.” He took a bite of his ramen and hummed at the taste before he asked, “How are things going with Reece?”
I nearly choked on my food. “What?”
Surely there was no way he knew that something was going on between me and Reece.
Yes, we’d hooked up at the gym, but there weren’t cameras in the locker room.
And it wasn’t like he kept tabs on all the times Reece and I got coffee together.
If he asked around town, he could gather as much, but he wasn’t really the nosy type.
“How’s training going?” Atlas asked. “I heard you blowing that whistle nonstop the other day. I’m sure he loved that.”
He certainly loved what came after.
“Uh, it’s been good. He’s improving…slowly.”
“I really appreciate you doing this for me.”
Doing this for him? Guilt made my chest feel tight because I wasn’t doing this for him. I was doing this for me because Reece was my mate. If he wasn’t, I probably would have told him to fuck right off.
“While I’m happy that this is bridging the gap between you, Tegan, and her brother, I’m not just doing it for you. It gives me something outside of painting. Something outside of my friendship with you and Fallon. A purpose of sorts.”
“You’ve been different since you started working with him.”
“Have I?” My heart rates ramped up, but I did my best to seem unaffected outwardly. It didn’t come off sounding accusatory or that he was implying anything. Still, it made me nervous.
Atlas scooped up another spoonful of soup and nodded. “You’ve been more upbeat. You’re painting again.”
“Well—” I paused for a second to gather my thoughts, trying to think of what to say without giving anything away. “When you’ve lived for as long as I have, sometimes you lose your way. Then something happens that reignites your passion for life, and I think that’s where I am right now.”
“So you’re telling me that becoming a swim coach has reignited your passion for life?” he asked skeptically.
“Something like that,” I murmured against a piece of pork belly.
“Do you know when your show will be? I’m sure Eduardo has been chomping at the bit for an exhibition.”
What was this, twenty questions? I couldn’t remember the last time Atlas grilled me like this.
“Uh, I’m not sure, really.” Eduardo and I had discussed a date in the fall, after the triathlon, but nothing was set in stone.
I didn’t want to give Atlas an exact date.
Not that I expected he’d try to attend, but on the off chance he mentioned it to Tegan and she encouraged his support, I wanted to be as ambiguous as possible.
“Did you come up with a theme yet?”
Oh, yes, an entire exhibition dedicated to your brother-in-law. Dick out. The whole nine.
I shrugged, biting back a smile. “Why? Still considering posing nude for me?” I nudged him with one of my tentacles.
He laughed and shook his head. “I mean, it would make a great gift for Tegan, but no.”
“How’s the wedding planning going?” I asked, shifting the conversation away from me.
“We booked the venue. We’re having it at the same reception hall as the mayor’s daughter. The wedding where we ran into each other again.”
“Oh, I love that. A nice full-circle moment for the two of you.”
His tail thumped. “We thought it was cute, too. We’re actually going to have everyone over for dinner once we get more of the details ironed out.”
By details, I assumed he meant them announcing—or asking—us to be part of the wedding party.
I knew Fallon would be Atlas’s best man, lifelong friends and all that, and I’d be a groomsman, but what did that mean for Reece?
I was hopeful Tegan would include him, but in the absence of their father, would he walk her down the aisle or would he be another groomsman?
I knew the whole thing was an archaic tradition, but I was certain Reece would want the honor of walking her down the aisle. Could they get their relationship to that point before the wedding, though? I was hopeful—as long as things between Reece and me didn’t come out before then.
“Well, you know I’m happy to help with whatever I can,” I said, forcing a smile.
“I appreciate that, Cy.”
We ate and talked, catching up on everything until our bowls were empty.
“Well, I’m gonna get going,” Atlas said after a while, scooting his stool away from the counter.
“You’re welcome to stay for a bit,” I offered. “We can load up the PlayStation and I can kick your ass in a few FIFA matches.”
Atlas laughed. “I appreciate the offer, but I want to do a few loads of laundry and clean the kitchen before Tegan gets home from her mom’s house.”
“Ah, domestic bliss.”
I walked Atlas to the door.
“Thanks for dinner, buddy,” he said, wrapping me in a hug.
I knew some men were uncomfortable when it came to hugging their friends, but Atlas was very much a hugger.
“Anytime.” I patted his back a few times before pulling away. “It was actually quite nice hanging out without Fallon’s big mouth interrupting us every other word.”
“It was. We’ll have to do it again soon. I’ll see you at the gym this week.”
“Yep, I’ll be there!”
I shut the door behind Atlas and slumped against the wall.
Lying to him felt wrong. I knew he wouldn’t have a problem with things between Reece and me.
He was very forgiving and accepting, but I didn’t want to put him in a position where he had to hide something from his mate.
Their relationship was built on trust. I wasn’t going to ask that of him. At least not yet.