Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
MATEO
Admitting he used cleaning to organize his thoughts was embarrassing, but he was glad Dax didn’t seem put off by it.
In all his past relationships, when his boyfriends found out he liked to clean to think, they’d either judge him or stop helping around the house and say things like, “What? I’m just trying to help you think.
” Like they thought they were being funny.
It was usually a big red flag, and when Mateo would start to notice all the little things he ignored in the honeymoon stage of a new relationship that told him it wasn’t going to work out.
He glanced at Dax, stomach churning at the thought of finding any of those red flags like he had with his exes, but only got a fond smile in response.
“She sounds both exasperating and very loving. I can’t wait to meet her.”
Mateo huffed. “Yeah, I think you’d like her. I only ever swam for fun. She was on the swim team all through high school.”
Dax’s eyes lit up and he beamed. “Like in competitions? Humans do that? I thought only supes did stuff like that.”
He hummed, heading out of Owen’s room when he heard the beep of the washing machine going off.
One of the great things about magic appliances?
They worked fast. Dax was right that it’d be intrusive if he deep cleaned, but the stains on the comforter would drive him nuts.
And he figured it was the least he could do after yelling at someone who literally couldn’t help it when he knocked things over all the time.
“You’re still overthinking,” Dax pointed out, wrapping his arms around Mateo’s waist again as he switched over the laundry and stuffed the giant comforter into the wash.
“I feel like a huge asshole. He couldn’t help it, and I yelled at him and made him afraid to use the kitchen. What kind of person does that?”
“The kind of person who got overwhelmed and didn’t feel comfortable talking about it,” Dax replied, kissing the side of his neck.
“I’m sure if you apologize, he’ll understand.
He said he’s been dealing with this since he was a kid.
You’re probably not the first one to get upset, but you might be the first one to apologize. ”
Mateo made a face, leaning back against Dax’s chest. “That’s a depressing thought. You really think people would hold it against him?”
“If they were supes who knew about his condition, no,” Dax answered, resting his chin on Mateo’s shoulder.
“But he said he was raised around humans. Humans who were so against magic that they didn’t take him to get treated until it was likely too late to fix it properly.
I’m betting people like that weren’t so nice about him having accidents and spills like he does, since they wouldn’t want to blame it on magic. ”
True. Mateo didn’t know what kind of home life Owen had, he’d never asked, but if his family was so against magic that they’d leave their son cursed, it probably wasn’t a good one.
“So I just apologize? That’s it?”
It didn’t feel like enough. Especially because the reason Owen was rushing to answer the door was to accept more takeout from a delivery guy.
Mateo found the order on the steps when he’d peeked his head out to see if whoever had knocked was still there and waiting.
The broken nose felt partially like his fault.
“Apologize, and try to be nicer in the future. Don’t avoid him. Try to get to know him a little better. An offer of friendship will mean more to him than a present.”
Turning in Dax’s arms, he slid his arms around the kraken’s neck, pressing their foreheads together. “You’re better with people than I am.”
Dax grinned. “Eight siblings, remember? I’m an expert in managing different personalities in a small space.”
A part of him wanted to figure out how to fix all the trouble he’d caused with his roommates himself, but he also recognized the expertise Dax had been trying to offer from day one. It was stupid to continue to ignore that just because of pride and stubbornness.
“Okay. So how do I ask who keeps putting the heavy pan on the top shelf without sounding like an ass?”
Barking out a laugh, Dax kissed the tip of his nose. “Asking politely to put it where you can reach it won’t make you sound like an ass. What else?”
“How do I ask my boyfriend to stay the weekend without sounding needy?”
Dax let out a groan, pulling him closer. “Ask in any way you want. I love when you sound needy. It means you need me. You have no idea how much I want that.”
He sounded entirely sincere and earnest, which made Mateo feel a little better. Good enough to lean in a little closer and give a teasing nip to Dax’s bottom lip. “Yeah? Why’s that?”
Dax’s brows furrowed, and the sultry smile slipped away. He drew in a breath, like he wanted to say something important, but before he got the chance, someone pounded on the door and a very familiar voice called from the other side.
“Mateo Alvarez! You better be dead or I’m going to kill you for avoiding me for so long!”
DAX
The opportunity to finally come clean to his mate was right there, and Dax was just working up the courage to tell Mateo about their connection when someone pounded at the door, making them both jump.
He knew the moment had slipped from his fingers when Mateo groaned and his chin hit his chest in defeat before he even opened the door.
“Who is that?”
“My sister. Apparently, talking about her summoned her presence.” He shot Dax a pleading look from under his eyelashes. “Please don’t hold anything she says against me. She’s insane.”
“I heard that!” the female voice shrieked.
Reluctantly, Mateo released Dax and went to open the door, grunting when the woman basically pounced as she yanked Mateo into a tight hug. Apparently he’d stepped far enough out of the condo that he’d gone past the wards.
“Weeks! It’s been weeks, hermano!”
She hugged him tight enough that Mateo’s voice was strained when he replied, “I’ve been texting.”
Dax’s instincts wanted to pull Mateo away and back into the safety of his arms, but he resisted the urge, waiting for Mateo to finally wiggle free enough to take a step back. He looked around her with a frown. “How did you even get up here?”
“I’m your emergency contact, remember?” she replied, crossing her arms stubbornly. “Or did you forget? I mean, you basically forgot I existed the past few weeks, so–”
“Carmen, have I introduced you to my boyfriend, Dax?” Mateo rushed out, shooting Dax an apologetic look for sending his sister’s attention his way. Dax just grinned. He was more than happy to redirect Mateo’s sister’s energy if it meant helping his mate.
“Carmen, it’s nice to meet you,” Dax offered, thrusting out a hand in greeting. “As my friend, please enter.”
His words allowed her past the wards, but she bypassed his hand to circle him first, studying him up and down before stopping in front of him and finally taking his hand in an enthusiastic shake.
“So this is the boyfriend, huh? Mateo has been pretty quiet the last few weeks. Now I know why.” She shot a chastising look at her brother.
“When you said you were seeing someone, you never said they were so adorable.”
Dax was a little taken aback by the woman’s energy.
While he was all too familiar with how different siblings could be, he hadn’t expected Mateo and his sister to be complete opposites.
She was energetic and bubbly, and once her attention turned from Dax to the condo itself, she never stopped moving.
“This place is gorgeous! You know, hermanito, when you told me you were moving into a pilot program, I was worried it’d be like your old apartment, just…
closer. Maybe a little bigger, but not this big.
And you live here by yourself? Or have you already moved in with your boyfriend?
” She glanced over her shoulder from where she was admiring the view of the floor to ceiling windows to wink at Dax.
“Not by myself, no, and not with Dax either. It’s a shared space with four other people.
We each have our own room and private bathroom—” she wrinkled her nose distastefully until Mateo added— “and rent is covered as long as we participate in surveys and stuff like that so they can see how the program is going and what would need to change in the future.”
Spinning fully to face him, she gaped. “Hold up. You live here for free? You lucky little butthead!”
Mateo looked exasperated, but chose not to comment on the name calling. “You didn’t say you were coming to visit.” His brows snapped together suddenly. “How are you not soaked right now?”
Carmen pulled a charm out of her pocket, wiggling it with a mischievous grin. “I made friends with a witch who made me this. It’s better than any umbrella I’ve ever used.”
Dax made a disgruntled face. “There’s nothing wrong with a little rain.”
Mateo shot him a look that said he didn’t entirely agree, which, in retrospect, maybe he had a point after the Owen debacle. Still, he liked the rain. And maybe one day soon he could get his mate to walk with him in the rain to soak up all the scents and clarity a good rain storm provided.
Kaz poked his head out of his room when he heard the new voice, and Carmen immediately switched gears, turning her attention to the shy giant.
“Hola! You must be one of the roommates! I’m Carmen, Mateo’s older and much wiser sister.
I bet he’s told you absolutely nothing about me because he’s a total brat. ”
Kaz blinked in surprise, looking wildly bewildered when Carmen went for him and dragged him into the living room to join them. “Who else is here? You said four roommates, right?”
“Right, but–”
She gasped, spinning around to grin at her brother. “Wait! That means there’s more than six people! That makes this a party!”
Mateo shook his head rapidly, chasing after his sister as she started knocking on doors. “Carmen, wait–”
“Don’t be a party pooper, Mateo! Family rules say if there are six or more people in a room, that makes a party! Do you have the right ingredients? I’ve been craving tamales.”
Suddenly, Dax had a much clearer picture on why Mateo liked things a certain way.
It seemed like his sister was his opposite in that regard, and kept touching and moving everything, barely blinking when Mateo managed to block her from going door to door to greet everyone before heading for the kitchen to make food.
And she was apparently one of those people who had to take absolutely everything out when she was cooking, leaving drawers and cabinets open in her wake as she picked through the ingredients.
“Mateo! Your kitchen is just sad! How do you not have any masa flour?”
“Because I don’t make tamales on a random weekend, Carmen. Could you just–”
“You know, I saw a grocery store on my walk from the station.” She grabbed her little brother’s wrist and started tugging him toward the door.
“Let’s go. I need to at least get you the basics.
How are you supposed to properly win over a boyfriend if you can’t feed him? You’d think mama taught you nothing!”