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The sounds of cracking wood come to a complete stop, followed by rumbling noises of male voices demanding an explanation. I internally groan. It didn’t even occur to me that the guys would be around to overhear this conversation.
“Not really,” I admit, unable to look Dave in the eye as I say it.
“Then no, he doesn’t have my permission,” she states firmly with a protective edge.
Dave nabs my phone from my hand and puts it up to his ear. “So you’re saying it’s okay for you to kiss other guys, but not James?”
“No, I’m saying that James isn’t going to kiss someone he doesn’t want to.” The protective edge to her voice starts to turn razor sharp. “Why do you want to kiss him?”
“We have history. I want to put it to rest,” he admits, staring directly into my eyes. “It’s the only way we can have a fresh start.”
Some compassion eases into Callie’s otherwise cool voice. “I’m sorry for your loss. I can only imagine how difficult this has been for you, but I can’t say kissing him is okay when he doesn’t want to kiss you.”
There’s more grumbling, mostly in outrage and possible promises of bodily harm, followed by a growl that could only come from Connor. It’s nice to know they care.
“So if he ever changed his mind and wanted to kiss me, you’d be okay with that?” Dave asks, ignoring said threats of harm.
“It would be unfair of me to not be,” she answers diplomatically after shushing the others. “All I want is his happiness.”
“Me too,” he agrees. “Thanks for clearing that up.” He tosses the phone back to me and rolls his eyes when I fumble catching it.
As Dave moves to start unplugging his Switch, I quickly tell Callie that I love her and will see her later tonight before hanging up. “You’re leaving?” I exclaim, crossing my arms over my chest. “I don’t want to kiss you, so that’s it? You just leave?”
“No, I need to get home to help make dinner,” he answers, smiling over his shoulder. “Although it’s good to know you care.”
“I literally just said I did,” I grumble, stubbornly refusing to help. “So are we friends or not?”
He neatly rolls the cables and places them into his nearby backpack. “Yeah, we’re friends.”
Feeling relieved and confused, I plop back down on my bed. “If you were going to be my friend either way, then why did you make such a big deal about the kiss?”
Taking the few steps over to the bed, he reaches over me to grab one of the controllers. “Because you need to know you have options.” His grin becomes wide and flirtatious. “And I’m one of them.”
Chapter 8
Callie
Main Street Chinese is a cozy little restaurant, aptly named by being the only Chinese food place on Main Street… or in all of Twin Cedar Pass. Connor, Felix, and I are immediately seated at a reserved table near a large window that overlooks a small patio garden lit by strands of fairy lights. Connor pulls out a chair for me and then sits to my left at the head of the table. Felix takes the seat on the other side of me, holding my hand like it’s a lifeline. He’s been weird and fidgety ever since we picked him up from his house.
I gently squeeze his hand and murmur, “Are you okay?”
“Huh? Me? Yeah, I’m fine,” he answers with a manic energy that seems to illustrate otherwise. “Never better.”
Connor gives him one of his silent stares that conveys that he doesn’t believe him and that he’s more than content to wait for the truth.
Felix crumbles under the weight of his eyes within seconds. “Fine! Enough with the third degree!” He sighs and, with his free hand, fiddles with the edge of his cloth napkin. “I found out some stuff about James that I’m… trying to figure out how I feel about.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask, doing my best to keep my voice even and not laced with the guilt that pops up every time Felix is having a hard time with his new life.
He shakes his head. “Not here. It’s Con’s birthday dinner. Let’s talk about something fun. How was demo day?”
“I blasted Bayne through a wall because he was being a jerk,” I share with a quirk of my lips. “Too bad it wasn’t a wall that we were supposed to tear down.”
“Damn, pretty girl. That’s epic!” Felix grins, quickly distracted from his earlier distress with news of me using my magic. “That’ll teach him to mess with you.”
Connor runs his hand down my loose, flowing hair with a soft smile. Pride floats through the bond, but it’s still tinged with a leashed anger that his brother dared to touch me. Navigating wolfy instincts is complicated.
While we’re chatting, Donovan and Nolan arrive, taking their seats across from Felix and me. They’ve cleaned up since I last saw them, dressed in clean, casual clothes and wet hair from recent showers. Nolan appears worn down from the demanding day, the purple smudges under his eyes even more prominent than normal. It’s on the tip of my tongue to recommend we slip away so he can feed before dinner, even though it would mean biting me directly. If I’m honest, I’m starting to miss it—not just the feeling it gave me, but the intimacy that came with it. Recently, his grandmother has been drawing my blood and feeding it to Nolan in a cup, so there isn’t much romance to it.
