He was worried about you, trying to help.
Lionel sighed. His lion was probably right.Neither you nor I was thinking clearly at the time. Although that’s a bit of a shame, if he was interested. Any chance I had with him got blown out the window by the time I’d run out of the warehouse. I don’t remember seeing him at any clubs or anywhere else around town. Maybe he’s just traveling through.
Or he could’ve just moved into town.His lion was trying to cheer him up, and Lionel appreciated the effort. It wasn’t easy for either of them, hiding the fears that seemed as ingrained as the need to shift.
I guess it doesn’t matter now. I made a fool of us, and there’s no way a cutie like that is going to want anything to do with a laughingstock.
Lionel had carefully crafted his image for years. Making a fool of himself terrified him as much as spiders and rats. His mom—a woman Lionel adored—had let him make his own mistakes and often laughed at him for them.
She hadn’t been mean. She genuinely believed he would only learn by making mistakes. Only when Lionel knew people were laughing at him, it made something deep inside of him curl up and weep, not that he’d ever show that on his face. He’d worked hard for years to be seen as a confident, sexy, charming alpha-around-town and someone everyone enjoyed keeping company with.
And in one night I’ve blown my whole freaking image,he thought grimly.My mom will die laughing when she hears what I did.
Disgusted. That was the word. Lionel was disgusted with himself. As he sipped his coffee, he thought over every stephe had taken the night before again, wondering if anything he could’ve done differently would’ve made a difference.
Not going in the first place would’ve been the sensible thing to do. In his defense, Lionel had genuinely thought Ian would be with him. They could’ve laughed and joked between themselves about how silly ghost hunting was, and it would’ve been fine—maybe even fun.
This is all your fault, Hector, he thought, staring out at nothing.If you hadn’t gotten those tickets…
Just as quickly, Lionel pushed those mean thoughts aside. The tickets were a sweet gesture. Hector and Morty were so happy, they just wanted to share that happiness with their best friends.
Lionel hadn’t confided in Hector about his fears or what had happened to him as a child. Hell, even Mom didn’t know how the trauma of being in that well had lingered well into adulthood. Morty and Hector were just being nice.
What am I going to do now?Lionel couldn’t stay holed up at home forever. As if to reinforce that point, he heard another ding. Pulling out his phone, he saw it was another text from Morty.
I made you some éclairs just the way you like them. Why aren’t you answering the phone? Did you meet somebody interesting?
Éclairs. Lionel’s mouth watered, and his stomach rumbled. Nobody made éclairs like Morty. It was instinct, clicking into the response section and typing outI’m on my way.Except he caught himself before hitting send.
“What are you doing, you idiot?” Morty’s bakery was another place Lionel had always considered safe. Hector was there. Morty and his young friends were fun and always pleased to see him. The place smelled incredible, and Lionel loved to pop in there a couple of times a week.
Admittedly, since the construction work started, the place had been too hectic for Lionel to enjoy hanging around like he used to. It was the construction work that had Lionel second-guessing his response as well. One of the builders was supposed to be going to the ghost hunting event. Was he one of the big alpha types in jeans and boots Lionel remembered seeing? One of them was probably the person Morty was referring to. Had to be?
Lionel groaned aloud. He could imagine it as clear as day. The burly alpha having his morning coffee with his worker buddies, sharing the story about that cowardly lion from the night before. They’d all laugh and make jokes about him…I can’t go. The moment one of them sees my face, they’re going to know it was me. I can’t do it.
Scrubbing his last message, Lionel typed instead,Sorry, can’t make it in today, but don’t want those éclairs to go to waste. Can you throw them in a box along with four steak pies too, please? I’ll send an Uber for my order. Thank you so much. Look after yourself.Reading it over one last time, checking it for tone, and making sure he hadn’t incriminated himself in any way, Lionel hit send.
“I’m not going without those éclairs,” Lionel said as he finished his coffee, his mind occupied.
Chapter Six
Brad
He had been unable to settle when Morty left him to head back to work—because Brad wasn’t sure if it was pregnancy hormones or just that Morty wasn’t good at relaying information—Brad was no more able to identify if Lionel was indeed his mystery mate or not. To avoid having to explain himself to his workers, Brad took himself down to the basement to work alone.
There he’d stewed in his own juices feeling the need to do something—anything—but not sure what. Now he was dirty and tired to the bone as he dragged his ass up the stairs to the café.
The place was nearly empty and close to closing time when Brad’s gaze swept the near empty shop. He was hoping to grab something to take home and, feeling unmotivated to consider making dinner, he veered in the direction of the now empty shelves.
Niall was at the counter, which was unusual from what Brad had observed. “Hey, Niall. You been left in charge for a change?”
Niall chuckled while swiping at the counter. “As if! Toby is grabbing a box of steak pies and chocolate éclairs for Lionel, Hector’s best friend.”
“Is he coming here to collect them?” Brad aimed for casual as he shoved his dirty, trembling hands into the front pockets of his work pants. Was this it? Was he going to meet Lionel? Heck, it was all he could think about.
Niall shook his head, dropping the cloth he was using to take a stack of dirty dishes on a tray that a woman brought up. “Thanks Lydia. Free cake of your choice next time.” Niall winked flirtatiously at her as she blushed and waved him off.
Brad glanced between the two. He was sure that Niall was gay. Only Lydia didn’t seem to notice because it sure looked like she was interested, the moon eyes she was giving Niall, making the moment turn awkward as it continued.
