She gave him a little wave. He wondered what it would be like to fuck a human. He’d watched a porn about it once.
He slid his glare back to Delta, because she was dancing around the conversation now. “It’s just you never talk to him anymore, and we can all feel the tension every time you are in the same room. And you keep trying to fight each other. And Nathan can’t explain it to me either.”
“It’s still weird that you call him Nathan,” Dodger mumbled, nodding his thanks to the bartender as he set another drink in front of him.
“It’s what everyone in his old life called him.”
“And he’s so different now than when he was treating you like crap?”
“He wasn’t treating me like crap.”
“He barely talked to you for the first two months you were paired.”
“Yeah, well we were strangers. Arrangements can be difficult, especially in the beginning.”
Dodger closed his eyes and counted to three for patience. Nate was his least favorite subject ever.
“Look, I think we need to get it out in the open and talk about it.”
“Talk about what?” he asked.
“You being in love with me.”
He spat the beer he was drinking and had a coughing fit. “You think…”cough, cough. “You think…”Cough, cough, cough. “Fuck, Delta, you think I like you?”
“Well,” Delta frowned. “Yes. Everyone thinks that.”
Dodger just sat there like a bump on a log, staring. “No, Delta, I don’t. Listen to the truth in my voice. I don’t have any kind of crush on you.”
“Oh.” Another deep frown took her face. “Then why were you trying to break us up?”
“Because I don’t like Nate. He sucks. Look, Delta, I have three sisters, and I’ve watched two of them go through absolute hell with males. Nate was acting like my baby sister’s ex, and I hated it.”
“So, you don’t see me as a potential mate.”
“God, no! Delta, you remind me of my youngest sister.”
Her mouth fell open, and her green eyes went wide with realization. “Okay, the sister information would’ve been helpful a month ago, when you were baiting Nathan into leaving me alone.”
Dodger shrugged. “It was partly because he’s annoying, partly because you do deserve better, and partly because he’s easy to bait and sometimes my wolf needs a fight.”
“You’re a monster.”
“And?”
“Do you want to order food?” the bartender asked.
“Sure,” Dodger said at the same time as Delta said, “No.”
She sucked her iced tea down. “I thought I was going to have to let you down easy and talk to you about appropriate feelings and all that, but we’re good. Do you know I watched how-to videos all night preparing for this talk?”
“How-to-overthink videos?” he guessed.
“Ha, ha,” she said sarcastically. “Dodger! Oh my gosh, I feel a hundred percent better. I’m so happy you’re not in love with me.”
“You’re not even my type.”
“Oh, what’s your type?” she asked.
