There wasn’t one thing in Ethan’s snack stash that I didn’t like or love, so yeah. Fate wanted us together. I definitely couldn’t let myself look him in the eyes.
Or talk to him.
Talking would lead to looking, after all.
With a sigh, I blocked his new number and returned to my sauces.
Honestly, I wasn’t opposed to talking about cooking with someone. Especially if they provided snacks. I hated going to thegrocery store, and didn’t have much money to support my habit, but I loved snacks. Gummy candy and barbecue chips were my jam.
Thank fuck for my werewolf-speed digestive system.
Anyway, I wasn’t opposed, because I’d been kind of lonely. My job sucked, I hated college students, and no one took my classes seriously. All of the people who were really passionate about food went to culinary school. Like I did.
On top of that, one of the professors in my department was a fucking asshole. He was nearly two decades older than me, flirted with me constantly, nonstop, and wouldn’t take no for an answer despite an entire ten years of being shot down. I’d tried to report him a dozen times, but he had seniority, and I’d been told I needed proof.
I’d thought about quitting and going back to work in a restaurant every day for years.
But I was afraid working in a commercial kitchen would bring my trauma back to the surface, so the university was as good as I could get.
That didn’t mean it wasgood.
And it definitely didn’t help with the loneliness. Or the harassment.
Things had been better after I met my friends, before they all hooked up with werewolves. Zoe had only met her mate that day, but she’d been busy planning a wedding over the months since Emmy moved to Moon Ridge. And Emmy was the social one of the two.
So I was alone a lot.
That was fine, of course. I liked being alone.
But… I wasn’t opposed to having someone to talk about cooking with.
Unless it was going to lead to a mate bond. Then I wasn’t touching it with a ten-foot pole.
A few minutes went by before my phone buzzed again.
I finished my sauces and assembled my plate carefully before reading the next texts.
Ethan
Please, keep blocking me
It tells me you’re reading the messages ;)
I stared down at the phone. That was actually a good point.
Ethan
Texting me back wouldn’t be the end of the world, just for the record
I don’t have your address, so I can’t find you. Even if I could, you’re obviously opposed to having a mate, so trying to force you into a bond would be a terrible idea on my part
We could just be friends
I answered him before I could rethink it.
Me
Werewolves are never just friends with their mate
