She paused for a moment. “Did you not want to meet up tonight? I kind of assumed you were going to come over for dinner, but if having sex calmed your wolf down, we can just get together tomorrow or the next day”
“I want to. I just figured you’d want a break from me.”
“Well, youarea pain in my ass…”
“I’m going to need a few minutes to nurse my broken heart.”
She snorted. “Just come over. We might as well make dinner together a regular thing. It’ll keep the wolves under control, and give me someone else to cook for.”
“I’m game if you are.”
“Dinner will be ready when you get here, so hurry up.”
“Yes ma’am.”
She hung up, and I couldn’t help but grin.
Eating together every night was a hell of a good step forward.
Dinner every nightturned into sex every night, and a late drive home.
I asked if Maya wanted to share a hotel room when we traveled to Zoe’s hometown for her and Connor’s wedding a few days later, and she surprised me by agreeing.
Sharing a bed was so fucking nice thatshewas the one who asked if I wanted to stay the night on our second day back home. She slept much better with me there, apparently.
I was over the fucking moon about it.
We fell into a rhythm after that, spending our days apart while we worked. In the evenings and through the weekends, we were always together.
A month passed quickly. We had a few close calls with the glasses but managed to avoid accidentally starting a mate bond.
The second month went a little slower. My wolf started riding me harder during the day, and Maya was frustrated about something going on with her job but wouldn’t tell me what it was. Because I’d been forced to agree to being just friends, I couldn’t just show up to her classes to figure out what was irritating her so much.
I thought about doing it anyway, but resisted.
Things got better when she spent Thanksgiving with the pack and stayed at my house for five straight days during the holiday. She met my mom and brother as well, which was less uncomfortable for everyone than expected, and she got along well with my sister-in-law.
As soon as she went back to her place after the holiday, my wolf descended again, and life got darker.
Emmy and Finn, and Abby and Nico, got officially engaged within a matter of days. Maya seemed happy for them, but that darkened my mood more.
I was so exhausted by my wolf all the time that I showed up late for work every day. When I didn’t make it at all, my asshole friends showed up at lunch time to drag me out of bed.
They could tell something was wrong and weren’t willing to leave me to deal with it alone.
Fuckers.
It took all of my energy to act like my normal self around Maya so she didn’t realize I was falling apart. She was the best part of every day, and I got a few hours of peace with her every evening, so that was where I wanted to spend my energy anyway.
I made it through three full months before I faded enough that my mask began to slip at her place.
She was sitting on the countertop next to the sink, leaning back on her palms while I scrubbed the dishes she’d used to cook for us. Her Friday afternoons were clear, so we always met up for lunch at her place or mine.
“You’re acting weird,” she said.
“Weirdly normal?” I tried to force energy into my voice, and didn’t look up from the dishes.
“Ethan,” she warned.
