10
Ryu
Scar didn’t get another chance to ask me about the phone message because Raja and Gabriel delved deep into baby-raising conversations and thankfully, Scar got sucked in.
I felt horrible lying to him—even by omission. But the situation was entirely my fault. I’d completely forgotten that I made plans with Henry for the night, before any of this stuff with Angel began. While I’d rather be at home with her, I couldn’t explain the situation properly to Henry over text message—it had to be face to face.
Would he even understand?
Our plans involved meeting at the Starlit Pond pier in the early evening. I excused myself to shower and get dressed (in a casual outfit, to avoid suspicion) before saying a quick goodbye to everyone and slipping out the door.
I didn’t miss the suspicious glance Scar shot me before the door closed.
It’s okay, I told myself. I would explain everything to him later. But first, I needed to deal with Henry.
And how exactly am I going to do that? I don’t even know how to feel about all of this…
With an hour to kill, I grabbed a coffee and a seat outside the cafe and took a moment to collect my thoughts.
There was no denying that I’d had such a good time with Henry the other night. He was a young, bright, smart omega who was even interested in magic. I had no reasonnotto be attracted to him. And in fact, I couldn’t deny that I was interested in him from a physical and mental standpoint.
But is that enough to take a mate?
I couldn’t imagine myself with Henry for the rest of my life, and I couldn’t figure out what was stopping me. I reversed the situation—what if another omega wasneverinterested in me? I could be alone for the rest of my life just because I couldn’t find a reason to be in love with Henry.
But the fact remained that something wasmissingbetween us.
“Ryu? Is that you?”
The voice jolted me out of my thoughts. Behind me stood a surprised Henry holding a coffee of his own.
“Henry!” I exclaimed. “You’re early.”
He grinned. “I was nervous about our date, so I decided to come here and grab a coffee first. It’s weird but the caffeine calms me down. Anyway, I didn’t expect to run into you here.”
“Me neither,” I said. “Why don’t we walk and talk?”
“Sure.”
Henry stood close to my side, closer than two friends would normally stand.
That means he’s definitely excited about this date,I thought.
“I’ve been looking forward to this since the other night,” Henry said. With a wink, he added, “I was actually kind of hoping you’d cancel your plans with your friend so we could have had this date earlier.”
I forced a laugh, even though I didn’t find it particularly funny or even agree. If I’d cancelled on Scar, I knew it would have hurt his feelings—and on top of that, he definitely wouldn’t have asked for my help when he found Angel. Now that she was in my life, thinking about my life without her felt like torture.
“But it’s nice out tonight,” Henry continued. He breathed in the cool evening air. The faint scent of water carried on the breeze as we walked casually towards the pier. I noticed somewhat uncomfortably that the street was populated almost entirely by couples. It made me wish I was at home with Angel and Scar.
I can’t think about that right now,I scolded myself.I’m on a date with Henry, whether I like it or not, and I can’t be rude to him. He doesn’t deserve it.
“So, how was your day?” Henry asked.
“Um…” I was at a loss. How was I supposed to explain the situation? “I guess you could say I was babysitting.”
“You?” His brows raised, then he cautiously added, “I didn’t know you were interested in kids.”
I couldn’t gauge what he meant by that comment. “It was for a friend. He needed my help, is all.”
