"Ulysses," Ryan said.
I turned to him with a smile, loving the way he said my chosen human name. "Yes?"
"Um... Would you like to come over for a little coffee at my place?"
My unicorn reared with excitement. I felt him prancing around joyfully in my mindscape.
"I would love to," I said.
5
Ryan
My heart was pounding.What was I thinking inviting Ulysses to my crappy apartment when he'd just wined and dined me (well, watered and dined me) to an expensive meal at a fancy restaurant?
Then again, he had the opportunity to say no. Ulysses could've easily said he had other plans, or was late to some event, or thought of a million other excuses if he wanted to get away from me.
But he didn't. He said yes. He said he wouldloveto.
My heart vibrated at the wordlove.
It should've been far too early to think that I loved him, but it felt right. He was everything I wanted in an alpha. Caring, helpful, funny, sweet... His sexy body and thick wallet were a nice bonus, but they weren't what made me fall for him.
Ugh, I really am falling for him, aren't I?I thought with a mental sigh.It's too late to back out now...
Ulysses was exactly what I'd wished for on that cherry blossom petal in the park. If I didn't know any better, I might've been inclined to think it was magic after all, just like Andrew said. But I was an adult, not a two-year-old. Magic wasn't real.
Probably.
As I led Ulysses into my old run-down building, shame crept over my skin. The atmosphere was sorely lacking after the classiness of the restaurant, not to mention that good oldapartment smellthatpermeated the whole place.
The cherry on top of my embarrassment came in the form of the only elevator in the building sporting a big fat "OUT OF SERVICE" sign on it. It was a mild inconvenience for me but my immediate thought was my next-door neighbor, Ms. Smith. She used a wheelchair and needed the elevator to get to our third floor.
Aside from Andrew and now Ulysses, Ms. Smith was my favorite person. She insisted 'Smith' was short for 'smithereens', as in, "I'll blow ya to smithereens if I catch ya looking at me the wrong way!" Her words, not mine.
I'd been intimidated by her when I first moved in, but we quickly bonded over being LGBT, as she was trans and I was gay. She also was a total softie when it came to babies. She'd threatened to knock out Andrew's deadbeat no-good biological alpha father on more than one occasion. Over the years, I'd come to think of her as an older sister or a cool aunt. The only reason I still used the formal "Ms" in front of her name was because she liked it that way.
"Oh, noodles," I muttered, cursing lightly out of habit even though Andrew was passed out on Ulysses's shoulder.
"We shall take the stairs," Ulysses suggested.
"Yeah, we can. But it's not me I'm worried about, it's—"
Athunkcame from the front door of the lobby, followed by a husky female voice saying, "Darned piece of junk!"
"Ms. Smith!" I called. I ran over and saw that thethunkwas her pounding the automatic door button to no avail. I cringed. Thatandthe elevator were both broken? She was right, this building really was a piece of junk.
I pulled the door open to allow her in. She gave me a good natured grin despite her grumbling. "Thanks, Ryan. What would I do without ya?"
"No problem." I grimaced, hating to be the bearer of bad news. "Well, actually there is another problem."
Ms. Smith sighed. "Elevator?"
"Elevator," I confirmed.
"Figures." She was distracted from her problems by the sight of Ulysses. She raised a brow and grinned at me. "Who's the hottie?"
My face turned warm. "He's a—"
