Chapter Four
There was a bouncein Austin’s step as he locked his car and headed to the coffee shop.He felt a little guilty about how excited he was, considering the string of arsons he was here to talk about, but it didn’t dim how eager he was to see Caleb.
Austin needed to be careful with that.Caleb might have agreed to work with him, but that didn’t mean he wanted more.Hell, he might not even want them to be friends once all of this was over.They needed to be civil to each other for West and Jonathan’s sake, but there was a wide gap between that and friendship, let alone more.
But for now, Austin didn’t want to think about that.He was about to spend the afternoon with Caleb so they could go over what each of them knew about the arsons.He hoped that by the end of it, they’d have at least an inkling as to where to look, but he knew how unlikely that was.From what he’d seen of the fires, the arsonist knew what they were doing, and they probably hadn’t left any trace of their presence at the fires.Caleb would probably have better luck since he’d been looking into everything else, and Austin was impatient to know more.
He wasn’t surprised to see that Caleb was already there when he walked into the coffee shop where they’d agreed to meet.It wasn’t the one near the station because neither of them wanted the people Austin worked with to wonder what they were up to—instead, they were meeting close to Caleb’s apartment.Lisa and Jeremy wouldn’t hesitate to tease Austin if they were to see them, and he didn’t think that Caleb would be comfortable with that.It was a small miracle that he’d agreed to do this with Austin to begin with.
Caleb didn’t notice Austin, which gave Austin the opportunity to watch him as he waited in line to get his order in.Caleb’s computer was on the table in front of him, and he was fully focused on the screen in a way that made Austin both wonder what he was reading and if he’d be that way in bed, too.He could imagine all too well what it would be like to be the center of Caleb’s focus, and it made him shiver.
He placed his order and waited for it, but Caleb never looked up.Austin had found it cute initially, but now, it made him slightly uneasy.They were investigating an arsonist.Surely Caleb had to realize that he might be in danger.So far, they hadn’t found anything that could lead them to the person behind the fires, but they might, or even if they didn’t, the arsonist might think they’d be able to find them.It would be too easy to attack Caleb when he was this distracted, even though he was a shifter.
Austin walked between the tables until he reached Caleb.He cleared his throat, not surprised when Caleb jumped and pressed a hand over his heart before scowling at him.
“Was that really necessary?”he asked as Austin slid into the empty chair in front of him.
Austin couldn’t see the computer screen, but he was sure Caleb would tell him everything he needed to know.“You realize that what we’re doing is dangerous, right?”Austin asked instead of answering Caleb’s question.
Caleb frowned.“How?We’re in a public place.I don’t think anyone would dare to try to do anything to me here.”
“Probably not, but you can’t be a hundred percent sure, and even if they don’t, they could be waiting for you to leave.”
“Well, it’s good that I won’t be leaving this place alone then.”
Austin arched a brow.“You make it sound as if we’re on a date.”And as if Austin would get lucky later.God, he wished.
To his surprise, Caleb didn’t deny it right away.Instead, he cocked his head and watched Austin for a moment as if he was trying to read him.Austin stayed still.Whatever was going on in Caleb’s head, he didn’t want to make him change his mind about whatever he was about to say.
Unless he was about to tell Austin to fuck off.
“I wouldn’t be opposed,” Caleb eventually said.
Austin blinked.“Opposed to what?”
“To this being a date.I mean, I don’t usually investigate a string of arsons during my dates, but you know.We could do both.”
Austin had no idea what was going on.Initially, Caleb hadn’t even wanted to work with him.He didn’t trust him.Why was he agreeing to a date, then?What had happened between his visit to the station and now?
“Unless you’ve changed your mind,” Caleb added.
Austin couldn’t let him believe that.“I don’t think I ever told you that I wanted to date you,” he pointed out.
Caleb’s cheeks flushed.“Do you, though?”
Austin couldn’t help but smile.“Yeah.So this is a date?”
