The longer Andras talks, the redder my face becomes. It’s probably the shade of Jin’s hair right now. I let my head fall against the table with a resounding thump.
“I can’t do that! He can’t help me through my heat! I’ve never even had sex before!”
“Leo,” Bren says softly, ruffling my hair. “I’m sure Jin would love to help you through it, however the two of you are comfortable.”
I let out a long groan, smelling my own scent sour with embarrassment and stress. I cannot believe this is happening to me.
“I think I want to die. I think the ground should open up and swallow me whole. I think I should turn into my phoenix skin and fly away. Maybe I can find a nice volcano to throw myself into.”
Bren starts laughing. “You’re so dramatic. Your body wants to get you laid and instead you’d rather fling yourself into the abyss.”
My phone vibrates. When I open it up, my stomach flutters when I see Jin’s name. He’s just texted me that the coffee stand is finally empty and I should come back and see him.
I stand up from my seat without thinking, too busy wanting to get back to Jin. Bren gives me a knowing look that I pointedly ignore.
“Thank you for the chat, but I must be on my way.”
“Talk to him,” Andras says, almost like the idea of not talking to Jin physically hurts him. Maybe it does, based on his history with Bren.
“Fine,” I say with a roll of my eyes. “I’ll talk to him. Pinky promise.”
Andras forces me to actually wrap my pinky around his. Before I leave, I take Bren’s jacket and his scarf for my nest back home. It’s nice having a friend who understands stuff like this.
I shove his scarf into my bag and drape his coat over my arm before making my way back over to the coffee stand. I sip at my latte, not wanting all the ice to melt before I’m finished drinking it.
Thankfully, no one has arrived since Jin texted me. He’s all alone, cleaning equipment and tidying things up after that little rush. It’s weird, normally it’s pretty slow on Sundays but today, it was bustling with people. It’s like the universe wanted to try keeping the two of us apart. I squint up at the ceiling, hoping the universe can sense my annoyance.
“There you are,” Jin says, finally spotting me. “Did you have fun talking to Bren?”
“I’m not sure I’d use the word fun but it was good to see him, I guess. He made me realize something kind of important.”
“Oh yeah? What’s up?”
I bite my bottom lip, feeling like my heart is going to leap out of my chest. Everything inside of me is screaming at me to reach across the counter and tug Jin close. I want to tell him everything. I want to ask him to spend my heat with me. I want to tell him I’ve fallen so completely in love with him that my body has decided it’s time to make him my mate.
But because I’m a scaredy cat coward who can’t articulate all of that while my brain is mushy with heat instincts while being surrounded by too many weird scents and noises, I say none of that.
Instead, all I can do is sigh.
“Can you come over tonight?”
“Of course,” he says right away, looking at me with worry on his face. “Is everything okay?”
“Kinda? Yes. No. I don’t know.” When his face suddenly turns panicked, I’m quick to reassure him. “There’s nothing wrong. Sorry. It’s just me and my stupid body being weird.”
“How so?”
“I’m a phoenix shifter,” I start to say but Jin’s gasp startles me into silence. I open my mouth to keep talking but he’s completely frozen, staring at me with wide, red eyes.
“Really?”
“Yes,” I say just as a line starts to form behind me. Fucking hell. Fuck you universe! I’m trying to tell Jin what’s going on and you keep fucking with me!
“I can tell you everything tonight? Is that okay?”
“Yes,” Jin says, sounding so fucking earnest. “I’ll come by after work.”
“Perfect. See you then,” I tell him, stepping out of the way. I can feel Jin’s eyes on me as I walk down the food court and through the doors. All I wanna do is get home, add these final things to my nest, and then curl up for the rest of the night.
