“I have some thoughts, but I’d really like to go in and have a meal with you. Get to know you better, something that doesn’t involve talking about this particular subject just yet. Maybe we can talk about that later?”
I sighed. “Yeah, I get it. It’s a shitty subject. And maybe my parents are around somewhere, and they just didn’t want me. I couldn’t really say and have no way of knowing.” I looked at Clay. “I would like to get to know you, if you’re willing. I don’t really have anything to offer though. Just keep that in mind. I’m broke, can barely make my bills, and I have shitty jobs that don’t pay nearly enough. I barely graduated high school while trying to work, and college was definitely out of the question.”
I wasn’t a catch, and I knew that. I was a tiny shifter that wasn’t top of the chain, and I worked two jobs just to pay the bills while having three roommates. The position at the zoo was safe, and it was a lot more fun than the other, but the one at the bar…yeah, I knew I needed to quit it. I hadn’t, though, because it was what paid my rent. The one at the zoo barely made enough to put a little into savings every month after paying my other bills.
“I very much want that,” Clay said. “Let’s go inside. We can order and then talk some more. But please don’t feel as if you don’t have anything to offer. You do, even if you don’t realize it.”
Clay was out of the truck before I could respond. I was surprised when he rounded the front and opened the door for me. I was still sitting there with my seat belt on, taking in what he’d said to me. How was it that he thought I had something to offer?
“Did you change your mind?” Clay asked. “We can go somewhere else if that’s what you’d prefer.”
I shook my head and silently undid the seat belt and turned to slide out of the truck. “I was thinking,” I told him.
Clay smiled down at me, and I felt my stomach do a flip. I was about two inches from him, and this close, my little panda was telling me that this man and his gorilla were ours. That the app had somehow made a perfect match again. Clay was my mate. I knew very little about shifter things, but I knew what my body was telling me.
“Thinking might be good,” Clay said. He gave me a smile and then took my hand. He took a step away and closed the door. “But if you’re thinking negative things, then it’s not good. We have lots to discuss, but right now, I want to feed you a proper meal since you mentioned something about two burgers. I know their two-burger meal deal, and that’s not a meal.”
I shrugged again. I’d splurged and had gotten a drink as well, and although I could certainly eat again, I would have been fine until morning. I had some granola bars in the car, and if I got too hungry later, I could always go into the apartment and deal with my roommates.
I let Clay lead me into the diner, and immediately, I liked the place once we entered. He stopped for a moment, then pointed over to the side. I nodded. I didn’t care where we sat; this was a completely new experience for me. I’d never been on a date before. Nobody had ever asked. Well, that wasn’t true. I did get asked at Sticky Floors, but I knew they weren’t looking for a date. That was a completely different thing altogether.
Clay gestured to one side of the booth, and after I slid in, he sat across from me. Before either of us could say anything, someone was standing next to us.
“Don’t usually see you here this late. And hardly ever on Sundays.”
“Hi, Sally,” Clay said. “This is Duncan. You’ll see a lot more of him with me, or with me and my brothers.”
Sally’s eyebrows rose. “So it’s like that, huh? Just like with your brother?”
I looked back at Clay in time to see him nodding.
“Well, congratulations, then. What can I get for you, sweetie,” she said. It took me a moment to realize she was talking to me.
“Oh. Umm…” I quickly reached for the menu.
“We have coffee, tea—sweet or unsweet—juices, and your standard cola products.”
“Umm…can I get a sweet tea?” I looked at Clay. “Is that all right?”
He grinned at me. “If you want sweet tea, you can have it.”
Sally nodded. “I’ll be back in just a few. Special tonight is meatloaf with potatoes, corn, a roll, and a salad.”
“Thanks, Sally,” Clay said. She walked away, and I looked over at Clay.
“She didn’t ask what you wanted to drink.”
Clay shook his head. “She knows I’m going to want a water and a coffee.”
“Oh.” Immediately, I looked down at the menu. I knew that Clay had said it was his treat, but I was going to make sure I could cover what I was getting just in case. I knew not to depend on others for my way in life, and even though he had asked me out to eat, I knew I needed to make sure I could afford what I was going to have. “Is the grilled cheese any good here?” I asked. A quick scan showed it was the cheapest thing on the menu, and it came with fries, and I could really go for some at the moment.
Clay’s brow furrowed. “I’d say everything here is really good,” he told me. “But the grilled cheese is a bit on the smaller side. Are you not hungry?”
I shrugged. “I already had two burgers.”
Clay’s furrow turned into an outright frown. “You had a snack, and we both know it. I understand that you’re a smaller shifter, but you are still a shifter, and even Charlie eats more than two tiny child-sized burgers for a meal.” Clay tilted his head to the side. “Unless you ate earlier at work?”
I had, but that had been at lunchtime. I was actually still hungry, but a whole lot had happened in the last hour. “I mean, I did have lunch at work. The restaurant has this amazing crispy chicken salad.” It was too. It was huge, and for twenty bucks a week, we could have one meal per shift. After two meals, it had more than paid for the fee. I absolutely happily paid that twenty dollars every week and made sure I got my meal, even if I had to take it home with me because I didn’t have time to eat it while on shift. That was rare, but it did happen every so often.
