I sighed. I was thankful he’d waited until I’d eaten more than half of my food because my appetite was suddenly disappearing.
“I’m not trying to be that way,” Clay said. I nodded. I got it. I understood where he was coming from. He had his life in order, and I didn’t. “But I’m going to bethatway.”
“How? And what way are you talking about, specifically?”
“I have a four-bedroom house. My bedroom is downstairs, and the three upstairs are set up but aren’t occupied. I want you to move in. Rent-free because I’ll be the first to admit that my gorilla is telling me that you are my mate, and I would never dream of charging my mate rent.” I tried to say something, but Clay cut me off. “You can argue if you want, but I’ll resort to using a pregnant man as leverage and have him give you his pregnant-man, don’t-stress-him-out routine.”
“That’s dirty,” I said.
Clay nodded. “It is, but I want you safe, and you say you are, but your roommates are dicks. You said the other one crawled out the window to keep your stuff safe? Keep others out? What?”
I sighed in defeat. And in all honesty, I didn’t want to live there anymore, but it had been somewhat cheap in comparison to other places. “All right. So, what? You want me to move in upstairs?”
“You are welcome to sleep in any room that you want. I’m not going to push for anything. We’re going to take things at your pace. My gorilla says you’re our mate, and once your red panda recognizes the same, hopefully, we can work on a relationship. For now, I know me and my gorilla, and he’s not going to like you living there in a situation like that.”
I nodded as Sally came over. “Any dessert?” she asked. “Danny made pies this morning. We have strawberry, apple, or cherry.”
I shook my head. Although it sounded wonderful, I absolutely couldn’t find room for much else.
“We’ll pass this time,” Clay said. “Just the check and maybe a to-go box or two.” Clay handed her a card.
“That’s new. I don’t remember the last time any of you ever took food home.”
Clay shrugged. “Duncan wasn’t nearly as hungry as I thought. He can have it later if he wants.”
“I’ll be back with those boxes and your receipt in a few.”
Clay nodded, but his eyes hadn’t left me in some time. “Well? Do I need to call Charlie and have him work on you?”
I rolled my eyes. “No. But I’ll have to crawl into the window to get some clothes.” Inside, I was smiling uncontrollably, but I was also incredibly nervous. I’d never dated. I’d never…anything. Would I be a complete disappointment to Clay?
“Here you go,” Sally said. “Come back soon, Duncan. Bring Charlie with you if you can. I’ve not seen him in a bit.”
I smiled up at her. “I’ll have to do that. Maybe we can figure out a time to meet the guys here for lunch or something when we both have a day off.”
Sally sighed. “You boys need to make sure your mates don’t have to worry about working.”
“I’m working on it,” Clay said. He smiled at me, and I felt my cheeks heat. I couldn’t do that. Could I? I’d never had anyone. Could I completely give myself to Clay like that? I wasn’t sure. Small steps at a time, I guess.
Chapter Five
Clay
I knew my jaw was clenching, and I was doing everything I could to relax it, but it was a losing battle.
“Are you upset with me?”
“Nope,” I said quickly. Possibly a bit too quickly, but I was anything but upset with Duncan. “I’m not a fan of your roommates, and I’m trying to calm myself down enough that I don’t rearrange their faces when we’re there getting your things.”
“I’m not packed. I can’t just move everything tonight.”
“I understand that,” I said as I glanced at him. “But we’ll grab your clothes and bathroom stuff and anything that is important. Papers and things.”
Duncan nodded. “Are you sure?” he asked.
I knew he was uncertain about everything. I got it. But he was my mate, and he belonged with me. Even having him in the same space was going to go a long way toward calming my gorilla. “I’m positive.” We were at a red light, so I was able to look at him formore than a moment. “Tell me something. Hypothetically. If a shifter finds their mate, what happens?”
Duncan sighed loudly. “Yeah. I get that. I actually have read everything I could find on shifters and how the whole mate thing works. Bonded versus fated, to a human, to another shifter. All of it. And I’ll admit that I’m incredibly attracted to you. More than anyone ever. And my panda is running in circles around in my mind, then stopping and squeaking at me.” Duncan shook his head. “I didn’t really grow up around shifters. There were a few in the home, but not many, and we didn’t hang out a lot. But I know that my panda is saying the same thing. We’re mates. I don’t know how, but I can’t deny what you or he is saying.” Duncan looked out the window. “I’m in agreement with moving in, both because it’ll happen eventually and because yeah, my roommates suck.”
