“Are you upset?” I asked.
Clay turned back to me. “No. I’m fighting with myself because knowing that you’re…” Clay waved his hand toward me. “Yeah, I’m struggling with my gorilla at the moment.”
I raised my eyebrows at that. Was I in danger? I wouldn’t think so. Clay was my mate. I might not know everything about shifters and mates, but I did know that he should want to protect me, not harm me.
“Okay. I’m sorry,” I said. I didn’t know what else to say to him. “I’m going to go into the other room for a bit. Maybe that will help? I don’t want you to be upset.”
“I’m not upset, Duncan,” Clay said. “I have a mate that’s completely untouched. My human side is very much a gentleman, but my gorilla side is now beating his chest and demanding we take you to the bedroom and claim you right now.” Clay took several deep breaths.
My mouth opened, and I slowly stood up. Yeah, that was…I knew it would happen eventually, but I also knew I wasn’t readyfor that. I slowly walked behind the couch, and when Clay stood there staring at me, I started backing up. “I’m going to be in there,” I told him. He nodded. I turned and left the living room, making my way to the stairs. I hurried up them and ducked into the first room on the left at the top of the stairs. It was such a nice bedroom. It was larger than the one I shared with Mark, and I knew that eventually I would end up in Clay’s bedroom, but for now, this one would do.
My phone vibrated again, and I pulled it out and saw I had a message from Mark.
Mark: You moved out? And some guy forced you to? Are you all right?
I sighed and rolled my eyes.
Me: I did move out. You were going to move out soon anyway. And Clay didn’t force me. I moved because Dave is getting to be a bit invasive.
I hit Send and wondered if I should just tell him. Mark and I weren’t best friends or anything, but we were friendly. That happened when you shared a room. You got to know each other at least a little.
Me: Clay is my mate. It was going to come to a point when I moved in with him anyway. But with the way the roommates were all being, I just decided to take him up on his offer now.
I sent that message and smirked while shaking my head at the number of messages that quickly followed.
Mark: What?
Mark: You met your mate and didn’t tell me?
Mark: Bro!
Mark: How? Where? I need the deets.
I smiled.
Me: Mate Match app. Seriously. We matched basically as much as you can. He’s my fated mate. He also happens to be this sexy gorilla shifter. So yeah, I wasn’t going to upset him and get him in trouble because I was an idiot and didn’t move in with him and he and the roommates got into it. You know how Dave is and he doesn’t even live there.
I waited for Mark to finish typing, and when I got his next message, I sighed and shook my head. It wasn’t exactly surprising, but at the same time, it was a bit unnerving.
Mark: Bro! I’m signing up! I’ll go home tomorrow and pack my shit. My sister and her roommates are chill with me crashing on her floor for a month. I’m also cool with it. I get what you mean about Dave. I think he has a thing for you, and not a healthy one. He’s always asking about you, wanting to know when you get home, do you date. Things like that. I know he goes to the bar every so often, so watch out.
Mark: And congratulations on finding your mate. I hope he treats you right. But if he’s insistent on you moving out, I’d say he’s probably going to be good for you.
I shuddered at the thought of Dave showing up at the bar. I knew he wouldn’t show up at the restaurant because it was inside the zoo, and even a yearly pass was more than he wanted to spend to bother me. Now that I was thinking about it, I knew that most likely he’d already been to the bar and I’d just not seen him.
Me: Clay seems amazing. We’re getting to know each other, and he’s cool with that. I have my own room and everything. I’m not sure how long I’ll stay in it though.
I sent the last message to Mark and then opened Charlie’s message thread.
Me: I’m at Clay’s. But you probably know that. I feel out of place. And advice would be amazing. And so helpful.
I sent that one and then set the phone down on the bed beside me. I looked around the room, and although all of my things were still downstairs, this room would certainly do for the time being. Like I told Mark, I knew it was only a matter of time before I ended up downstairs in Clay’s room. That was how fated mates worked. Or even bonded mates. Or married couples. You didn’t sleep in different bedrooms.
I flopped back on the bed and stared up at the textured ceiling. It had some sort of pattern on it that had texture and half circles on it one way and then another. Then another. I also noticed it looked clean. I’m not saying our apartment wasn’t clean. It was. Well, for the most part. But the ceiling… I glanced at the light gray walls, and they appeared to be freshly painted.
I sat up to get a better look at the room. It was very organized. Was that because it was a spare bedroom and ready for guests? Or maybe Clay was very much a neat freak. I sighed. I wasn’t inherently messy. I truly wasn’t. But I also didn’t rush to put things away immediately either.
My brain started running with thoughts of Clay and how he would be in other aspects of life. Would he be detail oriented? Be super thorough? I cleared my throat because with the way he had been looking at me downstairs and where my thoughts had started to wander, I didn’t need to be thinking in such ways.
