“Yeah, no worries,” I say right away, tilting my head back. Kei rubs his wrists against each side of my throat before rubbing our wrists together. Living with and being best friends with an alpha shifter comes with some interesting quirks. One of them is this, allowing Kei to scent mark myself and Rodney whenever we leave the house. It’s even worse when he’s around his rut, needing to mark us as his pack and keep us safe.
Rodney on the other hand, always wants to dress us, make sure we’re fed, and make us nests. I’m surprised he didn’t offer to help me pick out this outfit but then again, he’s been busy making this big nest on the couch. Probably so we have someplace to snuggle together when I get back from this dinner.
The only quirk I bring to the table is floating objects. My magic is based on moving things with my mind so sometimes, when I’m overly emotional, things tend to move around our house. Could be worse. I once lived with a magic user who was water based and when she got upset, she would flood the basement.
“Thanks,” Kei says, stepping away from me.
“It’s really no problem. You know I don’t mind.”
“I know. I still find it annoying though,” he says with a shrug. “Not as annoying as Rodney’s nests though.”
“Hey! Just yesterday I saw you napping in one of my nests.”
“I never said they weren’t comfortable.”
The two of them playfully fight back and forth. Normally, I would jump in and team up against Kei but today, I simply slip out the door, leaving them to it.
Double checking that I have my phone, wallet, and keys, I start making my way to the restaurant. Despite telling them this definitely wasn’t a date, I find myself nervous. My stomach is tying itself into knots and my hands are growing clammy with sweat. Maki is justsoridiculously hot, how could I not be nervous to see him again?
I stand outside and wait. This place is a little hole in the wall restaurant I found years ago while I was going to college. I could have asked Maki to go to some pretentious, high end place but that felt very insincere especially since the whole point of this is to just be myself and make up for being a dick face earlier. This is the type of place Rodney, Kei, and I would go on the weekend or the type of place I would bring a relative visiting town.
Maki arrives two minutes before seven. I can see him walking down the sidewalk with how tall he is. Godsdamnit. I thought maybe my imagination was just playing tricks on me but no, he really isthathot.
He’s wearing black slacks that fit him just right and a green polo that brings out the green and gold of his hazel eyes. When he’s close enough, I can smell that he’s wearing some type of cologne, something that makes my stomach flutter and warm.
Good lord, I have it bad. He looks good. So fucking good.
“Hi,” I say with a smile, doing my best to keep my nerves at bay. “Thanks again for meeting with me, Maki.”
“Hello, Blue.” Maki looks at the restaurant. “I’ve never been here before.”
“Good. I hope you like milkshakes and fries.”
“I do,” he says, following me inside. One of the waitresses sees us walk in, waving us over to a booth by the window. We slide in across from each other. I grab the menus from where they sit in the caddy, sliding one over to Maki.
“You can call me Rin, by the way. That’s my real name, but I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t use it online.”
“I don’t frequent ‘online spaces’ much,” he says, complete with flicking his fingers in little air quotes. “I’m sure that won’t be a problem.”
“Good,” I say, giving him a smile over my menu before looking back down. I can’t tell if his answers are short because he’s nervous or because he’s already decided to hate me. Fuck, why is this so awkward?
I look down at my menu, deciding on what type of burger I want to order and what flavor of shake. My stomach is a mess of nerves. Fuck Kei for putting this stupid ‘date’ thing in my head. I’m just meeting someone and getting to know them. I’m making up for being a dick. Nothing more. I’m not usually so stuck in myhead about these things but at the same time, when I’m talking to people, I’m talking to them as Blue. Right now, I’m just Rin.
“I normally have a very strict diet that I stick to,” Maki says, setting his menu down. “But for today, I think I will cheat a little.”
I grin across the table at him. “I hope this doesn’t come across as weird, but I noticed you keep yourself in great shape.”
“Thank you,” he says with a nod. “I’m a professional athlete so it’s important I take care of my body.”
The waitress comes over before I can ask him any questions. I order myself a birthday cake shake and the bbq burger with some fries and a side of bbq for dipping. Maki orders a chocolate banana shake, a burger, some fries, and a side of garlic broccoli.
“Chocolate banana?” I ask, raising my brow. “I’ve never tried that combo before but now that you’ve ordered it, it sounds really good.”
“Sometimes I’ll make myself shakes at home but substitute protein powder instead of chocolate. It’s good.”
“What kind of athlete are you?”
“I play volleyball for the Nanio Ninjas.” Right. The Nanio Ninjas are a Division One professional team. They play all over the country and have even produced players good enough to play on the national all-star team.
