“Why?” I ask, amused.
“Because I can never ever hit the ball, no matter how many times I try. I'm terrible.”
“I’m sure you’re not that bad.”
“Oh. Slater. You have no idea. When we had to play in P. E. in high school, people would beg me to not be on their team.”
I try not to laugh. “That’s terrible.”
“You’re totally trying not to laugh. And that was just when we were batting. The outfield was worse.”
“How was it worse?” I can’t help but ask.
“Because I would get so bored out there. So, I would daydream, pick flowers, do anything to pass the time. Inevitably, the ball would come to me likeonetime. I’d always miss it, and then the team would get mad. Yeah, baseball and I do not get along. It's the most boring sport on the planet.”
“Can’t argue with you there, Shorty.”
“Where do you want to meet?”
“I’m almost to your dorm.”
“Oh.” I can hear movement in the background. “Shoot.”
“You good?” I ask.
“Yeah. I just have to put clothes on.”
I slow my steps. “You don’t wear clothes when you’re in your dorm?” I force myself not to think about that mental picture.
“Slater! Of course I wear clothes.”
I chuckle. “You’re the one that said it.”
“I meant I have to get dressed for being outside my dorm room, not that I’m just sitting around naked.”
I swallow hard. “You really need to stop talking.”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake. I’ll be out in just a minute.” And then she hangs up on me. I shake my head and pocket my phone. But as soon as it’s quiet, my mind’s back on the problem. It’s been circling off and on all day.What to do about the bracelet.As much as I love the idea of bonding with my mate, I’m terrified it will hurt her. I can’t even touch her. How in the world would I be able to bond with her? I’m not willing to subject her to the pain it would inevitably cause. I would at least have to touch her while my fangs were attached to her skin. And that’s without touching her or kissing her to warm her up. Then there’s soothing the bite afterward. I feel my wolf shift inside me. For all those reasons, I can’t bond with her. Not yet anyway. I’m also worried it’s too soon. She’s young; she’s only known about my wolf for a short amount of time. It’s too soon for her to decide she wants tobond forever. I’ve had my entire life to prepare for my mate, but she didn’t even know shifters existed until recently. I will do everything in my power to give her time; I just hope we can. I’m worried what happens the longer the bracelet is on. I know Alpha is looking into anything he can find; he’s got a few of the older pack members searching as well. So far, nothing has shown up about what this bracelet could be, except for a conduit for dark magic. And we’ve certainly found no way to break its power over Tessa. Her scent hits me, and I look up to see Tessa walking towards me in sweats and my sweatshirt. Her hair is piled on top her head. She looks...perfect. “Hey,” I say when she gets close. My voice is deep and gruff with the presence of my wolf.
Her eyes are bright. “Hey.”
“How do you feel about taking a trip to grab some food? I don’t really feel like eating any food on campus tonight.”
She smiles. “Sure. What are you hungry for?”
Her question catches me in my lie. “Okay. I lied. I just want alone time with you.” She grins up at me.
“All you had to do was ask, Superstar. I'm yours for the night. Where do you want to go?”
I suck in a breath and look over at her. The moon shines brightly, illuminating the few freckles on her face, her bright green eyes, and her long blond hair. “You can’t say things like that, Shorty.” I try to play it off, but my voice is far too serious.
She just gives me one of her gorgeous smiles that nearly bring me to my knees every single time. “Where to?”
We’re almost to my truck now. “Not sure yet. Anything sound good to you?”
“Well, I certainly won’t turn down a diet soda wherever we go.”
“Got it.” I open the door for her and wait for her to climb in. I hate not being able to do something simple like help her into thetruck. I close her door and force myself to be calm as I make my way to the driver’s side. “There’s a place about twenty minutes from here that makes protein bowls. Does that work?”
