"It's just dinner, Lee."
I glanced up at Angelica through my lashes while I finished stuffing my belongings into my purse. We were closing down the office, and I wanted to go home more than anything. It had been a long day—a long week so far—but she wanted me to join her for dinner. I didn't want to, but I hadn't had social interaction outside of work since last weekend when I met Matt.
"Oh, come on," she pleaded. "What other plans do you have on a Thursday night?"
"Netflix," I answered, "and sleep."
Chuckling, she rolled her eyes. "We'll go to that Mexican restaurant a block away. We can order fattening burritos and margaritas."
"Does it look like I need a fattening burrito?" I asked playfully, motioning at my thick, curved figure.
"Absolutely!" she cooed. "I'll meet you there in five, okay? You can grab us a table or seats at the bar, whichever you prefer."
It appeared I would not be winning this battle. "Alright," I ceded with a smile. "I'll grab a table."
She headed back to her office to gather her things while I headed to the door. With a tinge of longing, I turned the knob and walked outside. This building always made me think of my mate, but he hadn't shown himself in days. Since Monday, actually. He must have taken my warning to heart and decided to leave me alone.
While that was good and all considering his heart was already sold to someone else, it had made my heat unbearable lately. I had sweat through three pairs of pajamas last night, not including the numerous pairs of panties laid waste by the other side effects of the heat.
I reached the restaurant within five minutes and parked along the street out front. The avenue our building was on tended to get even busier at night due to the restaurants and bars that lined the street. A swarm of laughing intoxicated people stumbled in front of me as I attempted to enter the restaurant. One of the men cocked his head in my direction, eyes still glassy, and I knew instantly he was also a wolf. He could probably smell my heat.
Ducking my head, I rushed into La Luna. The hostess smiled at me and asked how many were in my party before leading me to a table in the back. I followed her without looking around in fear of crossing another wolf. If Tandan was a wolf in this small town, I wondered how many others there were. Maybe there was a local pack. Tandan struck me more as a lone wolf type of guy.
After sitting down and looking over the menu for a few minutes, the sound of the chair across from me being moved drew my attention. Then his powerful scent hit me. My head cocked up. Tandan was already lowering himself into the chair across from me, his dark eyes almost glowing. The fire in my lower abdomen, which had become mostly tolerable, suddenly roared up again.
"You're in heat," he remarked casually, in complete contrast to the rigid set of his jaw and clenched fists now resting atop the table.
My mouth opened and closed twice before I accepted muteness. There was nothing I could say in this situation anyway. As I began to overcome the shock of my betraying body, I faced the shock of reality.
"What are you doing here?" I asked rather rudely, unable to stop myself.
His stony face broke formation to quirk a brow. "Angelica invited me," he said.
Sighing, I closed my eyes. She didn't get it. She was totally clueless about the tension between me and him. Silly ignorant humans.
"If she had told me you were coming," he continued, "I wouldn't have agreed."
"Likewise," I replied while opening my eyes again.
My eyes roved the contours of his face. He had an estranged look on his face that I couldn't quite name. A cross between amusement and concern. Before either of us could speak again, Angelica appeared at the table. We broke our gaze to warmly greet her, and she chose to sit beside me.
"You didn't tell me Lee would be joining us," remarked Tandan in his collected voice, though the warning rang clear.
"Oh." Angelica's gaze flickered between us. "I thought it would be a good chance to do some team bonding."
We both stared at her, then each other, before I dropped my eyes to my lap. I just wanted to be back at my apartment. With Tandan in my bed...or the shower...or the kitchen, even. Anywhere would be great.
I shook my head to clear it. These were preposterous thoughts. This was only torturing me. Yet in spite of the fact that my heat was surely tormenting him, I wanted to make things worse. I wanted to make him want me. It wasn't anything that could be helped really; we were made for one another after all.
"How is Lorrie?" I dared to ask.
Tandan slowly brought his attention to my face. His mouth was already slightly parted as if he knew what he wanted to say but was afraid to voice it. "She's great," he told me.
"That's wonderful." A feeling so painful tore through me, like a knife fileting my gut. "How did you two meet?"
"She lives in the townhouse next door," he said. "It's cliche, actually."
"How's that?"
"Well..." His eyes warned me, begging me to stop, but I smiled encouragingly and so did Angelica. "I had noticed her the week she moved in, but she never noticed me. So I made sure to check my mail when she did one day, and she saw me. We went separate ways without a word, but she came to my townhouse that afternoon and slipped me an envelope with her number."
"She seems clever," I noted, unable to think of a better thing to say.
"Is she still practicing at that conglomerate across town?" Angelica asked. "I heard the other docs push people away sometimes."
Docs? Lorrie was a doctor? I felt a flush of shame. Of course, she was amazing. That was why he was in love with her. The urge to puke crawled its way up my throat, and I had to turn my head away to swallow down the bile.
"Yep, she does." Chuckling nervously, Tandan looked between us. "She likes it there. Says it's a good challenge."
"I'm sure it is."
They kept going on about this, about her. How marvelous she was. So smart and caring and charming. I needed to leave. My heat was squelched under the anguish and jealousy consuming me. They seemed perfectly happy together despite what I witnessed before. This was beginning to feel more and more like a silly elementary school crush who never even considered me as a possibility. I actually felt bad for Tandan for being linked to me in the way he was. Though it didn't matter, because he hardly heeded the link anyway.
"I'm actually feeling sick," I told them, interrupting their conversation. "Thank you for inviting me, Angelica. It was really sweet of you. I just...the smell of the food is making me nauseous and I should probably just go—"
"Aw, what a shame!" she griped. "Do you want to order something to-go? Maybe a margarita to take home? Might help settle your stomach."
Forcing my lips to curl slightly at the ends, I rose from my seat and slung my purse over my shoulder. I couldn't even look at him as I said, "I think I'll just lie down when I get home. Alcohol has never helped me in these situations."
Angelica reluctantly wished me goodnight and I waved awkwardly at Tandan, without meeting his eyes, before scurrying off. The cool night hair nestled into every curve and edge of my body as I left the restaurant. I breathed it in deeply on the way to my car. My head felt much clearer now.
Once I was sitting behind the wheel on the way home, I realized I didn't feel like being alone. It would only leave me to think about him and ponder her. My heart couldn't take much more disappointment. So I called the only person in this town I trusted.
"Well, hello darling," answered Matt in his playfully deep voice.
"Hey, Matt," I greeted dully.
"What's up, little missy? You sound depressed."
"Can you come over tonight? I know this is abrupt and it's a weeknight, and if you've got other plans, I totally get it—"
He cut me off with, "Shhh, hush. I'll be at your apartment in fifteen."
I sighed in relief. "You're the best, Matt. I owe you big time."
"Nah, don't worry about it, sweetness."
"And...can you bring a bottle too?"
"A bottle?"
"Something strong, preferably. I don't keep alcohol in my apartment."
His hesitation lingered for a moment, but he rebounded with even more enthusiasm than before. "Drinking on a weeknight? I like your style. I'll bring the rum."