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“Did you want to start your order while you wait on him?” Sally asks, as I look over the options.

Honestly, I get the same thing each time, so I’m not sure why I bother. But, I do like to see if she has something new to try.

“Do you have anything new?” My finger rests on my chin as I look over her chalkboard menu above her head. “What is ‘The Gray Stuff’?” My nose is scrunched in disgust just at the name of it.

She lets out a laugh. “Do you remember in Beauty and the Beast when Belle is at the dinner with Lumiere and Cogsworth? She is asked to try the gray stuff? Well, everyone has always tried to figure out what exactly it is. So, this is my take on what I think the ‘gray stuff’ is. Do you want to try a sample of it?”

“Uh…I guess,” I say hesitantly. It’s cute and all, but it doesn’t even sound appealing.

She takes a small wooden spoon and scoops out the smooth, gray matter. It has almost a pudding look to it and doesn’t look like anything like ice cream. She holds the spoon out over the top of the display case to where I can grab it. I draw the spoon to my face and take a whiff. It has an almost tropical scent to it, with a hint of coconut and pineapple. I don’t allow myself to think about it for too long and stick the spoon in my mouth. It feels like what I think Hawaii would taste like, exploding in my taste buds. The coconut pairs well with the pineapple, and there is a hint of orange juice.

The bell chimes again as Chase comes inside. “There you are! I thought I would have to drag you out of the bookstore, so I went there first. Thankfully, I found it all closed up.” He slides in next to me, planting a gentle kiss on my temple. “What you got there?” He looks at the spoon and then at my face.

“Sally has a new flavor inspired by the ‘gray stuff’ in Beauty and the Beast. She encouraged me to try it.”

Chase looks through the display case down to the container of the literal gray stuff sitting there. His nose scrunched just like mine did.

“It tastes like Hawaii, something I doubt the one in the movie did.” I eye Sally suspiciously.

She simply shrugs her shoulders like she knew that but wanted to have fun with it.

Chase holds his hand up to prevent her from even asking. “No, thank you, Sally. I think we’ll both take our usual.”

She gets to work on our order while Chase leads me over to the table.

After we are seated, he looks at me with concern written across his face. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Sighing, I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know why he was there. Outside of him demanding that I give into the mateship, I don’t know what came over him. We have known about this for, going on, five years. It doesn’t make sense to suddenly decide that he wants to do this. And then to have the audacity to show up anddemandI do it? I just don’t get it.”

Chase runs his hand across the tabletop to grab my fidgeting hands. “I know that you are thrown off by him showing up, but I don’t think it was a rash decision. We both know that he doesn’t have a shortage of women to entertain him. Maybe, just maybe, he realized that he wants something more than just a fling. Something clearly changed in his way of thinking if he showed up for the first time in the bookstore.”

I glare at him, and he laughs at my expression.

“I didn’t say he did it the right way, because clearly we both know that wasn’t the way to do it. I’m just saying maybe it’s time you both gave into the mateship. Would it be that bad?”

My head drops and hangs. “It’s not just giving in to the mateship, Chase. He's been cheating on me and rubbing women in my face ever since then. How am I supposed to move past that?”

His face softens with understanding. “I’m not saying that you should let him off easy and jump right into his arms. But I know how much you want children and a home. You and I both know there is only one way that will happen. Make him work for it. If he is truly that serious about giving this a shot, then make him earn it.”

“Yeah … I could do that. I’m not sure what I could do to make him work for it. But, I am sure that I can think of something.”

He squeezes my hand. “You don’t have to do anything. Just keep being yourself and he will show you if he is truly ready.”

I smile at him. We might not be truly dating or sexually involved with each other, but this man gets me. He is more than just a friend; he is like my best friend. We let the world believe that we are dating and, in some way we are; but really we are just friends giving each other what they need.

We sit in companionable silence as we eat our ice cream. Only chatting here and there about different things. He tells me about the latest run they went on as a pack, since mountain lions have to run at least once a week or their beasts will become restless and more likely to take over. It’s fascinating to compare the ways of pack life between the two species.

I feel a tug at my chest, which means that Warrick is near. I rarely deal with it because it’s unusual that we are around each other. Pack meetings have really become the only time that I am near him. It’s almost as if we agreed to town being my area and pack lands being his.

“Do I get cuddles tonight or is that off the table because of the whole Warrick thing?” Chase says with a hint of mischief.

A smile spreads across my face as I feel the pull in my chest tug so hard that I know he has to be right outside. Without looking, I tell him, “I am 100% on board to cuddle. If you are done, I say we head out now.”

His eyebrow raises in a question. “Uh, yeah I’m done.”

He gathers up our trash, taking it to the trash can. Scooting back in my chair, I grab my jacket and wave to Sally as I follow behind Chase. The tug is only getting stronger as I move toward the door, which can only mean that he is right outside.Let’s see how much he likes it when I rub a man in his face, like he has all those women.Pulling my jacket on, I smile at Chase as he holds the door open for me.

“After you, my dear.”