Page 8 of Curtis & Jae (Mate Match #1)

Eight

Jae

Anxiety over my decision to leave Curtis’ place plagued me during the journey home.

On one hand, it was far too soon to be meeting his family.

We were barely dating! On the other side of it, wouldn’t it have shown I was in whatever we were building?

Given Curtis a sign that I wasn’t just up for a heat partner and wanted more?

Or would that have looked too desperate?

I settled on it looking desperate and that I’d made the right choice after a lot of back and forth with Brady.

“You don’t want to come across as clingy,” he declared wisely when I explained the brunch thing to him.

He thought it was sweet that Curtis did something like that with his family.

I had to agree. It showed he was truly family oriented.

Brady had rushed to get to my apartment before me when I’d called him from the ride share for a gossip session.

I hadn’t expected him to drop everything to visit me.

Yet, he had, and worse, somehow, he’d gotten there first!

Because he had his key, my friend was waiting for me, sitting on the couch like he’d been waiting there all day.

Percy was on his lap, purring up a storm until he caught sight of me.

Percy sidled up to me, suspicious of the weird scents I carried for a moment.

Once satisfied I was still his willing subject, he curled up in my arms as if trying to remind me never to leave him that long again.

His purrs were loud over Brady’s silence.

He was clearly just giving me a few minutes before he launched into his questions.

Finally, he broke. “So, details!” Brady made himself at home with a cup of herbal tea.

He’d made a soothing cup for me, too. After my wake-up call, I needed it.

Post-heat could be hard on me. I usually felt crampy and sore all over for a couple of days.

Not so much this time around, just anxious about being away from Curtis, which was odd.

I didn’t want to fuck up what we were building by being too much. I liked him. A lot.

“It was great.” I knew he wasn’t going to let me away with saying so little. No, my best friend was going to want everything!

He fixed me with a deadpan look. “You spent two nights with a stranger on the same day you met him. You even spent your heat with him! What was that about?” Brady wasn’t trying to shame me.

He was the most sex positive person I knew.

He just knew how out of character it was for me.

We’d known each other a couple of years at this point.

I’d told him so much about my life before Hwan, and he’d been there for the after part.

To be fair, my reaction to Curtis surprised me, too. “Um, I searched online for some clue why it happened. Apparently we’re very compatible. Something about his pheromones…”

“I bet!” He cackled, earning a glare from Percy. “You can hardly walk! He’s great in bed, then?” Brady’s eyes twinkled with mischief.

“Fantastic. Really, the best I’ve had. The way he worked me over… I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.”

“Does he have a big—”

I slapped my hand over his mouth. “We’re not discussing that, alright?” When he nodded, I let go.

“Well, he certainly seemed into you.” I barely remembered seeing Brady at the restaurant because of how quickly my heat had come on. “He was cute! Just your type with those big muscles. So, do you plan to see him again?”

I didn’t even have to think about it. “Yeah. I’m hoping we can get together soon. Might call him later.” I tried to shrug casually. Pretty sure I failed.

Brady gasped. By the way his face brightened, I knew he was happy for me. “You really like him!”

A smile stretched across my face, a foreign feeling of late. “Yeah, I really do.”

My friend reached for me, clasping our wrists together.

In my small apartment, the trace of his omega scent lingered.

He’d spent some time here over the weekend, likely keeping Percy company.

He was so good to me. I was grateful for his friendship after losing so many friends when Hwan cheated.

Brady’s pheromones, so familiar to me, were relaxing.

It was good to be home, even if I missed Curtis already.

“The way he looked at you, the way he moved with you, Gio was impressed by him,” Brady pointed out.

“Was that one of your dates?” I asked, realizing we’d only talked about my weekend. The feeling of guilt took some of the shine away from the experience.

“Yeah. Him and his mate, Xavier.” I couldn’t get a read on his feelings about them. His voice was guarded, his tone giving little away.

“Are they looking for something long-term or—?”

“We’re talking about you and your cuddly alpha,” Brady interrupted my question, firmly changing the subject. I thought since he had brought them up, then they were fair game for the conversation. Apparently not. I’d respect that boundary and leave it until he was ready to talk about them.

“Curtis was so good to me. I’ve never had a heat like it. It all felt so natural to follow what he wanted, because all the things he asked were things to make me feel better. I’ve never felt so cared for during a heat and he barely knows me!”

I must have had a dreamy expression because Brady was sitting there looking so proud.

“Do you think he might be it for you? The one you’re looking for. Future daddy to your babies?” There was a teasing set to his expression, but genuine curiosity in his green eyes.

“If we have another date like our first? Yeah. Even before I went into heat, I felt listened to, cared for. Did I tell you he cut up his burger because I still looked hungry?”

“He shared his food? Damn, he’s a real one.”

“Right? I ate more of his fries than he did.”

“Heat makes you ravenous, doesn’t it?”

“You’ve got yours coming up. Are Gio and Xavier…?” I didn’t want to press, just get an idea of where Brady was at.

“Not sure.” He gave a careless shrug. “Stop changing the subject! How was the sex? You didn’t tell me nearly enough before. I want all the deets, Jae!”

It took a couple of hours for Brady to leave. Not that I minded. Having company was great when I needed to be distracted. Calling Curtis was on my mind all day. I wanted to make sure we had another date so I could figure out how I felt about him.

Acting so lovesick was out of character for me. I was usually the down to earth, dependable one. Something about the large alpha had me shaken out of my usual routine. Maybe that was exactly what I needed.

I sent him a message to say thank you for all the little things he’d done. The man had charged my phone! How thoughtful was that? I spent some time debating with myself over calling him.

Determined not to let fear rule my mind, I dialed his number.

“Hey,” he said when he picked up. Was I imagining the relief in his tone?

“Are you sure you don’t mind me calling? I took up your entire weekend!” I picked nervously at the shredded arm of the sofa. Percy always picked this one to sharpen his claws on, even with several scratching posts and a catio on my balcony to play in.

The cadence of his voice over the phone was soothing.

“Mind? No, it’s a relief to talk to you.

” He paused and there were sounds of movement.

I imagined he was cleaning up the remains from his family brunch, or batch cooking for the week, like he said he did sometimes.

“Besides, I got plenty done this morning while you were sleeping and a few things done during brunch.”

“How was it?”

“Good.” There was the creak of leather and a grunt from Curtis as he sat on the sofa. “The usual. Catching up with my dad and sister. Lara was asking about you.”

“I feel bad about bailing,” I admitted. The worry over it had sat like a lump in my gut all day.

“You shouldn’t.” His words instantly soothed me. “Anyone would feel intimidated in that situation, but it would have been worse for you after your heat.” There was a brief pause. “You feeling okay? How’s Percy?” I loved how he remembered my cat’s name.

“He was mad at me for being gone so long.” I thought I heard him restraining a laugh. Percy glared his kitty glare at me, letting me know I was still in trouble. “Do you like cats?”

“Oh, sure. We used to have them growing up. Mama loved them. You never said how you were feeling. You aren’t hurt, are you? D’you need anything?”

His concern was so incredibly touching. Even at this distance, it felt like being wrapped in a warm hug.

“Curtis, I don’t think you get how special you are.” He chuckled, eliciting a shiver. I had to get him to make that noise more. “I’ve never felt so good after a heat.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, maybe the bar is in hell, or I’ve just had a run of bad luck, but that was so easy with you. I mean, I’m tired, I just don’t feel like I’ve run a marathon in concrete shoes.”

He laughed. “That’s quite the image. You should draw it,” he teased.

“Maybe I will.”

We stayed on the call for a long time. Long enough that we both got up to make something to eat. I was tempted to order something in since there wasn’t much in the fridge. The bread was still good, luckily, and I had eggs. A nice, light dinner after a busy weekend.

It was so easy to talk to him that I tried to keep him on the line even after he began to yawn. I knew he had an early start.

“Jae?”

“Yeah?”

“Wanna go see a movie with me tomorrow or Tuesday?”

“Yeah, I really do.”