Page 9 of Wolves’ Midlife Reunion (Shifter Nation: Enchanted Over Forty #3)

“Debbie.” Dex tapped his sister’s shoulder.

“Hey, look who I ran into!” she said as she turned around. “It’s Nick Turlington.”

“Hi, Nick.” Dex shook his hand too quickly, ready to get out of there. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Yeah, you too.”

Dex extracted himself, pulling his sister aside. “I just wanted to tell you that I’m heading out.”

“What? Where are you going? Is this about Chris?” She sighed and shook her head. “I saw his little dog-and-pony show, but that just proves he’s still the same old pompous prick. Don’t let him ruin your night, okay?”

“It’s not that. I, um, I ran into Tina.” He hadn’t told Debbie about seeing Tina at her crystal shop, knowing his twin would give him the third degree if she knew. Dex gestured slightly with his head toward the table where Tina was waiting for him.

“Well, now.” Debbie’s mouth curled into a mischievous smile. “That’s a whole different matter, isn’t it?”

“Don’t make a big deal out of it,” he told her. “We’re just going to the old diner for a bit.”

“Sure.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Don’t worry. The rest of us won’t wait up for you.”

“Knock it off, Debbie. We’re just catching up.”

“Hey, I’m just doing my job as a little sister and giving you a hard time,” she defended.

“A little sister who’s only two minutes younger than me,” he retorted with a smile. “I just wanted to let you know I’m leaving.”

“Have fun!” she called after him.

He threaded his way back through the crowd to Tina. They got in her car and made the short drive to Peggy Sue’s.

“I can’t believe this place is still here,” Dex said, squinting in the bright lights. He took in the chrome-edged counter and matching barstools sitting atop a checkered floor. “It looks the same, too.”

“They made some updates,” Tina pointed out as they passed the jukebox. “Looks like they finally went digital.”

“Just in time for vinyl to come back,” he joked, leading the way to a booth near the back with a framed Andy Warhol print hanging over it. He sank into the seat, noticing how soothing it felt to have her sitting across from him.

“All the best things come back around, right?” she asked, glancing down at the menu.

His wolf surged, wishing a table wasn’t separating them. “Absolutely.”

“I always felt like I was in an old Archie comic when I came here,” she said, pulling up her shoulders a little and absorbing the atmosphere.

“I know all the midcentury stuff gets highly romanticized, and I could bore you to pieces with that. But it felt like this was how things were supposed to be.”

“This was a way better suggestion than the reunion, that’s for sure.” If she kept talking about good things coming back around and what was meant to be, Dex wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep his wolf in check. Even his human side was a little too excited.

“It was a bit selfish,” she said, scrunching her nose. “I’ve been craving a burger from Peggy Sue’s for about a week, but I’ve been trying to be good.”

“It doesn’t look like you’ve got anything to worry about.” His eyes skimmed down to her dress and then quickly back up again. “I mean, you look great.”

“Thank you.” Her cheeks flushed slightly pink. “You look pretty darn good yourself.”

A young waitress came by to take their orders, pausing their conversation for a moment.

“I never thought I’d miss that crabby old woman who used to work here when we were kids,” Tina commented. “Do you remember her? All those kids coming here after school had to be keeping the place open, but she always acted like we were annoying the hell out of her.”

“Even you?” Dex asked. “I know she was always that way around me and the guys, but we probably were annoying. I can’t imagine you were.”

She considered this for a moment. “Maybe she didn’t like the idea of someone reading while they ate. It must not’ve been the ambience they were going for,” she laughed.

“So tell me what the girl who always brought a book to the burger joint has been doing all this time. Have you had your crystal shop for long?”

She fluttered her lids a little, looking flattered that he should ask about her history. “Close to twenty years now, which is almost embarrassing to say. That makes me sound incredibly old.”

“No, it doesn’t,” he countered. She didn’t look old. She still sounded like the same smart, quirky Tina. Maybe a little older, technically, but also more confident.

“I enjoy it, though,” she told him, twisting one of her rings as she spoke.

“I get to support myself by doing what I love, and I feel like I’m part of the community, too.

Not that it isn’t hard work, but it’s worth it.

Granted, this time of year is always the hardest, when we’re packed with tourists. ”

Dex watched her mouth and hands, enjoying the way they moved as she spoke. “And then some moron comes in there and takes up all your time asking for help picking out a simple necklace.”

“No,” she countered. “I’d rather assist with a stone necklace than listen to someone complain that we don’t have any wand-shaped glowsticks.”

Their burgers and shakes arrived, although Dex had nearly forgotten about them as he’d listened to Tina.

“What about you?” she said, peeking under her burger bun to make sure the extra pickles were on there. “I didn’t ask what you’re doing for a living.”

“I’m an EMT,” he said simply.

“Well, that’s quite a job,” she said, pausing her burger halfway to her mouth. “I had no idea you were interested in medicine.”

“I wasn’t back then,” he admitted. “I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do at all. I think that fight with Chris was what really did it for me.”

He thought back to that fateful night and the sense of complete horror that’d taken over him when he saw how still Chris’s body had become. The paramedics had swooped in, acting quickly as the situation was dire.

“I liked the idea of saving people,” Dex went on.

“It’s got to be hard,” Tina said sympathetically, “with the things you have to see.”

“It can be.” He wouldn’t lie about that.

Some of the scenes they were called to could be pretty grisly.

“I like being the calm and reasonable one in the situation, though. There are these people who are absolutely freaking out over themselves or their loved ones, but I’m the voice and hand of reason.

It’s kind of a way of taking care of people, and it’s pretty satisfying. ”

“That’s incredible, Dex. How long have you been doing that?”

Their conversation continued as they ate, flowing so easily that Dex hardly even remembered emptying his plate. It was just so good to spend time with her, to really talk.

He was just finishing his shake when the waitress returned and slapped their check on the table. “We’re getting ready to close in ten minutes, by the way.”

“Really?” Tina glanced up at the clock on the wall, surrounded by neon tubes. “I don’t know where the time went.”

Dex handed over his debit card. “I don’t either, but I don’t really want it to end. I’m having a good time.”

“Me, too.” She bit her lower lip for a second. “It doesn’t have to end, if you don’t want it to. My place isn’t all that far. We could hang out there?”

His wolf leaped at the chance, and he dug his fingers into his leg to suppress it. “Sure, if you’d like.”

If he’d taken a moment to imagine it, Dex would’ve thought Tina’s apartment would be just like this.

Thick rugs dotted the hardwood floors, and a cozy blanket was thrown over the back of the couch.

Several plants surrounded the picture window on one end of the living room, suspended in vintage macrame hangers.

Crystals and candles were displayed on nearby shelves, along with a lot of old books.

“Nice place,” he said as they came in and took off their jackets.

“Thank you. It kind of called to me. The shop did, too. Do you want some tea?”

“Sure.”

The apartment had an open floor plan, so the kitchen was just a few steps away. They were soon on the couch, next to each other but also facing each other. It was almost the same position they’d been in at the reunion, like they were drawn together.

“It’s great to have you here,” she told him, her eyes soft as she set her mug down on the coffee table. “I never thought it would happen, but it’s nice.”

“It is,” he agreed. “Tina, why didn’t we ever pursue a relationship when we were younger?”

She shrugged a little, her eyebrows tweaking as she pushed the crocheted throw blanket out of her way.

“We ran in completely different circles. We had different friends and different interests. My friends weren’t exactly big fans of yours, and I don’t think your friends were very keen on me, either. ”

“They didn’t think smart girls were worth the time,” he told her, remembering some of the conversations he and the boys had after football practice. “At that age, they just wanted to get in a girl’s pants instead of her mind.”

She chuckled at that. “I’m sure that’s true.

I admit that, for a while, I believed a couple who was fated could work through anything.

It didn’t matter if they liked the same things or not.

That didn’t seem to be the case with us.

Every time we hung out, it was like fate was pushing us together, but the rest of the world was pulling us apart. ”

“That all seems so stupid to me now. I wish I could go back and talk to my younger self about what really mattered. That was a lot of time wasted.” He took her hand, rubbing his thumb along the back of it. Her fingertips were still warm from where she’d held her mug.

She had her head bent as she watched their hands moving together. “We can’t really say that. Maybe there were other things we were meant to do. You’ve got Sage, for example.”

“And I wouldn’t trade her for the world. You could be right, or there’s another theory I’ve got.” He felt his palms tingling and his wolf slowly rolling, pleased to be so close to her. Alone.

“What’s that?”