Page 29 of Semi-Rejected Life

I stared at him for a long moment. My heart was pounding in my chest, his words sending a tingle up my spine. The wolf inside me was running in circles chasing his own tail out of pure joy. But the human side of me only had one thing to say.

“You’re stupid,” I replied coldly. “I’m not gonna fall for your cliche romance lines just because they sound good in movies.” I stepped closer to him, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and yanking him toward me. “Your behavior on the beach today was intolerable. If you want me that badly, you’re going to have to fucking prove it. I’m not gonna chase you anymore.” I let go of him and stepped into my apartment. “Time for you to do the chasing.”

And I slammed the door in his face.

Chapter Fourteen: River

Well, things weren’t as bad as I’d expected. But they weren’t good either.

After spending a nearly sleepless night back in the hotel after Vincent told me off, I felt like shit. However, the night had given me some time to think and at last I thought I’d come to a decision.

I had a little less than three weeks left in Shifter Grove. The first order of business was to grovel like my life depended on it. Vincent was pissed at me and with good reason. The only way I could ever get him to listen to me and take my feelings seriously was to prove to him that I wasn’t some Alpha asshole. He was his own person and I needed to respect that. But, I didn’t want to let him go completely and lose him to another blond himbo. So walking that particular tight rope would require a delicate sense of balance.

The second order of business was being honest with him about my feelings. Now, I had to earn his trust back before I could really spill my guts about all that. But I knew I had to do it eventually. Trying to force it all down and ignore how I truly felt was what got me in trouble in the first place. I didn’t want to repeat that.

If steps one and two went well and Vincent seemed like he was serious about being with me, step three would be complete and utter honesty about my life. I needed to tell him what was waiting for me back home. After that we could decide how to proceed. Of course, if he wanted me to stay, that meant growing a pair and facing my father at last. But I needed Vincent to understand how deeply useless I was out in the real world. A wealthy and sheltered upbringing meant I had nothing to offer him outside of my company. I wouldn’t have a dime to my name or a place to live. Although, Sam might take me in at his hotel if I needed it. But that was a bridge I’d burn when I got there. For now, I just needed to start with step one.

Thoughts of my father’s disappointment nearly paralyzed me before I even got out of bed. But imagining Vincent’s smiling face, luscious green eyes, and sweet scent drove all that fear away. I had to see him again. And thankfully, I knew where he went every morning.

So, doing my best not to be a total stalker once again, I got dressed and went as nonchalantly down to the cafe as I could muster. It was still pretty early and I knew Vincent liked to sleep in since he worked late. I took my computer and a notebook tucked in my backpack with me just so I could look like I was doing something other than waiting for him. It wasn’t much of a disguise, but it might stop him from writing me off the very moment he saw me.

The cafe was pretty busy when I arrived. I spent a few minutes in line before snagging a small table in the back. With coffee and scone in hand, I pulled a pair of headphones out of my bag, booted up my computer, and started surfing. Of course, most of it was mindless video scrolling on social media as I waited for Vincent to show up. But after a while I found some surfing content that I really liked and started to get more involved.

In fact, I didn’t even notice Vincent was in the store until I caught a whiff of that sweet licorice scent. The moment it caught my attention I looked up and found Vincent standing right next to my table, staring at me. I couldn’t help but wince as I pulled my headphones away. I was so sure he was going to yell at me.

“Uh… hi.”

“Hi,” he replied, clearly not amused. “So? What are you doing here?”

“I was just using the wifi–” I stopped myself mid-lie and took a breath. “The truth is, I was hoping to see you this morning. But I didn’t want to look like I was following you or force you into anything. So I figured I’d bring something to do.”

“Well, you don’t seem to be very good at staking people out.”

I felt like such an idiot. “Yeah… I got caught up watching surfing videos. I wanted to see you, but I wasn’t sure if you’d be ready yet.”

“And what if I’m not?”

I could tell by his tone he was testing me. “Then that’s fine. I totally understand. I won’t bother you.”

Vincent just stared. “This place is packed,” he said finally, glancing down at my table.

I didn’t know how to respond.

“So?” he said. “Get your shit out of the way so I can sit with you.”

“Right. Sorry!”

I flipped the laptop closed and put it back in my bag. There was the faintest hint of a smirk at the corner of Vincent’s mouth as he took a seat, but I didn’t point it out. I was just glad he was okay with being near me. It only took a quick glance to see that the cafe, while busy, was far from packed. He could have sat somewhere else by himself.

“I… uh… wanted to say I’m sorry again for everything I did yesterday,” I said after a while. “It was pretty shitty of me to scare away that guy like that.”

“Sure was.”

“Did… Did he ever call you back?”

Of course, I wanted him to say no. But a part of me thought I’d deserve it if he said yes and was going on another date with the guy. I really had been a world class prick.

“No,” Vincent sighed. “And considering my texts won’t go through anymore, I don’t think he ever will.” He took a sip of his iced coffee, rattling the cup like a snake’s tail. “You know you just lost me a customer and made it weird at work, right? That guy is friends with my delivery dude.”

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