Page 7 of Nitro

Part of me, though, had a dark curiosity and almost wished for him to resist, to fight back.

Memories from my past clouded my mind, particularly the image of Gin, my ex-best friend, who fought like a cornered animal when I had caught him making out with Benji.

The recollection played out vividly in my head—violence, blood staining the floor, Benji weeping as he stood over Gin's unconscious body, and Benji looking at me with accusatory eyes.

Monster, Benji had mouthed.

"Nitro?" Tommy's voice shook me out of the haunting past, and I snapped back to the present. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I replied, my voice a little rough as I shook off the painful memories. "Let's get out of here."

“I got you your grape soda,” Tommy said, offering it to me as we returned to Spike and our vehicles.

“I’m glad you remembered,” I told him with a smile.

Tommy's quietness on the way back and the gas station incident left me wondering if he was more shaken up than he was letting on.

I decided to check in with him about it later, not wanting to push if he wasn't ready to talk.

As we rode, I could feel Tommy gradually becoming less tense behind me.

We passed the "Welcome to Moon Burrow" town sign, and I couldn't help but hope that Tommy would eventually come to see this place as his home, just like I did.

Finally, I cut the engine after locating a parking lot right in front of Tommy's new apartment building.

I couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment knowing that I had played a part in helping him find this place.

The location was perfect, conveniently close to the main town area, ensuring that Tommy had easy access to everything he needed.

Spike parked his truck behind my motorcycle.

“We're finally here,” Tommy whispered as he dismounted.

"Yeah," I agreed, looking him over.

I had the sudden urge to walk up to Tommy, run my fingers through his wind-blown hair and maybe surprise him with a kiss.

How would Tommy react? Appalled? Happy? Would he kiss me back or push me away because it was too soon?

"Nitro, if you could stop making moon eyes at Tommy, you can help me unload this stuff. Some people have jobs to get to," Spike muttered, his tone carrying a hint of grumpiness.

I didn't think too much of it at the moment.

Spike was probably just a bit envious that I had found my mate while he was still on the hunt for his.

"Sorry, Spike, and thanks for helping us out,” Tommy said, jumping in quickly to smooth things over.

My future mate was thoughtful that way.

Spike flashed a lopsided grin, appearing a touch embarrassed.

"Nah, don't worry about it,” Spike said.

He began unloading the boxes. In a matter of minutes, we managed to carry all the boxes upstairs to Tommy's compact studio apartment.

It became evident that the space was a bit snug for Tommy and two not-quite-small bear shifters.

"Spike, don't you have a job to get to?" I reminded my best friend.

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