Page 19 of The Griffin, the Tiger, and Their House Cat Omega

I thanked him and headed for the shower. My mates were meeting me at a local diner I’d discovered shortly after moving to town. They had the best chicken-fried steak, biscuits and gravy, pancakes… I’d never had a bad meal there, and I’d never been so excited to go there.

After a short decision struggle over what to wear, I put on the jeans that always got me second looks, a fitted polo, and my lucky sneakers, grabbed a hoodie, and drove to the diner. It wasdown near the beach with tables outside on the patio and if luck held, it would be warm enough to sit out there and get to know my mates with the sight and sounds of the ocean as background. Everyone thought because I came from Florida I must have grown up near the beach but nothing could be further from the truth. We lived in an area that was more swamp than anything, and my first actual sight of an ocean was the Pacific.

Half an hour later, we were seated at one of those outside tables. It was a little cool and breezy, but shifters run warm and we all had hoodies. It was extra special seeing these men in the sunlight. I hoped they felt the same about me.

Our server brought coffee for River and I and orange juice over ice for Allen. I’d never seen ice in OJ before, but as he sipped it, I couldn’t understand why anyone drank it any differently.

“What is everyone getting?” River asked, scanning the menu. “I’m starving.”

“I can recommend almost everything. Whenever I come here, I try to order something different, and they haven’t disappointed yet.”

“We could order several things you haven’t had yet, then, and share,” Allen suggested. “Unless there aren’t three left?”

These guys were so much fun. We decided on the Kitchen Sink Omelet, strawberry rhubarb pancakes, and eggs Benedict along with the giant cinnamon roll that I had enjoyed before but thought they shouldn’t miss the opportunity to try.

Waiting for the food, we kicked off our shoes and walked down to the water’s edge, letting the server know we’d be back before the food came. “You sure we have time?” Allen asked as we padded over the sand.

“Yeah. The diner is amazing, but they are not speedy. We’re not the only ones killing time. It’s nice down here, though, right?”

“Beautiful.” River slipped an arm around my waist and gave me a squeeze. “If the food is as good as the view, we’re in for a treat.”

We stayed down there for ten minutes or so before heading back toward the restaurant, arriving just as our food was being placed on the table. We shared everything and it seemed like foreshadowing for how we might live our lives together. Everything was delicious, as always, but I was much more interested in watching Allen and River eat than eating. Their strong jaws moving was incredibly sexy, something I’d never noticed in anyone before.

When we were stuffed to the gills, we didn’t want our time together to end, so we headed back down to the beach and strolled along for a while, just being together and talking about our lives up to this point. We decided to tell Flora this evening, so she knew about how her family was expanding.

And then I invited them to my house to spend some more time together until River had to pick up Flora. Our first date was a big success, but I for one wanted some time alone with them, and from their quick agreement, I believed they shared my feelings.

Chapter Thirteen

Allen

Matthew lived in a cute little house on a tree-lined street. We were all eager to see it. And to spend some private time alone together. At last.

I was on vacation, but my mates had responsibilities. I was grateful they found a way where we could spend some of this day together.

Matthew tried to show us around the house, but River and I were very distracted by each other. And by him.

“It’s a small backyard but kind of cute, don’t you guys think so?” When he turned around, River and I were standing close, staring into each other’s eyes.

When we realized Matthew was waiting for some kind of response, we both looked up.

“What did you say, sweetheart?” River asked.

Matthew pouted. “I was showing you my backyard.”

“We’re sorry.”

I raised my head but couldn’t get my silly smile to stop.

“No, you’re not,” Matthew said.

I went to him and put my arm around his shoulders. “It’s just that you smell so good. It’s distracting.”

“It really is.” River came up along his other side. “That sort of makes it your fault.”

“You were distracted by each other, not me.”

“I’m dizzy because of both of you.” I glanced from one to the other.

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