Page 31 of Christopher

“They loved him until they didn’t?”

“To be fair, I don’t think they actually loved him. I’m not going to speculate on that, though, because they weren’t my relationships. I just wanted you to know that Drake always feels like he should be the perfect partner. With the many times he’s been told he’s needy and too much, he’s been trying to soften himself down with you. He doesn’t want you to be overwhelmed or to run screaming for the hills.”

Chris frowned. “That doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t I want to be with him? He’s my mate.”

“We’ve already pointed that out to him, but I think he’s going to do things his way. You can expect a lot of awkwardness and glances, but he’s going to take a step back and give you space. He doesn’t want to appear needy or feel like he’s too much for you to handle.”

“Do you happen to know his exes’ addresses?” Chris asked, feeling more than ever convinced he needed to beat all of them to a pulp.

Dennis chuckled. “I don’t, and I believe that’s a good thing, from the murderous expression on your face. I don’t think the people you have to deal with to solve this situation are the exes.”

Chris crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. “It’s Drake. He’s so convinced that he has to change to find love that he’s going to lose himself if he’s not careful.”

“Exactly. I was afraid he wouldn’t fully understand what I was saying, so I’m glad to see that you have. Drake is so used to being told he needs to change that he’s decided to do exactly that for you. He’s going to change so he can be a more acceptable mate.”

“That’s ridiculous, but thank you for telling me. I don’t want him to be different. I want him to be himself because that’s who Fate chose for me.”

“You should probably tell him that. I already tried to convince him that you’d love him the way he is, but it’s not easy for him to believe it.”

“I’ll try, but I can tell him that he’s perfect for me a hundred times, and it doesn’t mean he’ll believe me.”

“You keep trying,” Dennis said as he patted Chris’s shoulder. “You should probably go. He told us about your date tonight, and he was excited. He’s going to tone it down when he sees you, but he’ll break eventually. He always does.”

Chris thought that was a good thing, because he loved the way Drake was independent but also how he needed him. He loved everything he’d seen in Drake, and he couldn’t wait to see more of it.

It looked like he was going to have to convince Drake to show him that part of him, and he wasn’t quite sure how to do that, but he knew what he wanted, and he was stubborn. The situation called for that, and maybe tonight he would manage to see more hints of the real Drake.

Chris was no stranger to trying to hide, but he was the one person Drake wasn’t supposed to hide from. He hoped he’d be able to get Drake to understand that.

And if he couldn’t, he’d try again and again until Drake did understand. They were mates. They were perfect for each other because of who they were. If Drake was different, he wouldn’t be perfect for Chris, which meant they wouldn’t be mates.

Chris just had to get him to see that.

* * * *

Drake could tell there was something on Chris’s mind when he picked him up at his apartment. He was nice and kissed Drake on the cheek to say hello, but he was quiet.

Chris was always quiet, so Drake wasn’t initially worried. When Chris kept glancing at him, though, he knew something had happened that involved him. He couldn’t think of anything he’d done, which meant it had been one of his friends.

Dennis.

He’d been so adamant when they’d talked this afternoon that Drakeknewhe had something to do with this. It was the only thing that made sense. It might have been Eddie, but he didn’t live with the pride, and he wouldn’t know how to contact Chris. Dennis, on the other hand, lived in the same house, and they shared Kyle. It would have been easy for him to reach Chris.

He probably had.

Drake swallowed and rubbed his palms on his thighs. What happened? What had Dennis said? It couldn’t be too bad, since Chris was here and they were still going on their date, but Drake needed to know.

He couldn’t believe one of his best friends had betrayed him. He understood Dennis’s point of view and even why he was pushing so hard for Drake to be himself, but it was Drake’schoice. Dennis didn’t have a say in it, and it wasn’t his business, but he’d made it his by talking to Chris.

Drake kept expecting Chris to say something, but they both stayed silent the entire drive. It was awkward and tense, and Drake hated it.

He didn’t want their date to continue like this, so as soon as they were out of the car and had enough space that one of them could step away if he needed to, he turned to Chris. “You talked to Dennis,” he said.

“It’s more like Dennis talked to me, but yeah. He had something to say.”

“Of course he did.”

“He’s looking out for you.”

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