Page 5 of Christopher

Chris’s mate snatched his hand away from Karl and pressed closer to Chris. Chris hadn’t let go of him, and he pulled him back, wanting to make sure Karl wouldn’t be able to touch him again.

“I thought you were better than this, Drake,” Karl said.

Chris snorted. “Better than what? This was your first date, and he found his mate. What do you expect him to do? Finish his date with you and ignore me?”

“That would be the right thing to do,” Karl said.

Chris couldn’t believe it. Actually, hecouldbelieve it, but he was still surprised at how stupid some people could be. “I’m not letting my mate continue his date with you, especially because he told you he didn’t want to.” Chris looked down at Drake, happy to have a name and even happier to get Drake out of there. “Do you need to get anything?”

Drake shook his head. He’d set his drink on the counter earlier and gestured at it now. “I already got coffee. I’m set.”

Chris snatched the coffee from the counter and nodded. “All right. Let’s go, then.”

“You can’t just walk out on me,” Karl complained.

“Just let it go, Karl,” Drake said. “We weren’t meant to be.”

When Chris steered Drake toward the door, Drake came easily. Chris was still relieved they could leave, since everyone was staring at them. He rushed his mate out of the coffee shop, not minding at all that he hadn’t gotten anything to drink. He didn’t care about that. He just cared about Drake.

The door closed behind them, and for a moment, Chris just stared ahead. He had his mate, so now what? What did he do with him? What did he say?

And was there a way to ignore the panic swelling in his chest?

* * * *

Drake didn’t know what to say. He was relieved and grateful that his mate had gotten him out of the coffee shop and away from Karl, over the moon happy that he’d found his mate, and overwhelmed by all of it.

He took a sip of his coffee because his mouth was dry but wrinkled his nose when he found it cold. He’d wasted so much time with Karl that his coffee had gotten cold, dammit.

But that didn’t matter, because he had something more important to focus on. He turned to his mate, trying to choose the one question he should ask first. “What’s your name?”

His mate blinked down at him. He was taller than Drake, which Drake loved. “Christopher. Most people call me Chris.”

Drake nodded. “Do youwantme to call you Chris?”

“Yeah.”

“Chris it is, then. I’m Drake.”

“I know. I heard your date call you that. He’s still staring, by the way.”

At the reminder that Karl was still in the coffee shop, Drake looked up. Sure enough, Karl was glaring at him and Chris. “Do you think we could walk away? I don’t really care about him, but I don’t feel comfortable with him glaring a hole in my forehead.”

Chris gestured down the sidewalk.

It was clear that now that they were away from Karl, he was a bit more hesitant, but that was okay. Drake didn’t have a problem taking the lead.

For years, he’d yearned to meet his mate. He’d always wanted to have that kind of relationship, that kind of person in his life. It had gotten worse after his friend Dennis had met his mate, and he’d seen how happy Dennis and Kyle were. He’d wanted the same thing, and now, he could have it.

Drake bounced on the balls of his feet, grabbed Chris’s hand, and pulled him down the sidewalk. “I have to thank you for stepping in when you did,” he said. “Karl was a blind date organized by one of my colleagues, but as much as I love Linda, I’m going to have to yell at her when I see her tomorrow. He was awful. I don’t know why she thought he’d be a good fit for me, but it almost feels as if he threatened her into organizing this date, you know? It’s not like her to ignore the signs. She wants me to be happy, and she had to know I wouldn’t be happy with Karl.”

Drake looked up to see that Chris was blinking at him. He understood why. He tended to overshare and talk too fast and too much when he was excited, and there was nothing more exciting than finding his mate. It was a lot for people who weren’t used to it, though.

“I’m sorry,” he quickly said. “Feel free to tell me to shut up if it’s too much for you, but I’m excited. I didn’t think I’d meet my mate while I was on a blind date with an asshole, but I couldn’thave asked for anyone better than you to rescue me. I’m just sorry you didn’t have the opportunity to get something to drink. We could go back when Karl leaves if you want.”

“I’m fine,” Chris said with a grunt.

That was all Drake got out of him. He wanted to draw Chris out of his shell, but that seemed to be easier said than done. Drake had to be careful, because he was known for steamrolling people. He talked a lot and generally took over conversations, but that wasn’t something he wanted to do right now.

---