Page 18 of Ethan
Dean didn’t seem fazed by my tone. “Griff invited me for a drink. Said this was a good spot to meet a few more packmates.”
I opened my mouth, ready to point out that he wasn’t officially part of Pecan Pines pack yet, but the words never came. For some reason, I just left it alone.
Before I could decide what to say next, Griffin appeared behind the bar, a tray of empty glasses in one hand. “Hey, you were great up there.”
The tension coiled in my chest melted instantly. “Thanks,” I said, a smile tugging at my lips.
Griffin grabbed a bottle of beer from the cooler and slid it across the counter toward me. “On the house.”
“Isn’t it always?” I joked, earning a chuckle from both of us before Griffin moved to the other end of the bar.
I took a long swig, the cold beer sliding down my throat and easing away the last of my irritation.
When I set the bottle back on the counter, I noticed Dean watching me, his expression unreadable.
“What?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
Dean twirled his beer bottle between his fingers, gaze dropping to the counter. The confidence, almost arrogance, he usually carried was nowhere to be seen.
Curiosity won out, and I finally sat down beside him.
Dean cleared his throat, hesitating before he finally spoke. “Look, I just want to know. Are you and Griffin...?”
I blinked. “Me and Griffin what?”
Dean shifted uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck. “You know…”
I stared at him for a second before it clicked. A laugh burst out of me, sudden and loud. “Ha—oh, hahaha! You think?—”
Dean groaned. “Alright, fine. Please just stop laughing!”
Griffin glanced over from the other end of the bar, raising a brow at the commotion.
Dean mumbled, “I asked him earlier, and he didn’t exactly give me a clear answer.”
Wiping tears from my eyes, I shook my head. “Griffin isn’t exactly the talkative sort.”
When I finally managed to stop laughing, I continued, “Griffin’s one of my closest childhood friends. And hismate, Michael, is someone I’d call any time I needed an extra man for my raid squad.”
Dean blinked at me.
“You know, like in an MMORPG. We’d team up to take down dragons, orcs, that sort of thing.”
Dean’s brows furrowed for a moment before realization dawned on his face. “Oh.”
“Does that satisfy your curiosity?” I asked, my voice teasing.
“Yeah, it does.” Dean let out a quiet chuckle, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
It was the kind of amused, “you’ve got me there” look that caught me off guard. Somehow, it made his eyes soften in a way I wasn’t prepared for.
I fumbled with my bottle for a second, pretending to check it while my chest tightened for a beat, then nodded at Griffin for two more beers. When they arrived, I handed one to Dean.
“C’mon,” I said, standing up. “I’ll introduce you to more of the pack.”
Chapter 5
Dean
