“I made Abby breakfast after we hooked up to talk her into letting me help train the dog,” Nico said. “She’s brilliant, and fun. I didn’t want to let her get away.”
Jade’s accusatory stare swung back to him, but her expression did soften slightly.
“Breakfast led to lunch, and dinner, and dessert, and the next breakfast, and kind of a whole week together.” I shrugged. “We’re dating now. I know it’s fast, but we’ve spent like a hundred and something hours together now, so it’s not really out of the blue.”
Jade blinked at me once.
And again.
Finally, she looked back at Nico. “So you’re Abby’s boyfriend.”
“Yeah. Nice to meet you. I assume you’re one of her friends.” He held out his hand a little awkwardly.
When Jade reluctantly shook it, my wolf growled again.
I feigned a cough attack, and the handshake ended quickly when Nico tucked me under his arm, rubbing my back lightly.
“We’ll have to do dinner or drinks so the rest of the girls can meet him,” Jade said, now talking to both of us. She’d recovered a little, and seemed slightly less concerned now.
“Sure. At the bar on Friday night, maybe?” I offered after clearing my throat.
Jade nodded. “I’ll send out a text.”
“Perfect. We’ve got a date planned with two massive cheeseburgers at Kody’s grill in twenty minutes, so we’ve got to go, but I’ll see you then.” I pulled away from Nico to give her another quick hug before walking away.
We were both silent until we reached the car. When we were sitting, I spun toward him. “What the hell was that, Cucumber?”
“Which part?”
“The part where you were anamazingliar. You should’ve been the one making up bullshit from the beginning!” I tossed a hand in the direction of the place we’d run into Jade.
“She would’ve thought I was holding you hostage or something if I made up a story for you.”
I considered it, sitting back in my seat normally. “Good point. It still went better than I would’ve expected.”
“Except the part where we’re going to have to get drinks with all of your friends on Friday.”
I made a face. “Yeah. Except that. We’ll figure it out.”
He made a sound of agreement, and we drove off to pick up our burgers.
twelve
NICO
Like I expected,Abby handled her classes—and the women who stared at me during them—better every day. Her wolf would continue to realize that she was the only one I wanted, and she would get at least somewhat more relaxed because of it.
When I wasn’t constantly surrounded by eighteen-year-old women who were clearly attracted to me, her possessiveness would die down drastically.
We spent our nights talking while cuddling in her bed or on her couch.
Friday came quickly, and her plans with her friends arrived with it.
After finishing her makeup, she fidgeted with her casual, sleeveless sweaterdress in the mirror while I leaned back against the doorway and watched her.
She was so fucking beautiful, and she didn’t even see it.
Her big, brown eyes met mine in the mirror. She’d lined them darker than usual, and in a different style that drew more attention. Hopefully I wouldn’t have to kill any obnoxious college boys for staring at her too long.
