Page 72 of The Mating Game
“Where is Tess, by the way?” I ask like an absolute jackass. “I haven’t seen her this morning.”
Thomas scratches at his neck. “Checked on her earlier. She said she had some dude to call. I can’t remember who.”
I feel my skin prickle, and I know that it’s none of my business, but suddenly I’m dying to know who that might have been. Surely there’s not someone back home she—
No.She wouldn’t let me touch her if she was already involved with someone. I know she’s not like that. She’s not like Chloe. Sheisn’t.
“You should come out tonight,” Thomas presses. “You don’t seem to get out much, dude.”
“I’m more of a homebody,” I tell him.
Thomas nods. “Yeah. Totally had theories that you were a vampire when I first met you.”
“What?” I can’t help it, I laugh. “Vampires aren’t real.”
“Dude, werewolves are real, why can’t vampires be?”
“First of all,” I say, chuckling, “ ‘werewolf’ isn’t really the proper term. Shifters can change at will. A werewolf can only change during the full moon. I would know.”
Thomas’s mouth forms an O shape. “Oh shit. Tess mentioned that.”
This gives me pause, wondering how much she’s told them. Surely if she’d informed them about what she was, she would have told me, right?
“She did?”
“Yeah, she said you were talking about accommodations,” Chase says.
“Dude,” Thomas chimes in, his face lighting up with excitement. “Can you show us? I’ve always wanted to see that.”
“You know I have to get naked for it, right?”
Kyle shoves Thomas’s shoulder. “You basically asked him to strip.”
Seeing a blush on the big man’s face is sort of hilarious.
“I didn’t think about that,” he mutters.
“Maybe some other time, yeah? I just got back in from a run, actually,” I tell him. “I have a few things to do.”
“Sure,” Thomas says with a bob of his head. “We’re out here waiting on a call from Dad. My phone gets shit service inside.”
This gives me pause. “Your dad?”
“Yeah. He’s calling to check in on the project.”
Despite it not really being my business, I can’t help but ask. “How is he? Tess told me a bit about his health.”
“He’s…okay,” Kyle says. “Or at least he pretends to be.” A sigh escapes him. “He doesn’t like worrying us.”
“Typical dad behavior,” I comment.
“Yeah,” Chase says. “It drives Tess bonkers. She likes to mother him.”
“They seem really close,” I point out.
Thomas laughs. “Oh, Tess has always been a daddy’s girl. I swear, sometimes I thinkshe’shis favorite son.”
He doesn’t say it with malice, more like with fondness that comes from them all being so close. It makes my chest hurt faintly, remembering what having that was like.
