Page 5 of The Suspicious Mate

"Average, I'd say." He told him. "But who cares? Just say what you have to and then move on with your life." Ames was always to the point.

"On a normal night, he would not make the cut. I'd send him on his average boring way." Noa was acting like a child, and he knew he had to shape up before Mac and his cousin reached the head of the line. He shook himself out and cracked his knuckles while Ames looked on amused. "I'm ready." He said, although there was a bit of a strain in his tone.

"I've never known you to get so worked up about anyone, especially someone so average." Ames grinned again, enjoying Noa's discomfort.

"I'm not worked up. I just don't like apologies, especially when I was not wrong; I was just insulting." Ames barked a laugh.

"Just insulting . . . well, that's nothing to worry about then. Just insulting . . . nothing serious." Ames continued to laugh, and Noa tried to ignore him.

"That's him by the door, the blonde with the hard brown eyes. He's not as foreboding as he appears." Mac pointed out Noa to Kallan, and he found himself impressed despite his best efforts not to be. Noa was an extremely handsome man, and unfortunately, he seemed to know it. With the muscles, the height, the jawline, and the perfect hair and face, Noa was a flawless specimen of manliness.

He also clearly expected the same perfection in the men he chose to date or rather went home with since Mac told him that Noa rarely dated and took a hard line against relationships. It was probably best that he be a one-and-done kind of guy, for perfection was a difficult standard to maintain and could take a damaging toll on a person's mental health. Any boyfriend would probably find themselves lacking sooner rather than later.

Kallan watched as Noa turned away two people that, in Kallan's opinion, were handsome and sharply dressed but apparently didn't measure up to the Noa Benson meter of attractiveness. "What was wrong with those guys?" He asked Mac, and they watched as the two left the line and headed down the street, looking a bit miffed by the snub.

"Not sure." He said after scrutinizing the couple for a few seconds. "Maybe they're a couple, and he's supposed to only let in single people."

"That's a bit of a stretch." Kallan shook his head and realized that the longer he stood in line watching Noa work, the less he liked the guy. "If we weren't invited by your friend and just showed up here hoping to get in, I doubt very much either of us would make the cut." Mac smiled that endearing smirk and nodded his agreement.

“No way I’d get in, but you might.” Mac laughed.

"I've seen the people he's turned away, and I would not get passed the doors any easier than you." Kallan crossed his arms on his chest and glanced away from the doors, thoroughly disgusted by the behavior on display.

"I'm not asking you to marry him," Mac said and caused Kallan to chuckle. "I just would like you two to get along . . . a little . . . enough that maybe we could all hang out from time to time. That's all I'm asking."

"Okay." Kallan relented. "I'm just still sore from the insults, and it might take me a day or two to get over it, but I will. I can't promise that I'll ever want to hang with that asshole, but I'll try . . . for you, I'll try." That brought another smile to Mac's face, and he patted Kallan's back vigorously.

"You'll come to like him. He's not as bad as he appears." Kallan didn't comment simply nodded as he was not convinced but didn't want to fight with Mac. As they drew closer to the head of the line, Kallan noticed Noa watching Mac and checking out the people around him, probably wondering which dolt was him. Just to make it a little more difficult on the man, Kallan stepped back from Mac, putting just a little distance between them.

He saw Noa zero in on the gentleman standing in front of him, and the look on Noa's face was contemptuous at best. This guy was irredeemable. He didn't care how hard Mac tried to soften Noa's horrid attitude. It wasn't going to fly. Mac stepped up to Noa, who, in his favor, greeted him with a smile and a hug.

"Good to see you, man." He said and patted Mac's shoulder. He then glanced around, quickly settling his gaze on the man standing in front of Kallan.

Noa was feeling pretty confident that his planned apology would go off without issue. Kallan looked like someone who was not unfamiliar with unkind assessments, to put it gently. An apology was probably unusual for him, but to be honest, Noa did regret his behavior neither Mac nor Kallan deserved his cruel words. He reached out his hand, eager to get the apology over with.

“I’m pleased to meet you, Kallan." Noa told him but was left with his hand hanging in space as the man simply stared at him and stepped back. Noa thought for a moment that Kallan was going to make a scene, but then Mac started to laugh.

"That's not Kallan." He said and reached back and grabbed someone's arm, and pulled them forward. "You were nearly lost in the crowd. Hope you weren’t trying to slip away.” He said to the man under his breath, but Noa heard him. He then turned and looked at Noa. "This is Kallan."

Noa was gobsmacked. He hadn't noticed this man in the crowd, but here he stood, and Noa was, for the first time in his life, at a loss for words. Kallan was the most stunningly beautiful man Noa had ever laid eyes upon. He’d seen and had a lot of handsome men, but they all paled into obscurity in comparison to this outrageously gorgeous individual. Kallan was nothing like the man he’d been expecting. He didn’t know what to say. A mere apology suddenly seemed so inadequate.

Thankfully Ames recognized his dismay and suggested they all go inside. Noa held the door as Mac and Kallan walked in, and the moment Kallan walked past him, the air changed. It was electrified, and his awareness sharpened. Noa's bear surged to the surface, and in that moment, Kallan turned and looked at him square in the eyes.

Noa knew his eyes were betraying the presence of his beast, but he could not push it down fast enough. He saw surprise in Kallan's brilliant steel blue eyes, but the human did not react. He saw the wildness in their depths, but he didn't look away.

Noa's flashing animalistic focus did not scare him,. Rather there was interest there, and Noa smiled. "Pleased to meet you, Kallan." He said and reached out his hand. Kallan shifted his gaze from Noa's eyes to his hand, and after a few seconds of hesitation, he took the offered hand and nodded but did not speak. The moment Noa made physical contact with Kallan, his awareness spiked, and everything in him became laser-focused on this one man.

"Why don't you take Kallan and get a table while I get us all drinks," Noa spoke to Mac while never taking his eyes off Kallan. He slowly released Kallan's hand and watched them move out into the main room and take a seat at a table along the front wall. It was a good location, quieter and illuminated by a wall sconce. Noa leaned over the bar, and Parc was there with a sly smile.

“That’s Kallan?” He asked while getting the drinks poured.

"That's Kallan." Noa responded, a little shell shocked by the way things were turning out.

"Not the troll you expected, then?" Parc teased and handed him the drinks.

"He's breathtaking," Noa whispered while shaking his head. "I really fucked this one up, Parc." He dropped his gaze to the drinks on the tray, unable to maintain Parc's expression of sympathy.

"Apologize as planned and see where it gets you." Noa nodded curtly and then headed to the table. As he approached, he noticed Mac and his cousin were deep in conversation, and Noa had a hunch they were discussing him, and it was probably not complimentary.

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