Chapter Eleven Andy

Icalled after Josh a couple of times, but he just kept running. Instead of going after him, I just sat there in the sand, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. My heart was pounding a mile a minute and I didn't need to glance down to know I was excited. I'd never felt so light or so wholly good before. It was like everything in my life had suddenly aligned. But I just didn't understand why it had even happened to begin with.

A word crept into the back of my mind as I tasted him on my lips and caught the last traces of that smoky scent of his.

Mate.

Uh-oh. That wasn't good. I guess it explained why I'd reacted to him the way I did the first time we met. Not that it made things any better. In fact, I was fairly certain things between us had never been worse. I couldn't help feeling guilty even though I knew I wasn't the one that made the move. It was Josh that kissed me.

"Andy?"

I glanced up, the voice of Sam pulling me from my stupor. He jogged through the sand until he reached me, a beer still clutched in his hand.

"Why did Josh run off like that?" he asked, his brows furrowed. "What did you do?"

"Me?!" I scoffed. "I didn't do anything!"

"He didn't run out of here like a girl dumped on prom night for no reason!"

Now I was irritated. Sam hadn't even bothered to ask anything, he just assumed it was my fault. I pushed myself up, pointing a threatening finger at him.

"I didn't do jack shit!" I barked back at him. "For weeks I've been practically ignoring that boy just so I didn't piss him off again like I did at the market! All I wanted to be was his boss and maybe his friend if he'd let me. And now, the one time something goes wrong, you're out here blaming me?!" I was surprised how upset I was getting, but there were so many emotions swirling around inside me that I couldn't hold it back. "He's the one that kissed me!"

"He… He what?" Sam's jaw hung slack. "W-Why would he do that? He's–"

"Straight. I know," I said, throwing up my arms in exasperation. "I don't fucking get it either!"

Sam just stared at me as I paced back and forth in the sand, unsure of what to do with all my excess energy. I was confused and torn. I didn't know if I should run after Josh, leave him be, or fucking drown myself in the lake for being so stupid even though none of this was my fault. I'd been a perfect fucking gentleman.

But I also wanted him to kiss me again.

"So… uh… sorry I jumped to conclusions," Sam said at last.

"Whatever," I spat back. Already the irritation had passed. I was more worried about Josh than I was about Sam's opinion of me. "It's fine."

"What are you going to do?"

"What the hell should I do?" I barked. "He's straight! I don't know why the hell he did what he did, but I doubt he wants to do it again." My own words were like an icy knife in my chest. "And he already made it pretty clear he doesn't want me. The memory of the day I met him is still pretty fucking vivid in my mind."

"Maybe he's changed," Sam offered. "Shifter Grove does that to people."

"What? Just changed his sexuality? His entire identity?" I scoffed again. "Right. Please, you and I both know that straight guys never really change. We've both made that mistake."

Sam cringed a bit. He didn't like it when people brought up his past. But there was a reason we were both in Shifter Grove. It was one of the things we had in common. Desperate straight guys loved to get their dicks wet, but when they got caught, it was always the gay one that took the fall.

"And my brain… or my wolf… both of them are being fucking stupid," I added.

"What do you mean?"

"All I can hear is mate repeating in my head." I hated saying it out loud, but I felt like I had to or I'd explode. "There's no way, right? It's gotta be a trick of the full moon. You know how all of us get a little crazy around this time of the month."

"I don't think the full moon has anything to do with your mate," Sam replied. "I think that might have a bit more to do with fate."

"Christ… don't tell me you think this is a fated mate situation…" I begged. "I don't believe in that superstitious shit to begin with."

"Why not? You had a reaction to him the first time you met."

"But he didn't."

"He was wounded," Sam replied. "Deeply. I don't think he was feeling anything."

"Then why now?"

A small grin curled as the corners of Sam's mouth. "Maybe you've helped him begin to heal. Maybe he finally started to trust you, unlike he's been able to do with anyone else in this town."

"So he kissed me?"

Sam just shrugged. "That's the mate bond for you."

"None of this makes any sense…"

"So stop thinking about it."

I gave him an intense amount of side-eye.

"What do you want to do?" Sam asked. "If there were no consequences, what would you do right now?"

"I…" I paused for a moment, finally letting out a long sigh. "I'd kiss him again."

Sam lifted a hand, pointing back toward the parking lot. "Then go get him."

"Sam…"

"I said go," he commanded. "Before you miss this chance forever!"

"If this blows up in my face," I said, keeping my gaze fixed on him as I walked backward toward the parking lot. "You'll be scrubbing the bakery floors until the end of your days!"

"Have fun!" he called back, completely unconcerned about the situation.

I jogged toward the lot, ignoring the smugness in his voice. I wasn't sure why I was doing this or how I'd let him convince me to go after Josh in the first place. But I wasn't going with the intention to beg him to fuck me, no matter how open I was to that idea. Instead, I was going to apologize. He might've been the one to kiss me, but I kissed him back. Somehow I still felt like it was my fault.

His car wasn't in the lot. Hopping in the bakery van, I turned over the engine and headed back into town. There was really only one place he'd go, I just hoped I wasn't too late. If I were in his citation, the first thing I'd do was grab my things and get the hell out of dodge. But he wouldn't dawdle with it either. I'd already wasted too much time talking to Sam, and I was afraid I'd already missed him.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I pulled up to the front of the hotel, finding Josh's car parked haphazardly on the curb. Leaving the van there, I ran inside and up the stairs. Josh had randomly mentioned something about being on the third floor at work, so I took the elevator to the top. I tapped my foot impatiently as the old elevator rose, suddenly worried that Josh was using the stairs. He could've seen my van and taken the stairs to sneak out the back.

As soon as the doors opened, I stepped out into the hall. It was deserted. Closing my eyes, I let my wolf take over for a moment, my nose quickly sniffing at the air. I caught that smoky scent of his and thankfully it was still fresh. The air in the hall was still, so it was easy to follow it down to the very last room where the door stood ajar. Inside I could just make out Josh's form as he darted from dresser to bed, stuffing all his clothing into an oversized duffel.

The door creaked as I pushed it aside and Josh spun around, the Alpha gold flashing in his eyes as he bared his teeth. I'd never seen him so worked up before. And those gold eyes… they sent a tingle down my spine that quickly pooled in my groin.

"What do you want?!" he barked.

"I…" I swallowed hard, knowing this was going to be a tough conversation. Convincing him to stay was going to take some effort. "I came to make sure you're okay." I paused for a moment. "And… to say I'm sorry."