5. Brooklyn

Chapter 5

Brooklyn

I couldn't think of a time I'd ever been this nervous.

I'd been chatting with Jackson ever since we matched on the app. I didn't know what beast he was. It didn't feel like the kind of thing I should be discussing over an app, even if it was one designed for shifters. It blew my mind how quickly we clicked.

We messaged back and forth about quite a few things, given the time we'd been chatting. Nothing about our communication was what you would call deep, but it was fun. And I really liked the guy. Part of me kept reminding myself that there had been a time I really liked Perry too and not to get too excited.

And I wasn't.

Fine, I was, but I was allowed. This was my first time putting myself out there, and that meant something. Even if I got there and he ended up being a shifter who thought dragons were less than and didn't even want to finish our cup of coffee, today would be worth it.

Coffee. That was something I wasn't trying to read too much into. The app actually suggested it for a first date. They said it was a good way to test the waters in a public place. I was sure that had more to do with safety and liability than anything else, but Jackson seemed to think it a good idea. And no one said that coffee had to end there. Maybe if we hit it off we could go for a shift or maybe a meal. Coffee was only the first step.

Only when I went there, everything was wrong. Right but wrong. Or maybe wrong but right. I didn't even know. My head was in a tizzy over it.

When I got home, Mark was on his porch drinking coffee, which was perfect. I needed someone to decompress with.

"You look like crap." Mark wasn't one to mince words. That was for sure.

"Yeah, I know.

"But at least you know I'm being honest." He had me there. "What happened?"

I told him all of it, from the way he scented like cardamom and anise and how I wanted to lick him from head to toe, to how he felt so right, and yet, not the one. It was a freaking hot mess. And then there was the whole wedding thing. What was that about?

Sure, he was human, and humans were into weddings, but to have it be so close to Perry's invitation? It had been too much. I hadn't wanted it to be, but it was. I freaking hated that Perry still impacted me all these years later. But also… maybe he did me a favor. What if I had gone home with Jackson? What if I got attached? How was that any different than my past mistakes? It wasn't.

"And you left him there?"

I nodded.

"Did you think maybe that he was your mate? That possibly that's the signal and you just don't trust yourself because you have been burned before?" Why did he have to make sense?

"I thought when it hit, there would be no room for doubt. That was the whole point, right?"

He gave me some serious side-eye in response.

"Or fate did give me that and I diminished it because I was scared."

"And that, my friend, is what we call self-awareness. Call him up and tell him you'll go to the wedding."

As if it were as easy as that.

"Or… I can go back and see if he's still at the coffee shop." And make a Plan B if that failed.

"As long as you do something."

I held up my keys. "If I don't come back in a couple of hours, I'm either dead or mated." I wasn't going to be either.

"Well, if you're dead, be sure to call. I don't want to keep knocking on your door for nothing." Mark stuck out his tongue. "But seriously, I hope it's a mate match."

"I hope yours is too." He had a date with someone from the app later that night.

It would be his third attempt, so I wasn't holding my breath for success on mine. He said they were all fine, though, which was something. All the reviews of the app indicated their track record was solid, so who knew. Maybe we'd both come home with mates, if I hadn't already ruined my chance.

I ran to find my tire flat. Crap! And of course, looking at the time, there was no way I'd be able to fix the tire fast enough to get there before Jackson left, if he hadn't already. I tapped on the rideshare app to see how long the queue was… and it was long. There was no racing to the coffee shop like some grandiose gesture from an 80's movie.

I called for a car and then pulled up Love and Hate .

Just wanted you to know I'm sorry I left. I'm coming back now. Hope to see you there.

It wasn't the best message, but it was all I could think of. I looked down at my phone, hoping that he would instantly type back, which was ridiculous. He wasn't staring at his phone, waiting to see if we had any more messages. And maybe he saw it and didn't care. Maybe he was done with me. The only thing watching it did was make me second-guess every single word I typed.

I crossed my fingers that when I got there, he would have seen it and would be waiting for me. It was the best I could do.

I let Mark know about my car situation. He offered his, but I didn't want to leave him in the lurch for his date.

I waited and waited and waited for the car. It wasn't even that long, but it might as well have been. I switched back and forth between the rideshare app and the dating app, looking for updates.

It felt like an eternity for the car to get there, even with the car coming earlier than first quoted. I needed to push back my nerves. If this was my mate, it would all work out. That was the way of things, right? If he wasn't and I was imagining things, why did it matter what he thought?

Sure, I could potentially get a friend out of it, but I wasn't going to waste my time with someone who wasn't my forever.

Been there.

Done that.

Got the postcard.

Halfway to the coffee shop, he messaged me back. Okay . Followed by an address, one across the street from where we had been. Nothing else. I was going to take it.

I spent the rest of my ride reading that one-word response over and over again, trying to figure out exactly what he meant. And it was probably exactly the words he said: Okay.

No big deal, right? Only after my talk with Mark it was suddenly a huge deal.

But I over thought his response like a boss, and by the time I arrived, I had played out at least a dozen scenarios as to what was going to happen when I walked in the coffee shop for our date. And out of those scenarios, not one was even close.

"Thanks." I got out of the rideshare, gave a tip via the app, and walked to the front door. I could do this. I could do this. I sucked in a deep breath and walked inside.

The scent of coffee was overpowering. I wasn't sure if it was the brewing or the roasting that was the strongest, but it was pleasant enough to my nose, even if it made it impossible for me to scent the room fully. It didn't stop me from scenting Jackson, though. I could pick his deliciousness out of anywhere.

He had to be my mate, right? Or it was wishful thinking. I'd figure it out soon enough. Please don't let me be falling down the same track as I did with Perry.

Humans weren't supposed to be on the app. I didn't care that he was human, but it did make this whole thing more confusing.

My dragon was on alert and at the ready. He liked this human. Something about him called to me in a way no one ever had. He still hadn't called us mates. Maybe the thing with Perry messed him up too. There was for sure a connection.

Maybe fated mates weren't needed. Maybe a human who smelled yummy and had my dragon wagging his tail like a puppy was good enough? Or maybe I was doing exactly what I did with Perry all those years ago and ignoring all the signs. I should've had Mark come with me and be my wingman. He'd know what to do—or he'd scare Jackson away.

He was at a table in the back. I sat down, hoping for the best and preparing myself for the worst.

"Jackson, I'm sorry about before… I mean… I have a…"

"No. It was me." He pushed over a plate with a cookie on it, and I picked it up and nibbled it. That was a good sign.

We chatted, neither of us discussing what had happened earlier, but both of us acting like it was water under the bridge. I was okay with that… for now. I still needed to figure out if he was my mate or not and only spending time together would help. Everything about this was so much different than it had been with Perry. I was super cautiously optimistic.

I was just about to get up for coffee when two things happened at once. Jackson turned his head toward the opening door, and the scent of cinnamon slammed into me as the hottest omega I'd ever seen stepped inside, his jaw going slack for a second before blooming into a full-on smile.

Mates.

Mates.

Mates.

What are you talking about?

And as the man came walking toward us, I put the pieces together. Jackson had my dragon's attention, but not all of it because he wasn't my only mate. This omega, this dragon omega hottie walking toward us was the other.

"Who?" I asked, not breaking contact from the omega.

"I think that's my date."