5. Nitro/ Tommy

5

NITRO/ TOMMY

NITRO

Then Spike cleared his throat, disrupting the tender moment between Tommy and me.

Tommy pulled away with some reluctance. I shot Spike a glower over my shoulder, seriously contemplating wringing his neck.

Spike gave me an "aw shucks" look that he was so good at.

"You brought Spike with you?" Tommy asked, rubbing at his eyes.

He sounded more surprised than irritated.

"Yeah, we kinda thought you were in trouble," Spike said unhelpfully behind me.

Spike wasn’t done and I was really hoping he’d soon make his farewells.

Spike continued, “Listen, Tommy. I'm not completely clueless. Clearly, Nitro and you want a moment, but I really need to pee."

Tommy's laughter, unrestrained and clear, rang out.

"Bathroom's that way," Tommy said.

"You can stare at your adorable mate all night later; this is really an emergency," Spike whispered in my ear as he rudely shoved me to one side to enter the apartment.

I fumed at his words.

Tommy couldn't look at me as I entered his tiny apartment as well. Dang it. He must've heard the word Spike had uttered.

The word "mate" was the equivalent of a live grenade.

I knew from the beginning that Tommy was mine, but I intended to ease him into this, especially after all he'd been through.

The only sound in the apartment was Spike, groaning in pleasure. Then number one turned into number two.

"Oh hell, let me open the windows," I grumbled, completely embarrassed for my friend.

“Good idea,” Tommy said.

"Those must be the fish tacos he ate on our way back to Moon Burrow after our job," I explained. "I told him he shouldn't have eaten six of those."

Tommy helped me with the rest of the windows in his place.

"Six?" Tommy asked me with a raise of his eyebrows.

"We bears have a huge appetite," I explained.

"I'll keep that in mind," Tommy said.

He even scribbled it on a nearby notepad.

"In mind for what?" I prodded, hoping he'd say our next date.

"For the next time I cook a meal for us," Tommy said.

"Aw, anyone else mentioned you guys are so dang cute?" Spike said, zipping up his jeans as he emerged from the bathroom. "Thanks, Tommy."

“Don’t mention it,” Tommy said.

"Spike, don't you have somewhere to go tonight?" I asked.

He better get the hint because in two seconds, I was going to haul his annoying ass out of Tommy's place.

"Right, of course," Spike said. I ushered him out the door.

"Thanks for having Nitro's back all the time, Spike," Tommy called behind him. "Anyone would be glad to have a good friend like you."

"I am a good friend," Spike said, beaming at Tommy's compliment.

I had a feeling very few people in his life had given him compliments.

"Bye," I said, slamming the door shut in his face.

Then I finally turned to Tommy. "Finally, it's just us," I said.

"Um, yeah." Tommy sat on the couch, then patted the empty space next to him.

It was a two-seater, and I wasn't exactly a small guy. Suppressing a grin at the prospect of our bodies touching and being so close to Tommy, I sat.

I had a particularly good feeling that night, and my hunch was right.

Tommy didn't seem to mind when I slid my arm over his shoulders. He even leaned in closer.

His heavenly scent enveloped me, waking my inner grizzly.

"What happened?" I asked, reminding myself not to go off-topic.

My job at this moment was to listen and be there for my mate.

Tommy told me everything, beginning from him heading out to buy sleeping pills and ending with him rushing back to his apartment.

I frowned, not liking the fact Tommy had gone out at such a late hour.

Sure, Moon Burrow was safer than most places in the country because the MC claimed this area as our territory, but still.

"You should've called me the moment you sensed you were in danger," I automatically said.

When Tommy's face fell, I immediately regretted my words. I reminded myself to see where he was coming from.

Tommy moved here to feel normal again, to remind himself he could be independent. I cleared my throat and tried again.

"I didn't imply you were helpless or anything like that. If you were genuinely in trouble, would you promise you would contact me?" I asked, making my tone as gentle as possible.

Tommy nodded. He bit his lower lip.

"I keep thinking, maybe it was all in my head, you know? It's just...I'm just messed up," he whispered.

That confession seemed to take plenty out of him. I didn't like where Tommy's train of thought was going.

"Hey, if it's any consolation, everyone messes up and makes mistakes. Take Spike and me, for example. Today, we were supposed to handle this simple delivery job, but we screwed up in a really big way," I said.

"You screwed up?" Tommy asked, sounding like he didn't quite believe me.

"I'll tell you another time," I said, wanting to focus on him.

Maybe I shouldn't have brought up Spike and my messed-up delivery. Tommy shook his head.

"I really want to know," he insisted.

So I told him, and we ended up staying up for a few hours, talking. It felt...admittedly nice.

Finally, I convinced Tommy to go back to bed and sleep for a few hours.

"You'll be right here?" he asked, a hint of desperation in his voice.

"Absolutely," I promised him, then gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "I'm not going anywhere."

I leaned in close, gave him a quick kiss on the mouth, and seeing his smile made everything worthwhile.

Tommy was dead certain he wouldn’t be able to sleep, but in five minutes, his soft snores filled the room.

I pulled up the comforter over his body, making sure he was tucked in.

Then I returned to the living room and made a call to Whizz, the MC's resident hacker.

"Nitro, what's up?" Whizz asked, sounding completely awake.

No surprise there. Whizz kept odd hours.

"I need a favor," I began.

"Sure, I still owe you one for last time,” he said.

That incident had involved Hicks, Tommy and a few captive omegas we had rescued.

In a sense, Whizz had also done me a favor because otherwise, I would have never found my fated mate.

"I need you to hack into a pharmacy's security cam," I said. "I need to know if these two alphas Tommy described followed him out of the pharmacy a few hours ago."

TOMMY

I smelled burnt toast the moment I woke up. Yawning, I rubbed at my eyes and slowly sat up in bed.

I was treated to the sight of Nitro in my small kitchen, cursing as he took out two blackened pieces of bread from the toaster.

I suppressed a giggle. Nitro kept his promise. He stayed the rest of the night over, and that made me strangely happy.

Still, I didn’t envy him. The only other comfortable furniture in my place was the lumpy second-hand sofa I purchased from a yard sale.

Nitro probably didn’t have a good night’s sleep. I, on the other hand, slept like a baby.

That never happened before. Even when I was living with Marc, I only managed to get 3-4 hours of sleep a night.

I pulled myself out of bed, checked my appearance in the small mirror on the window ledge, and ran a hand through my hair.

Deeming it passable, I made my way to Nitro, who was still cursing under his breath. He hadn’t noticed I was awake.

I wasn’t sure where I got the courage to hug him from behind. Nitro froze, and I wondered if it was the wrong move.

He felt so solid in my arms, solid and warm. It also didn’t hurt that he smelled so good, uniquely Nitro.

Like bear musk mixed with raspberries. Randomly, I wondered what kind of soap or shampoo he used.

“Essential Raspberry,” he told me. “Makes my hair shiny and fluffy.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I said my thoughts out loud again?”

“Yeah. Did I wake you with all the noise?” Nitro asked.

Reluctantly, I pulled away from him so he could turn and face me.

“Not at all,” I admitted. “I had a great nap. Honestly, I didn’t think that was possible.”

“That’s great, Tommy. While you were sleeping, I thought of a proposal,” he said.

“A proposal?” I said.

I gently nudged him away from the stove and took over frying the bacon and eggs.

Nitro must’ve gone through my kitchen cabinets while I was asleep because he knew where the coffee was.

After brewing us some, he poured the coffee into two cups, then elected to sit at the kitchen counter.

I didn’t mind him watching me cook. I asked him about what he meant earlier.

“Sorry, lost my train of thought. I like watching you do…anything,” he said.

Nitro gave me a sheepish smile which made my heart race.

Butterflies appeared in my stomach. I was tempted to lean over the counter and ask him to kiss him.

No, that was probably a bad idea. Nitro would either get a kick out of it or he could think I was being too bold or needy.

I flushed, although there was no reason to. Nitro had always been frank with me. It was one of his more endearing traits.

“Right, back to what I was saying earlier. What do you think about me staying over again tonight? I could wait until you manage to fall asleep. Then I’d leave,” Nitro said.

The thought was tempting, but it suggested I couldn’t even be alone in my apartment.

He’s just trying to help, I reminded myself.

Besides, deep down, I knew having him nearby would guarantee me another dreamless and comfortable sleep.

“Just for tonight,” I said. “And maybe a few nights after that.”

“Great,” Nitro said. “It’s just a temporary measure, Tommy.”

“Temporary,” I echoed.

I liked the sound of that. Marc was a little overbearing when I lived with him.

He was like an overprotective mama bird who thought I couldn’t do anything on my own.

Nitro was more considerate of my feelings.

“There you go, bacon, eggs, and burnt toast,” I said, setting two plates on the counter.

“Hey, I wanted to make you some grub before you woke up. I guess I’m just terrible at cooking. My ex didn’t cook either,” he commented. “We mostly ordered take-out or ate at expensive restaurants.”

Nitro made a face when he said this. Still, this was the first time I heard about an ex-boyfriend.

I sort of figured Nitro to be the non-commitment type, at least before he met me.

It was arrogant to think that, of course, but it was nice to think that he changed when I entered his life.

“Your ex?” I asked, wincing when my voice came out a little pitchy.

“Gin,” Nitro explained. “Found him and my ex-best friend together five years ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I genuinely said.

“Don’t be. Gin and I were never going to work out. He was too high maintenance for me, and he was never happy with what I could give him,” Nitro said.

“Can I ask what happened next?” I asked.

Nitro seldom spoke about his past, and I wanted to know more about him.

Nitro blew out a breath. “Not right now.”

My face fell, and he must’ve noticed my expression because he reached out across the table for my fingers and gave them a reassuring squeeze.

“Do you trust me, Tommy?” Nitro asked all of a sudden.

“I do,” I said without thinking.

Nitro nodded in satisfaction. “I don’t want to tell you about the next part because the last thing I want is for you to hate or fear me.”

“Nitro, be serious. I can never hate or fear you,” I said, laughing, but Nitro’s expression remained grim.

He was the one who brought up the topic of his ex, I thought. For now, I decided to drop the topic.

“Next time you decide to make breakfast for me, consult me first,” I told him.

“I’ll do that,” he said, and I finally got a smile out of him.