Chapter Twelve

Douglas

Sage and I were going to be spending the day together, and I was thrilled about it. As much as I loved that the three of us together had this amazing connection, this instant bond, I also knew the two of them had known each other for years.

They knew each other’s favorite everythings, their career paths, and birthdays. That was great and I loved that for them. Loved it so much, I wanted it for us too, and today was about getting to know Sage. The plan was for me to go on solo dates with each of them one-on-one.

Today was Sage’s turn and the two of us were going thrifting.

Did it sound like the sexiest, most fascinating date in the entire world? No, probably not. But it would give us time to chat, and of course, we’d have a meal in between shops. Thrifting also had a way of helping you learn more about each other. You got to see what the other liked, what they didn’t like, things that intrigued them, and things that repelled them. Plus, it was like a great big treasure hunt—only you didn’t know what treasure you were looking for until you found it.

It was going to be fabulous—or at least that was my hope. Since it was my idea, maybe he would hate it, and it would be a one-and-done—for this kind of a date anyway. I didn’t think so, but if the only dates he ever wanted to go on with me were to a tea shop or a walk, I was fine with that too. It had to do with us spending time together more than anything else.

It was hard not to be a little worried about our time together, as much as I wished it weren’t. Knowing Cas and Sage had such a strong bond was…different. It wasn’t jealousy—I enjoyed the fact that they loved and cared about each other so much. It was more a worry that maybe I wasn’t quite what they were bargaining for.

I needed to learn to let go of those types of thoughts because that kind of negativity wasn’t going to get any of us anywhere. They had shown me nothing but complete attention, attraction, and affection. That should have been enough to put me at ease. And it was, but also, I still had a nervous rumbling in my belly.

Being midweek, I had to work during the day, much to my chagrin. At least it wasn’t a long day, all of my meetings with people on the East Coast. For once, the time zone was playing in my favor.

After work, I drove to Animals to pick him up. The two of them had planned for an afternoon run on the property. One of the benefits of being a shifter club was the land to roam free in our beasts.

I caught up with them, drinking some iced tea in the sun, where I’d first scented them. I crossed straight over to them, needing to taste them, to feel the warmth of their bodies, and to scent them fully.

A few kisses, hugs, and teeth scraping along our mating marks later, Sage and I promised to call when we were back and then walked out hand in hand. I drove us to my favorite thrift store. It was the regional hub for one of the large charity chains, so they constantly got new things in. They also had bargain bins, which were my favorite on a good day and a pure nightmare on a bad one.

You never knew what you’d find in those bins. Could it be a name-brand suit that cost more than I made in a year? Possibly. Could it be a pair of sweats with holes in them that originally sold for a dollar? Also possible. Besides clothes, there were books, paintings, lamps, and who knew what else. They liked to keep their customers on their toes and coming back for more.

One thing was for sure, it worked on me.

“If this isn’t your idea of fun, we can always pick something else,” I said, not wanting him to feel boxed in.

Sage grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers as I drove. “No, this sounds absolutely wonderful. I love the way you piece together different styles to make your home yours. Today, I’m going to see part of that process.”

“I’d hardly call it a process. I just look around and, if I see something I like, I buy it. Their only commonality is usually that I like them and not much more than that.”

“Well, that is a process—just maybe not in the way you think.” He squeezed my hand.

We pulled in, and the parking lot was packed. That was when I remembered—it was the last Tuesday of the month, which meant everything, even the bargain bins, was half price. It was going to be chaos in there. From the looks of the parking lot, that might even be an understatement.

“If you want to turn around, we can.” I wasn’t going to make him deal with elbows to the gut, especially not for a half-price shirt.

“No, this looks good.”

I wouldn’t be surprised if he took it back in another fifteen minutes.

“Fair warning—an old lady might body-check you for a purse.”

“They do that?” He stopped dead in his tracks.

“It only happened once that I know of and, to be fair, the lady doing the elbowing thought it was a Birkin. Those go for ten thousand dollars easily.”

His jaw dropped. “Purses go for that much?”

“Yeah, and so do certain articles of clothing. It’s wild. But today, I was hoping to find some more dishes.” The old lady swore it was real, even after she left. I doubted it, but you never did know at places like these.

“I can buy you dishes.”

He didn’t say it to be snotty or pushy—or at least, that wasn’t the sense I got. It seemed more like he was saying I didn’t need to settle for secondhand dishes if I didn’t want to.

“I know you can, and I probably can, too.” They would be clearance and crappy, but I could do it. “I’ve been building a set of dishes that are all mismatched but still go together. I have enough if I have a couple of people over or if I don’t want to do my morning dishes, but lately, I’ve needed more.”

He pulled me in for a kiss, nibbling on my lip. He liked the sound of that. I did too.

We grabbed a cart on the way in and headed straight to the dishes. The clothing bins were absolute chaos, and while the finds were great, I was going to skip them today.

We dug through the different stacks together. Sage picked out a couple, as did I. We also got some bowls, a couple of mugs, and a serving tray. It wasn’t a huge one like my grandfather used for holidays. If anything, it could hold a chicken. But I liked it, and, at half price, it seemed to fit.

“Do we risk the bins?” I wasn’t going to decide for us, but also, I was hoping he decided to pass.

“I don’t need any clothing that badly.”

“Well, they have blankets and sheets too,” I said.

I looked over to the far left and immediately spotted an older man actively yanking a pair of pants out of a teenager’s hands. “Yeah, we’re gonna skip this.”

On the way out, we browsed the furniture section quickly but didn’t see anything we liked. Although, I did find a basket I thought would look nice on the side table by the door for putting keys and such in.

At checkout, Sage’s jaw dropped when he heard the total and saw me hand over a ten-dollar bill, getting change back. That was the benefit of going to the regional store, especially on half-price Tuesday.

We loaded the dishes carefully into the trunk and climbed in. I buckled my seat belt. “Lunch?”

“I could eat. What are you thinking?” He asked the one question I was hoping he had the answers for.

“Hmm, I hadn’t gotten that far. Seafood? Burgers? Burritos? Chinese? Salads?”

I tried to think of all the places I’d heard about. I hadn’t ventured to many, working hard to save money. But this was a date—it was worth spending a few dollars.

“I say we go see what’s still open on the oceanfront, grab something to eat there, listen to the sea, and maybe walk along the beach,” Sage said.

“Best idea ever.”

I turned the ignition. “I know a place with forty-two kinds of grilled cheese.”

“You win. Forty-two?!”

“That’s what they say, but I’m not sure they’re all different. I think they count each kind of bread as a variation—including the donut.” I never really looked at the menu enough to care too much. I always got the same thing and would again today, as well.

“Donut?” His eyes lit up. “Then why haven’t we been driving twice the speed limit to get there already?”

I chuckled and pulled out of our parking spot. He was right. It did sound delicious. But also, I’d had it before. The grilled cheese was great. I already knew what would happen when he decided on the donut grilled cheese—he’d take a bite, love the experience, and then grab my horseradish cheddar grilled cheese and dip it into my tomato soup.

Because that’s what mates do. Probably. Maybe. I was still so new at this.