Sixteen Wyatt

Both Oliver and Parker worked their mouths for a moment, trying to force out the words they wanted to say so desperately.

"Before you ask," I began, holding up my hands to stop them. "Yes. That's what I said." I leaned forward, burying my face in my hands. "Please… don't make me say it again."

"HO-LY shit," Oliver breathed.

"That… was not what I was expecting," Parker added. "Totally cool, of course. Just not what I thought you'd say."

"Oh yeah," Oliver nodded furiously. "Super duper cool. Nothing wrong with it whatsoever. I fully support this."

I glanced up at the pair of them, my face red with embarrassment. "Please stop," I muttered. "Don't make it weird."

"Weird?" they said in unison. "It's not weird!"

Leaning down, I rested my forehead against the table, my arms outspread over the tablecloth. "Ugh… I hate this…"

Oliver reached across the table, laying a hand on my shoulder. "Sorry about that, Wyatt. You just kinda caught us off guard a little bit."

"Believe me," I mumbled into the table. "I'm just as fucking surprised as anyone."

"Wait… is this the person you told me about?" Parker asked. "The one you thought might be your mate?"

I nodded, unable to speak the truth aloud.

"Fuck…" he groaned, leaning back in his chair. "That's a big fucking pill to swallow, I bet."

"Are you okay?" Oliver asked, leaning down to try to make eye contact with me through the gap in my arms. "How do you need us to support you?"

Lifting my head up, I rubbed my eyes, doing my best not to get too emotional. Just the act of saying it out loud had nearly overwhelmed me. But here were my best friends, doing everything they could to be supportive. I knew they would, but even so, actually hearing it brought a lot of emotions welling to the surface.

"I don't know…" I replied, shaking my head. "I still don't know what this makes me or how to deal with it. This all came on so fast, and I don't know how to process any of it." I pulled my sleeve over the back of my hand and wiped my cheeks. "All I know is that I feel strongly about him, but it doesn't matter."

"Doesn't matter?" Parker asked, leaning forward. "What do you mean by that?"

"He's going home at the end of the summer," I replied, gesturing wildly. "And you both know that if my dad finds out, I'm gonna lose fucking everything I've been working toward, bro. It seems like Tanner's in the same kind of situation, honestly."

"Woah, woah, woah," Oliver said, still patting me on the shoulder. "Slow down, buddy, and tell us the whole story. I think we're missing a few parts here."

"Take your time," Parker added. "We've got all day if you need it."

I reached down and picked up my mojito, draining the last of it in one gulp just as our waitress arrived with the other's drinks.

"I think we're gonna need another one of those," Parker said, pointing at my drink. "And keep them coming for now."

She nodded and headed back into the restaurant. The guys sat there in silence, waiting patiently for me to start talking. I took a deep breath, my heart and head still reeling from the truth, leaving my lips at last. It felt like my entire world had changed in the blink of an eye. And yet, everything looked the same. However, no matter what had transpired, I had to continue on. Nothing stopped because of my declaration. At most, it caused a few ripples in my life, but that was it. Now, I just had to figure out how to keep going.

"Do you guys remember that business conference I went to back in February?" I asked. "The one that landed on the full moon?"

"I think so," Oliver replied. "The one your dad forced you to go to?"

"Yep. Well, that's where I met Tanner," I continued. "My dad decided to invite his best friend's son to join me and changed my reservation to include us both without telling me." I looked between the pair of them, my cheeks flushing red once more. "And… well, there was only… one bed."

"Oh… my… god…" Parker breathed, his chin resting in his hands as he leaned on the table. "It's just like a smutty romance novel!" He smiled wide. "Go on."

"Calm down, Parker," Oliver chastised. "Can't you see the man is already traumatized!"

"We ended up fucking…"

"Wyatt Christopher!" Oliver gasped, smacking my arm.

I furrowed my brows. "That's… not my middle name." I shook my head. "And it wasn't my fault! It was the mate bond and the full moon combined! I was practically insane at the time, unable to shift and trapped in that tiny fucking room with a guy who smelled so good I couldn't think straight!"

"Obviously…"

"Alright," I sighed. "I'm just gonna go. This is too much for me."

Both of them grabbed my arms, pushing me back into the chair.

"Sorry, sorry," Oliver said, trying not to smile. "I couldn't help myself."

"We really want to help," Parker said, patting my arm. "Just tell us what we can do."

"You both can quit fucking making fun of me," I snapped. "This is really goddamn weird, bro! I've never had anything like this happen in my life!"

"You've never even looked at another guy?'

"No!" I paused. "Well, not sexually, anyway. I mean, I've snuck a glance or two in the locker room to make sure my body looks normal and that my dick is… ya know… adequate. But I've never thought about having sex with them before!"

"It wouldn't be that weird if you had," Oliver replied. "I've thought about having sex with women before."

"Really?"

"Sure. It never goes any further than that because, to be honest, it sounds boring AF, but I've thought about it." He glanced in my direction. "They just don't have anything fun to play with, ya know? Guys have holes and dicks. That's the best of both worlds."

"Do you want to say that a little louder so everyone in the entire fucking restaurant can hear you?" I growled, giving him a dirty look.

"Meh," he replied, waving me off. "It's fine. People need to stop being so uptight all the time."

"All that aside," Parker said, steering the conversation back on topic. "What's this about your dad and all this being over at the end of the summer? Your dad never struck me as the homophobic type. He's pretty fuckin' gruff, I'll give you that. But I don't think he'd disown you or anything."

"Remember what your parents did?" I replied, raising an eyebrow in his direction. "Mine are cut from the same cloth as yours. And that's not the worst of it."

"What is it then?"

I took a deep breath. "Tanner is human."

Both of them sat silent, knowing exactly what that meant.

"My dad isn't going to pass a business on to me if I get kicked out of the pack."

There was a long moment of silence between us. As we sat there, my second mojito was delivered. I picked it up immediately and began to take another long draught. Lunch was a bit heavy for my liking, and we hadn't even gotten to the food yet. I had a feeling things were going to turn into an all-day affair if we didn't start getting somewhere soon. Not that there were any solutions to my situation. That was too much to hope for.

"Why don't you just join the Ombra Pack, then?" Parker said slowly. "I'd be more than happy to have you."

"Bro," I said, reaching across the table and grabbing his shoulder. "I love you for that, but it's not going to help convince my dad. In fact, that might make him even less likely to let me keep the business. He hasn't exactly had the nicest things to say about your situation. I can't tell you the number of times I've had to zone out while he goes on a rant about how we shouldn't be with humans. How it's unnatural."

"Ew…" Oliver groaned. "Hate that."

"I'd tell you to just say fuck it and leave them all behind, but I know that's not good advice," Parker replied, shaking his head. "Life is more difficult than just walking away when things get hard." He reached up, grasping my hand that still rested on his shoulder. "Just know that I'm here for you. Whatever you need. You and Oliver are family to me, and I'll always support you no matter what."

I couldn't help a small sniffle as my gaze met his. "Thanks, Parker."

"Same goes for me," Oliver said, raising his drink in my direction. "I'm here for whatever you need as well." He took a sip. "However, I still think your dad is being a dick."

"He is a dick," I replied.

"So what happens now?" Parker asked, grabbing his own drink as we all settled into our seats. "Where does this thing go with Tanner?"

"That's why I wanted to tell you guys." I took a big gulp of my second mojito. "I know I'm gonna be a wreck when he leaves at the end of the summer, and I didn't want to spring that on you out of the blue." An attempt was made to smile, but it just came out as a grimace. "I… I don't know what I'm going to do when he goes home."

"Is he okay with that?" Parker asked. "Just up and leaving after all that time together?"

"That was the agreement," I nodded. "It doesn't matter if either of us like it." I heaved a deep sigh. "It's just the way things have to be. We both have a business to take over, and neither of our parents is going to let this happen. I can't ask him to sacrifice his entire future for me and to be honest, I don't know if I can sacrifice my own. I've been working toward this my whole life. I went and got a master's degree, for fuck's sake." I turned back to Parker. "But you're right. It"s not just about the job. It's everything. How do I give up my life for someone I barely know?"

"Well, there's no decision that needs to be made now," he replied. "Just do what feels right for the summer, and you can tackle that problem when it gets here, right? There's no sense in worrying yourself to death about it now and ruining the fun you could have had."

Oliver fixed his gaze on me, but he didn't say anything. He didn't have to speak to get his point across. He agreed with Parker, and he knew that I was thoroughly overwhelmed with the entire situation. Instead, he sat there in supportive silence.

"Thanks, guys," I sighed at last. "I'll do my best. And… well, thanks for being cool about everything. I know it's a bit weird."

"Honestly," Oliver said, breaking his silence. "We're both gay already. It's you that was the weird one." He reached across the table, booping me on the nose. "Welcome to the club, sugar-tits."