Twenty-Two Tanner

I, too, had fallen asleep almost immediately after our wild fuck session ended the night before, my dick still inside Wyatt. When I woke up ten minutes before my alarm the next morning, I threw an arm over my eyes to block the harsh ceiling light that had never been turned off. I reached an arm over Wyatt, pulling him close to me as he snuggled into the nape of my neck. For a moment, I just lay there, enjoying the moment of peace and happiness.

And then I remembered what he'd said the moments before sleep took him.

I love you, Tanner.

Those words echoed in my head so loud I thought I might go deaf. Had he really meant it? I knew in the heat of the moment, things could be said that people really didn't mean. It wouldn't be the first time someone had said something similar despite having met me only once. Usually, the morning came, and they either didn't remember or pretended it didn't happen. The only question was, what would Wyatt do?

I had no doubt that he wouldn't comment on it. After our conversation in the car the day before, I wasn't exactly confident about his intentions. There were a few mixed signals coming through. Don't get me wrong, I loved the sex. Each time we fucked, it was hotter than all the times before, and that was saying something.

But could it really go on forever?

I really had no idea. He'd mentioned something about needing to talk to me. He seemed enthralled by some sort of idea or revelation, not that he gave me any clue as to what it was. Maybe it was better he didn't talk about it. I wouldn't have been able to pay attention anyway. I was far too distracted by the fact that he'd stormed into my room, and I was completely naked. Not to mention, his shorts left almost nothing to the imagination, so it wasn't like it was easy to focus on his words.

He'd talked about his father wanting me fired. Maybe that's what it was about. Or maybe he'd come up with some crazy idea to keep me on. Not that I could turn him down either way. My own father had already made it clear I wasn't welcome back home. I needed to make sales now just so I could afford to live.

A sudden wave of panic washed through my body.

I had nothing.

It wasn't the dramatic ‘nothing' that people liked to throw around when their lives were hard. It was a literal and profound nothing. Everything I owned in the whole world was in my suitcase in the corner of the room. The five hundred dollars in my bank account was all I had, with no more coming my way should Wyatt be forced to fire me. It would cost more than that to have my few belongings shipped over from Chicago when I finally got a place of my own.

If I could afford a place, that was.

In a very real sense, I was homeless. I had a bed for now and a place to stay, thanks to Wyatt. However, if anything changed, and it could on a dime, there was no backup plan. Nothing would stop me from plummeting directly to the bottom.

The anxiety of the situation was overwhelming. Even just laying there in bed, my heart was racing. My skin flushed and went cold as I started to sweat. The room around me spun, and I felt my breath pick up its pace.

"It's okay," I whispered to myself, attempting to calm down. "You're not being kicked out right now. Just breathe." I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Breathe."

"Tanner?"

I was startled, my body jerking wildly as a sleepy whisper sounded in my ear.

"You okay?"

"Sorry," I muttered, attempting to stamp the anxiety down mentally. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Is something wrong?" Wyatt asked, placing his face on my chest. "You're heart is racing."

"It's nothing."

"Tanner," he repeated, lifting his gaze so that those deep blue eyes were staring directly into my soul. "Talk to me."

I didn't know how to respond.

"Is it because… of me?" he asked, his cheeks flushing as he looked away from me. "Because of what I… what I said?"

So he did remember.

"It… It's a lot of things," I replied honestly. "That's part of it, but there's so much more going on."

Wyatt pulled himself up to a sitting position, leaning his back against the headboard. He reached down, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close. In a matter of seconds, I was enveloped in a cocoon of warmth as he pulled the blankets around me. Leaning my head on his shoulder, I allowed myself to be gathered up by him.

"Talk to me, dude," he said simply.

"It… It's stupid," I deflected.

"Tell me anyway."

I couldn't help sighing. "Why do you even care?"

Fingers grabbed the bottom of my chin, turning my face up toward his. Those blue eyes stared down at me, all traces of sleep gone. Instead, they were full of a strange intensity I'd never seen before.

"Tanner Gavardo," he said firmly. "You are my mate. I would love to hear any thought that crosses your mind, good or bad. I'm here to listen when you need it, and I'd do anything to help you figure it out."

I could feel tears threatening at the corners of my eyes.

"W-Why?" I stammered.

"Don't you remember?" he asked, leaning down and giving me a small kiss. "I love you."

The moment those words left his lips, the floodgates opened. I kissed him, pulling away only to bury myself in the crook of his neck. He gently wrapped his arms around me, holding me close as I let myself be overwhelmed by the barrage of emotions coursing through my body.

"Do you r-really mean it?" I managed to force out.

"Of course," he replied, giving me a squeeze. "You're my mate. The bond brought us together, but I learned to love you all on my own." He paused for a moment. "And… well… I decided I'm not going to fight it anymore. I don't think I could if I wanted to anyway."

"You don't want me," I said, unable to pull myself away from him. "I've got nothing, and I'm nobody. What about your family and your pack? I'm not worth losing all that. You've worked so hard…"

"I do want you." His lips pressed to my forehead. "And I never want to hear you call yourself nothing again, understood?"

His voice was soft, but I could hear the intensity behind it. I nodded gently against him, savoring the feel of his lips against my skin. What had I done to deserve such a doting boyfriend?

Boyfriend. I liked the sound of that.

"There's some things I need to tell you," I said at last, pulling myself away and meeting his gaze once more. "My father messaged me yesterday."

"And?"

"He… He disowned me. Like it was nothing." The tears were still running down my cheeks. "He told me not to… not to bother c-coming home." Wyatt opened his mouth to reply, but I cut him off. "I have absolutely nothing in this entire world. He didn't pay me enough to live on at the office, so he gave me a company car and an apartment in one of his properties. I don't even have enough cash to get a cheap bike and eat for the rest of the month…"

"You don't need to have money for me to love you."

"Yeah, but I can't ask you to take care of me!" I retorted. "That's not fair to you!"

"You still have a job," Wyatt said, brushing the hair out of my face. "And by the end of the summer, you'll have more money than you need. Trust me. We're going to make this all work in our favor."

"That feels impossible…" I sighed. "I'm terrible at sales."

"I don't need you to sell things. I need you to build something."

"Build something?"

"I've got an idea that's going to guarantee us an amazing future, and if we can pull it off… I might even be able to keep the family business."

"What is it?"

"I'll tell you," he said. "But only if you answer my question."

"Anything."

"Do you love me?" He held his hands up. "Answer truthfully. There's no wrong answer, and I won't kick you out if you say you don't even like me. I just… I need to know."

I took a deep breath. "I… I've loved you for a while now," I replied at last. "I was just too scared to say anything."

"I was too," he nodded. "But not anymore. Telling you yesterday that we needed to take a break nearly killed me. It wasn't until that moment that I realized how much I cared for you. If this was just a summer fling, my heart wouldn't feel so damaged from such a simple sentence."

"What about your dad and the pack?" I asked. "Won't it hurt worse to lose all of them?"

"You mean more to me than they do." He reached up, rubbing the back of his neck. "I need to start living my own life. At first, I thought following in his footsteps would be the road to an easy life. But the longer I travel down it, the more I realize it's more trouble than it's worth. Besides, we can always join the Ombra Pack."

"Ombra?"

"It's the one Parker started that allows mixed mate bonds. Even if we have to start life again from scratch, he and Aiden won't let us fall."

I shook my head. "This all feels a little too good to be true."

"The hard work hasn't even started, bro," Wyatt replied. "We're not out of the woods yet."

"Then I guess we'd better get going," I replied, giving him a small kiss on the cheek. "I'll help any way I can."

Wyatt smiled, kissing me back. "I love you, baby."

"I love you too."