FOURTEEN
LIZZY
“See you next week,”I told my class, grinning and sweating lightly as I waved to the stragglers. Zumba wasn’t my absolute favorite form of dancing, but the women seemed to enjoy it, and I loved the excuse to move my feet.
“Did we miss the show?” a masculine voice called out from the doorway.
My head jerked back to it, and I found my two favorite guys standing in the doorway.
I couldn’t stop my grin from widening further as I jogged over to them, sweeping Evan into my arms and blowing a raspberry on his cheek. His laughter made my whole day better. “Hey handsomes.”
Was ‘handsomes’a word?
I didn’t know, but I was going with it.
“What have you been up to?”
“Just burying toys in the snow and crying when we can’t find them,” Elliot drawled.
“Ah, the new favorite game.” I nodded knowingly, slipping through the door as Elliot opened it for me. “What are you doing here?” I asked, as I led Elliot out of the gym. Evan was attacking the sleeve of my shirt like it was a damned ice cream cone, so, nothing new. “I drove, remember?”
“Me and Evan were hoping we could convince you to go to dinner with us. There’s a place right by here with the best burgers and fries in town, and I know you well enough to be certain that you’ve never been there.”
My cheeks heated a bit. “Are you sure? I can cook; it’ll save money.”
His arm wrapped around my waist and he squeezed lightly. The physical contact made my face warm a little further.
“We’ll be fine. I’m a teacher, remember? I’m loaded.” I laughed when he released me and spread his arms out wide, flashing me a teasing grin before opening the door for me.
“Alright, fine. But after this, we’re going over our finances together before we spend money again.”
“Yes ma’am.” He grabbed my bag off my shoulder, tossing it over his. “Let’s take my truck, and come back for your car after we eat?”
“Sure.”
We headed to his truck, and my eyes couldn’t help but trail over his body.
The man was gorgeous. Massive, but always gentle with Evan. Chiseled, but always patient. As he’d pointed out, he didn’t make a ton of money as a teacher, but I knew him well enough to be sure that he didn’t care about that. He taught for the kids, and for the impact he made in their lives.
And that spoke to me.
His long sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, exposing the bite my wolf had given him, and my eyes lingered on that. Something about it made me feel entirely too possessive of him.
The drive over was short,and Elliot quizzed me about my fitness classes as we went. I explained how the classes worked, and how much I enjoyed them. He told me how his meeting with the principal had gone, and that he would be starting work again as soon as the climax was over—which unfortunately, was still at least a few weeks away, since we weren’t having sex.
Talking about the climax only increased the discomfort in my body that I’d been ignoring almost professionally. Having Evan around made that easier, but it didn’t remove the need completely.
Despite the annoying horniness I felt, the moment was so casual and comfortable that it made life feel… normal.
I hadn’t expected that.
Well, I hadn’t expected a second mate, either. Or a first, really, since my wolf had shot SD down. I’d wondered what it would be like to have a partner to help me take care of Evan, and to help me deal with grocery bills and rent and whatnot. But I’d never hoped for it, or expected it.
And I would’ve been fine without one. My life had been hard, but good. I loved my baby, and we survived.
But with Elliot there too, helping, we could do more than survive. We could enjoy, and have fun, and hell, maybe even relax every now and then.
The thought made me feel good. Really, really good.