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Chapter 6 - Griffin
I came to learn there was no greater pain than sitting through a date I wanted nothing to do with.
Rubbing at my temple with a lazy arm over the steering wheel of my pickup, I tried to massage the tension headache away. It turned out that forcing a smile all night, along with conversations I was mentally checked out of, was enough to make my head pound.
Grumbling to myself, I turned the radio down and focused on the quiet road ahead.
Anticipating the inevitable phone call from my mother, where she would surely detail what I had done wrong and why I should give the woman another chance, I worked through the same old reasoning again.
I wasn’t interested in her. There was no connection. I’m in no place to want a mate.
But it wouldn’t matter what I had to say. Even if I couldn’t even remember the woman’s name after leaving the restaurant, my mom would want me to try again.
To put it plainly, the date was awful. I didn’t feel a connection with her from the jump, and I immediately knew it would be an agonizing few hours.
After being forced to reject my date to save not only her emotions but also my time, I was left with a sour taste in my mouth and a pounding headache. Everything I could’ve hoped for on a Sunday night.
Gripping the steering wheel, the thought of going on another botched blind date courtesy of my mom made anxiety bubble within my chest. Annoyed and tired of being pressured into it, it seemed like an impossible place to be in.
While I enjoyed being in Rose Valley, and I was pleased with the progress Rowan and Kai made with the two packs, the mere idea of sitting across from another woman I had no connection with had me contemplating fleeing to some place my parents couldn’t find me. To start again and guard my peace like the precious thing it was.
But that was a ridiculous thought. I was a grown man, and my mom would be devastated if I walked away like my brother had.
To make matters worse, I was beginning to think the problem really was me. Even if I was resisting my parents’ constant pushing, I couldn’t even manage to find an unexpected connection among those twelve dates.
No matter who I sat down with, none of them fit that bill for me. They didn’t catch my attention or make me curious to know more about them. Going on those dates felt more like a chore than a good time.
It made me wonder if I was even capable of finding someone to match me. Someone I was truly compatible with.
It was a miserable thought that made my stomach turn. Even if there was some truth to my inclinations, I couldn’t stand that dread that lingered in my gut.
Shoving the thoughts away, I turned the music back up despite my headache.
I reminded myself that finding a mate had never been my priority before, and that didn’t need to change. I was fine on my own. I preferred it.
The fact of the matter was, that I just needed to get my mom off my back so I could enjoy what was in front of me.
A comfortable house in a small town, where tranquility was an everyday occurrence. It had the potential to be heaven on earth if only I had the chance to truly take it in and not feel bombarded by what my parents wanted from me.
By the time I pulled into my driveway and climbed out, I wanted nothing more than to nurse my headache with some whiskey and watch mindless television until I was tired enough to sleep.
But the sight of Sara tying colorful banners, which were painted with easter eggs, to her handrail made all of that irritation come back again. A deep sigh left my chest.
She already had quite a few decorations put up around the small lawn attached to her property. Various egg-themed items were strung up or staked into the ground, along with what I could only assume were handmade talismans that hung from the tree out front.
With all the colors and shapes strewn about everywhere, it looked ridiculous.
Still brewing in my sour mood, I couldn’t bring myself to ignore it.
“Is this necessary?” I asked, gesturing to the line-up of lawn decorations that weren’t far enough away from my property for my liking.
What had been a pleasant expression on Sara’s face faltered at my words, and her shoulders dropped. Immediately, irritation cloaked her, and it seemed she too had the time of day to go head-to-head with me.
She had been cordial with me before, but there was little to no patience left in her eyes. “Yes, actually. I’m decorating for Ostara.”
My brows furrowed. “What?”
“The spring equinox. Easter,” she returned, already looking done with me. “It’s necessary for me to observe holidays just like anybody else.”
