My brain is still working overtime to piece together what the hell is going on here, panicked eyes bouncing between my new boyfriend and my dead mate’s best friend. "You two... know each other?" I stammer.
"Yeah," Matty replies casually, clearly unaware of the connection between me and Caleb. "We work out together sometimes.”
"He hasn't been around much lately, though," Caleb adds with a chuckle, lifting his gaze to Matty again. "Thought maybe you'd given up."
"Been busy," Matty shrugs, a sly smile pulling at his lips.
“Uh huh,” Caleb teases, rolling his eyes. “This the girl you’ve been going on about?” he asks, nodding toward me.
I choke on my own saliva, but Matty doesn’t miss a damn beat.
“Sure is,” he declares proudly, letting go of my hand to sling his arm around my shoulders.
This should probably be my cue to tell Matty who Caleb is to me, but there’s a brightness to him tonight that I don't want to dim, so I keep my mouth shut. The pressure on my chest feels like it’s cutting off my air supply as the two men trade a few more comments, making plans for their next gym session.
“How’ve you been, Blair?” Caleb asks, shifting his focus to me.
Matty slips his arm from around my shoulders, tossing a thumb toward the bar. “I’ll be right back,” he murmurs. “What do you want to drink, babe?"
“Anything,” I manage, my breathless tone dripping with desperation.
He nods, beaming a grin at me before slipping away and disappearing through the crowd, leaving me alone with Caleb.
My brain goes into instant panic mode. I clasp my hands together, wringing them in front of me as I hesitantly lift my gaze to meet Caleb’s. “I know how this must look…”
He shakes his head with a soft laugh, cutting me off. “I’m happy for you, Blair,” he says, those five little words punching the air from my lungs.
I feel my jaw drop, my usual sharpness blunted by shock. “You are?” I ask, blinking in disbelief.
Caleb nods, stepping in closer and reaching out to set a hand on my arm. “Everyone deserves to move on,” he states, his voice gentle but firm, eyes rounded in earnestness. “It’s what Dylan would’ve wanted.”
There’s no bitter undertone, no anger– nothing I’ve braced myself to face from the best friend of my late mate. Hisheartbreaking sincerity makes my chest tighten, my throat suddenly clogged with emotion.
"Matty’s a good guy,” Caleb continues. “He actually reminds me of Dylan in some ways. Pretty sure those two would’ve been fast friends.”
The sharp sting of tears prickles behind my eyes. “You really think so?” I rasp.
He smirks, dipping his chin in a nod. “I know so,” he says, winking as he lifts his beer and takes a swig.
Someone calls Caleb’s name from across the bar, prompting him to glance in that direction as he swallows down his gulp of beer. Wiping his mouth off on a wrist, he tells me he’ll see me around, sauntering away to join his friends.
I just stand there shell-shocked as I watch him go, his presence leaving a void that’s quickly filled with the clamor of the bar and my own tangled thoughts. A mix of awe and gratitude swirl inside me, and odd sense of peace taking hold.
When Matty returns with a couple of beers, the tightness in my chest is gone, replaced by a warmth that feels completely foreign. One that makes me wonder if maybe I’ve been too quick to judge this entire situation.
"You okay?" he asks as he slings an arm around my shoulders, clearly picking up on how deep I’m buried in my own mind.
I turn to look at him– reallylookat him– and see something I’m not sure I have in a long time.
A future.
"Yeah," I reply, a genuine smile breaking through. "I think I am."
Matty leans in to smack a kiss on my lips before taking my hand again, the two of us weaving through the crowd to join Cam and Avery at their table near the back. They’re the ones who coaxed us into coming out tonight, insisting we deserved a nightof fun after putting in long hours in the command center all week. Truthfully, neither of us mind the work. Especially when we get to do it together.
Avery scooches over to make room for us, Cam giving Matty a nod in greeting as we claim the only empty seats at the table. Matty hands me a beer as we settle in, and the anxiety I thought I'd ditched comes crawling back with a vengeance as I sweep a glance over the people seated around us. Avery’s friends are all six-pack royalty, hailing from the Alpha families of the alliance. I can’t help but feel out of place amongst them.
Matty doesn’t seem to have the same problem. His arm is a reassuring weight across my shoulders as he greets everyone warmly, seamlessly slipping into the conversation. For a human, he fits in awfully damn well here. Even better than me.
