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SEVENTEEN
"Turn the truck around,"I unbuckled my seatbelt, grabbing the back of Ford's seat. "Turn the hell around or I swear I'll kiss you again."
Jesse shoved his furry self between me and Rocco, growling at Rocco.
I found it extremely humorous that he chose to growl at Rocco for my threat, but the moment was far too serious to laugh.
"You don't get to decide when I meet Human Jesse’s parents." My voice raised as I spoke. "I don't even know him, and they're going to assume I'm his freakin’ mail-order-bride."
"No one thinks you're a mail-order-bride, Tea," Rocco said, over the sound of Jesse still growling.
"They won't assume anything," Dax added. "They're realistic people. No one expects a girl to be in love with her mate during the hunt."
"If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last month, it’s that there's no such thing as a realistic werewolf." I glared at both of them. Jesse had me trapped back down on the seat, and my damn hands were scratching his fur for absolutely no apparent reason.
"If you think that, you should meet the main alpha. He's about as unrealistic as they come," Rocco muttered.
"Don't change the subject. You're trying to force me to meet the parents of a man I've never met—and probably won't like."
"Why do you assume you won't like him?" Dax asked.
"Quit changing the subject," I snapped.
Mostly because I didn't have an answer.
I had made it a point not to move any of his stuff or go through any of his things, mostly staying downstairs for everything other than bathroom trips, but I’d still picked up on a few things. And to be honest, from what little exploration I'd done in Jesse's house, I'd already realized there was a good chance I would like him. Maybe not as much as he wanted me to, but at least as a friend.
"Jesse's a lovable guy. Even if you don't like him at first, you'll learn to. He'll worm his way into your heart," Rocco said.
"Like the wolf did," I muttered.
Wolf Jesse gave me a toothy grin and licked my face.
Rocco parked in the driveway of a little house, surrounded by other little houses in a structured neighborhood.
"Shouldn't you leave the driveway free?" I asked, trying to put off the inevitable.
"Papa Yates works until 5, so there's no need." Rocco shot me an amused grin. "Come on, Tea. I thought you were braver than this."
"It's not a matter of bravery." I unbuckled my seatbelt and slid out of the truck, leaving the door open long enough for Jesse to hop out too. He brushed up against my side, as he liked to do when I was upset.
I used to hate that it calmed me, but I'd come to accept it.
We headed up a pretty stone path leading to the Yates' front door, and my eyes skimmed over the front lawn. The grass was still green, but the leaves on the tree were on the dead side of orange. Fall had hit with a vengeance, and had it been any later in the day, I would've needed a sweater.
I stayed behind Rocco and Dax as they knocked on the door.
A middle-aged brunette with smile-lines answered almost immediately. "It's been ages," she chastised the men, surging toward them and engulfing them in a hug. "You're supposed to be bringing me updates," she scolded.
"Sorry. Tea doesn't call very often," Rocco said.
Throw the blame at me, why don't you?
"Oh please. You know as well as I do that if you wanted to know how she was, all you'd need to do is show up with cookies. No one turns down free cookies."
She had a point. Even I wouldn't turn away someone who wanted to give me cookies.
She pushed past the guys, her eyes lighting up when they landed on me.
