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FOURTEEN
“For starters,I was never looking for a platonic mate, as you continued to assume,” Rocco started, without so much as taking a second to think about it.
I guessed he could’ve been considering what to say to me the entire time he was trapped in his wolf form.
“The second bed was always for Oscar—Ryder, as he’s decided he would rather be called. I still haven’t gotten used to calling him that, but I guess I don’t have time to talk about that.” He gestured between us, and I felt a bit guilty for a minute.
“I caught your scent in the dorms a few months before we met, when I was helping Ebony move some things. I didn’t realize it was yours, and I was in a dark place, so they didn’t tell me until the day of that damn barbecue. I was going to come looking for you after the party was over—though I didn’t know it was you, exactly, that I would be looking for.”
My eyebrows lifted high. “Ebony didn’t tell me that.”
“The pack does a decent job at keeping each other’s secrets.” Rocco shrugged a bit.
He rolled his towel tighter around his waist, and I tried not to watch his fingers near his abs.
“Things have been rough. Oscar has good days, and really, really bad days. He’s hanging on by a thread much of the time, so I hadn’t been sleeping much when we met. I’m sorry I wasn’t friendly, but that had nothing to do with you, and everything to do with my own shitty mood and struggles.”
His gaze focused on nothing for a minute, and I wondered if he was trying to come up with what to say, or trying to remember what else I’d said to him.
My arms folded around my stomach, as if trying to protect me.
He finally added, “Despite what you seem to think, I have never not been attracted to you. You’re sexy, and beautiful, and I’m damned jealous that my wolf’s the one who’s been holding you and getting petted for the last few months.”
My face flushed.
Damn him for complimenting me.
“Alright, my five minutes are up, and I’ve said everything I needed to.” He lifted his hands up beside his head, as if surrendering. “What are your thoughts?”
What were my thoughts?
I shoved a few wet strands of hair from my eyes. “Thanks for telling me the truth, but none of that changes anything for me.” I gestured toward him.
His expression remained neutral, though his lips pressed together a bit.
“It’s easy to say all of that, and a lot harder to prove it. As far as I’m concerned, we’re still just going to be platonic mates. Maybe in a few years, we could look at taking our relationship to the next level, but for now, I’m not interested in being anything other than friends.”
Rocco’s head jerked in a nod. “Alright.”
Alright?
That was easy.
“Now, can I have that duffel bag?” I held out a hand, giving him a dry look.
“No.” He didn’t so much as budge. “If you move out, I’ll have to move with you. Your wolf will take over and chase me down if you try to go far from me; and even if you could, I don’t want you to. I need your wolf to pick me, even if just platonically, because I wouldn’t survive the shit Oscar’s going through right now,” Rocco said bluntly.
I dipped my head. “Alright, that’s fair. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“I’ll sleep on the couch, in here, where I can still see you,” he countered.
Dammit, he was so stubborn.
“Fine.”
That was that.
We both put on slightly more substantial clothing, and then headed down the stairs to make sure everyone knew we were okay.
