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Chapter Four
Cory
I was anxiously waiting for the head of department interviews tomorrow. It only took a week to reach out to everyone and coordinate a day and time that worked for everyone. I didn’t know why I was so nervous, but I found myself unable to sleep, so I headed down to find something to snack on at around two in the morning. It was late enough that the pack house should be sleeping, so I didn’t bother to wear a shirt.
As expected, the main kitchen was empty, so I went into the pantry to look for the snack I wanted. Mom always kept a secret container of chocolate-covered caramels for baking. She loved putting them as sweet little surprises in her cupcakes. I found her stash and grabbed two handfuls, dumped them into a little Ziplock bag and walked back out of the pantry, bumping into a body backing away from the fridge.
“Shit. Sorry,” I said, dropping my little bag of contraband to catch whatever they were holding. I caught the green apple and picked up my candy. I looked up to the person who had dropped it to apologize again, and I couldn’t help but follow the smooth, tanned legs up to the wide hips and full breasts. I felt myself blush when I realized I was staring at Evie.
“You scared me,” Evie answered, her heart beating fast while she clutched a can of whipped cream to her chest. I could feel Tenoch paying attention to how her bright green eyes dilated when she looked up at me asI righted myself.
“No. It’s my fault. I d-didn’t think anyone was up this late,” I stammered. “Here,” I added, thrusting the apple in my hand toward her in a panic.
Tenoch snorted at me, and I blushed more. Evie looked down at my stretched hand and took the apple from me, but I felt a jolt of excitement rush through me when I felt her staring at my bare chest and down at my boxers. She cleared her throat and turned around.
“I-I was working on a project and missed dinner. I thought I could sneak in and find some leftovers, so I wouldn’t wake Mom and Dad up with my tinkering at home,” she explained.
I walked around the kitchen island and sat down, grabbing a caramel and popping it in my mouth to calm my racing heart.
“That hardly seems like a good dinner,” I pointed out when I saw her cut a piece of apple pie and slide it onto a plate.
“I have an apple too,” she defended, pointing at the green apple I’d returned to her and taking a bite to prove her point.
“Fair. Cut me a piece, and I’ll share my candy with you?” I bartered. Evie smiled and cut another piece. She put the plate in the microwave before she pulled an extra plate from the cupboard.
“What are you doing up this late?” she asked.
“Couldn’t sleep,” I answered truthfully and offered her some of my candy. “What were you working on?”
“Ah, some freelance work for the pack that housed me while I studied. My little way of paying them back for all their kindness,” she answered, making me nod. That was an excellent way to pay them back.
“Where are you living these days?” I asked, pretending to make small talk when I was really hoping she was home for good. I’d missed her.
“I was in New York, but here for the moment. I finished my last long-term contract a couple of weeks before your ceremony. I’ve got some short freelance work to keep me busy for a few more weeks, and I’m waiting to hear about a few jobs, so I’ll see where life takes me.” She finished with a shrug, pulling the apple pie out of the microwave. I watched her take a good sniff of it and smile a little before she walked back over to the kitchen island.
Evie put one of the slices on the second plate and added some whipped cream. She passed one over to me, and I looked down at it. Something was missing. I stood up and went back into the pantry. I grabbed the cinnamon and sprinkled it on top, then slid it over to her.
“The apple filling not cinnamony enough for you?” she asked while she sprinkled a little bit on top of hers.
“No such thing,” I said, taking a bite of my slice with my fork.
“Goddess, I missed your mom’s baking,” she hummed and closed her eyes to savor the bite. Tenoch’s tail wagged, watching her enjoy the apple pie, the little noises coming out of her mouth goosebumps burst all over my body.
“Your degree is in software engineering, isn’t it?” I asked her, mostly trying to distract myself because I already knew it to be true.
“Yep,” she answered absentmindedly, continuing to dig into her slice of pie.
“You should apply to work for the pack business. We’ve got an entire department to hire, and it’ll be within pack grounds.” And it would mean you’d stay home, I thought but didn’t mention.
“Hmm. I’ll think about it,” she answered. We finished our pie in comfortable silence, then I grabbed both of our plates and washed them in the sink.
She cleared her throat again while I dried them and put them back in the cupboard.
“Good night, Cory.”
“Night, Evie.” I smiled and watched her pick another two candies from my bag and exit the kitchen. I walked up to my room and lay down on my bed.
Her scent of cinnamon and caramel was lingering on my nose, and I sighed and looked over at the empty space on my bed sadly.
