Page 16 of Jared

We'll date and then in a short while, he'll be more than a faint trace. He'll be there for always, his scent and mine permeating everything.

He stopped in front of a flower shop where he purchased a dozen red roses interspersed with delicate sprays of baby's breath. He arranged to have them delivered where Jared worked, writing a quick message on the card. Hopefully Jared would get them and give him a call so they could arrange for their first date. This way we can get to know him, he told himself sternly. We can learn to please him as much as he can learn what makes us happy. His inner wolf quieted at that. Steve made a mental note to let off steam later by going for a gambol with some of the pack's pups.

He straightened his tie and continued on towards the cafe where he'd promised to meet Tim for lunch. We could have just met at either my place or his, but he insisted on coming here for buffalo wings, he groused. Making his way down the crowded sidewalks, he at last came to his destination. Unsurprisingly, it too was crowded. Not only did they have some of the best buffalo wings and sweet potato fries around, but the eatery was owned and staffed by supernaturals, making it a popular hang out. Luckily, Tim had gotten there earlier and managed to snag them a table. He made his way over and slid into a booth.

“I already ordered,” Tim said with a grin. “Waitress came and took the order about five minutes ago. Still not brought the drinks yet though.” He'd no sooner spoken than the waitress materialized with two soft drinks on a tray.

“Sorry about that. Had to get someone to re-gas the dispenser,” she said by way of explanation. She placed a glass in front of each of them and then hurried off to go take someone else's order.

“So, you wanted to talk to me,” Tim said.

“Yeah. The pack council have asked me to formalize the positions for beta for when I take over from Dad. I've asked Rick and Sam to stay on as they've got several years experience and I want to formally ask you to take up the third spot.”

“What about Neil? He's been your father's beta for ten years now, ever since old man Jeffries retired. What's he going to do?”

“His wife has just found out she's having twin pups and as they already have three others to look after, he's wanting to to step down. He's a qualified electrician, and wants to make a go of that.”

Tim grinned. “All right then. I'm in. Do I get to bust any heads?”

Steve laughed. “I hope not.” His face sobered. “Unless we find the guys who attacked my mate.”

Tim nodded. “How is he?”

“I haven't heard from him yet, but it's only been two days. He said he wanted us to date, get to know each other, human style, so along the way I stopped at the florist by our building and sent him some flowers.”

“Smooth.”

“I hope so. I'm hoping that he'll call me so we can arrange a date. If I don't hear from him, I'll stop by his and make sure he got the flowers.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Their order of buffalo wings arrived and the rest of the meal was spent discussing the ins and outs of human dating, Steve's mother's excitement over the mating, and the need for more indoor play space for the pups.

Desmond was in heaven. Jared was so easy to tease. A short, ill tempered customer had come in and after being extremely rude, walked out without buying anything after all, despite Jared's best efforts to please. Desmond had been unable to resist telling him that the man had been a pixie and that they were known for their ill tempers. He giggled. Jared had looked floored. “Fairies are real too?” he'd asked. “What about elves?”

Jared had spent the rest of the morning wide eyed and vigilant for fairy pranks. An hour after lunch, a large bouquet had arrived for him and he'd actually worried that a pixie had a hand in their arrival. Desmond had had to come clean. The sheepish look he'd given him by way of apology had tempered Jared's response. “Just you wait,” he'd told Desmond before hurrying in the back to call his mate and thank him for the flowers.

“So?” he asked as Jared came out onto the floor.

Jared blushed. “He's picking me up from work and taking me bowling.”

“Bowling? Are you serious?”

“Yeah, well, he asked me what I'd like to do and my mind went blank. I thought, quick, come up with an answer. All that came into my head was 1950's malt shops and bowling alleys.”

“Oh my God! Seriously? And he didn't say something like, 'How about a movie or let's go out for dinner instead?' He just went along with bowling?”

Jared looked uncomfortable. “He asked me if I was sure I wanted to go bowling and I just said, yeah.”

“Do you know how to bowl?”

“I, uh, went once with my dad when I was like twelve. Does that count?”

The two men looked at each other and began to laugh. Their manager gave them a look and pointedly gazed around the shop indicating they should find some work to do.”

“Oh my gosh. I totally just asked him to go do the Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble thing, didn't I?” Jared said as he hurriedly turned to one side and began refolding some sweaters stacked on a display table.”

“Mmm hmm,” Desmond replied as he made busy straightening a nearby rack of shirts.