I’m not sure what just happened.

Besides the obvious, I mean.

At first Ronnie is on his feet, the next he’s pitching forward, about to faceplant right into my station. Leaving aside the cost of the equipment that would get trashed if it hits the floor is the fact that Ronnie could have done serious damage to himself.

My heart beat in my throat like a bass drum as I lunged for him to keep him from landing face first on the tile.

A small shiver shot through me. I don’t know what it was; the best way to describe it is that small feeling I get in my stomach as I avoid an accident of some kind. Which is, I guess, exactly what just happened. Only not to me, but to Ronnie.

We struggle to gain our balance, and Nosko is all up in our face apologizing. Ronnie is being gracious about it all and I have to force myself to let him go.

My dragon is all in a dither now that I’m no longer touching Ronnie because all he and I want to do is to keep holding on to Ronnie.

There’s no denying it. Ronnie felt good in my arms.

Which is really not supposed to happen. It just confuses things further.

Ronnie clears his throat, stammering his apologies. He fumbles around as we do that awkward dance of trying to get out of each other’s way. He finally reaches around me and grabs his laptop before disappearing in the back of the shop. A few moments later, he reemerges with his laptop bag. He hasn’t even put his computer away as he races for the door, throwing hasty good byes over his shoulder.

That… doesn’t happen. It’s never happened before.

Sure he gets a little flustered sometimes, although I never really figured out what triggers it. I just thought it was kind of cute and let it go. He could be such a fox sometimes.

Now? After confidently giving the update to a room full of people, he’s racing out of the shop like he’s on fire.

I have no idea what just happened.

Most of the omegas are packing up the kids to go home and Taran is directing us on getting the shop closed down for the night. I’m left feeling a little confused.

Actually, a lot confused.

Confused about what just happened in every sense of the word.

I go over and over in my head. Was it something I said? Was it that really weird feeling that I thought was just me when I was trying to keep him from busting his head? What?

“Varos,” Austin says, ducking his head to get my attention.

When Austin first started coming around, he was awkward and a bit shy when talking to the rest of us. Nyve spent most of Austin’s time just trying to connect so we never really got to know him until after they hooked up.

Now, he’s just as much one of us as Nosko is and his personality really shines through. He’s far more outgoing, dishing shit just as much as he got shit in that way we usually tease each other.

“What’s up, Austin?” I turn to face him.

“I um… well, not sure how to ask this but…” He waves at the door that Ronnie just disappeared out of. “What was all that about?”

“I don’t really know.” Looking through the window, I see Ronnie’s taillights streak off down the street.

“That was just a little too not-Ronnie.” Austin leans against my chair, arms crossed. “Did he say anything?”

Oh, right. I get it. This is the best friend looking out for his buddy. It was through Austin that we were introduced to Ronnie. So, that makes sense. I hold my hands up defensively. “I promise, I didn’t say anything. At least, I didn’t say anything on purpose.” That would be the last thing I want to do.

“Oh no, I know that.” Austin doesn’t seem upset, which is a good thing. I sure as hell don’t want Nyve all up in my face for making his mate mad about anything. “I was just curious what happened. He usually doesn’t run off like that.”

“Yeah.” That much I know about Ronnie. While he’s usually rushing around, it’s a simple thing that he always, always puts his laptop back in the case before leaving the shop. It’s just a thing he does. “Maybe he’s a little off balance for almost falling on top of Charity?”

Across the shop, Taran is bouncing his daughter on his shoulders as she raises her hands in the air, giggling.

“No, I don’t think that’s it.” Austin’s brow furrows and he chews on his lip. He studies me for a moment. “Look, Varos, are you up for a bit of friendly advice?”

“Sure. I guess.”

“Ronnie sometimes… he’s a bit avoidant when things get uncomfortable for him. It’s not like he gets scared or anything but he retreats when he’s not feeling steady about something in his life. He turtles up in his apartment and shuts the world out.”

“Okay. Sure. I can see where he would do that.” I’m not sure where Austin is going with this.

Austin laughs. He pushes to his feet. “I’m saying that if you want things to go somewhere with him, you have to go for it. Be firm and just a little aggressive. Don’t let him back up and burrow back into his den. He won’t avoid you, but he will withdraw if he’s not absolutely sure about things so you can’t be too subtle, you know?”

Oh? Oh. “Gods, am I that obvious? I thought I was more careful about it.”

Austin laughs softly. “Maybe that’s the problem, Varos. Stop being so careful and step out first.”

Nyve motions to Austin that they’re ready to leave and I’m left standing there trying to figure out what I should do next.

Who am I kidding? I already know what to do next.

And it’s really not even a question of whether I should. Regardless of how I feel about fated mates and wanting to be careful that I don’t fuck up both our lives… I know that being with Ronnie just feels right.

I can’t fight it any more. I don’t have the desire to, either.

“Night, Varos,” Austin calls out to me. I raise my hand to wave goodbye before I sink into my chair. I have to think this through.

Taran comes up and kicks at my boots. “You alright, man?”

My head jerks up and I nod. “Yeah. I have something I need to do before I leave so I’ll lock up.”

“Is this something I need to stick around for?”

That is why all of us at the shop are such good friends. Even with his own family to deal with, Taran is willing to take the extra time to check in with me. “I appreciate it but this is something I have to do on my own. I won’t be long.”

“Alright. If you need anything…”

“I know. Thanks.”

I wait until the shop is empty before I shut down the lights. Stepping into Taran’s office, I get comfortable in the chair and stare at my phone. A quick calculation to make sure Ronnie’s no longer driving before I punch up his number.

It rings several times. I’m almost worried that he won’t pick up because he’s usually pretty good about answering on the first or second ring. He’s almost as attached to his phone as I am to mine.

He does answer though, a long pause before he speaks. “Hey, Varos.”

With a steady breath, I force myself to relax and to be very casual about this. “Ronnie, got a minute?”

“Um… sure.” In the background I can hear his computer system booting up. So he’s home and not driving distracted.

“You left before I could talk to you.”

“Sorry about that. I remembered something I needed to check on.”

Gods, he is such a bad liar. But I’ll give this one to him. What happened when I touched him was a bit awkward. It still lingers in the back of my mind, so I’m sure it does for him, too. “That’s cool. But I wanted to ask you something.”

“Sure.”

“Go out with me tomorrow night.”

“Out?”

“Yeah. Tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow night?”

I have to cover my mouth to stifle my chuckles. “Is there an echo on the line?”

“No. Yes. I mean—” Ronnie falls silent and I’m really exercising my will to keep from laughing at him. “I mean, no, there’s no echo and yeah, I’ll go out with you.”

“Tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow night,” he confirms.

“Good. Would you feel more comfortable meeting somewhere neutral?”

“No, I um, I can come get you? If you want? And if you trust my driving?”

“That’d be great. I’ve only ridden in your car a couple of times. It’s pretty cool.”

“It is pretty cool. So… I’ll come get you at the shop?”

“I’ll text you with a time. I’ll need to check with Taran.” And I’ll use every blackmail trick in the book if he gives me shit about wanting to take off.

“Sure. Sounds great.” Ronnie sounds less frazzled now. Almost relaxed.

The anxious knot in my chest loosens as well. I was fairly confident that Ronnie would say yes but there was always that small chance he would say no. I didn’t have a plan if he turned me down.

“Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow night. Night, Ronnie.”

“Night, Varos. And… thanks for calling.”

I’m smiling as I hang up.

This may be one of the biggest mistakes of my life but I really do think I’m making the right decision about Ronnie and me.

Whatever happens about this whole fated mates business, we’ll figure it out.

What I’m not willing to do is give in to fear.

I’ll follow what my inner dragon is guiding me to do. It’s not led me wrong before and I know it won’t now.

My step is lighter when I lock up the shop and call for a car to take me home. I’m feeling freer than I have in a while.

Maybe this is the wrong direction to go, but heading in no direction at all is not an option for me any longer.