Life Without You

Chapter 17 - Tommo

Uncle Rex’s laughter is loud in the small shop as Eva’s father playfully pushes her towards the door.

“Ok, ok, I’m going.” She says whilst rolling her gorgeous eyes defeatedly. I follow her outside, pausing as the morning sun illuminates her sun-kissed shin giving her an ethereal glow that takes my breath away.

“I’ve got my phone if you need me.” She shouts over her shoulder as I mouth a quick thank you to her father. I’ve no idea how much he knows about her, or rather us, but I’m grateful for his help in convincing her to spend the day with me anyway.

“We won’t.” He reassures her before turning his attention back to Uncle Rex. I’m not going to get my hopes up too much about today, but the fact that I was ready to reject her and she refused is making it almost impossible. The more time that we spend together, the harder it will be for me to go through with a rejection, but I’m just hoping and praying to the moon goddess that it doesn’t come to that. Hopefully, spending time with me will convince her that I’m much better for her than her human boyfriend. I have to be, the goddess chose me for her, just as much as she chose her for me.

“Good luck. I’ll cover for you with Bren this morning, but don’t forget that you’ve got that meeting with the Alpha this afternoon. I won’t be able to get you out of that one.” Uncle Rex’s voice comes through the mind link, shattering my hopes of a whole day with my mate. I quickly utter a thanks before I cut the mind link with him.

“So, where do you want to go?” She asks awkwardly, her eyes staring down the beach towards the sea, presumably hoping that her boyfriend doesn’t notice her leaving the shop with me. I can’t help feeling slightly irritated by it, even though I completely understand, and I fight to keep my emotions under control. She is my goddess gifted mate, but she is still someone else’s girlfriend, as painful as that fact is.

“There’s a nice, little cafe about five miles inland, we could go get some breakfast, if you’re hungry?” I propose, trying not to sound too eager.

“I’ve already eaten, but we can go there if you want.” She replies in a small shaky voice.

“We can go wherever you want.” I add as we finally walk away from the sand towards the car park.

“The cafe’s fine, but you’ll have to drive. Which is your car?” She enquires, looking around at the numerous vehicles that are already parked up for the day.

“I left my car at home.” I reply, ecstatic with my earlier decision to ride my bike to the beach today. I’ve given a few she-wolves a ride on the back of my bike before, and they have all clung onto me for dear life. The thought of Eva doing that suddenly has me feeling excited in ways that I really shouldn’t be in public.

“Oh.” She mutters with a mixture of confusion and disappointment in her voice. “I don’t have a car.”

“Don’t worry, my motorbike is just over there.” I explain gesturing towards it. “I have a spare helmet, but I can go get my car if you’d prefer?” I offer, even though I’d much rather give her a ride on my bike, I’m just happy that she is coming with me at all.

“A car and a motorbike, hmm.” She ponders to herself under her breath, and I struggle not to smile at her apparent reverence.

“Have you ever been on a motorbike before?” I ask before placing my helmet on my head and lifting the visor so I can still see her.

“Never, but I did ride one of those little scooters a couple of times when we were staying in Portugal.” She admits as her wide eyes continue to roam over my beautiful bike. I must admit she is quite an impressive beast. I pass the spare helmet to her and she looks at it unsurely.

“You’ll be fine, as long as you hold on to me tight.” I grin at her like the f*****g Cheshire Cat.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Her curt response wipes a little bit of my smugness away.

“Ok, but don’t blame me when you fly off.” I try to laugh it off although my disappointment must be apparent to her.

“Maybe it would be better if we go in your car instead.” She muses awkwardly.

“I’ll go get it. I won’t be long.” I say holding my hands out to take the helmet back from her. We stand in a slightly awkward silence before she eventually makes up her mind and thankfully places the helmet on her head. I quickly straddle my bike before she changes her mind.

“So, how am I supposed I get on this thing?” She asks, struggling to lift her leg high enough to mount my bike in her tight denim shorts.

“Sorry I forgot you were so short.” I tease her, remembering how it wound her up the last time that I called her short.

“I’m not short, I’m just not a giant like you.” She protests adamantly, and I lean the bike towards her and shuffle as far forward as I can to give her some extra room to mount.

“Just swing your leg over and slide your arse up. Put your hands on my sides, or if you’d prefer there is a handle behind the seat, but I wouldn’t recommend holding onto that.” I instruct her whilst hiding my glee at the knowledge that soon she will be holding on to me, whether she thinks it’s a good idea or not.

“Why not?” She challenges whilst gripping onto it tightly.

“You’ll see.” I say, kicking the kickstand up and starting the engine. As soon as we start moving Eva places her hands on my sides, gripping tightly onto my T-shirt. Even through the fabric the presence of her hands against me, cause faint tingles to spread over my torso. They feel amazing, but I try to ignore them as best I can so that I can concentrate on the road ahead. After a while she slides closer towards me, and rests her body against my back, which makes it almost impossible to keep my attention on the road, especially when her arms encircle my waist. Im fairly sure it’s Nya’s doing, due to the quiet growling that I can just about hear over the noise of the engine. I’m so distracted by the feel of her body against mine that I miss the turning for the cafe. Ok, that might have been slightly deliberate to prolong the journey, but it feels too incredible to end so soon.

After circling the block twice more I eventually park up a short walk from the cafe. I lean the bike over to allow her to slide off more easily, before dismounting myself.

“Wow. That was amazing.” She gaps joyously and I find myself nodding along in agreement. I could definitely get used to giving her rides on the back of my bike.

The cafe is quite busy this morning, but most of the orders are to go, and there are plenty of empty tables. Once we have ordered, I pay despite her protests and we select a table in the corner, well away from the counter.

“So, Thomas James, tell me all about yourself.” She demands with wide eager eyes, as she sucks seductively on the end of her straw. I doubt she is doing it intentionally, but she looks so beautiful with her mouth slightly parted around it.

“What do you want to know?” My quivering voice sounds really strange to me. I’m not used to being this nervous, not talking to she-wolves, even stunningly beautiful ones.

“Start with how old you are, and go from there.” She orders animatedly.

“How old do you think I am?” I ask her and she taps a finger against her chin as if she’s deep in thought.

“I have no idea. You have the face of a 12 year old, but I’ve never seen a twelve year old as tall as you before.” I should have expected her to say something like that after my earlier jibes about her height, and I know I have quite a young face.

“That’s how it’s going to be, huh?” I smile whilst trying to think of something more witty to say in reply.

“I don’t know what you mean.” She smirks mischievously at me and I stare at her for a moment, making her wait, before relaxing back in my chair.

“I’m 19.” I pause for a moment and she leans forward in her seat, waiting eagerly for more. “I’m only ever called Thomas by my mum when I’ve f****d up, to everyone else I’m always Tommo.”

“Tommo, I bet you were a jock at school.”

“Not really. I played a lot of sports but I wouldn’t call myself a jock.” I reply truthfully.

“You played a lot of sports and your friends call you Tommo, you were definitely a jock.”

“You have something against jocks?” I ask, but she just rolls her eyes dismissively in reply.

“Do you have any siblings?” She asks instead and I’m quite glad of the change in conversation.

“No, I’m an only child, although my best friend Bren is more like a bother than just a friend.”

“I’m an only child too, at least on my dad’s side. My mum … I don’t know.” Her eyes look down at her trembling hands as they start to pick at her nails. I want to know about her mum, after all her mum must be a werewolf, but she looks so sad talking about her that I change the subject this time.

“Where did you live before you moved here?”

“All over. We never stayed anywhere for long before now. I like it here though, it feels like home like nowhere else ever has.” She seems to brighten slightly at the change in conversation, and I can’t help feeling elated that she feels at home here.

“I like it here too, but I’ve never lived anywhere else. My mum and dad both grew up here.” I continue to talk about whatever pops into my head and the conversation flows naturally as time flies by far too quickly.