His Mute Mate

Chapter Ten

Amber's POV

Once we all left the office, Salman walked alongside me and asked if it was OK if he walked me to my house.  I thought about it and decided I wasn’t ok with that just yet so I shook my head.  He looked a bit disappointed but I put a finger up and took my phone out.  I gestured for him to do the same.  We then exchanged numbers so we could communicate this way.  I then texted him saying I would be okay sitting in the park for a bit.  He smiled and we walked to the park together.  He was very respectful of my boundaries and never once made a move to touch me while we walked.  We then sat down and he began asking me questions that I answered over text.

“So what happened if you don’t mind me asking?” he asked me.  I wasn’t anywhere near ready to talk with him about it but figured I could give a very vague answer.  I texted him that I had a terrible mate and after a while I left him and rejected him.  He seemed a little surprised to realize he was my second chance mate.  He didn’t ask anymore about the topic and changed it to something else.

“What’s your favourite color?” he asked.  I had to think about it as no one had really asked me this question before.  After thinking for a moment, I texted him that I liked dark green and then asked him his favorite color.  He smiled when he saw the text.

“I like the color red, like your hair” he said.  I blushed a little when he said that, as this was the first semi-compliment I’d gotten in a while.  We talked for a while.  Well, he talked and I texted him my answers and questions.  I had completely lost track of time and could feel myself getting slightly more comfortable around him.  I still wasn’t ready for him to see where I lived just yet and I definitely wasn’t going to introduce him to my kids yet either.

“Hey, do you wanna get something to eat?  It's about dinner time, it’s my treat” he said.  I looked at the time and saw it was almost 6pm.  How the hell did the time fly by so quickly?  Even before Teival became a monster towards me, I never felt this way with him.  I decided I’d spent enough time with Salman so I shook my head no.  He looked a bit disappointed but smiled at me still.

“That’s OK, I understand. Can we maybe hang out tomorrow?” he asked.  I thought about it as I had to remember if I had anything else to do tomorrow.  I nodded my head yes.

“Awesome, I’ll text you around noon and we can decide where to meet up then.  I’ll see you tomorrow Amber” he said, smiling as he turned to walk away.  I got up and walked back to my cottage.  I wonder if I could potentially open up to him.  But I’m still not quite sure yet.  I want to get to know him for a while before I decide if I want to be friends with him, let alone accept him as my mate.  It’ll definitely be a while before I let him come to my house, so I don’t know.  I still will not let him touch me right now.  

While I was lost in my thoughts, I looked up and realized I was home.  I went inside and spent time with my children.  I fed them, then I played with them for a bit.  I still am not sure if I truly want a mate as I am happy with my life right now, but then again, second-chance mates are still rather rare, so I don’t know.  I decided to go to sleep as I shouldn’t think too much when I’m tired.

The next morning, I woke up and saw that Salman texted me.

Good morning, how are you?

I’m OK. I just woke up

Would you be interested in perhaps maybe going on a walk today?

Sure, what time were you thinking?

How about 2?

Sounds good, wanna meet at the park then?

Yeah, that sounds perfect. I’ll see you then, beautiful

I blushed when he sent that last message.  I don’t think Teival really complimented me at all during the time we were together, or if he did, I don’t remember it.  It feels really good to hear that.  I still don’t know, but I should wait a while.  I don’t want to make a super hasty decision. Look what happened last time I did that.  I go about my day caring for my children and just spending time with them.  My breasts were sore from feeding my newborn triplets.  I can’t wait for when I can finally wean them off, but I also wanna make sure I don’t do it too soon either.  I have given them formula every now and again to give my body a small break, as I feel I haven’t had much time for my body to actually heal from having so many kids.

When two’o' clock rolled around, I got the kids settled with the nannies and went to meet up with Salman.  He looked very handsome even though he was only wearing jeans and a plain t-shirt.  

“So I was wondering, how would you feel if we took sign language classes together?” he asked.  I looked at him rather shocked and unsure of how to answer him.

“I mean, I would like to be able to communicate with you without technology and we could do something together.  Plus, maybe you can learn more as well” he said.  I smiled at him as I thought about it.  It was so nice of him to be more than willing to take sign language classes just so he could communicate with me.  I definitely like him a lot more.  He is also right that we could do something together as well.  I took out my phone and messaged him.

I think that would be a good idea. Maybe we could go once a week?

He read what I sent him and he had the biggest smile on his face.  I couldn’t help but smile at him.  He had the best smile ever and it felt like it could brighten up even the darkest of rooms.  I am still keeping him at arms length though.  I want no physical contact with him at all for the moment.

“There’s a beginners sign language class that starts tomorrow and we could go together once a week and I can go the other two days on my own” he said.  I nodded and smiled at him.

“I don’t want to push you too hard, so if I start going too fast at any point, just tell me and I’ll stop.  I will go at your pace, regardless of how long it takes” he said.  I felt my heart melt a tiny bit at that.  We continued walking for a few hours just talking and enjoying each others presence.  Finally, I decided I should maybe tell him a bit more about what he’s getting on to.  I pulled out my phone and texted him about me having had a mate before and had kids with him but that he and I were no longer mates and had no rights to the kids.  He read it and was quiet for a moment and I began to get really nervous and kind of scared.  Did I make him angry?  Does he think I have just wasted his time?  Is he going to hit me?  Oh god he’s going to hit me, isn’t he?

“Thank you for telling me that, Amber.  I appreciate that, but it still doesn’t change my mind.  I want you as a mate and I will gladly accept your children as my own if that is something you would be OK with” he said, smiling at me.  I was shocked by his response.  I thought he was going to get really angry and hurt me.  Perhaps I should talk with my therapist more about this.