How to Tame a Cat (ManxMan)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Falling Apart

To my surprise, when I returned home, he was not waiting for me, only a grocery bag full of the stuff I left at his place. I suspected he might wait until I fell asleep to ambush me, but then I got a text – I'm taking what the Beta said Sunday into consideration. I will see you Friday – and I felt I could sleep a little easier. But even with that assurance, I try to spend as much time as I can with Riley to make sure that Ryland does not magically appear when I least expect it.

"For someone who typically complains about things being too sweet, you love coffee cake," my human friend observes, watching me finish off my first slice of coffee cake. I bought two – one for me, one for Riley – but he turned down my offer when he showed up at the coffee shop.

I shrug, ignoring my manners to lick my fingers. While I do it often as a cat, humans usually frown upon the action. Riley just smiles. "I don't like eating plain sugar or things that are too sugary, no. But this coffee cake has the perfect amount of sugar and coffee mixed together," I reply, eyeing my second slice before deciding to save it for a little later, when I get hungry again. "So, why did you want to meet here after class?"

Not that I'm complaining. Distractions and public places are great for avoiding Ryland.

"You said you wanted to compare notes," Riley says, though it sounds more like a question. I frown, confused as well. It is possible I did, since I have been so out of it these past few days that I might have come up with some excuse to make him stick around longer today, but I definitely don't remember it.

-

"Cade, stop."

Something about his voice makes me hesitate. Maybe it is the troubled expression he is making, or it could be the way he commanding way he said it, but I remain where I am. "Look, I don't want to talk about it," I admit, looking away to avoid meeting his questioning gaze.

"You don't believe me," Cameron accuses, taking a step forward. I immediately take two steps back, keeping the distance as well as creating more. I do not want to believe him, but when he looks so certain of himself, it is hard not to.

I hold up my hands when he looks ready to take another step closer. "What do you expect me to say? The mate bond is something a whole hell of a lot stronger than what I have with Ryland. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to do stuff with him, but there's a difference between lust and an actual mate bond," I explain.

"I'll concede to that. It's not a mate bond," Cameron agrees, but he does not look like he has surrendered. In fact, he looks more certain than before. So I should not have been surprised when he went on to add, "But that sounds a lot like a mating frenzy."

"No, the frenzy is..." I start, but find myself trailing off as I remember how Ryland acted when his mating frenzy first started. And not everyone goes through the jealousy phase; it is not like he has been flirting or even looking at other people. I can feel the blood draining from my face. "Shit."

-

Maybe I was hungry when I brought it up. That sometimes makes me forget things. Not that it matters if I forgot. We came straight from class and my backpack is hanging from the back of the chair since it had my money in it, so it is not like I don't have the stuff necessary; I am just not sure which class we are comparing notes for. We share two classes and three teachers – the third one teaches a class we are both taking at different times and we sometimes compare what we learned in case she forgot something or one of us missed it.

"If you forgot, that's fine. Besides, there is a much more important topic to discuss," Riley says, kicking his book bag under the table. The deceptively-youthful human leans forward on his elbows, causing me to lean back so that he does not invade my personal space. Friend or not, he is too close. "Is your sister single?"