What It Means To Be Me

Welcome To New York

Dinner was quick but surprisingly satisfying. We ordered to go since none of us really wanted to dress up for the nice restaurant. Tanner even stayed on the bus to shower while I got his order with the other guys. Ryder was eyeing me the whole time, but I did my best to put on a smile and pretend I didn't notice his scowls. My wolf actually wanted to posture, but I didn't need to get kicked off the bus already.

When we got back on the bus, Ryder disappeared into his room, leaving me with another guy. Figuring I better introduce myself since we were kinda living together now, I offered him a small smile and held out my free hand while balancing mine and Tanner's food in my other arm.

"Hey, I'm Cole, Tanner's friend."

He smiled and returned the handshake, though the grin didn't meet his eyes.

"Macon."

Before our hands even separated, another guy ran up the stairs.

Ah, this must be the one I hadn't met yet.

"Hi, I'm..."

The guy just walked right past without a word.

"Don't mind Warren, he doesn't talk much... unless he's doing something in bed."

Okay, didn't need to know that last part. Macon's mind seemed to drift toward their room, which I assumed they shared, before he quickly sauntered in and shut the door. Yup, the lock just clicked. You enjoy your meal's', I thought humorously to myself. With a shake of my head, I walked back to Tanner's room, shutting the door behind me before walking over to the bed. He had just finished getting dressed, or partially, as he was only wearing a pair of pajama pants and I doubted there was anything else beneath them. Err, mind? Outta the gutter.

"Uh, here's your dinner."

I quickly handed him the top container before sitting down next to him. When I pulled out my meal, I could feel his eyes on it and glanced sideways. His own food was open, macaroni and cheese and a peanut butter sandwich. Of course. So then why was he looking at my steak, mashed potatoes, and salad?

"What?" I asked, raising a brow. He quickly looked back at his food and stabbed the fork into some macaroni. Such a kid. With a quiet chuckle, I cut a small piece of the huge steak I had ordered and poked it against his lips. Tanner immediately snapped it up with a shit-faced grin. I decided to assume that no one had taught him how to eat healthy since he had ordered macaroni and peanut butter.

"Alright, open up, you."

I got a pretty big steak so we could easily share it. Besides, he needed the protein just as much as I did and likely more so since he was still growing a little. After feeding him a few more bites, I turned my container sideways and added half his macaroni and cheese and half the sandwich to its lid, then put part of my salad, potatoes, and steak in his.

"There, that's a much better meal."

Actually... I grabbed the other half of the peanut butter sandwich and put it in my container, too.

"That's dessert, if you finish your food."

I heard his wolf grumble at the loss of its peanut butter, but when I leaned over and gave him a soft peck on the cheek, he immediately stopped and began eating. Yup. Puppy. After he finished up his meal and dessert—quickly I might add—he hopped up and walked out, only to return a minute later with two cold beers. Wait a second...

"You're underage."

He raised a brow and plopped down beside me with a shrug.

"So? I've been drinking since I was seventeen. It's not like it does a whole lot to wolves."