The Dark Side of the Moon

T W E N T Y - N I N E

"I think it has to do with the mate bond," Cooper adds. I stop walking and look at him, waiting for him to continue. "Well, I'm not 100% sure, but you are a human and the mate bond works differently for every single person. I think because you haven't been seeing him as often, the bond is plaguing you in your sleep, not allowing you to relax fully."

"But, I've seen Grayson every day this week..."

"You haven't slept with him, though." My jaw drops and my cheeks brighten from the mention of sleeping with Grayson. Is he saying that I need to have sex for these dreams to stop?

Cooper begins laughing hysterically at the look on my face- which is probably horrified and embarrassed. "I love you, Thee." He covers his mouth with his palm in an attempt to stop laughing at me. "I didn't mean sex. I meant you physically haven't been sleeping in the same bed as him, which could cause some unrest for you. Maybe that's why you can't sleep."

It's an interesting theory, but I'm not sure if that's why I'm having these nightmares. When I slept over at Grayson's house last week, I still woke up with a horrible nightmare. He was with me the entire night. I want to tell Cooper my suspicions but my phone rings before I have the chance.

I grumble out some choice words as I dig through my backpack until I find my phone. I'm currently getting a call from Cassidy- oh, crap! I forgot that I'm supposed to go shopping with her today. I promised her a shopping day from when she helped me avoid Eli and I still haven't fulfilled that promise. I slowly slide my finger across the screen and bring the phone up to my ear.

"Hello?"

"GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS?" Cassidy's loud squeal sounds through my phone and my head backs up instinctively from the sheer volume of her voice.

"I know, I remember." I pout, and thankfully she can't see how disinterested I am in this outing we have planned.

"Aww, don't be sad! We're gonna get you some really cute outfits for that mystery guy! He's gonna be obsessed with how you look after I'm done with you. We'll go to Forever 21, then maybe H&M. Ooh! And of course Victoria's Secret for some-"

"Nope! Not going in there!" I need to stop her train of thought before her imagination takes her too far.

"We'll see about that," she says smugly, and I know she's grinning at me through the phone. She gets in these "boy-crazy moods," and I never know how to calm her down. It's an obsession with her, and now that she knows I have an interest in someone, she'll talk non-stop about it. From the two shifts I've worked with her this week, I know for a fact that she won't let me get away without telling her the details of every time we hang out. Most of the time it's actually really nice to talk to her about Grayson, but I don't want to talk about buying bras and lingerie for him... we haven't even done anything to suggest we are close to that stage of our relationship!

"Whatever," I grumble. "I'll meet you at the mall at three."

"Okay! See you soon!"

I hang up and stuff my phone in the back pocket of my jeans- I am so not in the mood to fish my phone out of my backpack again.

"So we're going to the mall?" Cooper asks, his eyes lit-up like a kid on Christmas. "Because I've been wanting to take you ever since we met!"

"Oh no. No, no, no! I'm going with Cass. You can't come. I can barely deal with one fashion critic, but two? No way, I'm sorry."

Cooper smirks at me as he puts an arm around my shoulder and walks us into Java. "We're absolutely going shopping. As much as I love hanging out with you, right now I'm acting as your supernatural bodyguard. Alpha's orders."