A Rebellious Moon

Chapter Seventeen

Amanda dragged her feet for a couple days after Aaron left before texting Chase. She debated for hours what to write and coming up with his potential reactions to each phrase. Finally, she chose the vague, want to get coffee, and proceeded to hit send before she could overthink it to much. Annoyance overcame her when her phone buzzed within a minute with a sure and a winky face. She couldn't decide if she was more annoyed by the winky face or the speed in which he replied.

A few minutes later, she realized that she hadn't suggested a time or place, nor had he. She was quite pleased about that, as she had done her due diligence and, well, you couldn't miss an appointment you didn't make.

Her joy dissipated when a new text popped up. How about Saturday at 1 at the Saxby's in Georgetown? She searched for a valid excuse, but she couldn't come up with any current plans for Saturday afternoon and he had chosen the coffee shop closest to the apartment. Trapped by his cunning, she sent back a resigned fine figuring she might as well get it over with.

The week passed in a flash. Usually after midterms, the next week professors went a little light on the homework to allow recovery. Amanda was grateful for the breather, but a masochistic side of her brain whispered how she wished for a distraction from her impending meeting with Chase.

Saturday morning came, bright and sunny, with fluffy white clouds trailing gently through the sky. Amanda stood in front of her closet hating everything in it. She wished she didn't care so much about what she wore, but that was what three years of Catherine's influence had done to her. She finally settled on an over-sized flannel shirt, black leggings, and riding boots.

She briskly walked down the street to the coffee shop. The bright sun masked the intensity of the wind and Amanda was sure her hair she spent an hour curling would be a bird's nest in the matter of a block.

She entered through the door and got into line while subtly trying to pat her hair down

"Amanda," called out a voice from the front of the line.

She looked up to see Chase waving at her from the counter. Hoping he didn't notice her fixing her hair, she walked towards him with a plastered-on smile.

"What do you want to drink?" Chase asked once Amanda had made her way up.

"Um, a vanilla latte?" said Amanda.

"Cool. Are you hungry?"

"No, but thanks for the drink," she replied.

Chase paid and they managed to snag a table from two students leaving. As they waited for their drinks to be made, the awkward silence extended.

When Chase's name was called, he hopped up quickly and grabbed the drinks along with a couple napkins. He set Amanda's down in front of her before taking a long sip of his own.

Just when Amanda was trying to think of a silly question to at least start some sort of conversation, Chase decided to speak.

"I'd like to apologize again to you. I didn't mean to be so...direct at the party. You obviously felt very blindsided by me and I kept pushing."

Amanda took that in for a moment. "Thank you for acknowledging that. Honestly, when we met at the club, I convinced myself it was just the alcohol. I know I was being silly, but I figured I would probably never see you again. When you appeared at the party as the alpha, I was mortified and then angry. I don't know why, but it felt a little like I had been lied to."

Chase nodded his head to her words. "Because of our pack's unique situation, I don't have much recent experience with mating or couples. We have one mated pair and another one has a wife and children in another pack."