Were's the Love?

Chapter 5: Chili Dogs and A Warm Leash

I walk with Allison down to the cafeteria. I couldn't be happier. I'm doing my best to walk in a straight line, but it's not working very well. Will she be mad at me if I try to hold her hand? It would keep me from running all over the place. Like a warm leash. Yeah. A nice, soft, warm leash made of Allison. My fingers are twitching and before I can help myself, I grab her hand.

She doesn't pull away! This is great!

"So, would you really have told your grandpa if Beverly didn't leave?" She glances over at me. I can see her eyes hold a little skepticism.

"Of course!" I cock my head to the side, "You're my mate. No one is allowed to scold you, especially when you didn't do anything wrong."

"But, you'd tell the chief?" she frowns.

Oh no, she hates me. I did something she doesn't like. What if she leaves me and never comes back? But she gave my head a pat. That means I was a good boy, right? People don't do that if I made them angry. Oh god! Maybe, I misinterpreted the petting! No. No. Calm down Jason. She's letting you hold her hand. She's not mad. Be cool.

"Yeah," I push out my chest and clear my throat. I'm a wolf after all. I should try to carry myself with more power and control. "Grandpa Ryan has always told me that it is important that every member of the tribe be kind and respectful to each other. It is one of the only ways that we will be able to remain a strong and thriving community. Beverly was disrespecting you. We can't survive together if we want to rip each other apart."

"That's incredibly..." she pauses and looks upset.

Fuck. I messed up again.

"Smart." She continues and I sigh a little relief. "Did you come up with that last line or was that Chief Bane?"

"That was me," I can't control my grin as she nods. I hold her hand a little tighter and try not to say too much more. I don't want to ruin the moment. She seems to like it best when it's quiet.

We make our way to the cafeteria and stand in line for lunch. I see a few of my students give me a thumbs up and I smile more. They are such nice kids. I can't believe how lucky I am to have such wonderful students. Most of them were really happy when I got paired up with Allison, or Miss Black as they call her. I remember one of them saying how beautiful our children would be. Yeah. They would be beautiful. How could they not be with Allison as their mother?

"What can I get for you today, Jason?" Minerva smiles up at me. She's a great lunch lady. She's been here since I was in elementary school. She always has the friendliest smile.

"Two chili dogs and some fries for me," I turn to Allison and hesitate. "What do you want...dear?"

"I'll get it." She looks at the food in the warming bins with a frown.

"No, I'll buy for you," I attempt to be assertive. It's harder than it looks. "Please. I want to."

"Okay?" she sighs, "I'll just have what you're having."

"Great!" I almost jump. Minerva has that same sweet smile on her face when I order for Allison. I pay for our lunches and find us a seat with a few of the other teachers. I wanted to sit alone with my mate, but since we're at school and it's lunchtime, that wouldn't be appropriate. At least, I don't think it would be? It's not like people don't know that we're mates. The lottery drawing is done in front of the whole town. As I said before, my students are happy for us. Ah, well. It's too late to worry about that now.

I set the tray down on the table and pull out a seat for Allison. She sighs and sits down. I divide up our food and smile up at her as she gets comfortable.

"Damn," she whispers, "I forgot to grab ketchup."

"I'll get it!" I jump out of my seat and run over to the condiments.

Ketchup for my mate. Can't be late. For what are fries without ketchup? Red little sauce, for my sweet boss. She can't have her fries without ketchup. Dip them inside. Then open wide. Eating her fries with my ketchup!

I hum as I bring back her tomatoey dipping sauce. She looks at me like I'm an alien when I come back. She doesn't say much, just mutters "thank you" and starts eating. I grab my delicious chili dog and take a bite. It tastes amazing. The cooks here at the school are fantastic. I know that it's just your normal school cafeteria food, but I swear that the ladies who cook it add something special to the food to make it extra tasty.

I reach for my miniature carton of milk and freeze. Allison is eating her hot dog across from me. I stare. She normally eats like...well, a bird. Pecking at her plate like she hates what she's eating. Not this time. She is going to town on that chili dog. It might be the sexiest thing I have ever seen her do. I know I look like a creep, but I can't stop watching her. I take a hard swallow of the saliva building up in my mouth. She looks up and frowns again.

Damn. I got caught staring.

"Is there something on my face?" she asks and grabs for a napkin.

"No," I clear my throat and look away.

"He's probably just turned on by seeing you eat that length of meat," I growl at Bethany as she laughs. Bethany Martin teaches history. She's only a couple of years older than Allison and I are. She was my neighbor growing up, so I've known her all my life. She used to play in my backyard with my older sister, Tammy. She's a pure-bred fox, by the way. You can see it in her rusty colored hair and the mischief in her brown eyes. She never misses the chance to tease me.

"Shut up, Bethany," I turn away again, "I am not getting turned on."

That was a lie, in case you were wondering.

"Sure you weren't. That's why you're sitting over there drooling like you're a starved wolf," Bethany smirks. Damn it. Why am I such a horrible liar?

"I'm not drooling," I wipe my mouth, just to make sure. Good. It's dry.

Allison chuckles. God, the sound is amazing. She's so perfect.

I look down at my plate and start eating quickly, hoping that once I'm done, Allison will be too. I need to take my mind off of how incredibly amazing she is. I still have four more periods to go before I get to be alone with her again and I need to focus on my students. Right. Teaching P.E., that's where my mind should be. Think about basketball. Basketball is the only thing I should be focused on.

I finish the chili dogs while Bethany tries to engage Allison in conversation. I hear all of it. I can't help it. I try to mind my own business, but how can I when the woman I love is being interrogated by my childhood neighbor? Worse, what if Bethany decides to start telling her embarrassing stories about me, like the time she and my sister decided to dress me up like a girl or when they convinced me to chase down the ice cream truck, naked. I was four during that last one, just for the record. They said that I would get free ice cream if I did.

That was a lie. The truck wouldn't stop and I got yelled at by my mom. It was horrible.

"So, Allison, I'm going to the city this weekend with Tammy," Bethany smiles, "Would you be interested in coming along with us? I know that Tammy has been dying to get out of the house and spend some time with her little brother's new mate."

"Really?" her brows crease, "Why?"

"No reason," Bethany smirks and gives me a look that I don't like, "She likes to get to know the people who are stuck with this little mutt. She's pretty protective over him."

"She is?" Allison frowns and picks at her fries, "What day are you going?"

"Saturday."

"I should be able to go," she looks up at me, "If you don't mind, Jason."

She's asking for my okay? That's odd. I've never had a mate do that before. Both of them just did whatever they wanted. Does that mean she cares about me?

As my mind decides that she must like me, I feel a smile creep across my lips.

"Of course!" I nod excitedly. She grins at my response. She wants to spend time with my sister. That's a good sign, right?