So, I'm on summer break, but the amount of homework I have is still crazy. Somebody, please save my soul. Another thing is that if you want to PM me, please do. I will respond, all the time. I might be a little late only because of a little thing called sleep. Haha~
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kaelen's P.O.V.
"Kaelen? I'm hungry. Can we go eat now?"
I turned around to look at Dhairya and saw that he was holding his stomach with a small pout that I highly doubt was intentional. But, in spite of that, I still felt guilty. I had been so caught up in shopping for his clothes, that I forgot about food. I looked at my watch and saw that it was past 3. Oops.
"Sorry, mate. I lost track of time. Come on, I think that this should be enough clothes for now, let's go home, okay? Well, we could stop by a restaurant on the way. Have you ever had BJ's?"
Dhairya quickly shook his head and I frowned. I didn't understand. Why didn't he want to eat at BJ's? Most people would love to go and eat at such a nice restaurant. It may cost- oh...he doesn't want to go and eat there because it costs a lot. I pursed my lip slightly.
I wanted to spend money on Dhairya. He was here now, and I wanted to take care of him in ways that others can't, but he kept saying 'no.' I felt completely useless around him. I was his mate, he should lean on me more. I wanted to keep taking care of him, but he wasn't letting me. I knew that he only grew up with his abusive 'father' and that his 'mother' died. I knew that he was lonely, which was why he continued to call that man his father. I knew all of that.
But it didn't mean that I had to like it. It made me mad that I couldn't be there for him when he was going through all of that. I couldn't save him then, but now he was here and he changed my thinking on mates. My thoughts used to be full of how to run the pack effectively and the different war strategies that would help that. But, now, my mind had made space for the ways to keep Dhairya warm and safe. It included caring for him. And later on, it would mean buying certain things, but for now it was food.
On one hand, if we went to BJ's, there would be portions that he could eat that would keep him at a healthy weight. On the other hand, if we went, he would probably order the cheapest thing possible. I sighed.
"Okay, we won't go to BJ's. Let's go to a small diner near the company. After we eat dinner, we can just sleep in the company. Have you ever eaten at that diner?"
Dhairya shook his head again and I smiled. I held his hand and tugged on it gently, indicating that he should follow me. We reached my car, and it was amazing how Dhairya reacted. He had seen my car so many times, yet the way that he reacts is still exactly the same and that made me smile. He was so cute with all his little reactions to the most common stuff ever.
His jaw dropped and his eyes widened a bit. I hoped that he would never lose this reaction. It showed me that not everybody was evil, and that there would always be somebody on my side, too. Even if it were just me and Dhairya, I think that I would be fine...
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"Welcome back, Kaelen! It's been awhile since I've seen you. You don't live with your mom anymore so you don't have to run away from her cooking, right?"
I smiled at the host before laughing in realization. It was true. It had been a long time since I last went to this diner because the pack house fed me food that my mom couldn't make. I love my mom, but her food was terrible. I think that today was the first day in forever since she cooked a good meal.
"Yeah, it's been a while, hasn't it? The cooks are amazing here."
"Table for 1, then?"
"Nope, I have a little one with me. Dhairya's hiding behind my back right now, but I can assure you, he's the cutest thing you will have ever seen."
He smiled and I gave a grin back. I turned around to see Dhairya still hiding his face in my shirt, but he had begun to shake. His hands were starting to fidget around with my shirt. I grabbed his hand and pulled it gently to get his face to leave my shirt. Munch, what everybody called the host, led us to a small booth in the corner and gave me a wink before leaving.
I'll have to thank him for doing this later. It seemed to make Dhairya a lot calmer being away from so many people and he started to calm down. His composure melted and soon he was leaning back onto the couch and pulling silly, but still cute, faces at me. I think I laughed a lot more then than in my entire life. It was just so cute! He was just so cute.
Munch brought over our food and I smiled at the smile that arrived on Dhairya's face. It wasn't anything fancy, but it meant the world to me. His smile did. I think that I'm going soft. I shouldn't be all gushy over someone's smile, but his was just so cute and nice.
I think I may be in love. Scratch that, I know I'm in love. But, it would explain all the changes that I seem to be going through. I'm turning soft, I called someone 'Angel', I ran around the city for someone, and I finally let somebody into my heart.
And the best thing about all of this is, the person that changed me is the one that is destined for me. I'm happy that it was Dhairya that did to me. He makes me happier than I have been in a while. And the thought of him staying with me just made that happiness explode.