Page 14 of Delivered to My Fury

The app had been a drunken gaffe that was rapidly morphing into something better. The false courage was long since gone, and only my own tiny store of bravery allowed me to send a message to the reverse harem who caught my interest.

Blatant lie. Ceci was also instrumental. She had felt guilty all these years for stepping away the night I ended up in that hotel room with a man who had zero reason to think I was a virgin. Not that she knew either, but I always thought she suspected but didn’t want to make me feel any worse. It wasn’t as if I’d had a reputation for lots of dating. But if this thing worked out, she could get over her guilt.

After I sent the message, Ceci and I went out for lunch, but I couldn’t eat a thing. I pushed salad around while staring at my phone on the table next to my plate. “They aren’t going to answer,” I said. What would three such good-looking guys want with ordinary old me?

“If they don’t, they are fools,” asserted my loyal friend, “and don’t deserve you. Let me see your phone.” She held out her hand, and I picked it up and passed it over. “You said you got more possibilities, right?”

“A few.” I was pouting. Here I went and put myself out there only to be ignored. “You can look.”

“I will.” While I sipped iced tea and mulled my future as a lonely single spinster former scientist, Ceci swiped her way through all the possibles I’d received, clucking, tsking, and occasionally gasping. “What was wrong with the three panthers?”

They had a picture of them in their cat form, as well, and there was not a thing wrong with the thick glossy fur, and their blue eyes were gorgeous. The hair color and eyes carried through into their human forms. Of all those who had messaged me, they were the best looking. “I know, beautiful, right? But, I just don’t want them.”

“They’re all brothers,” she mused. “Maybe you don’t like the idea of dating people who are related to each other?”

“Maybe.” But I didn’t think that was it. The three I’d sent word to were the only ones who I could see myself with. “But if they aren’t interested, I guess I’ll just delete the app and consider what to do with my life.” I reached for the phone to do just that, but she tugged it back.

“Give them a few minutes. They might be busy. You know, working or something.”

“All three of them are too busy to reply?” I scoffed then grabbed the phone. “No, I am just going to—”

The notification chime had me dropping the device as if I’d never heard it before.

“Do you think it’s them?” I whispered, as if they could hear me.

“I don’t know.” Ceci picked up her bison burger and took a big bite. She chewed and swallowed, taking her sweet time before saying, “There’s only one way to find out.”

“To find…oh!” I studied the phone in my hand for a moment before swiping to get into the notifications. It was indeed a reply from the trio, although presumably just typed by Eero, who was the wolf shifter. “They were glad to hear from me.” I set the phone down and picked up my fork, feeling much better. “They have such a great Greek salad here.”

But Ceci was staring at me as if I’d lost my mind.

“What?”

“That’s it? You send a message, they answer, and you’re done?”

“I’m not…what? Oh my Goddess.” The fork dropped to the plate with a clank and I picked up the phone again. “I’m not used to this.”

“Well, who is? I mean, probably there are lots of people who meet people on dating sites, but it’s all new to us.”

“You?”

“I’m living vicariously through you.” She took another bite of burger and chewed.

“You have a real boyfriend you’ve actually met in person,” I reminded her. “And he’s super nice.”

“Yes he is. Now…type!”

They had thanked me for my message and said a few other nice things, so I replied in kind.Nice to meet you. Thank you so much for your reply.Let nobody see I was anything but erudite. In any event, it was the start of an afternoon of back-and-forth and starting to get to know one another. Best day in a while for me. I still wasn’t sure what they saw in me, but I was glad they were interested enough to chat. And eventually, I found a little more of that courage and suggested I pay them a visit.

Chapter Twelve

Eero

Nothing was done the rest of the day. Instead of working on the new recipes and getting ready for customers, we spent our hours in a group chat with Opal.

There were no lulls in conversation. We went back and forth as though we’d known each other for years. She said she had lost a grant for her work and so was in limbo, work wise.

My wolf howled inside me, wanting a lot more from our interactions than an online conversation.

---