Page 29 of Wrong Number, Right Cougar

“I didn’t think you lied, but I never in my wildest imagination thought that hot dogs could be this good.”

They weren’t even grilled. Just boiled. But wow, I could eat them for every meal. I tried not to think too hard on the why of that. Hot dogs weren’t known for being the best quality of meat products. But then again, I ate random squirrels while shifted, so who was I to judge?

“Told you.” He stuck out his tongue playfully. “And next—we’re going to my favorite place for dessert.”

Unlike the hot dogs, our next stop was a fancy restaurant. Everybody ahead of us had reservations. The host was snooty. And the ambience was one that screamed exclusivity. It appeared to be everything my mate had first thought the steakhouse was going to be but wasn’t.

I half expected us to be turned away, but my mate must’ve come here enough that the host said, “Yeah, there’s room in the bar. Head on in,” before Thorn even asked.

We wove our way in and found a tiny table in the center of everything. So many people, so many tables mushed together—you couldn’t have a private conversation.

But when they brought the dessert tray out, I saw why my mate picked this place. It was impossible to pick just one thing. We ended up getting six different desserts to share. There was no way we could eat them all—each one more rich and delectable than the next—but I didn’t regret a single one of our selections.

“I’m never having dessert again.” I was wrong. We ate every last morsel. I was stuffed. “There’s no way it’ll ever compare to this.”

“No, it won’t. But I found out you can order it to be delivered overnight—and frozen—so we never have to do without.”

We were gonna need to book a lot of rooms at the lodge to afford my dessert habit, I mused to to myself.

“Okay. Now it’s time for fun.” He stood up from our cramped table.

“I thought we were already having fun,” I said, but he was so excited to take me to the next place, I had a feeling it was only going to get better from here.

The next stop was two buses away. And when we arrived? We were nowhere, not really. Just… on a street filled with closed businesses. Not even a restaurant to be seen.

“Don’t laugh at me. You’ll see why we’re here soon enough.” He grabbed my hand and dragged me across the street and down the sidewalk, which at this point was going across a bridge. He stopped midway and told me to look as far as I could see.

And it was beautiful.

I was not generally a cityscape kind of guy, but seeing all the lights—many in unexpected colors: blues, reds, purples—all lighting up the water? It was absolutely stunning.

“How did you find this place?”

“I got off the wrong bus my first week here and fell in love. I thought you might, too. The colors dancing on the water reminded me of the sunrise and dancing water where we live.” He hugged me close. “And sharing it with you? I love that even more now.”

He kissed the bottom of my jaw.

“I’m glad you brought me here.” We watched the water for a few minutes, holding each other close and soaking in the beauty.

“You up for some more?” He rubbed his cheek against mine again. I loved it when he did that, knowing his scent was all over me.

“I’m up for anything you want to show me.” Even if we went to a nightclub, although I was thrilled that hadn’t been a part of the agenda.

That was how we went through the night, going from one surprise destination to the next. None of them were what I pictured when people talked about “city life.” Each of them taught me something about my mate that I hadn’t known before.

My mate had lived here. He’d had a good life here. But even though he probably didn’t realize it, he was always seeking out the beauty of the city—the simple joys—much more than my cousin and his friends ever did. They wanted the action, the people, the excitement.

But my mate?

He found pleasure in such simple things.

And it affirmed that we’d made the right decision. That he hadn’t felt forced to stay in Cougar Lake. That he loved what the area offered and would love living there as well.

He would thrive.

“We have one last place to go,” he said, stepping on his tiptoes and whispering close to my ear. “And that’s to bed. Naked. And very much not sleeping.”

“I think it’s official. Thorn, you are the best date organizer ever.”

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