Page 12 of Wolves' Midlife Reunion
He was pretending to listen as Jason went on and on about the birth of his second child when he felt an odd prickling in his back. His wolf was now more on the alert instead of just uncomfortable. Dex rubbed the back of his neck, hoping to ease that irritating feeling. His heart rate went up, and he could feel it pounding in his wrists and temples. He looked down at his drink, wondering if this meant he needed more or less.
Then he looked up again, just past Jason’s shoulder. His eyes landed directly on a woman across the room. Her dresswas a deep blue, a color that, even from a distance, brought out the dark brown of her eyes. She self-consciously touched her hair, causing the rhinestone bracelet on her wrist to glitter. She smiled and nodded at someone, and that smile made his wolf swirl like a tornado inside him.
It was Tina Wright.
5
“Oh, really? That’s awesome.”Tina had found Erica Palmer, who’d been her chemistry partner. The two of them had been stuck together in class. Now, feeling just as awkward and alone as she had on the first day of that quarter, Tina had gravitated toward the first person she knew.
“Yeah, I think it’s pretty exciting, really.” Erica adjusted her glasses. “At least, I think so. Most people don’t want to hear about bioengineered plastics unless they’re already in the industry, but it’s going to make a big impact on our world. I think we should all find it at least somewhat interesting. Anyway, what are you up to?”
Tina accepted the cup of punch that Erica handed her. “I run a shop downtown, actually. The Crystal Cauldron.”
“Oh. I mean, that’s great!” Erica had put some enthusiasm in her voice, but she couldn’t quite get her face to cooperate with the lie.
“Don’t worry,” Tina told her. She arched her back slightly, wishing the zipper on her dress didn’t itch so much. “I know it’s not all that glamorous.”
“I was just surprised, that’s all. With your grades, I guess I just thought you’d be doing something different,” Erica explained.
“I could get through the classes, but that only let me know I didn’t want to get into those fields for the rest of my life. I had to figure out what I really wanted to do. Do you remember when Mr. Johnson started offering that entrepreneurial class?” Tina tugged the skirt of her dress down, wishing she’d gone with something a little longer.
“Oh, yeah. I heard he had to teach an extra class as punishment for not properly supervising kids on a school trip. I never knew if that was true or not.”
Tina had heard the same rumor, but all that really mattered was how much she enjoyed the class. “For our main project, we had to set up our own small business. It sounded kind of lame, but I actually really liked it. It all kind of solidified for me when I took some marketing classes in college. When I started seriously considering doing this, I found the perfect building. Then I knew I had to do it.”
Erica smiled. “You’ve got to admire someone with true passion.”
“Thanks.” Tina reached up and adjusted the strap of her dress. She wasn’t used to wearing anything remotely formal, and it was making her extremely uncomfortable. It didn’t help that her wolf was starting to go batty, as well. It churned inside her, poking at the underside of her skin, growing more insistent by the moment. Fur prickled down her spine, making the zipper feel even more itchy than it had a moment ago. Tina took a deep breath, trying to keep it under control.
Then she turned her head to find Dex heading straight for her.
Erica turned as well, and she arched a brow. “Hey, I remember him. He was on the football team, wasn’t he? I always thought he had a thing for you.”
Tina had never been close enough to Erica to tell her about her true connection to Dex. “I don’t know about that. We’re just friends.”
“If you say so,” Erica shrugged. “I think I see Bethany. I’m going to go say hi to her.” With a wink, she drifted off.
Now Dex had closed in on her. Those brilliant eyes were focused right on her, as though she were the only person in the room. She couldn’t even pretend he was looking at someone else, and then when he smiled, she didn’t want to.
“Hello,” he said as he walked up. “You know, I just can’t shake this feeling that I’ve met you before.”
“Is that so?” she asked innocently. It gave her an excuse to study his face. An ancient sculptor couldn’t have made a man more handsome. His button-down shirt was a tad too tight in the shoulders, but she didn’t mind. “I don’t know about that. I don’t think I’ve seen you anywhere before.”
“Well, maybe I should lean casually against a locker and pretend that I don’t care about anything,” he returned, his smile widening. “Or we could figure out which room they’re currently using for detention, and I could hang out there. Then maybe you’d recognize me.”
“We could do that,” she agreed, playing along. “That means I should probably hold a student council meeting or sit in the quietest corner of the library.”
They both laughed, and now Tina’s wolf was bugging her in a completely different way. It was active, yes, but far less agitated now that she was talking to him once again.
“Hey, I wanted to thank you for helping with that necklace the other day.”
“Did your daughter like it?” As much as she’d enjoyed their little jokes about who they used to be, a simple purchase at her store sounded like a far safer topic.
“She loved it.” His eyes got slightly different, but they were soft as velvet. “It made her a bit sad, though.”
“Oh, no. Why?” Tina’s heart immediately went out to the little girl that she’d met only for a brief moment. “Was there something wrong with it?”
“No, no,” he assured her quickly. “It’s perfect. It’s just that pink moonstone was her mother’s favorite.”
