Someone tapped on the door.
“Do you need help?” Gabby’s whispered words reached me through the door.
I nervously looked at myself in the mirror, ran my fingers through my long hair and beard, then eyed the sandals. I wasn’t wearing them or going to another dinner with Scott, Peter, and Rachel. The first one had been worse than a run in with a skunk.
“Please hurry, Clay,” Gabby said.
Taking a deep breath, I opened the door. Gabby waited for me in a pretty knee-length, cream skirt and a light yellow top that showed her neck and collarbones. She had her hair back and something about her eyes looked different. She stole my breath most days, but in this moment, she made me want to drop to my knees.
As I stared at her, her gaze swept over me, lingering on the shirt and my shoulders. I was worried that she was thinking it didn’t look right. Then a slight change in her scent hit me. Interest. I wanted to shout and laugh. Instead, I calmly put my hands in my pockets and let her look her fill.
With a pink tint to her cheeks, she looked away.
“Brat,” she said under her breath, and I wasn’t sure if she was talking to me or herself. Then she cleared her throat and said, “You’ll do.”
Behind her, Rachel smirked at us. Gabby turned and caught her amusement.
“Quiet from the peanut gallery.”
The doorbell rang. Rachel ran to the front door, and Gabby slowly followed. I trailed behind her, watching the gentle sway of her skirt.
“Come on in,” Rachel said to Peter.
Peter stepped in, and Scott followed just inches behind. Peter’s nervousness clouded the room. Scott’s lust quickly overpowered it, though, and I fisted my hands in my pockets and stepped closer to Gabby. The man’s gaze flicked to me, and I knew he saw the possession in my stance.
“Hi, Peter,” Gabby said. “Nice to see you again, Scott. We were going to join you guys, but Clay just got off of work a little while ago and suggested he and I take advantage of the empty house tonight.”
A lie I would happily die to see come true.
I watched anger color Scott’s face.
“Isn’t Clay your dog?”
I didn’t care for his tone and narrowed my eyes at him.
“We named the dog after my boyfriend. It’s a bit of a joke. Clay, meet Peter and Scott, Rachel’s friends.”
Scott’s shoulders slumped at Gabby’s words. I wanted to gloat, but Gabby’s sudden remorse and anxiety worried me. Taking a risk, I lightly set my hand on the small of her back to comfort her. She didn’t flinch or move away. My mouth went dry and my throat closed at her acceptance of my touch. My breathing grew shallow, and I struggled to control my emotions...my need to turn her around and touch her face and hair.
“Peter, Rachel, I’m sorry to back out on you, too, but I think I’m going to head home,” Scott said, distracting me. “I’ve been fighting a cold all week.” He turned and left.
Rachel softly asked Peter to get her jacket and eyed Gabby.
“Are you sure you want to stay in?” she asked Gabby, as Peter helped her with her jacket.
I studied Peter. He was crazy about Rachel. I could see it in the way he looked at her and touched her, and I could smell it. If they were my kind, I would have surely scented a Claimed pair. How could he stand being apart from her each night?
“We’re sure,” Gabby said, waving them toward the door. “Don’t come home early.”
When the door closed behind them, she exhaled slowly and turned toward me. I reluctantly let my hand drop. She smiled at me nervously.
“Home free. Thank you, Clay.”
I put my hand back in my pocket and waited. Would she ask me to change back? Tell me to leave?
“Um...” She seemed just as uncertain as I was. She took a breath. “Did you want to do something since we’re both dressed up?”
She wasn’t going to send me away? I shrugged, trying not to show how happy she’d just made me. I didn’t want to ruin my chance to spend time with her in my skin.
“You can talk to me, Clay,” she said.
Oh, I wanted to. I wanted to tell her how beautiful she looked right now. And ask if I could touch her hair. But, I kept my mouth shut. She wasn’t ready. She’d run.
“Okay, do you want to go out or stay in?”
Stay in. I figured, deep down, she wanted that too. I moved to the couch and sat in the middle.
She hesitated then looked at the space available on each side of me. I loved watching the warm light in her soft brown eyes as she considered her options.
“I’m going to go change.” Her voice shook. “I’ll be right back.”
My heart stalled, and as she turned, I sprang from the couch. She couldn’t leave. If she did, she might not come back out of the room. I caught the back of her shirt between my thumb and finger. She froze and ever so slowly looked over her shoulder at me. I tilted my head at the couch.
Please don’t go, I thought.
Desperate, but trying hard not to show it, I gave her shirt another gentle tug.
She took a slow, deep breath and hesitantly moved back to the couch. I wanted to go sit by her, but I knew she’d probably bolt. I could smell her near panic. Walking to the TV, I tried to figure out what I could do to ease her uncertainty of me. I picked the comedy I’d borrowed from one of the neighbor’s homes. It was one Gabby had mentioned wanting to see.
I pressed play, stood, and walked toward the couch. She watched me closely, and I wanted to stand taller because of it.
Sitting next to her, I tried to focus on the previews. It was no good. I’d sat too close. Her scent wrapped around me, as usual, but her leg pressed lightly against mine. Despite two layers of material, it felt too much like skin on skin. My gut clenched with want.
It took half the movie for her to start to relax beside me. Then, she laughed at something. Though I stared at the TV, I had no idea what had just happened. I remained completely focused on her. But the sound of her amusement made me chuckle. I wanted to hear that sound every day of my life.
When the movie ended, she leaned forward to stand. The motion hitched up her skirt an innocent inch. Innocent or not, I knew I needed to calm down. As she moved to the TV, I shifted and slipped out of my clothes at the same time. Moving with the blurred speed that came natural to my kind, I folded the clothes neatly so she would know I appreciated her gift and set them on the couch. Then I left via the front door.
I ran fast and hard for ten minutes, covering miles before returning to the back porch. A hint of buttery saltiness drifted in the air, and I heard Gabby moving around within the kitchen. Changing directions, I went to the front. I opened the door and smelled popcorn. Quietly, I closed the door and settled onto the couch in my fur to wait for her.
She stepped into the room a moment later with a big bowl in her arms, spotted me, and smiled. She was happy to see me.
“There you are. Want some popcorn?”
She turned around and went back into the kitchen, got another bowl for me, and set it on the floor by the couch. I wasn’t sure if it was because she was seeing me as a dog or because there wasn’t much room left on the couch. Then she settled in next to me and curled her legs up to tuck her feet under me.
Why hadn’t she done this when I was a man? I sighed, moved closer, and laid my head on her legs. She’d asked me to change into my skin for her, I reminded myself. Our relationship was growing. She’d come to accept me in my fur. She’d do the same with my skin. But would it be in time? At the rate we were moving, her acceptance would come long after the six-month mark.
I only half watched the movie that played. Mostly I focused on her. What would it take to move things along?