I used a battered plastic container to put the rest of my dinner in the refrigerator and quickly washed the dishes, despite his silent protests. He dried. Skipping homework, I changed and went straight to bed.
After another night’s sleep, I felt more energetic and noticed more than I had the day before. The people I encountered during the day treated me indifferently. The continuation of the phenomenon I’d experienced at the party surprised me.
I saw Scott crossing the campus again. He only waved when he saw me and continued on to his destination. A friendly wave from one acquaintance to another. Confused, I made an effort to interact more. I smiled at the people I passed. I’d grown so used to the pull I had on men that it felt odd when they didn’t turn to look. Eventually, someone did stop me, another freshman, but he only wanted recommendations for a nice place to take a date. Why he stopped me out of all the other people drifting around on the campus grounds, I had no idea. However, it was the most normal, random conversation I’d had in my life, and I loved it.
Nicole caught up with me after our basic massage class and gave me the details of her weekend. Randy hadn’t forgotten her and had called her on Saturday to ask her out on a date Sunday night. She’d excitedly accepted.
“He was nice and everything, just not the way he normally is in class. He seemed a little more intense on the date. I talked to him before class today, and he seemed more like his old self. We’re going to go out again tonight.”
Then she told me about her walk across campus that morning. She’d turned down no less than eleven date requests and two blunt one-night stands. She giggled as she related the details, but the humor didn’t reach her eyes. I gave her a few pointers about keeping her physical distance if she didn’t want someone to bother her and to say no bluntly. She nodded her thanks.
I wished her luck and hurried home to tell Clay my suspicions. I felt sure that something had happened to make Nicole the magnet for unwanted male attention instead of me. The shock we’d felt seemed to have been the turning point. I wondered how long the effect would last.
Rushing through the back door with a smile on my face, I felt a stab of disappointment at the greeting I received from the dark and empty kitchen. I set my bag on the table and dug the leftover soup out of the fridge.
While I leaned against the counter waiting for it to warm, I wondered again about Clay’s coveralls. I’d never gotten an answer about them. He probably worked somewhere, which would explain the wallet with the GED and the driver’s license. But where? I could drive around and look for him, but I had no idea where to even start.
I sighed and settled at the table to eat and study. That he might have a job didn’t bother me. That he bailed on what I considered our dinner night without a note or warning, did.
When he wasn’t home by six, I decided to head to the library to work on my speech. I needed the reference materials for research.
Studying at the library without my pull thoroughly increased my efficiency. Thanks to the uninterrupted work, I finished my speech by eight and headed home.
The windows glowed with light, and I felt a spark of excitement. I really wanted to share my unusual experience at the library. However, when I pulled into the driveway, I saw Rachel’s car already in the garage. It meant I couldn’t talk to Clay freely, but maybe I could still manage to whisper to him when we went to bed.
Inside, Rachel sat on the couch alone. There was no sign of Clay. She said she’d just gotten home and asked if I wanted to watch a movie with her. She didn’t mention Clay-the-dog so I told her I felt a little tired and went to bed early. I had no explanation for his disappearance and didn’t want her to worry. I hoped that she thought he was already on my bed.
The next morning I woke snuggled up against Clay, who must have snuck in at some point during the night. Though Rachel had technically turned on the heat, she kept it low. It made Clay’s extra warmth nice.
When the sleep cleared enough from my head, I realized he laid next to me on his back...in man-form. I held still, trying to decide how I felt about it. When I’d been sick, he’d done it to help me. There hadn’t really been a choice. I wasn’t sick now. But he wasn’t being weird about it. So, should I really make a big deal out of it? I decided not to. Warm feet felt nice; a warm all of me felt better.
Considerately, he wore a shirt, and although I wasn’t going to check, I felt sure he’d included shorts. I shifted my head from against his side to look up at him.
He lay with both arms behind his head. His hair again covered the majority of his face. I thought he’d gotten over that phase. Since the party, he had kept it pulled back whenever he was Clay-the-man.
“It’s annoying not being able to see you,” I said in place of a good morning. I flipped to my stomach and propped myself up with my elbows to get a better look at him.
“If you don’t talk, and I can’t see your face, how am I ever supposed to figure out what you’re thinking?”
I reached out to move some hair out of the way, but he stopped me in a blurred move, catching my wrist gently in his hand. He didn’t let me any closer. First, he ditched me on dinner night then he wouldn’t let me touch him? The thought stopped me. I really hadn’t touched him before either, at least not as a man. Maybe he was like me, a little standoffish. I could understand that.
“Seriously, Clay, what kind of bribe is it going to take for you to get rid of some of that hair?”
He flashed his elongated canines at me again in explanation.
“Can’t we at least trim it back some?” Okay maybe a lot, but I knew to start with baby steps.
He tugged my hand to his chest, laying it flat. So much for my theory about not wanting to be touched. I patiently allowed it because with him, everything was guessing or pantomime. His chest warmed my palm.
Using his free hand, he tapped my mouth. I frowned, perplexed.
“What, you want me to be mute like you?” Was he hinting I talked too much?
He shook his head and reached out again. This time, he cupped my jaw and lightly ran his thumb over my bottom lip. The gentle touch caused the pull in my stomach to intensify. Though I couldn’t see his eyes, I read his intent.
“Whoa!” I scrambled out of the bed as if it had caught fire.
He stayed where I left him and turned his head to study me as I stood trembling beside the bed. I nervously rubbed a sweaty palm, the one that had moments before rested on his chest, against my leg. His whiskers twitched down. I couldn’t recall him frowning at me before.
I almost asked where that idea suddenly came from, but guessed it was long overdue. According to the Elders, when an unMated male finds his female, he begins a courtship of sorts. The end goal is to Claim his Mate.
But Clay hadn’t courted me. He just lived here in his fur. And sometimes cooked for me. And sometimes helped me with chores...and when he wasn’t around, I felt disappointed and missed him. My fearful expression slackened to one of stunned amazement. He had been courting me these last few months. Clever dog.
Not comfortable with simple contact to begin with, I naturally balked at his request. Then I paused, reconsidering my hesitancy. Yes, I’d held myself back from everyone. Contact meant an emotional connection, either for me or for the other person. But Clay didn’t act like the rest. He wasn’t compulsively drawn to me.
Maybe I needed to stop treating him like the rest. Hadn’t I already started doing that? I’d sat next to him to watch movies, ate dinner with him, and, yes, technically snuggled with him at night. At least, my feet did regularly. And I had to admit, I liked looking at him—the parts I could see. Thinking of that caused a blush. I sent another panicked look his direction, but he remained motionless.