Chapter 16

I really enjoyed talking with Eli, he was really funny and super sweet. When we arrived at my room I let go of his arm and thanked him.

"We should exchange numbers, and I can walk you to class again!" He offers excitedly.

I laugh a little, he really was nice and I don't think I would mind spending time with him. I glance at Tommy again, but he looks away quickly once our eyes meet. Why is he being like this?

"Sure why not!" I say taking his phone and typing my number in and hand it back to him. "Here you go!"

" Oh wait! One more thing!" He says holding up the phone in front of me. "Say cheese!"

I laugh before posing with a smile.

"Perfect!" He says saving my information. "I can't wait to see you again Maya, enjoy class!"

"Thanks! See you later!" I say waving goodbye to the three guys.

As I walk inside I can overhear Eli talking to the other two.

"She is so cute, right? I am definitely calling her, thanks Tommy!" He says before walking away.

Wow, Tommy is really going to act like we barely know each other. What happened? Why is he acting like this? I felt a slight pain in my chest now, more like an ache. He was supposed to be my mate and he acted like he wanted me, but now that we had slept together he was acting strange. Did I do something wrong?

Focusing on my next class was impossible now, how could I? Every moment form last night was running through my mind, and I tried to remember when things must have gone wrong. I couldn't think of anything. I didn't want to think about it anymore, I had hoped a new chapter was starting for me but I guess I had hoped too much. When class ended I walked out with my head down reading over a specific section of the lesson I wanted to research in the library. Not paying attention I bumped into a solid body.

"Oh my gosh I am so sorry!" I say looking up and meeting a broad-shouldered buff masterpiece.

"It's ok, I enjoy our encounters!" He says.

"Oh, James right?" I ask making sure I remembered his name right.

"Yeah! we have bumped into each other before!" He says proudly.

"Oh yeah, I'm really sorry I should pay better attention." I say with an awkward laugh.

"Don't be I enjoy bumping into you! Where you headed?" He asks.

"I'm pretty hungry so I was going to go to the cafeteria and grab something." I tell him beginning to walk in that direction.

"Oh no the food there is terrible! Let me take you somewhere!" He says quickly.

I think about it. He and Tommy don't seem to get along well, but he seemed nice. I didn't see Tommy here so he must not want to see me right now.

"Ok sure!" I say happily, I mean we were just going for some food. No big deal!

"Awesome! Come on!" He says offering his hand to me.

I hesitated but soon took it and he led me through the sea of students toward the entrance of campus. We walked down the street to a Chinese restaurant and my excitement grew! I love Chinese food; how did he know? Once we sit down I cannot help but smile.

"What is making you so happy?" He asks with a little laugh.

"I am so hungry and Chinese food is my favorite! So, I am really excited!" I say with excitement.

"That's cute. I am glad, I guess I picked the right place then!" James says proudly looking over the menu.

We order several main dishes to share and a couple of side dishes as well. There was no way we could finish it all, but I wasn't complaining. We sipped on our drinks and talked while waiting for our food, until I heard a familiar voice.

"Hi, can we get a table for two please?" I hear Tommy's voice. I turn to see him with his other friend, Noah I believe his name was.

Tommy doesn't notice us, but Noah glances our way and I turn instantly. Great.

James seems to have finally noticed Tommy, and his face grimaced. Soon Tommy and Noah walked over to us and I look down at my hands and try to avoid any eyes contact.

"James." Tommy says.

"What's up Tommy boy?" James says.

"I told you to stop call me that." Tommy says annoyed.

"Oh yeah, my bad. What brings you here?" He asks getting annoyed.

"To eat what do you think?" Tommy replies sarcastically.

"Oh, us too, and now that I know Maya loves Chinese food I think we will have to come back again, what do you think Maya?" He asks turning to me.

I lift my head and see three sets of eyes looking back at me. How did I get into the middle of this?

"Yeah I would like that." I say simply.

I can almost see smoke coming out of Tommy's ears at this point, but he still wants to act like nothing is going on between us. So what was I supposed to do? Avoid every guys attention until Tommy finally gets around to telling me what his problem is.

"Maya can I talk to you outside for a moment?" Tommy finally says through gritted teeth.

"Hey, our food will be here soon!" James says in protest.

"Maya." Tommy says giving me a pointed look.

"Ok." I say.

"If you are not back in 10 minutes Maya I will assume you are in danger and come out and rescue you!" James says teasingly but with a hint of sincerity.

I nod and smile at him before following Tommy outside.

Once the door closes behind me I turn to him as he paces around in front of me. I don't say anything, I don't know what to say.

"What the hell is wrong with you Maya?!" He says suddenly.

"What do you mean?" I ask surprised at his sudden tone.

"You are flirting with all these guys!" He almost yells at me. "How many guys have you been with?!"

I scoff at this. Is he serious right now?

" Excuse me? Are you calling me a slut?" I ask annoyed.

"Don't put words into my mouth, I didn't call you that!" He fired back.

"That's not how it sounded to me! Those guys have been nice to me, friendly but I never did anything with them. I have only been with you, and apparently that was a big mistake!" I tell back.

He stops and his face turns to one full of hurt.

"You regret being with me?" He asks me in a sad tone.

I am furious right now! Why is he acting like this! One second he acts like nothing happened, then gets jealous and now seems hurt by me acting the same.

"Are you kidding me Tommy? What is your problem? You came to me today and acted like nothing happened, like we barely know each other. What am I supposed to think? I don't know how to understand the whiplash of feelings you are giving off. We are supposed to be mates, but you are the one acting weird! I just tried to follow the vibe you were giving off. You don't want people to think we are together, so I am acting like we aren't!" I say feeling my anger grow.

He looks at me without saying anything. I stand with my arms crossed din front of me waiting for him to explain himself.

He opens his mouth but closes it again.

"Tommy I have no idea what happened after you left my house, but something changed. I have no idea what I did wrong, but I can't handle this emotional rollercoaster that you are on. So, if you don't want me after all then just say so, so I can move on. It's not fair to go from treating me like you love me to treating me like I am nothing to you. I don't know a lot about being mates, but I doubt this is how it's supposed to be." I tell him feeling myself getting choked up.

"You're right." He says looking at the ground for a second before looking back up at me. "We should pretend like there is nothing between us, because there isn't. Not anymore, so you are free to see who you want."

What?