Chapter 15
Jasper Hartford’s POV
I could smell Lizzy's arousal a few seconds before she pulled away from me. It was a shock. I thought the kiss was perfect, I never wanted it to end and I thought she was feeling the same way until she pushed me away.
At first I was worried that I had hurt her but seeing the blush spread over her cheeks I could tell that wasn’t the problem. She wanted me but that feeling was embarrassing for her, she couldn’t be more adorable if she tried.
I had to remember to be more careful with her in future. I didn’t want to scare her or make her feel pressured to do something she wasn’t ready for. I had to take things very slowly and let her set the pace. We literally have the rest of our lives together to work out the details.
We walked back to my car mostly in silence but it wasn’t an awkward kind of silence. I had my arm around Lizzy’s waist. She was smiling and resting her head against my chest as we walked. She had her arm loosely around me, as though she was afraid of holding me too tight in case she hurt me.
If I had chosen to take her to one of the places in the pack I could have held her right up to when we sat down for dinner. It wouldn’t have been the best idea though, people we already interested in our relationship. If we were seen on a date I was sure that people would be staring at us and gossiping. That wouldn’t bother me, I was used to that kind of attention but it would upset Lizzy and that was the last thing I wanted. That's why we were making the drive to the mall.
“Where are we going?” Lizzy asked, as she fastened her seatbelt.
“There is a new gourmet burger place at the mall that I thought we could try.” I replied as I pulled out of the garage and started driving in the direction of the mall.
Her whole face lit up. Lizzy had always loved burgers. I know most people enjoy burgers but for Lizzy it was almost like an obsession. It wasn’t a food that we were allowed to have at home, my parents never let anything so unhealthy be served to us. Burgers were strictly for special occasions so of course they became her favourite food.
“I love burgers.” She said.
“I know.” I replied.
She glanced at me, she seemed confused but she didn't say anything. She looked back towards the window.
“I didn’t think you would want to eat something so unhealthy.” She said, she seemed nervous again.
I didn’t like it, she shouldn’t be nervous around me. She should be happy and comfortable with me at all times. It makes my chest feel tight when I think of how much I must have hurt her to leave her feeling this way around me. I need to make it up to her but I just don’t know how.
‘You're a dick and if you don’t cheer her up I’ll never talk to you again.’ Garnet said grumpily.
“Why would you say that?” I asked.
I glanced over towards her briefly. She was looking out of the window. We were nearly out of pack territory now, there were only a few houses and lots of farmland this far out. Lizzy was looking out the window as though it was the most interesting sight in the world. Did she hate me so much that she didn’t even want to look at me?
“You have to stay healthy for football.” She said. Her voice was so quiet, just above a whisper.
“It’s ok, one meal won’t make much difference. Just don’t tell my coach.” I said, I didn’t think my coach would care but I was desperate to see her smile again.
She giggled softly, making my heart flutter.
“It can be our secret.” She said.
I glanced at her and smiled. She was still looking out of the window but I could see the smile on her face reflected in the window. I would take it, it was much better than seeing her nervous. My goal for the rest of the evening would be to see that smile over and over again. I didn’t care if I had to make a fool out of myself to do it.
She seemed relaxed for the rest of the drive, almost happy. She was so relaxed that she didn’t even notice her friends gawking at us as I parked the car.
They were standing by the bus stop a few hundred metres away from the entrance to the mall. They were talking amongst themselves as we pulled up but their conversation stopped once they saw Lizzy getting out of the car.
I wrapped my arm around her waist as I escorted her from the car towards the mall. I made jokes about how many burgers I would eat to distract her. I wasn’t going to let her friends ruin our date or make her uncomfortable.
Especially the boy, I didn’t like the way he was looking at her. He looked angry to see her with me. I know he had expressed an interest in her but they weren’t dating. He had no valid reason to be angry.
I took her inside the mall and straight to the restaurant. The waitress tried to flirt with me as she took us to our seats but I just ignored her and focused on Lizzy.
“This place is kind of fancy.” Lizzy said, once she was sitting opposite me at the table.
“It’s not too fancy is it? I wanted you to be comfortable.” I asked.
I was aiming for a place just fancy enough for it to feel special but not so fancy that it made her uncomfortable. Seems as though I missed the mark. Hopefully I didn’t mess up so badly that it will ruin her evening.
“I am comfortable, I like it here.” She said. She smiled at me and it looked genuine so I smiled back at her. I wished that I was sitting next to me, I wanted to kiss those lips so badly.
I looked around the room trying to find something to distract me. I wanted to leap over this table and kiss her until she begged for more. I needed to control myself but it was so hard when the desire to mark her was growing strong by the moment.
I could see the door to the restaurant from where I was sitting. So I saw Lizzy’s friends walk in, they scanned the room for a moment before their eyes rested on me. The boy pointed in my direction before talking in an animated fashion to his friends. I couldn’t hear what they were whispering but I knew they were about to make their way over to us.
“Shit.” I said.
“What’s wrong?” Lizzy asked.
“Your friends think you are in need of rescue.” I said. My voice was sharper than I wanted. I feel bad about it but my anger isn’t directed at Lizzy, it is directed at the three humans walking over to our table to ruin our date.
“Liz, what is going on here?” The boy asked, he was staring daggers at me. I wanted to hit him but I knew that wouldn’t go down too well with Lizzy so I held myself back.
“I am on a date with my girlfriend.” I replied.
“Girlfriend?” The boy said, the disgust on his face was so strong it was almost palpable.
“When did this happen?” Asked one of the girls, the one that wasn’t as shy.
She took the seat next to Lizzy, resting her hand on Lizzy’s arm. She was giving all of her attention to Lizzy, ignoring my presence completely.
“Last night.” She answered, her voice almost a whisper.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” The girl asked.
“It's all very new and I was trying to make sense of it myself.” Lizzy replied. She glanced at me for a moment and then looked back in the direction of her friend.
Her friend scowled at me.
“I don’t get this, you two hated each other yesterday. What happened?” The girl said.
“I never hated Lizzy. I always hoped that we would end up together.” I said. Lizzy’s eyes shot to mine, she looked shocked. She clearly had no clue that I had feelings for her all this time.
“If you didn’t hate her then why did you act like a dick?” The girl said.
“Because I am an idiot who can’t express his own feelings properly.” I said.
I didn’t like insulting myself in front of others. It went against everything I was taught about being an alpha but if it gave me a chance of winning Lizzy over then I would do it. I would literally do anything for her.
Lizzy adjusted herself in her seat and looked away. She was uncomfortable talking to them about me while I was here. I wasn’t sure why she was nervous but I didn’t like it.
‘Maybe if you give her some space to talk to them everyone will calm down.’ Garnet suggested. He was agitated, he hated seeing our mate so uncomfortable.
“I’m going to the bathroom, I will be back in a moment.” I said.
I leaned over the table and pressed my lips against Lizzy’s. At first she seemed shocked but after a second or so she reciprocated, moving her lips against mine. We kissed for a few more seconds before I pulled away from her and walked away in the direction of the bathroom.