CHAPTER 116: ALL OF YOU.

The air between them remained easy and light throughout dinner, but while Bethany enjoyed the evening, showing him different parts of her he could have never imagined existed, Theo’s mood was quite sour on the inside.

His eyes flickered to the clock behind her every now and then as he subconsciously calculated the time they had left.

It was ten on the dot, so technically, he had just two hours to spend with her; any other time would be in Tristan’s day. And although Bethany might not know it yet, Tristan can be very possessive.

He wouldn’t blame him if he got all possessive on her by coming to pick her up early, but it was going to hurt regardless.

One could say he was being unreasonable, because he had her yesterday as well, when he picked her from Troy’s place, but in his defense, he just couldn’t get enough.

Enough of her smile, her laughter, her goofiness. And most especially, the way her eyes were always filled with warmth, no matter how horrible whatever she was saying was.

He didn’t want to let her go, not the slightest.

The situation with Troy hit them hard for sure, but it didn’t stop him from feeling like it had practically pulled him away from his world into her world of peace and delicious chaos. So you could say he was very grateful it happened.

Bethany played with his mind, body and soul, pulling him into the depths of bliss and peace, helping him forget about his bitter, chaotic, and bloody world. But by this time tomorrow, he’d be torturing one asshole, somewhere far away, beyond six feet below the ground, digging into his intestines, for information that would cost his life.

He really wanted to cherish every single moment they had left, but his stupid brain wasn’t letting him.

Just as his eyes flickered at the clock for the hundredth time, Bethany stopped her story mid-way, waiting for his wandering eyes to come back to her.

When they eventually did, he could instantly smell that something was wrong. Had she caught him?

"What’s wrong?" Bethany asked softly, peering into his eyes. Holding his gaze so he couldn’t move it anywhere without her knowing.

"How do you mean?" He asked, swallowing the lump in his throat, already sensing where their conversation was heading.

"You know what I mean, Theo." She said, giving him a worried look.

"Since we finished eating, your replies have held very little interest, your eyes have been flickering to the clock, you’ve been bouncing your feet slightly, forgetting I’m a werewolf like you, and I can practically hear your feet bounce on the tiles incessantly. Your shoulders are slightly tensed, and right now you’re looking to your left, meaning you’re going to deny everything I’ve just said." She pointed, peering at her mate.

"What’s the problem, Theodore?" She asked again, worry and exhaustion lacing her voice.

He opened his mouth to respond but nothing was forthcoming, so he shut it again, sighing.

His tense shoulders slouched as he accepted his defeat, searching his mind for ways he could arrange the jumbled thoughts in his mind so they could make sense when he said them out loud.

Bethany sat with slouched shoulders in her seat, her gaze on him as she waited patiently for him to get his ducks in a row.

After a while of thinking, he cleared his throat, ready to start talking, whilst hoping the rest of his thoughts would fall in line.

"I have a few hours to spend with you and I don’t want it to end." He said, pausing. His emotion-filled eyes trained on hers, searching her face for a reaction. On getting none, he carried on talking.

"When that stuff between you and Troy happened, I was knee deep inside someone’s gut, taking out bits of his body to get valuable information from him. And immediately I was done, Troy’s call came in.-"

"-Normally after such interrogations, I usually race on my bike for hours, and when I get to my house, I’d get so shit faced, I practically pass out in less than thirty minutes. In the morning, I’d drink a hangover soup your father always makes sure is stocked in our refrigerators, and go on the next day like nothing happened.-"

"-But last night, or yesterday in general, I felt good. Like really good. Normally, if I don’t follow that schedule, I’d be so irritated at, and with everything around me. Nothing I’d do will be done well. I wouldn’t be able to sleep properly. So many things will go wrong. But last night -"

"- Last night came and left as quickly as it came. I slept like a kid, got a mind-blowing blow job in the morning, without any headaches, nausea or scars. I felt completely fine because of you, Bethany. And after tonight, how am I expected to survive tomorrow night? Will I have to go back to my former routine? -"

"- I seriously doubt it will work given the fact that I’ve tasted something better. I’m just worried." He said finally, realizing a breathe he didn’t know he was holding.

His gaze lay on the empty plate before her, unable to meet her eyes.

Bethany sighed heavily, swallowing a huge gulp of saliva to wet her throat that had gone dry. She blinked back the tears that were beginning to cloud her vision, clearing her throat.

"First off, you didn’t ruin our last hours." She said, giving him a pointed look. "Because I know that’s what you were thinking right now."

Chuckling, he nodded in response.

"Secondly, your feelings are legit. You’re expected to worry, to feel bad, horrible and all that. But you’re forgetting something, Theo; I am your mate. Yes, I know I’d be with Tristan tomorrow and all, but I’d see you two days after or probably the day after. We wouldn’t have the chance to get intimate, but we’d still get to see each other.-"

"-I know I’ve not been using my phone much since I started spending time with you guys, but once I leave, I am most time on my phone, if I’m not helping my parents. You can always call and text me. We can video chat. I know it’s not nearly enough, but the fact that we’re not physically together doesn’t mean all of our emotional ties will have to be cut off. Other than race, injure yourself and get shit faced, you can do something else, something tangible."

"I’ve tried that, B. It doesn’t work." Theo muttered.

Bethany caught on to the fact that he called her ’B’ instead of Princess or Bethany, but pushed it to the back of her mind, deciding to focus on the matter at hand.

"We have to make it work, Theo. I can’t have you racing in the middle of the night for hours on a power bike. It’s risky and scary." She peered at him, her gaze filled with worry.

" Okay. Let’s do this. How about you spend those times planning our next day together? You can plan our next date, or a date for me, you and the boys. If you think about those things, you wouldn’t be irritated. All you’d be able to think of are ways you can make it perfect. That way, you’d be forced to think straight."

Theo sighed, pondering her words. His mind worked hard to process scenarios and their workability.

"Okay, we can try that." He said, causing Bethany to release a sigh she didn’t know she was holding.

"Thank you very much for wanting to give it a try. I was scared you’d say you tried that." She said, releasing a nervous chuckle.

"Well, I haven’t. But I’m going to. And I kinda think it’s going to work, since it has something to do with you." His words caused her cheeks to redden.

"Well. I’m glad. But now that that’s down. I have a third point." She said, her look becoming quite stern.

"What is it?" He asked with furrowed eyebrows, hoping silently it wasn’t going to be a harsh reprimand.

"Next time, you let things flow. Live for today. Enjoy your last moments. Don’t let the ’what ifs’ get in the way of your day and moment. When they come, you handle them then. But until then, you have to enjoy your life.-"

"-Just like this evening, you missed out on most of the interesting parts of my stories and banters, because your eyes were on the clock the entire time. And now it’s eleven, who knows how long we have used to dissect these issues.-"

"-I’m not saying you were wrong to tell me all the things you did. I’m beyond grateful you did. But next time, tell me when you feel it and don’t let it eat you up from the inside. Because when it does, it doesn’t just eat you, it eats up the time and moments you’re supposed to spend with the people you care about, thereby hurting them in the process.-"

"-Because, Theo. When I’m with you, I don’t want a part of you. I want all of you."