She Will Be Mine (New Horizon Book 2)

Chapter 5: Ronnie

I tried for a brief second during the ceremony to look out into the sea of faces and see if I could spot my mom, but the sight of all those people had me feeling nauseous. I knew she was out there somewhere, and that was enough. But now that it’s all over and I have to somehow find her in this crowd so she can have her proud parent taking photographs moment, I regret not making more of an effort to at least get some sense of where to look for her. And then I decide to just abort the mission entirely.

Meet me out by the front doors, I text her the new plan.

She sends me a thumbs-up emoji only a few seconds later, and I exhale with the relief of not having to fight through this mass of people after all. As a graduate, I can use the side door near the stage and take the back way out of the building, walking around to the front using the sidewalk instead. I’d feel worse about making my mom stay and fight the crowd without me, but she’s the one who wanted to do all this in the first place.

Once I get outside, I realize it might be even worse out here than inside. People are meandering around without much apparent rhyme or reason, some pausing to take photos or cluster in groups just chatting, while others are hurrying to get to their vehicles before traffic gets backed up even more. At least there’s a nice breeze out here, in contrast to how stuffy it felt inside.

I finally make it around to the front and start scanning the crowd for her. Easier said than done considering that she’s barely taller than I am, but eventually I hear what sounds suspiciously like her laughing with someone. I’m a little surprised because she was here alone last I knew, but still glad for a clue that will help me find her.

Heading toward the sound of her voice, I freeze in place when I see who it is with her. It’s him. My mind flashes back to the night I first met him, remembering when he told me he wanted to follow me here. It took him a couple years, but I guess he finally made good on that.

But why is my mom acting all chummy with him like that? It makes no sense. How do they even know each other, and why isn’t she glaring daggers at him or chasing him off with a broom or something?

“Ronnie!” she calls out to me, waving as if she doesn’t realize I already spotted her.

Taking a deep breath, I force my feet to move in their direction, though it suddenly feels like I’m wearing shoes made of cement.

I don’t like how he is already looking at me. It reminds me too much of that time in the library and how hungrily he was eyeing me back then. I only hope he can manage to keep his wolf in check this time because the last thing I need right now is for my mom to find out about werewolves.

She reaches out to pull me in for a hug as soon as I’m near enough. I can smell his cologne from where we’re standing, though I’m doing my best not to let myself look at him. I might black out if I do.

“I’m so proud of you, kid,” she tells me, still holding onto me. “And I know you hated every part of this, but thank you for doing it for me anyway. I’ll cherish the pictures I managed to take for the rest of my years.”

Once she finally releases me and steps back, it’s like she’s just now remembering that Jason is there too.

“Oh, and you remember Aly’s friend, Jason?” she asks me as if she’s introducing us.

That shocks me a bit because it confirms that she does know who he is. But how?

“Aly felt bad that she couldn’t come after you went through the trouble of reserving her a ticket, so she sent me instead to make sure it wouldn’t go to waste,” he explains, probably in response to whatever expression of confusion is on my face. “And I jumped at the opportunity to see you graduate.”

I haven’t heard him speak in years, and I’d forgotten how deep his voice is, how it reverberates through me, shaking me up inside.

That can’t be the real story though, can it? Why didn’t she warn me? Oh wait, I know. She knew that if she did, I’d tell her not to let him come. And she wanted him to come. She’s made it quite apparent over the years where she stands when it comes to me and my mate. She thinks he’s perfect for me and can’t figure out why I’m so against it.

“I um, yes. Okay,” is all I manage to get out in response to either of them. I know I’m blushing, and I still can’t look at him, but it’s not lost on me how my mom is looking at me in the meantime.

Concern. Amusement. Intrigue. She may know who Jason is, but I’m getting the sense that she’s still left wondering exactly what he is to me. A friend? A friend of a friend? Someone I’m interested in? But the really strange thing is that she doesn’t seem to hate him yet, even though I think she senses that there’s something between us.

“I was just telling Jason that I’d like to take you for a celebratory dinner after we get some more pictures. And I know what you’re going to say. You’re going to argue that this whole town is going to be busy with all the other parents and graduates doing the same thing, but Jason had a good idea.”

“I told her you should drive a few towns away and then stop someplace for dinner,” he finishes her story.

Ugh. My mom and my mate are literally ganging up on me. I can feel it already, and I know what she’s about to say next.

“And I told him he should join us,” she adds.

Yep, there it is. And now I’m in that awkward position where I can’t say no because then I’ll have to explain myself, but I don’t really know how to, and he might think I’m rejecting him.

So, I take in another deep breath and resign myself to my fate.

“Okay,” I agree softly. “But let’s hurry up and get those pictures so we can get out of here.”

“Hey, hold up,” Jason says, reaching out to grab the sleeve of my robe after I’ve already turned and walked a few paces away. “I don’t have to come to dinner with you guys. I don’t want to impose on your family time, and I know you’re not exactly comfortable with me. You can say no, and I’ll bug off.”

I don’t answer him right away. I can’t seem to look away from where he grabbed my sleeve.

“Sorry,” he apologizes and pulls his hand away before I even have a chance to say anything. “I know you don’t like being touched, so it seemed like your robe was the better option, but maybe I just shouldn’t have done that at all. You move so fast though,” he chuckles, and I realize he’s feeling almost as nervous and out of place as I am.

It means a lot that he not only remembered that I don’t like to be touched but also tried to be mindful of it. I also appreciate that he’s trying to uninvite himself from dinner because he doesn’t want to make me uncomfortable. Neither of those things makes me more comfortable with him being here in the first place, though.

“It’s okay,” I tell him finally. “The robe, I mean. It’s okay.”

He exhales his relief, relaxing slightly.

“And dinner?” he asks expectantly.

Good question. He’s giving me an out, and I’m inclined to take it. This day has already been so stressful for me, and truth be told, I’d rather go with just my mom, have a quiet dinner, and then drive the hour back home and crash out in my bed.

But something in me won’t let me just dismiss him outright and allow him to “bug off” entirely.

“Is your number still the same?” I ask in response, quite obviously surprising him as well as my mom. I’m sure she’ll be asking me all about him and why I have his number at dinner.

“It is,” he answers, smiling and waiting eagerly to see where I’m going with this.

“I think I would rather go to dinner with just my mom, but I’ll text you later.”

He looks a little crushed by that, but he hides it well and quickly composes himself.

“Then I’ll leave you to it and be looking forward to that text,” he says, awkwardly shifting his weight around and struggling to decide what to do with his hands. Then he looks at my mom and adds, “It was so nice meeting you.”

“You too, Jason,” she tells him, surprising me again by reaching out to give him a hug this time.

He seems shocked by that too, and I find myself fighting to suppress a smile. I have to admit that was kind of cute.

Once he turns and heads toward the parking lot, my mom turns to me with a mischievous smirk.

“So, you kind of like him, huh?” she teases accusingly.

“From where I was standing, it seemed like it was you who kind of likes him.”

She laughs, putting an arm around me as we walk through some grass over to the tree we already picked out for our photos when we first got here a few hours ago.

“Honestly, I don’t know what to think about him. He seems nice, very polite and respectful, and he seems to really like you, but I won’t pretend like it doesn’t bother me just a little. Is he from that place where your friend Aly lives?”

I have to fight the urge to roll my eyes, knowing what she is probably thinking. She still thinks that Aly lives on some sort of religious commune, and worries all the time that she might eventually manage to convert me to her strange religion. Knowing Jason comes from there will be a strike against him in her mind.

“That is where I met him, yes,” I answer honestly. There’s no point in lying to her. She’ll see right through me. “It was a couple years ago, though, and I haven’t really seen him since then. I told him I wanted to focus on school.”

“I had a feeling that might be the case. That poor guy has it bad for you, did you know that?”

“Did he say that?”

“He didn’t have to. I can just tell,” she explains, and I don’t doubt her.

Which is why I never bother lying to her either. She’s too observant for me to get away with that.

She has me go over to the tree and gives instructions for how she wants me to pose for the pictures, and I do my best to follow her directions and give her what she wants. I don’t know why we need so many pictures of me in this stupid cap and gown outfit, but it seems important to her, so I’ll gladly oblige.

“But you know what he did tell me?” she asks after a few quiet moments. “He said you hate cooking, and he seemed quite certain about it.”

Okay, well, maybe she’s not that observant after all.