Oh Hell No

Chapter 17

Ryder didn't know whether to apologize for Danielle's words or remain quietly mortified. Thankfully, he didn't have to make the decision, "Your mom's nice," Jamie comments awkwardly, her face only a few shades closer to her normal complexion than his.

"That's not the word I'd use," He muttered, running a hand through his hair, "And before you ask, yes she is always like that. Also no, there is no therapist in the pack that can help you get over any trauma she may cause."

"Good to know," She responded with a smile that was only slightly forced. The joke itself wasn't the problem, but with the very obvious sex joke looming over them, it was hard to recover. Seriously, there should be a rule preventing them from making those, except for Jamie. Making kids, especially tweens and teens, uncomfortable was one of her favorite pastimes. She believed it was her responsibility as honorary older sister to embarrass every single child in her old pack. If she ever had kids, yet another untouched train of thought, she'd probably do the same as Danielle. Okay so maybe she was a hypocrite.

"We could go on that date now if you want? It would get us away from my mom," Ryder offers, "Unless she already jam-packed you with cookies," He chuckled lightly at the mental image, not noticing the way she froze at the sound. Stupid mate bond, she curses mentally, hating how much she loved the sound of him laughing.

"I haven't actually eaten lunch yet so sure, it'll be a nice way to stick it to the adults who say eating junk food will ruin your appetite," She brushes off the artificial feelings.

He perked up, "Great. It's only a few minutes away by car, so unless your wolf really wants to go for a run then I can just drive," Artemis did want to run, if it meant that'd she get to meet his wolf properly, but she wasn't up for that idea.

"I know how to drive," She points out.

He smiles nervously, "I never said you couldn't, but we'd be taking my car and if anyone's gonna crash her it's me," Jamie snorted, both at the fact that he took her seriously and because he referred to his car as a "she." He frowned, "Don't laugh. That car is my baby."

"If you think that's helping your case then you're dumber than you look," She snickers, "Now let's go before Sadie overhears something really embarrassing," Jamie suggests, opening the door and causing the aforementioned snoop to topple inside.

He growled lightly at his sister's presence, and partially at himself for not noticing she was there sooner, "Okay, when I explain what I was doing, I promise you will both laugh so hard."

"Save it," He warns, grabbing his car keys and stepping over her. He looked back over his shoulder at Jamie, "You coming?"

She glanced down at Sadie, who gave her two thumbs-up, "Beats staying here," Sadie sat up and gaped at them, but wasn't truly offended. She basically admit that she'd rather spend time with Ryder than stay with the rest of them, which meant they had to be getting closer. So, she didn't mind taking the hit this time.

The Everglade pack may be well off, but that doesn't mean they waste money on every whim each of its members has. Jamie's old pack couldn't say the same. People there would get in trouble for spending too much on something unnecessary, but the alpha had no problem spending excessive amounts of money on new cars or clothes. It seemed Alpha Mason wasn't such a hypocrite.

Instead of a new Mercedes or Ferrari, like Jamie had honestly been expecting, Ryder's car was a modest, but incredibly fancy car for a teenager, Impala from the early sixties.

It took a couple tries to get it started, which Ryder insisted wasn't normal, much to her amusement. She actually found it to be kind of...cute. He was trying so hard to make himself seem all confident and carefree, something that'd normally piss her off, but it was entertaining to watch him fail horribly at doing so. Much to his relief, Ryder was able to drive there without any horrible screw-ups like stopping too intensely at a stop sign or running over a child. 

The diner itself was a quaint little place, being owned by some local human Ryder had never bothered to meet properly. It had been around for as long as he had been alive, and while not unpopular, it was rare to find the place full. Personally, Ryder didn't mind that fact. Humans were loud and a lot of them tried to make a move on him, plus this way they wouldn't have to wait for a table.

They chose a booth by the windows, partially so they'd have somewhere to look besides the boring table if things got awkward and partially because it was a decent distance away from the other patrons. One of the more irritating waitresses brought them their menus, her eyes narrowing slightly when they fell on Jamie, which he did not appreciate at all. She skated off with an unnecessary level of flair and he found himself hoping she'd trip. Sadly, she didn't, but at least she left without making some poorly concealed innuendo. He always had to fight the urge to hit her when she did that, mostly so the humans wouldn't question how a teenager was able to send someone flying feet away with a single punch. If she had been a werewolf he would have already put her in her place for even looking at him that way when they both had mates out there. Didn't matter if she was a girl, he was a firm believer in gender equality.

"I forgot how obvious humans could be," Jamie muttered, barely concealing a snarl with her menu, "Freaking whorish bitches," She added quietly for good measure.

Ryder smirks, lowering his own menu, "Sounds like somebody's jealous," He teases.

Her frown deepens, and she raises her make-shift, laminated wall higher to block her face, "You wish."

A/N: Ryder's getting bolder day by day with Jamie, but is that a smart choice?