Miraculously, Hollister looked as excited for me to return as I'd been to return to him. He met me at the door, wearing boxer briefs and one of my sweatshirts. He worried the right sleeve between his fingers, tugging at the ribbed cuff. I liked seeing him in my clothes. A lot. Not only did it rub my scent off on him, something my inner alpha definitely appreciated, he looked adorable.
Hollister narrowed his eyes at me. "Your note said you left for groceries."
Leaving him while he'd still been asleep had been unforgivable, but it had also been the easiest way to get out of the house alone. "They are in the car, along with a present. But then I saw you and…"
I shrugged, and Hollister stepped into my embrace, seeming as if he understood me completely. While I'd been out, the urge to return to Hollister had been intense, but it was a feeling I believed I alone experienced. Could Hollister have felt the same? Was there any way he could be as obsessed with me as I was with him?
I loved how tightly Hollister squeezed me back, but I didn't like the way he trembled. He'd been reading when I first saw him, and I'd assumed that meant he'd had a peaceful morning, but now I wasn't sure. "Did something happen?"
Did he want to go home? I had to let him…if he wanted to leave…I had to let him.
"Not really." He pressed the side of his face against my chest. "I checked in with Sam and Jorge. They still haven't spoken with Sprinkles. He's been missing since the day I left." As loyal of a friend Hollister was, I was lucky he wasn't already in the car demanding I take him back to the city.
I hated to see him so worried. "Didn't you say Sprinkles did that sometimes? Disappeared until you were sure something bad had happened?"
Hollister nodded, pressing his face back into my chest. "You're probably right. I just…things have been so perfect since we got here, and then I woke up without you and had all those texts from Sam." He shivered before inhaling deeply through his nose. If I hadn't known Hollister was a human, I would've believed he was taking in my scent.
As my affections for Hollister grew, I'd wondered what it all meant. Had this been what my cousins felt when they'd met their mates? I didn't want to think about it for very long. While Hollister and I remained safe in the bedroom, there was no chance of him becoming pregnant, which had seemed to be the catalyst that started everything with my cousins. As much as I hated the thin barrier between our bodies, as long as I was safe every time, everything would be fine. Unlike all three of the other mates, Hollister had no hint of an extra, unexplainable ability. I'd been within close contact with him for so long. If he could compel someone to tell the truth with his touch like Riley, heal a wound like Phineas, or suck the energy from my body like Kansas, then I would have noticed. Hollister did have a superpower, but it was his ability to get hard at the slightest touch, to come with the smallest provocation. At least this way, I couldn't have my heart torn in two when I discovered Hollister wasn't my mate.
"It might sound stupid, but the world looks darker now when you aren't around," Hollister whispered.
It didn't sound stupid at all. "For me as well." I kissed his lips gently.
I understood how that could have been troubling, so I didn't ask Hollister to explain why he'd suddenly looked away. His eyes fluttered open a few seconds later. "Did someone say something about a present?"
I smiled. "Yes, I did. I have a present for you. And I have more syrup." The man ate syrup like Will Ferrell in that Christmas movie, Elf. Riley had rented it over the holidays for one of our movie nights.
I'd watched the comedy from the corner of the room. But when I pictured the moment now, Hollister was in my lap, laughing along while I held him tightly.
Could a moment like that ever exist? I didn't see how. The Aver I was with Hollister would be like a stranger to my cousins. They'd think I'd been taken over by aliens.
Hollister's face brightened with a smile, but worry still made his eyes tilt.
"Do you want to talk more about your missing friend? I could help you brainstorm places he might be." I knew a thing or two about wanting to disappear from life for a while. As much as I didn't want to talk about anything that could lead Hollister to wanting to go back to Seattle, I didn't want him worrying.
He didn't look excited to brainstorm, so I pivoted.
"Or I can explain the terms of my present."
Hollister arched his brow, his natural curiosity chasing away his worried thoughts. "Terms? That doesn't sound like a present. Gifts aren't given with stipulations."
"You're obviously correct, but when a gift is this epic, the rules may be bent. Wait here. I'll bring in the stuff—"
Hollister frowned.
"I change my mind. Help me bring the stuff in, but no peeking."
His frown disappeared, and he jumped up, content to walk outside in his underwear and my sweater.
"Hold on. You need shoes." I caught his wrist before he stepped out the door. On second thought, now that I was touching him, I didn't want to stop. I turned around and offered my back. "Jump."
He obeyed immediately, leaping on my back. I caught him, and he wrapped his legs around my waist. "Onward, trusty steed!" Hollister giggled.
He sounded so happy, I started laughing too, and we kept that up as I carried him to the car. He stayed on my back, and I handed him one bag, the lightest of the bunch.
"I can take more," he whined.
"You can, but you won't." I'd discovered something wrong with this position: it was harder for me to kiss him when he was behind my head. I grabbed the rest of the groceries, including the bag with Hollister's present, and brought us back inside the house.
Hollister slid down but stayed by my side as I went into the kitchen to put away the perishables. Hollister liked pancakes in the morning, but I'd learned the rest of the day he was more of a grazer than someone who sat down for meals. He liked to snack all day, and I'd needed to up my supply of celery, peanut butter, apples, and cheese. He liked nuts too, but not peanuts, so I'd searched for a blend without peanuts.
Hollister snagged the container off the counter. "Cashews!" He ripped the lid off, and I couldn't help my grin. Hollister must have felt my gaze on him because he paused suddenly and looked up at me. "I mean, do you mind if I—"
I put my finger against his lips to silence him. "You were right the first time."
His cheeks went pink as his pupils dilated. Though we'd had sex, nearly nonstop, since we'd arrived, Hollister's hair-trigger libido hadn't changed. All I seemed to need to do was touch him, and his mouth would soften as his cock grew hard. The desire ran both ways, but if I was going to get what I wanted, I needed to let him keep his clothes on a little longer.
He popped a handful of nuts in his mouth and crunched on them as I put the rest of the groceries away. "So where is it? My present? There isn't one, is there? It's a prank."
I snorted. Of his many virtues, patience wasn't the strongest. "It isn't a prank, but it does require an exchange." I held five plastic DVD cases behind my back.
Hollister puckered his lips as his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
Before that suspicion could grow into anything else, I brought my hand around, flashing the DVDs like playing cards.