Nora


    Five yearster


    I''m neen, a month away from turning twenty and finding out who my mate is, but there is a huge problem.


    "Does this t-shirt fit me? It feels tight..."


    I lift my gaze from myptop and try not to blush. ke is inside my room, trying to squeeze himself into a white t-shirt too small for his biceps and broad shoulders.


    Oh wow.


    My heart picks up speed. Blood gushes into my ears to turn them red, and I feel my sweat nds open at the view before me.


    ke''s muscles are bulked up from spending his entire day at the gym. It''s where he hangs out when he isn''t the cover boy for Calvin Klein or some other brand. Modeling is what he does for money. He is so gorgeous.


    But since this is the problem I spoke of, I fight my emotions and try to shove them out of my brain.


    "That t-shirt doesn''t fit you, ke."


    "Are you sure?" ke is still trying to wear it, even though it might burst at the seams. He spins around. "Can''t I wear this?"


    "No, that t-shirt is too small..." I''m burning up. My cheeks are seriously hotter than moltenva. "Why don''t you shrink?"


    "I don''t want to be any shorter than seven feet," ke pouts at me. There is a crease in his thick, dark eyebrows. "I can''t shrink any smaller.""


    I lift an eyebrow at him. "Being seven feet tall is that important to you?"


    "Yes."


    "And it''s your choice to be a walking giant and not a size you keep to impress someone else?"


    As expected, ke blushes. "I just... Like being tall."


    "Uh-huh..."


    "Yup."


    "And it has nothing to do with Erika?"


    His smile turns sheepish. "Okay, fine, you got me... We are moving back to Lunaris in less than a week. I''m nervous and want to be taller than Erika when I find her... But it seems I might have taken my workout routine way too far. I''m huge." Yes, he is enormous, beautiful, and kind, and jealousy bubbles up within me when I hear Erika''s name.


    I''m disgusting.


    Why is my heart thumping whenever ke is around? Why does my chest feel too tight? I know the answer, but I don''t want to acknowledge it to myself.


    I''m being silly and unreasonable, but I can''t stop the feeling. I like ke, but I also like Leo. I''m a greedy little thing, and should just settle for one, probably Leo.


    Leo was my mate in the previous timeline, while ke here belonged to Erika, Leo''s cousin. I have no business crushing on him.


    Sure, my mom has two husbands, but Raphael and Evan were both single, and she didn''t steal any of them from someone else. At least not ording to herself... Whatever. I need to calm down.


    Leo probably won''t be my mate in this timeline. Things have changed, and I''m at a loss of what the moon goddess might be plotting.


    My life is vastly different in this timeline. The arranged wedding is off, and I have the best rtionship ever with my family. I love them all, even though William, Reba, and Lily are the closest to me.


    Oh, and of course, there is ke, but... I''m not seeing him as a family member, mostly because I have an unrequited crush on him. We are best friends, though.


    And Leo? I like him too. I haven''t forgotten about him, but he hasn''t written to me on messenger for months.


    He is probably busy. Thest time I was scrolling through Leo''s Insta, I saw pics of him with girls and more girls. The man has half a million followers and countlessdies offering themselves up. A frown crosses my features.


    Leo and I might not be enemies in this timeline. In the past five years, we have written to each other non-stop, but the guy is popr in this timeline. A total Casanova alpha...


    "I will have to go and buy some new clothes tomorrow..."


    ke plops down on my bed, and I freeze when he rests his back on the mattress. His inky ck hair, styled to perfection, brushes against my arm, and his blue eyes meet mine. Holy cow.


    It should be illegal to be that attractive...


    A smile curls ke''s lips. "Are you okay?"


    "Uh..." I''m madly blushing. "W-why wouldn''t I be?"


    "You''re all red in the face."


    "Oh," I grimace. I can''t breathe regrly around ke. His scent invades my senses when I do, and I get even more scatter-brained. I''m seriously a mess around him. "I''m just tired..." "Same..." He casually blinks up at myptop. "Have Leo replied to your message yet?"


    My heart falters. "No, I don''t want to seem needy by writing Leo another message..."


    "It''s alright. You will get to see Leo next week in person."


    My heart jumps at that fact, and I sigh. "What if Leo doesn''t want me, or even worse: isn''t my mate?"


    "You''re overthinking. Don''t worry about that right now, and let''s just live in the moment, okay?"


    ke always knows the right thing to say. I flick my gaze to his. Butterflies swarm my chest when I see his smile. It''s troublesome to feel this way for him, but being with him soothes me.


    I softly whisper. "Okay."


    His smile spreads up towards his ears. "I know it''s not easy, but I''m trying not to think about Erika too much... I''m leaving the mate-bond phenomenon to your moon goddess, and in the meantime, I will try to work my hardest to look better for her." I think ke looked good even before devoting himself to training at the gym every day. Erika is a lucky woman.


    My eyes silently travel to ke''s stomach. His t-shirt has ridden over his abs, and I feel tingles travel through me. ke follows my gaze, and then he snorts. "Are you checking me out, Nora?"


    Heat explodes over my face. "What?" I blink and find him smirking at me, which makes me more embarrassed. "Why would you think that? I just spaced out!" "Uh-huh..." ke doesn''t look convinced.


    "I promise! I wasn''t checking you out at all!" I exim, but judging by his growing smirk, we both know I''m a filthy, perverted little liar.


    "Whatever you say," he winks at me, and then his eyes travel to myptop. A yawn leaves his mouth. "Damn, I think I''m tired too... You wanna watch something? I think I could fall asleep if we watched something boring on Netflix."


    I breathe augh. "You want to watch something boring?"


    "I would watch anything with you."


    I stare at him in disbelief. His sentence sounded a lot like him flirting with me, but I bet I''m mistaken. ke likes Erika. She is his mate. ke is not flirting with me, and his face proves it. He is as calm as ever.


    I shouldn''t overthink.


    My tongue darts out to wet my lips. "Then how about we watch... Hmm... A romanticedy? We couldzily watch it and not worry about having to follow the plot. You can fall asleep then."


    He gives me a cat-like smile. "Sounds great."


    About thirty minutester, we are leaning against a pillow and filling our mouths with popcorn. Theptop is perked up on another pillow, ying a chick flick.


    But ke doesn''tin.


    We bothment here and there, snicker at the bad jokes, and then, out of nowhere, I end up with ke''s messy ck hair in myp. How the heck did this happen?


    It surprises me how he suddenly dozed off and fell into myp. Did he somehow n this?


    s**t, my pulse is drumming in my ears.


    I stare down at him with my heart in my throat. My fingers are itching, so I run them through his soft curls.


    His lips move, and I can feel him half-smiling against my skin. "That feels so nice. Keep doing it."


    Do friends normally do this? Massage each other''s scalp and rest in each other''sps? Whatever. I want to touch him, so I continue to brush my fingers through his hair. ke shivers, and I snort. "You''re like a cat..."


    He breathes augh. "Less talking, more massaging..."


    "So bossy..."


    "What did I just tell you?"


    "Okay, okay, I will get to it!"


    "Good girl."


    My lips strain, and I smile down at him. I know it''s super cliché, but I think I''m falling in love with my best friend.