Chapter 12 A Flirtatious Smile

"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl," he told her. Cassidy blushed and turned away from him—a part of her feeling stupid for letting a cheesy line get to her. Jacob tucked his finger beneath her chin and pulled her back to look at him. "You don't need to be shy." Cassidy regained her composure and stepped back a little, allowing space between their bodies. "I wasn't," she told him. Jacob smirked. She tried to pull her hand back, but Jacob maintained his grip around her hand. He could feel his interest in the girl begin to grow; he was conflicted about whether or not he should continue to pursue her or just let her go. Alden: Please, don't mess this up. Jacob released her hand and took a step back. He needed to keep control of his emotions and not allow himself to get swept up in fated mates and happily ever after. "I should let you get back before your friend gets worried about you." He said softly. Cassidy was confused by how quickly he was able to change his emotions. She immediately did the same and put a wall up to protect herself. "Yeah, I guess so." She said as she turned to walk away. Cassidy stopped in her spot; she didn't want to be completely rude and said, "It was nice meeting you, Jacob. Maybe we could…." by the time she turned back to look at him, he was gone. "I guess we can't meet up again sometime." She said under her breath and turned to walk back to the cabin. Jacob stood off in the distance, making sure that Cassidy didn't see him; he heard what she said. Jacob sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. Jacob: Are you almost here? *** Gavin was at the market when he got the mind-link that Jacob wanted to meet him at the creek. He told his friend he would be there as soon as possible and let him know that he was in town at the general food store. He pushed his cart through the aisles, looking for a particular item, when he came upon a scent that stirred up inside him. No longer in search of the item he was looking for, Gavin was on a new mission to find out who the heavenly scent belonged to. As Gavin turned the corner, he saw a beautiful, tall girl with auburn hair trying to reach for an item on the top shelf. Being the gentleman he was, he walked over and offered his assistance. "Here, allow me to get that for you." He said to the beautiful girl. Natalie turned around as her green eyes quickly traveled up and down the tall hunk's body that was standing before her. Natalie gave him a flirtatious smile and said, "Well, isn't that kind of you? Thank you." Gavin stared into those sexy green eyes as he reached up for the item in question and pulled it off the shelf, not breaking eye contact with the girl. "Here you are." "Thank you. I couldn't have gotten that without you." She told him in a soft tone. "My name's Natalie; by the way, what's yours?" She asked as she offered her hand to him. He gave her a charming smile as he took her hand and brushed his lips across the top of it. "The name's Gavin." Natalie could not stop staring into those chocolate eyes. There was always something about a rugged man with tousled hair and dark eyes that did something for her. "Do you live around here?" he asked; he still kept her hand in his, not wanting to let the girl go. "I'm staying with a friend in a cabin up the way for the weekend," she answered. Gavin was disheartened to hear that she wasn't local and may not have another chance to see this beautiful girl ever again. "I'm making a big dinner tonight for us and will probably have some leftovers; I'm sure my friend wouldn't mind if you came to join us." Natalie offered. Gavin's smile widened as he felt his head begin to nod before he could answer yes with his lips. "I'd like that. Would it be alright if I brought along a friend?" "I'm sure we can make that work. Here, let me see your phone, and I'll give you my number. If you and your friend are able to join us, give me a text, and I'll send you the address." He quickly pulled out his phone from his pocket and handed it over once he unlocked it. He couldn't believe his luck at the moment and didn't want to do anything to ruin the moment. Natalie took the phone, typed in her phone number, and saved it to his contacts with her name and a heart next to it. "I have to go and prepare for tonight. I look forward to hearing from you." Natalie says with a wink and headed for the front of the store to check out. Gavin stared at the admiring woman until he could no longer see her when he received another mind link from his Alpha. Jacob: Are you almost here? Gavin's eyes widened as he completely forgot that he was supposed to meet his friend by the creek. He turned and left his cart with the items he was going to get still in it and rushed for the exit. Gavin: Sorry, I'm on my way and will be there soon. He jumped into his truck and took a shortcut he knew that would get him close to the creek. Once he got there, he quickly jumped out and jogged over to where he found his friend punching at a tree. Gavin approached him cautiously, "Sorry, I got here as quick as I could. What's going on?" Gavin asked with concern. Jacob stopped punching and shook his arms out. Trying to catch his breath and control his anger. He turned to Gavin, his eyes glowed with rage, and said, "We've got a problem."