Chapter 12 Manuel

• I stood by the bar, waiting to be served, thankfully with us being well known in here I can walk straight to the bar and not have to wait too long to be served, missing out on the crazy queues that many of the people in here have to put up with. Even with the ability to get served quicker, it seemed to be taking an age tonight, so goddess knows how the people in the queues must be feeling tonight. The bar staff would be knackered tonight, though I imagine the bar owners would be happy with the profits.
• I have to say it was nice for us all to get out again, and have some fun. It had been long overdue. Things have definitely been hectic, lots to sort in pack and with the businesses. Setting up Indie’s art store alongside the property letting store too. And of course the new pups. And Anya’s trial. Lilah stayed so strong though that. I don’t know if she is putting on a brave face or if she just wants to move on, but I will be there if she needs me and she knows that.
• She is probably one of my closest friends now. Like an additional little sister I guess. Though maybe not quite so annoying.
• The bar man takes my order, and as I wait for him to take payment I notice a fall out going off between two guys to my left. Two weightlifter looking type guys, sounding awfully pissed off with one another. Their argument getting more heated and they were now shoving one another and their voices getting more raised. One guy for some reason then grabs a pitcher of cocktail off the bar and launches it toward the other guy. Which unfortunately, misses and covers a young girl stood behind him in the red liquid.
• She is stood looking far from impressed, and who can blame her?! She is dripping wet with a red cocktail that some drunken fool couldn’t even aim well, the front of her deep green dress is soaked, bits of her beautiful wavy red hair wet too…. She looks in shock bless her… I begin to walk over to see if she needs help…..
• Suddenly I catch a scent of something, it is only slight…. It smells amazing… like a mixture of vanilla cream and cotton candy…. No…. could this be? But we are out, she would have to be wearing de-scenting spray…..
• I can feel my heart racing….. what should I do? Could this really be it? I need someone to help….
• Lilah I link her, my mind had instantly gone to her, she would know what to do please come help. I don’t know what to do….. I think I found my mate…..
• I don’t know why I linked her first…. She just instantly came to my mind. She would know what to do right? Plus she was sweet and wouldn’t laugh at me for being nervous would she?
• Ok she links back on my way. It will be fine Manny.
• I can’t let my mate walk away, so I move further away from the bar, closer to the girl….. oh no….I can see she is moving away…. Noooooooo! She can’t go!!
• Lilah! She’s going! What do I do?! I link.
• Knox?! What do I do?! I think I found my mate. Oh no, she’s going I think. What do I do?! I link him too hoping he will help too, though I am unsure how.
• I am one big bag of nerves, as I walk faster following her. I can’t let her go. I have waited so long to meet my mate, I can’t let her slip through my fingers now. She is beautiful too.
• Where are you? Knox links.
• Heading away from the bar, someone spilled a drink on her….. I link back.
• Calm down man, she might be going to the bathroom…. See if you can see her, if she heads in there we will send Lilah in. We have got this. All is good. Knox links back, as calmly as if he is giving orders at warrior training.
• Yet right now I feel anything but calm, I just want things to go ok, to find my mate, to get chance to get to know her, be with her.
• I look around, I can see her, faintly in front, the red hair is vaguely visible, though she is only petite. Knox might be right, she may be headed for the toilets, I think they are in this direction. Plus she probably does need to get cleaned up. The scent from her is filling my senses….. I want to get to her….. I need her…..
• “Manny?” I hear Lilah “ Are you ok?” I turn to see her approaching and Knox is not far behind.
• “No I am nervous as hell right now Lilah, I think my mate is over there. I wasn’t expecting this…..” I tell her, running my hands through my hair. Shaking as I look towards where the beautiful red head was, yeah it looked like she was headed for the bathroom. At least she wasn’t leaving the bar just yet.
• “Hey come on, she is your mate, you can woo her with your Spanish words” Knox grins at me “It is working for me” I laugh at him, He has been trying to get me to teach him some Spanish words to impress Lilah after she said she likes the way Gabe and I use the occasional Spanish words in our conversation. Thing is Knox could speak cling-on to Lilah and she’d love him, it has nothing to do with the Spanish words.
• “Seriously Manny, you will be ok, this is your mate” I noticed Knox was using the nickname he’d called me when we were growing up more now as Lilah used it, plus they referred to me as Uncle Manny for their son.
• “I think she’s gone to the bathroom, so shall I go in there? Was it the girl in the green dress, with red hair?” Lilah asks.
• This girl is an angel. Like a sister and a friend to me all rolled into one. I couldn’t wait for her to meet my mate….
• I nod.
• I watch as Lilah walks off confidently to the bathroom, hoping everything would be ok. She was incredibly kind and sweet so I know she would approach the situation with kindness and compassion, but I was terrified….nervous…. what if my mate didn’t want me?.... what if like my Abuela had said to Gabe, she looked at me and went neh…. And ran for the hills?...... what if I wasn’t good enough for her?........
• “Everything will be fine bro” Knox pats me on the shoulders
• “Fuck man, I am nervous as hell. I’d rather be on the battlefield fighting…..” I tell him.
• He laughs “Trust me dude, once she is with you everything will change. you want to go to the bar?”
• I nod. “Shit, I never paid! I got distracted and walked off ” I tell him,
• “That’s fair bro, I’d have done the same if I had scented my mate in a bar. Shame she was a sneaky so and so.” He grins obviously referencing Lilah with the lotion she had used which blocked the mate bond.
• We walk to the bar and settle the bill with the barman, and we also sit with a glass of whisky each.
• I can’t help but wonder how Lilah is getting on….. if my mate is ok……. What if she doesn’t want me?...... What if she didn’t even want to listen to Lilah?
• “Manuel?” A voice from behind us, I instantly know is Lilah, I spin around in my seat, gulping nervously. Next to her is the girl. The beautiful girl…. But the scent is gone…..Was I mistaken?