by S Bolanos
“I never really thought about it,” I admitted.
“You know what I think?” David wagged a finger at the two of us. “He’s enjoying the stalk.” My dinner threatened to revolt at his words. It never occurred to me that he could be toying with us—with me. “All his previous assaults have been quick, right?” David continued, oblivious to my silent freak out. “This is the first time he’s been able to enjoy the same kill multiple times, though I imagine he’s getting a bit frustrated by now. Are you okay, Sara? You look a little green around the gills.”
I gulped my whiskey and soda a little too enthusiastically and coughed against the burn. Michael smacked David.
“Ow. What?”
Michael glared at him.
“Oh. Stars, Sara, I’m sorry. Sometimes my tongue gets ahead of my brain.”
I tried a more sedate sip to calm my lurching stomach. “No, you’re right, we have to look at the facts. I can’t afford to get emotional about this, not anymore.”
Michael’s warm hand pressed into my back, offering silent comfort. David didn’t comment on the gesture, but instead gave me an encouraging smile.
“So, what’s the plan?” I asked.
Michael withdrew his hand as if suddenly conscious of where it was. “By David’s logic, the best thing to do would be to draw him out. Make him come to us on our terms. This hide and spook business is getting old.”
I nodded in whole-hearted agreement.
“Preferably start with someplace public,” David said. “Somewhere he feels he can blend into the crowd, but won’t risk an attack.”
“There’s a fair in town and we’re off Wednesday due to some office maintenance,” Michael proffered.
“About that—” I began.
“Perfect! We can have some fun and hopefully turn the tables on this mutt,” David said with a face-splitting grin.
“But—” I tried again.
“Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves,” Michael cautioned.
“Don’t get your tail in a bunch,” David said.
“That’s great, except I already made plans,” I blurted before they could talk over me again. They each turned and looked at me like I'd grown a second head. “I’m already going to the fair with Charline,” I clarified.
David glanced at Michael. “I don’t mind. The more the merrier.”
Michael looked less sure. “I suppose it would make sense to turn it into a group thing,” he conceded though he sounded reluctant. “It would look less like his prey walking around with bodyguards.”
I groaned none too quietly.
“What?” Michael asked.
“Charline is going to kill me.”
19
The Fun House
“I cannot believe you.” Charline’s glare could strip paint and hadn’t relented once in the twenty minutes since I’d picked her up.
“How many times do I have to apologize? Look, it was a little unexpected. And it wasn’t like I didn’t try to tell them we had plans already.”
“I needed a girls’ day. Emphasis on girl. Now I’m being usurped by your stupid boy-toy and his dopey friend.”
“He’s not dopey,” I countered, though having known him less than twenty-four hours, I'd no idea if that was true or not.
She glared at me over her crossed arms from the passenger seat. “Honestly, Sara, I can’t believe you’d do this to me. Ever since you and Michael have gotten together. Whatever happened to sisters before misters? You know I need this time. I need a distraction. Not to be surrounded by extra gooey stuff.”
“I get it, okay? You’re mad. But the fact is things have gotten more complicated and Michael had to call in a favor. This isn’t exactly something I wanted either.” I brought the car to a halt in the crowded parking lot.
“Fine, I’ll concede that having an armed escort was unavoidable. But keep the lovey-dovey stuff to a minimum,” she ordered as we made our way to the entrance.
“I think you’re giving our relationship more credit than it deserves.” She opened her mouth no doubt to continue arguing, but I cut her off. “Michael said they were already here, so keep an eye out. He promised to stay near the ticket pavilion."
Charline’s mouth snapped shut, but she diligently began searching the crowds with me for our unwanted companions.
“See anything?” I asked after an unsuccessful few minutes.
“What?” Charline responded absently.
I glanced at her, but her attention remained focused on something ahead.
“I wonder who that is,” she mused aloud as she smoothed the fabric over her hips.
Personally, I thought the bright yellow sundress was too flirty for a trip to the fair, but I shouldn’t have been surprised that a down and single Charline would dress to the nines.
I waited impatiently for the latest herd of people to move so I could see who had captivated her. When the way cleared, it revealed a tall man with broad shoulders. “That’s David,” I said, impressed that she’d spotted the two before me.
His sandy hair caught the light and his big smile looked as though he’d just finished telling a joke. He wore casual jeans and a red shirt that accented his impressive physique. Michael stood next to him, shaking his head but smiling. My stomach gave a little flutter of happiness to see him in better spirits after the awkward dinner.
She spared me a disbelieving look. “Maybe today won’t be a total loss after all.” She checked her hair, which was perfect, then sauntered over. They barely had a chance to register our arrival when she introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Charline,” she said, oozing charm.
You’d never know she’s going through a rough breakup.
David turned his beaming smile on her. “Pleasure to meet you. I’m David. I hope you don’t mind too much my crashing the party.”
“Not at all,” she quickly responded.
I looked at her. Was it my imagination or did she sound breathless?
“Do you like fairs?” she asked as she twirled a finger around a large, red curl then tucked it behind her ear.
Someone nudged me in the ribs. I looked up to see Michael grinning like a kid. “Hey.”
“Hey yourself. You haven’t been waiting too long, have you?”
He glanced over at David and Charline beaming at each other like a couple of miniature suns. “Not too long.” The back of his hand brushed mine, but he didn’t take it; instead, he shoved both hands deep in his pockets. A sadness I hadn’t anticipated welled up at the loss. “What do you want to do first?” he asked the group at large.
“Ooh, I know!” Charline piped up. “Let’s do the Sizzler first.” She didn’t wait for alternatives before taking off. With a laugh, David followed, leaving me and Michael scrambling to catch up.
The ride itself was ludicrously small and left me to doubt whether or not it could hold all of the people it claimed without falling in a heap of metal. The machine ground to a halt after spinning its patrons every which way and we stepped forward.
“I’m not sure about this,” I said nervously.
“Don’t be such a wuss. It’s nothing.” Charline launched out the gate to snag two adjacent benches. “You can sit with me, David, that way Michael and Sara can be together.” David shrugged and joined her, snapping down the metal safety bar.
“After you,” Michael said with a gallant gesture. I rolled my eyes and took the proffered seat. He sat down and pulled the bar across.
“What happened to the real reason we’re here?” I asked as the ride slowly began to rotate.
“David and I talked about that. It needs to look believable if we’re going to draw him out and there’s nothing to say we can’t enjoy ourselves.”
My retort died in a screech when the ride unexpectedly flung us out towards the onlookers. The sound of straining metal rang in my ears as the mechanisms struggled to pull us back. We spun into the center only to be thrown out again.
My white-knuckled grip on the bar did nothing to prevent me fro
m sliding into Michael with enough force to bruise a hip. His laughter rolled out around me.
A glance across the way showed both Charline and David also laughing as they slid around on the slick bench.
Finally, the ride began to slow, forcing us in gradually decreasing circles, while I continued to cling to the mockery of a safety bar.
“I haven’t been on one of those in ages,” David said as he helped Charline out of their bucket. She laughed and gave a response I didn’t catch.
“You can let go now,” Michael whispered.
I glanced up to see him barely containing a grin. I released the bar to find two perfect imprints of my hands. He raised his eyebrows, but didn’t comment. I extricated myself and stalked towards the exit.
“Y’all are ridiculous,” I exclaimed as I neared my companions.
“Don’t be such a spoil sport. It was fun.” Charline bumped David who nodded his agreement.
“You mean to tell me you couldn’t hear how that contraption sounded like it was going to fall apart at any moment?” I asked in disbelief.
“I didn’t hear anything,” Charline said while David shrugged.
“It sounds a lot worse than it is. Perhaps we should stick more to the games,” Michael suggested. Charline pouted, but David nodded in agreement after Michael gave him an almost subtle hint to check out our car.
Charline pouted for all of a second then moved on. “The Sizzler really is the only one worth riding anyway. David, what do you say we try that arm at one of the throwing contests?” She may have mentioned his arm, but her appraising look hadn’t stopped there.
“You’re on,” he said with a grin, then they were off.
“Those two are a mess. I forgot how much David can be like a little kid. I guess not that much has changed, though he’s probably three times the size he was when I saw him last.”
I swiveled my disbelieving stare at Michael. “You mean to tell me that man used to be smaller?”
Michael laughed. “Even weres can have late bloomers. Anyway, what about Charline? I mean, I knew she had a bubbly personality, but I had no idea she was such a firecracker.”
“It didn’t help that Ted suffocated her personality. I don’t think she realized how bad it had gotten until he was gone.” Seeing her so full of life and unapologetic freedom made me feel guilty for not saying something sooner. “You know,” I began as we followed after them, “I think that breakup might have been the best thing for her.”
“I’m inclined to agree.”
“Good grief, what is this made of?” Charline asked beneath the weight of an obnoxiously large pink bear. “Isn’t stuffing supposed to be light?” David casually relieved her of the fluffy monstrosity. “There’s no way we can carry all of this. Besides, it’s not like we need them,” Charline added, eying the rather impressive accumulation of stuffed prizes.
“Are you sure? You could always take them home and put them on your bed,” David teased. Charline drew up to her full five-foot-ten and squared her shoulders.
“He’s gonna get it now,” I whispered to Michael.
“Grown women do not cuddle with stuffed bears,” she said, the words dripping with indignation.
To his credit, David took the rebuke in stride. “Good point. In that case, none of these need to make it back to the car.”
“What will we do with them?” I asked, impressed that he hadn’t faltered under her scathing reproach.
David looked around a moment, then smiled. He took the pink bear over to where a little girl had lost her Go Fish game. The girl’s face lit up as she accepted the stuffed creature easily twice her size.
“David, that was beautiful,” Charline cooed when he returned, sounding like her heart was melting like ice cream on a hot day.
“All of these games are rigged anyway. Look at it as righting an injustice. What do you say we find homes for the rest of these, then get some more?”
We’d given away the last of the prizes when stomach grumbles started up loud and clear. The guys left to acquire some much-needed refreshments and snackage while we commandeered a picnic table. Charline very pointedly remained in sight, giving the occasional wave to David.
“This is great, Sara. I don’t know the last time I had this much fun. Sorry about razzing you so hard this morning.”
“It was understandable given the circumstances.”
“So…” she dragged out. I glanced at her. Her eyes widened as she leaned over the table conspiratorially. “Is he—you know—one of you?” she whispered.
My mouth fell open and much like a fish, no amount of opening and closing it was making words come out.
She sat back with a satisfied smirk. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“But…” I floundered, not sure if I was supposed to keep other werewolf identities secret. Once again, the intricacies of werewolf etiquette eluded me. Throwing caution to the wind, I abandoned hope of any decent denial and went with it. “Yes. Those complications I mentioned earlier? Consider him the cavalry.”
“You won’t hear me complaining. When I asked for a distraction, I had no idea how well you’d deliver. I’ve never dated a werewolf before. Not that I’m aware of anyway. Maybe Billy in third grade…” she pondered to herself. “Anything I should know?” She flashed me a smile very much her usual, confident self.
I smiled back at her, glad to see her lightening back up to the person I’d met two years ago. Then a sudden thought almost stole all the happy. Did weres date humans? I’d never thought to ask, but it made a little sense that they didn’t in light of Michael’s own confession of liking me and doing nothing about it.
“Everything alright?” Charline asked.
“Umm,” I began awkwardly.
I really need to learn more about werewolf culture.
Before I could ruin Charline’s fun, Michael and David returned laden with food and began spreading the loot across the table. As David took his seat beside Charline, he gave her a very thorough once over which she dutifully pretended to ignore. I shook my head and grabbed something at random.
“You okay?” Michael asked, leaning in close so he could whisper.
“Yeah, it’s just…I’ve never been on a double date before,” I admitted.
Both David and Charline looked up from laughing with each other. In the blink of an eye the entire mood shifted. Michael looked at David. David looked at Michael. Charline looked at David. Then as quickly as the tension appeared it vanished.
“Then we’ll have to go on more,” David said, giving Charline a wink.
Beside me, Michael relaxed slightly. David caught his eye again, but neither said anything about the unusual exchange. Rather than dwell on it, I focused on eating and appreciated being at a table full of friends.
While I didn’t really know what to make of David, I felt a kinship with him that made me want to count him a friend anyway. Maybe it was Charline bridging the gap or maybe Michael, but I wasn’t about to ignore the inherent trust. As for Michael, whatever we were or would be, I hoped I would always be able to at least count him a friend. Charline laughed and her infectious joy spread around the table brightening all of us.
When was the last time I felt this at ease?
Something stirred deep inside of me. It took me a moment to recognize it—anger. I was furious that this mutt, this animal, had taken my life hostage and expected me to dance to his malicious tune.
If it’s the last thing I do, I will never be someone’s victim again.
I didn’t know who this new Sara was, but I'd been looking for her my whole life. She was strong and confident, or at least mostly confident, and wasn’t going to stand aside while others pushed her around.
Maybe the wolf isn’t so bad.
Maybe it’s not the wolf.
The counterintuitive thought struck me as odd. I’d never been this easy or outgoing before. It had to be the wolf. She was the one constantly threatening to send me into a frenzy. But deep down, I knew the truth. I c
ould have easily snapped and gone on my own homicidal rampage or melted into a mess with or without the attack.
“Sara.”
I glanced around to see Charline looking a bit impatient. “What?”
“Welcome back to Earth. I was saying that David volunteered to take me to the fun house, which I know you hate. So, you and Michael should wander around and meet us at the end.”
I looked at Michael, not really sure if it was safe or wise to leave David alone with Charline.
Michael shrugged. “I say let them. I could go for a casual walk.” He squeezed my waist and I squeaked. “That sounded like a yes to me. You two have fun and try not to get into too much trouble.”
He gave David a serious look and I took the opportunity to spare one for Charline as well. She rolled her eyes and the two of them raced each other towards the funhouse entrance.
“Come on, it’s you and me now,” Michael said.
He helped me off of the bench and chose a direction at random in complete disregard of Charline’s suggestion. We walked in silence, meandering our way through the slowly thinning crowds until we found ourselves alone behind a strip of rides and tents.
“Are you having a good day?” he asked when the noise cut down to a dull murmur.
“Yes,” I said with a laugh.
“Why is that funny? I think it’s a great thing.”
“It is, it is. I was thinking about that—how nice today is and how I haven’t really been this relaxed in a while. Nothing against our time together at the house,” I quickly added. He raised a skeptical eyebrow, but let me continue. “It’s nice to be outside. Where I can stretch my legs and breathe fresh air, even if it is tainted with exhaust and trash.”
“I know what you mean. Humans are nasty creatures.” I punched him in the arm, then allowed him to wrap that same arm around my shoulders. “I’m glad you're enjoying yourself,” he said, rubbing my arm. “I don’t mean to keep you cooped up or be overbearing. I…I just want to keep you safe.”