by Chase Connor
Carlos was reaching for his bag.
“No.” I reached out pushed his hand away from his purse with a laugh. “I’ve got condoms. Plenty.”
“Mmhm.” Carlos grinned comically. “I knew that’s what was going on with you. Well, good for you, baby. He any good?”
“In bed?”
Carlos rolled his eyes. “Of course not. I’m not that tacky. I meant is he good to you?”
“Oh.” I grinned. “Yeah. I think so. Yeah. He’s really good to me.”
“It may be none of my business,” Carlos looked around and leaned in, “but it wouldn’t happen to be another man who volunteers here and Esther Jean set you up with, would it?”
I turned my nose up.
“Good God, no.”
Carlos shrugged.
“Well, then I’m out of guesses, and you’ll have to tell me all about him.” Carlos quipped. “What’s he like, what’s he do, how tall is he…how jealous will I be when I see him? All of that stuff.”
“Um,” I chewed at my lip, “I want to kind of keep it quiet for now. We haven’t been seeing each other long, and even though it became a thing pretty quickly, it’s still new, obviously.”
“Obviously.” He said as he reached for more envelopes.
“But now that you mention Andrew…do you think he’ll be in sometime today?” I asked. “I did want to talk to him.”
Carlos’ right eyebrow rose to precarious heights as he gave an envelope seal a comical lick.
“Not like that.” I shook my head. “I just wanted to ask him some questions about his family.”
“Mm.”
“I promise that’s all it is.” I laughed.
Carlos studied me from across the table for a moment.
“Well…okay,” Carlos said finally. “But if I find out that you’re fucking around and being a bad boy, you’ll be another reason these soles are red.”
“You just can’t help mentioning those shoes, can you?” I teased.
“They are fabulous.” Carlos leaned in with a squeal and patted my cheek. “Thank you again, baby. All these other bitches around here are jealous as shit.”
“You’re welcome.” I nodded.
Carlos patted my cheek again and sat back in his seat.
“Well, Andrew comes in whenever he sees fit, honestly.” Carlos looked around before surreptitiously reaching into his bag to pull out an e-cig. He gave it a healthy puff and blew the vapor out of the corner of his mouth. “Tell me if you see anyone sneaking up.”
I laughed. “Okay.”
“I haven’t seen him since the last time I saw you, frankly.” Another puff on the e-cig. “He used to come in whenever he could if he wasn’t busy at his office, or if he was on lunch, or…just whenever he felt the need. But, like you, I guess he is feeling too good for us commoners.”
I shook my head with a smile.
“I’m just kidding, baby.” Carlos took another puff and folded one arm across his chest, resting the elbow holding the e-cig against it. “He’s probably just been busy. You’ll probably have to go down to his office to talk to him if it’s super important. You stick around here waiting, you might have gray hairs before he shows up.”
“I guess I might have to walk down there later.” I sighed.
“We all got bullshit to deal with.” Carlos teased.
For several minutes, Carlos puffed on his e-cig while I stuffed envelopes and kept an eye out for the center director or anyone else who might narc on him. Once all of the envelopes had been stuffed, I sat back and looked over at Carlos as he puffed away, not a care in the world.
“You seem to be taking losing your drag show pretty well,” I said. “You don’t look too stressed.”
“Stress creates Crow’s Feet.” Carlos quipped as he blew out vapor. “I can’t afford that shit.”
“Well, you’re handling it remarkably well.”
“I didn’t lose my drag show, anyway.” Carlos took a final puff and stuffed the e-cig back into his bag. “That’s in here.”
He jabbed a manicured nail into his chest.
“I just lost the place to perform it.” He reiterated. “Clubs are a dime a dozen. Just, a lot of them don’t have the stage space for a good drag show. I’ll make the rounds, though. Talk to owners, see what I can do. This ain’t the first time I’ve had to hustle. And there are other bars in town. They care more about ensembles, though. I’ll figure something out.”
“Let me know.” I winked. “I’ll come see the first show. Promise.”
Carlos put a hand to his chest. “I would be honored, baby.”
Standing up from my seat, I pushed the folding chair back in under the table as I smiled down at Carlos.
“Tell the warden I had to leave, would you?”
“Absolutely.” Carlos winked. “Don’t be a stranger.”
“I won’t.” I agreed. “See ya’ next time, Carlos.”
“Bye, baby.”
Exiting onto the street in front of the center, it became apparent that the day was going to warm up—maybe even be tolerable by lunchtime. Since the wind wasn’t too strong and it wasn’t too cold, and Andrew’s office building wasn’t too far away from the center, I opted to walk over to see if I could locate him. I gave the lock button on my key fob a quick click and my car honked at me as I made my way down the sidewalk. Being in downtown Toledo reminded me of being back in Hollywood—of course, it wasn’t nearly as cosmopolitan or busy or, well, big, but it was a taste of being in a place more significant than the postage stamp that was Point Worth.
When I had come back to Point Worth, I knew that I wanted to get away from living such a busy lifestyle, constantly around tons of people, running from paparazzi, listening to a constant dull roar of noise. However, after what had happened over the last several days, I wasn’t so sure if Point Worth was going to be the ideal place to settle down in, either. Apparently, the supernatural community—the were-community—were all over the place, so I couldn’t entirely escape whatever it was that went on in the shadows. However, I certainly couldn’t hide in a small town like Point Worth. It was everywhere at all times because there wasn’t enough space to contain it.
In my heart of hearts, as I made my way down the sidewalk, hands in my pocket, eyes down so that no one could get a straightforward look at my face, I knew that Point Worth was home. If something like the date with Andrew and then the attack from the werewolves, Kobolds—any of it—had happened in Hollywood or anywhere else, I would have lost my mind. I wouldn’t have known what to do. Something about being home in Point Worth, where I was born and raised, living in Oma’s house, it all made me feel stronger. Braver. Saner. Powerful. Maybe Point Worth and even Oma’s house wasn’t perfect, but it just felt natural to be there. Hollywood and anywhere else in the world felt wrong.
Andrew’s office building was large enough that I knew I would have to ask around quite a bit to find him. Hopefully, I wouldn’t get recognized by anyone in the process, either. As luck would have it, I didn’t have to enter the building, ask a receptionist where to go, talk to another receptionist, talk to other employees, so on and so forth until I had spoken to a hundred different people. Andrew was outside of his building, sitting on one of the benches, eating a sandwich and drinking something in a to-go coffee cup. Probably coffee, if I were to place a bet.
The setting was so peaceful and calm, and Andrew looked so happy to be enjoying his lunch that I almost backed out of talking to him. He obviously had not been in Oma’s backyard the night of the attack, and maybe he didn’t really have any pertinent information that could help me. Interrupting his lunch and causing him stress definitely wouldn’t make me feel good about myself. However, my mind flashed back to the night we had gone on our date, and he had tried to get handsy with me in his car before turning into a wolf and tried to gobble me up. Ruining Andrew’s lunch didn’t seem so awful after I remembered that.
“What’s on the sandwich?” I asked as I sat down on the bench next to him
, making sure to leave adequate room between us.
Andrew smiled and looked over.
The smile quickly disappeared when he saw me.
He didn’t change from smiling to angry or annoyed; he just looked concerned. Of course, in dealing with me, he had been practically run over by Lucas’ truck, punched in the face—by me—and cussed out numerous times by myself and Oma. His track record when I was around was not great.
“Rob.” He exhaled.
I smiled and shrugged, though it wasn’t as light-hearted as I would have liked. Andrew wasn’t someone I could ever trust, so I couldn’t put my heart into trying to be jovial with him. Something about a guy trying to eat you really makes you wary of him, ya’ know?
“How’ve ya’ been?” I asked simply.
“Um, okay.” His brow furrowed. “I guess?”
I gave an upward nod.
“Any fleas or ticks we need to worry about?” It was a low blow, but he still had insults coming as far as I was concerned.
Andrew’s dark cheeks flushed as he gently started wrapping up his sandwich again.
“Don’t stop on account of me.” I gestured vaguely at the sandwich. “I’m not here to cause you trouble. I probably won’t be super nice—but what’s new?”
“I told you that I’m sorry.”
“Takes more than a sorry after what you did, I’m afraid.” I sat back, pushing my hands into my pockets. “But, I’m not here for more apologies or your attempt at contrition. Eat your damn sandwich.”
Andrew waited a moment, observing me carefully as I stared straight ahead at the street before us. A car would drive by slowly every few seconds. People were walking by on our side and the other side of the road, but no one paid attention to us, nor were they close enough to hear us talk—as long as we didn’t raise our voices. Raising my voice wasn’t the plan unless Andrew did something douchey again. Finally, as though he realized it was safe, Andrew took his sandwich back out and took a bite.
“I was attacked by three werewolves the other night.”
Andrew nearly choked on his bite.
“I wanted to know if you knew anything about that,” I said, not concerned with the choking sounds.
It took a few moments, but Andrew finally managed to stop choking, finished chewing the bite, then swallowed in what looked like a painful way. Of course, I wasn’t sure if he just hadn’t chewed thoroughly or if what I’d had to say had rattled him more than I thought.
“I don’t know anything about that, Rob.” He spat, reaching for his coffee to wash down the bite he had swallowed.
“Well, you’re the only furry fellow I know around these parts, so I figured you’d know more than anyone else.” I shrugged. “So…here I am.”
“I’m telling you, I don’t know anything about anyone attacking you,” Andrew replied quickly, desperately. “I’m still upset with myself over what I did. I’m really, really sorry, Rob.”
I waved him off.
“I want to know if you know of any other werewolves in town,” I said evenly, still staring straight ahead. “And…I managed to hurt one of the werewolves. And she died.”
Why was I telling him that part?
“She got burned really badly, and the next morning she wandered up into the yard, naked as the day she was born, and her skin looked all melted. I wanted to know why she would turn back human before she died.”
Andrew was staring at me like I was crazy. That was fair.
Who was to say that I wasn’t?
“I don’t know any other werewolves. Or packs. I mean, I know of them and sometimes speak with them casually—shop talk—but I don’t know them.” Andrew said finally. “I’m kind of a loner. I have been for years. Since before college.”
Andrew was chewing at his lip, his eyes flicking around, deep in thought as he sat on the bench, holding his sandwich but not taking any bites. I watched him for a moment, waiting to see if he’d add anything else of his own accord, but it became apparent that he was not going to speak up unless prodded. His fingers were digging into his sandwich, his nails and fingertips sinking into the bread and the fillings inside. Mustard was oozing out of the sandwich around one of his fingers, but he didn’t seem to notice. It takes a lot of distraction to not realize that you’re losing the condiments on your sandwich.
“Andrew?” He started at the sound of my voice, his head whipping around to look at me again. “Why did she turn back into a human before she died instead of just dying in wolf form?”
“That didn’t happen.” Andrew shook his head, chunking his sandwich into the trash can at the end of the bench. “That doesn’t happen.”
“It did. Saw it with my own eyes,” I said. “She got burned during the fight, one of her comrades drug her off into the woods, then the next morning some woman wandered up into the yard naked, and half of her body burned all to hell. I’m not making that up.”
“I believe you saw what you saw, Rob,” Andrew said lowly. “But…if someone is hurt when they’re…”
“A wolf?”
Andrew looked around, suddenly aware that we were in public having this conversation. I laughed.
“If anyone heard us, they’d just assume we were crazy or talking about a video game or mythology.” I snorted. “I think we’re completely safe here.”
Andrew swallowed hard and nodded jerkily.
“If that happens, then they die, or they recover.” He explained. “And it takes a lot to kill a werewolf. As you know…”
I nodded.
“If I were hurt right now and could change into wolf form, it would heal me.” He looked me in the eyes. “It’s one of the perks. We heal well. And fast.”
For a moment, I stared back into Andrew’s human eyes. I nearly shivered thinking of what they looked like in wolf form. Red eyes and feral thoughts and blood lust.
“What if you’re hurt with…magic?”
He shrugged, unfazed by the question. Points for Andrew.
“About the same.” He said. “I mean, magic is more likely to deliver a fatal blow—nature of the beast and how they are related—but we can recover from any wound if it doesn’t kill us really quickly.”
Thinking about this, I wondered if the werewolf had died as soon as I had burned her and it had nothing to do with the naked burned lady. Maybe the lead wolf—alpha?—had drug a dead wolf away and the naked lady was just a coincidence? Perhaps she was just someone who had been involved in a meth lab explosion? Then again—why was she naked?
“When you, uh, change back to human, you are naked, right?”
Andrew flushed again.
“Yes.” He exhaled. “Why?”
“Calm down.” I squinted at him. “I was just wondering whether or not someone would change back fully clothed or what. That’s all.”
He nodded, looking away.
If I had burned a werewolf badly while in wolf form, logically, that person would be naked and burned when they changed back to human form. If the woman who had wandered up into the yard had been involved in something like a meth lab explosion, surely, she would have been wearing clothes. Or at least the remnants of scorched and charred clothes. The woman who had wandered up in the yard was burnt all along one side—just like the wolf I had blasted—and she was stark naked. It made more sense that the two events were connected than them not being linked.
“I guess that’s all I needed.” I stood.
Andrew stood quickly.
“Rob—”
“You’re forgiven, Andrew.” I turned to him.
My face was bland. Impassive.
“If I forgive you, you can stop worrying about it, right?” I said. “So, you’re forgiven. I understand now that it’s the nature of the beast. I don’t believe you did anything on purpose. I still think it’s fucking shitty that you chose to go on a date with someone when you knew that the full moon was coming…and I’m even madder that person was me. But I forgive you. I just hope you’ve learned to keep to yourself on those nights.�
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Andrew nodded with a sigh.
“Good.”
“Rob,” He stopped me from turning away, “do you think I could get another chance? I mean, we could go out again. Try to start over?”
I didn’t mean to, but I laughed loudly.
“You can’t be serious.” I chuckled. “I mean, I’m not completely stupid, Andrew. I may believe that what happened was an accident—but I’m not going to give you the opportunity to make the same mistake twice.”
“I won’t.”
“I’m seeing someone.”
“Oh.”
“Yup.”
“Are you seeing someone, or is that the nicest way you could think of to make me stop asking for a second date?”
“Both.” I nodded. “Always a pleasure, Andrew.”
With that, I turned on my heels and strolled away. To Andrew’s credit, he didn’t chase after me, holler any apologies or promises or do anything to keep me from going on about my business, which was good. I already had too many things on my mind to spend any more energy explaining how little I would like a second date with him. Andrew was cute. Very cute, actually. But he was a werewolf who had tried to eat me alive on the one date we had gone on. Even if I could genuinely forgive that, I couldn’t overlook the fact that he had been an utterly insufferable douchebag during the date leading up to him turning into a wolf in front of my eyes. Maybe his behavior had been connected to his condition and the oncoming full moon, but it was too hard to overlook.
Regardless of the problems with even thinking about Andrew in such a way, I also knew that I was showing bias. Andrew was a werewolf. Oma was a witch. Lucas was…something. And I certainly wasn’t just vanilla-flavored human. Ordinary humans don’t shoot green shit and fire out of their hands, do they? Of course, I had no idea what I was. The worst part was—that wasn’t my biggest problem. I also didn’t remember some essential things from my past. Flashes of memories I’d had proved that to me.
Even more disturbing than not having the best memory was the discovery that I had memories in my head that weren’t entirely accurate. In my mind, I had lived with Oma until I was sixteen years old because my parents had…well, I didn’t know. That was a sudden revelation. Where were my parents? What had happened to them? Were they dead? Had they run off? It dawned on me that I didn’t know where my parents were or if they were even alive to be somewhere. Something in my mind had just made me accept that they were no longer around and I had never thoroughly and honestly questioned that. Why was that?