by Robin Roseau
“It’s perfect, Harper.”
We climbed from her car, and then her guiding hand was on my back again. I walked as close to her as I could and tried to match her gait, but her legs were so much longer than mine that I couldn’t.
But then she changed her steps to match mine.
Neither of us said a thing, but I leaned against her. She was warm and felt good.
“This is kind of fast,” she said.
“Do I need to back off?”
“I hope you don’t,” she replied. “But I’m left wondering who was in charge of your relationship with Elisabeth.”
I laughed. “She was. And you are. I’m just going with your hand on my back.”
Inside, we were readily seated. She was right. The restaurant was small and not fancy, but it was cozy and quiet. We were led to a square table with places for four, and we sat at adjacent sides with Harper on my right. I set my hand on the table where she could take it if she wanted to.
She didn’t, but she did edge her chair closer to mine, and then she caressed my arm while we reviewed the menu.
That was okay, too.
A server came by and took drink orders; we each ordered tea. When the tea arrived, we ordered our dinners. And then we were alone.
“Did you know? You’re quite the talk of the pack.”
“Oh?”
“New members aren’t common. Human members are very uncommon, especially unmated humans.”
“I was dating Elisabeth.”
“Barely unless it was clandestine. No one knows why she told you about us so quickly.”
“Oh. She didn’t.” I paused, not sure what was safe to say. “I sort of assumed everyone knew, but I have discovered that’s not the case.”
“If it’s not common knowledge, then it’s because no one who knows is talking. And that probably means you’re not supposed to tell, either.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. But you’re still the talk. A human vegan with the werewolves.”
“I imagine that’s quite a joke.”
“Yes. Not that you’re a joke, but the combination is.”
“I’ve noticed the irony. What else do you hear about me?”
“Well, I guess I knew you were some sort of tree hugger. But we’re all tree huggers in our own way so that’s not as noteworthy.”
“I suppose not.”
“I didn’t know what you meant when you mentioned your sentence.”
“You played it cool.”
“I asked Michaela later.”
“How much did she tell you?”
“She said you were a complete reprobate, so I knew you were the woman for me.” I laughed. “Seriously she told me you were amazing, but if I wanted to know, I had to ask you.”
“So she didn’t tell you I was serving a sentence for multiple counts of insubordination and one count of reckless driving?”
Harper’s eyes grew wide. “No.”
“Suddenly afraid?”
“Not yet.”
“I suppose she didn’t tell you I slugged Elisabeth?”
“You what?” she blurted.
“That’s probably not as bad as running Monique Simpson over with my car.”
“Oh my god.”
“She didn’t tell you I threatened her life, either, I suppose.”
“You didn’t!”
I smiled. “You’re right. I didn’t. That’s probably why she didn’t accuse me of it.”
Harper looked at me carefully. “Now I don’t know what to believe.”
“I didn’t run Monique over, either.”
“Wait,” she said. “Don’t tell me. You didn’t slug Elisabeth, either.” I shook my head. “And your sentence — it’s really for littering.”
“Oh no,” I said. “The sentence is for insubordination and reckless driving.”
“Are you going to tell me?”
“I wanted to see if you were gullible.” I grinned. “Apparently you are.”
“She didn’t tell me you had an evil sense of humor, either.”
“Oh, she should have warned you about that.” I sighed. “The real story is fairly dull. You wouldn’t be interested.”
“In my experience, when someone says something like that about reckless driving and insubordination, she is lying.”
I sighed again. Dramatically. “If you must know…” I told her the story, but I hammed it up. Soon, I had her laughing as I described my state of panic, especially when I talked about the wolves, frothing at the mouth for daring to ignore Michaela’s phone calls. “See?” I said when I was done. “Boring story.”
“How much of that is true?”
“The guts,” I said. “I was terrified. I ran. Monique stopped me. They carried me, screaming, into the conference room to face Michaela. She’s so frightening, after all.”
Harper sobered. “You do know she’s killed more wolves than the rest of the pack combined, don’t you?”
“What?” I blurted.
“You’ll have to ask her. I only know about some of them.” She paused. “Maybe don’t ask her. Most of the stories are bad.” Then she smiled. “But the day I met her, she pushed Lara into Lake Superior.”
“What?” I blurted again.
Harper grinned. “Michaela is a whole lot scarier than she looks.” She cocked her head. “You didn’t look scared yesterday.”
“I’m emotionally resilient,” I said.
“I watched you when you arrived.”
“With my blindfold.”
“You looked so…”
“Helpless?”
“No. Well maybe, but that’s not what I was thinking about. That’s when I decided I wanted to meet you.”
“When did you decide you wanted to ask me out?”
“Oh, you watched me decide that,” she said. “I didn’t have a clue what to ask for.”
“Why didn’t you want points?”
“It wouldn’t have been enough to matter. Besides, points are boring. I thought about asking for a kiss.”
I smiled. “So I could have talked you down.”
“Yep.”
“I’m glad I didn’t.”
And when I moved my hand closer, this time, she took it.
We sat quietly for a while. The spring rolls came, and we focused on eating for a minute. I let her keep my hand and ate left-handed.”
“Tell me about yourself,” I said.
“All right. I’m a single mother of one daughter, a year younger than Angel and Scarlett. They live on the compound. Do you know them?”
“I do. They were the first wolves I met. And I’ve since met Scarlett’s father and, of course, Angel’s mother and sister. I’ve probably met Scarlett’s mother, to, but I couldn’t pick her out in a lineup.”
We talked about her daughter. We talked about my family, which was a brief conversation. Then she told me stories from her younger years, which she referred to as her “decade and a half of misdeeds”.
Our meals came, and I barely noticed. It could have been a hamburger, and I might have eaten it, for all the attention I gave it.
We ate as much as we wanted, and the server boxed the rest. We finished the pot of tea and asked for another.
We talked.
And we talked.
And we talked.
She spent most of the time touching me, just casual touches. Most of it was simply holding my hand or occasionally caressing my arm.
She asked me what I liked most about being human. I didn’t know how to answer that, so I asked her about being a wolf.
“Everything,” she said. “Have you asked anyone else?”
“Yeah. They mention the smells and the power.”
“I love my fur,” she said. “The shift is unpleasant, but once I stand up and fluff myself out, it’s the most amazing thing. I’m warm in nearly any weather, and I can run, and run, and run.”
She paused. “I suppose I’m bragging.”
“No,” I said.
“I wanted to know.”
“I wish I could describe it, or show you.”
“I do, too, but some things aren’t meant to be. I don’t know of anything in my life to compare. There’s nothing I can do you can’t do better. That makes me feel inadequate.”
“I looked you up. You take photographs. Is that you? Zoe Young Photography?”
“Yeah, that’s me, but you could take photos. Point the camera and press the button.”
“I can take photographs, but mine don’t look like yours. So that’s pretty special.” She smiled. “I understand why you feel inadequate, but I wish you didn’t.”
“But… You all like to play all your games, and I’ll always lose.”
“I guess that wouldn’t be very fun.”
“It’s not that,” I said. “I just feel… Well, I wouldn’t want anyone to be embarrassed by me.”
“Let me tell you something about wolves. We’re exceedingly protective of the weaker members of the pack. Zoe, no one is embarrassed by you. All that we feel is protective and possessive. I’m already feeling it, and we’ve just met. Please don’t worry about that. You had fun yesterday, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“What matters to us is you play. We’re so competitive that it’s okay that you don’t win. Hell, we want to win.” She grinned. “For instance, I am suddenly thinking about tickle fights.”
“Oh no you’re not!”
She grinned. “Oh yes I am. Are you ticklish Zoe?”
“Yes. Are you a bully?”
“Yes.”
And that was when I knew she was teasing me.
I suddenly wanted to be somewhere more private with her. From the look she was giving me, I thought perhaps the feeling was mutual.
“We missed our movie,” she said.
“We were going to sit together, side-by-side, in the dark. Would you be touching me?”
“I believe I would be.”
“You know, we don’t need a movie for that.”
She smiled. “Where’s the check?”
* * * *
Five minutes later found us in her car. We drove quietly back to the compound. She parked in front of Portia’s house.
“Are those shoes comfortable?”
“They’re not bad. I wouldn’t go for a hike in them.”
“How about a walk?”
“I could handle a walk,” I said. “But if we walk through the trees, you’ll have to guide me. I won’t be able to see.”
“Do you normally wear glasses?”
“It’s dark,” I said. “Wolf, meet human. Receive introduction to human shortcomings.”
“Ah. Well then, I shall endeavor to guide us both.”
We climbed from her car, then I waited for her. She came to my side, took my arm, and turned me away from the compound. I laid my head on her shoulder, and together we slowly walked, talking quietly.
“I didn’t think this through entirely,” she said.
“Oh?”
“I was going to suggest we sit on the ground and make out, but you’ll ruin your clothing.”
So instead she pulled me to her. My eyes were closed long before our lips met.
She could kiss, and when she wrapped her arms around me, I felt warm and safe.
And very, very aroused.
We kissed for a long time, our tongues dancing together, and both of us making needy little noises for each other.
Finally she released me but pulled me into a hug instead, brushing cheeks again.
“Wow.”
“I want you,” she whispered.
“Good,” I said. “I have my own room at Portia’s.”
“Come on.”
Still, we stopped to kiss several more times before reaching Portia’s, then had another lengthy kiss on the steps. I was panting long before we were done.
She was amazing. She had been sweet and funny all night long. She was kind and gentle, and so far, she was treating me exactly like I wanted to be treated.
“Please come in,” I said.
“Uh huh. You said something about a bedroom.”
I fumbled with the door, finally getting it open, and together we stumbled into Portia’s house.
Beside me, her arm around my waist, Harper stiffened and froze.
“What’s the matter?”
“Zoe?” I heard Portia’s voice. “How was your date?”
“It’s just Portia,” I whispered. “Come on.”
“Elisabeth is here.” She turned me to her. “Zoe…”
“Elisabeth and I stopped dating over a month ago. I’m a free agent.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I really like you, but I can’t challenge Elisabeth for you. I’m sorry.”
“Harper?” I tried stepping closer, but she pushed me away.
“I’m sorry, Zoe. I really am. Maybe when she really lets you go.” And then she bolted for the door.
I stared after her.
“Zoe?” asked Portia. “Is everything all right?”
I closed the door then leaned against it. Then, slowly, then not so slowly, my blood began to boil.
I stepped away from the door and then turned into the living room.
Portia and Elisabeth were sitting there. They each had a beer, and there were the remnants of others on the coffee table. I came to a stop, staring at Elisabeth.
“What are you doing here?” I asked her coldly.
“Do not take that tone with me.”
“You did that on purpose!” I screamed. “You scared her away on purpose! I had a nice time tonight. I had a really nice time, right up until my date told me you still think you own me. What are you doing here?”
“Elisabeth and I were talking,” Portia said. “Calm down, Zoe.”
“She growled yesterday when she heard I had promised dates, and I bet she knew one of them was tonight. She’s here to intimidate anyone who thought to linger with me!”
They both stood up and began moving towards me. I backed away.
“Don’t you dare touch me!” I spat at Elisabeth. “I stopped being yours the minute you decided I wasn’t good enough for you, and you will leave me alone.”
“Zoe,” Portia said. “It’s not her fault.”
“The hell it’s not her fault. Everyone heard her growl, and everyone knows why, and now she’s here scaring my date away.”
“Zoe!” Portia said. “It’s not her fault. It’s mine.”
I froze in place, but I kept a wary eye on Elisabeth. If she touched me, she’d have a fight on her hands. But she kept her distance from me, not saying a word.
“It’s my fault, Zoe,” Portia said again. She moved closer. “I’m sorry. She’s been trying to leave for an hour, but I kept her here.”
I glanced at Portia then returned to glaring at Elisabeth.
“It’s not her fault,” Portia said a fourth time. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s partially my fault,” Elisabeth said. “I’m sorry, Zoe.”
“I’m not yours,” I said.
“Wolf doesn’t realize that.”
“When is Wolf going to realize it?” I asked. “If it weren’t for Wolf, maybe I would have measured up, so I’m not real happy with her right now.”
“Wolf is quick to claim and slow to let go,” she said. “I’m sorry. I really am.”
Slowly I calmed down, finally lowering my eyes. “I’m sorry I screamed at you, Head Enforcer. Can I expect additional charges of insubordination for it?”
“No, Zoe. You were yelling at your former girlfriend, not the head enforcer.”
I nodded once and then fled, running to my room and slamming the door.
Roof
It was a half hour later when Portia knocked at my door. “Please, may I come in, Zoe?”
“Yes,” I called out. I was lying on the bed, curled into a ball. She opened the door, saw me there, then moved in and sat on the bed behind me for a moment, then lay down behind me, curling in next to me. She held me for
a while.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“It’s fine,” I said.
“I take it you were hitting it off.”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t blame her. It’s a wolf thing. She would have smelled Elisabeth the instant she walked in.”
I didn’t say anything, but together we lay for a while.
“I owe you pampering,” I said eventually.
“Not tonight,” she replied.
“Yes,” I said. “It will help me take my mind off things.” I rolled over to face her. “Thank you.”
She grimaced.
“What?”
“I’m the one who kept her here, Zoe. It’s my fault your date ended badly.”
“I’ll chalk it up to fate,” I said. “I had a nice date. I got some nice kisses. A stunning werewolf wanted me. I just have to kick the shit out of Elisabeth so she’ll let me date, and there will be someone else.”
She smiled faintly. “I don’t recommend that exact plan, but I like your attitude.”
“Don’t think she’d let me kick her ass?”
Portia smiled. “No.”
“Go climb into bed. I’ll be in shortly.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to. I enjoy it.”
“Do you?” she asked. I nodded. “All right. I’m not going to argue with that.”
I let her get ready for bed first, then I used the bathroom and pulled on my own pajamas before moving into her room. She was waiting for me when I arrived.
“I bought something today,” she said. “It’s on the night stand.” I looked, and there was a bottle of massage oil waiting for me. I smiled at it.
I grabbed the bottle, pulled the covers down, climbed on top of her, and then began her massage.
* * * *
“Wake up, sleepyhead.”
“You could come in ten minutes earlier and cuddle me, you know.”
She chuckled and then climbed into bed with me. I rolled over and squirmed back against her, letting her spoon me. “This is nice,” I declared.
“We only have a few minutes. We have a big day today.”
“We have two more rooms downstairs to do.”
“Yes, but we won’t do them today. We have something else to do.”
“Oh? Another trip to the paintball field?”
She chuckled. “No. But if I asked, would you want to go?”
“I just might,” I said.