by Mia Wolf
But knowing I was in this city, next to an entire ocean—I allowed myself the luxury of a long and near-scalding hot shower. It was decadence. I could have happily melted and slithered down the drain.
I had no idea how long I spent in the shower, but when my hands and feet started to reach a complete prune state, I decided it was time to actually wash myself and get ready to meet the boys.
I threw my hair up in a towel and wrapped not one, but two soft towels around myself. I felt like I was in the height of indulgence. I knew how much this hotel was costing the pack, and I wasn’t about to let any experience go to waste. I wanted every penny to be worth it.
I lugged my suitcase onto the bed and unzipped it.
“No,” I said, my eyes widening at its contents. I began to rummage frantically. “No, no, no, no, no!”
Inside, where all my clothes had been meticulously folded and packed, was not a rumpled representation of Andrea’s inability to fold and put away clothing. It was much worse. It was all of her clothes. Not even practical clothes, either. It was all of her slinky, delicate clothing that I had nixed as soon as she showed me them. She even took out my shoes and replaced them with hers!
The only thing left in the suitcase that was my own was my underwear.
“Damnit, Andrea,” I said, loudly, as if she were just in the next room. I growled and went for my phone that I’d thrown on the nightstand.
“Damnit, Andrea,” I repeated as she answered her phone.
“Hey! How was the flight?”
“Where are my clothes?”
“In your suitcase, silly,” she answered innocently.
“No, those are your clothes. Where are my clothes?”
“Correction. Those are your clothes for your trip. On loan. From me. But they’re as good as your clothes. Just don’t destroy any of them, okay?”
“I specifically expressed that I did not want your clothes.”
“That’s why they’re your clothes for the trip. You know, you’re making this really difficult.”
“I can’t wear this stuff. What am I going to wear?” I whined. I was so frustrated at this point that I just wanted to cry. Between the guys talking about their party life outside the compound, losing my favorite shirt to Max’s inability to keep a drink upright, and having none of my comfortable clothes, I was at the end of my tether.
“Look, just try it on. You’ll look great in it, I promise,” Andrea said, trying to soothe me. “You’ll thank me.”
I grunted my reply.
“What’s the city like?” she asked.
“I don’t really know. We’ve been here long enough for me to take a shower. It’s big, so far. Kind of dirty. Nice trees, though.”
“Kind of dirty? That’s all you’ve got for me?”
“Yeah, for now. We’ve been on the Bart. Well, we walked a few blocks, and you could smell the ocean. That was really nice. I quite enjoyed that. But there are far too many people. It was hard to navigate. The guys were fine, but I struggled a bit.”
“Oh, wow. I’d love to see the ocean.”
“Yeah. I think that while Jordan and Max are out, I’ll go and have a walk along the water’s edge, see if I can get out onto one of the piers. I hear Pier 49 is a good one to visit.”
“Pier 39,” she corrected. “And yes, please visit it. And take pictures. I want to feel like I was there with you when you get back and show me them.”
“I’ll do my best,” I mumbled, wondering if I’d actually thought to pack a camera.
I hung up my little flip phone and stuck it on charge before I pulled out a long purple dress with dark green accents along its folds. I laid it on the bed. I did the same with the rest of the clothing. She had at least given me one pair of pants and a blouse. I reached for that to put on, though I realized that I would likely want to wear that during the day while we were out and about or while we were at the fair.
I growled and picked up the purple dress. It would have to be this one tonight.
I dried my hair with my towel and put the dress on. I went into the bathroom to see just how horribly it fit and to put some form of makeup on.
As I wiped away the steam on the mirror from the shower, I was surprised at what I saw. The dress actually fit me well. It accented my curves in just the right way and negated my bigger frame. I’d always been a little self-conscious of my build. My bones are just bigger than most girls’. Mom always told me it was part of being a Bear, but Andrea was a Fox and had a similar build, so I never really bought Mom’s explanation. It didn’t make fitting into nice clothing any more comfortable. It was part of the reason why I gave fashion a miss overall. That and I preferred to be comfortable and wear clothing that was sensible for daily compound living.
However, Andrea seemed to have fashion and our builds down to an art. This dress fit me surprisingly well. My only complaint was that it showed a little too much of my boobs and that it had an open back. But I could keep my long hair down to cover that part.
When I came out, I reminded myself a little of a 70’s version of Cher during her Sonny and Cher days, with my hair and long dress. Though I didn’t pull the look off nearly as well as she did.
I put on the shoes that Andrea had packed for me and grabbed my phone and keycard to my room before going for the door. I stopped.
It was one thing to dress like this in the privacy of my own hotel room, but it was a whole other thing to go downstairs looking like this and meeting Max and Jordan, of all people. Sure, they’d annoyed me during the day, but I still cared about what they thought of me. If I didn’t look as good as I thought I did, then I’d be making an absolute fool of myself in front of two very attractive men.
I breathed in a deep breath and held it for a moment, before slowly letting it out.
“They’re not going to notice,” I told myself, out loud. “They’re guys. They’re not into you either. It’ll be fine.”
I pulled in another breath and opened the door to the hallway.
The hotel was a great value. While elevators were available, it also had a master staircase on display, which encouraged visitors to use it rather than hold up the lifts. It had a lush green carpet that went down to the reception, padding each step. I ran my hand along the banister, uncertain of my step in the heeled shoes.
I spied Max and Jordan leaning against a pillar near the reception desk. Max lounged in fashionably faded blue jeans and an untucked white button-up shirt with a stitched design over the breast pocket in black thread. Jordan was similarly dressed, though the darker version: a black button-up shirt over dark navy jeans, faded then stained with beige on the front of his thighs. They both looked so casual, Max with his bangs swished slightly to the side to prevent them from being in his eyes while Jordan’s bearded face hinted at maturity and sophistication. It was too bad I knew better.
They had already seen me, and their eyes were locked on me, Jordan’s mouth a little open.
“Close your mouth, you’ll let the flies in,” I said as I got closer. I tried to hide my blushing, and I tried not to smile that I had elicited such a reaction.
“Wow, look at you,” Max said.
“I didn’t know there was a lady in there,” Jordan said, holding out his hand and twirling me when I took it. I felt awkward and pulled my coat on that I’d had hanging over my arm.
“Don’t do that,” Jordan said. He pulled off his own jacket, a sleek leather one, and handed it to me. “If you’re going to cover yourself up, do it so it looks like someone is looking after you. You don’t need a lumberjack’s coat over that dress.”
“And I need some bro’s leather coat?”
“Yes,” they both said. I laughed.
“Fine.” At their suggestion, I left my own coat at reception and took the long jacket Jordan had offered me. It smelled like cologne. He never wore cologne in Moonstone. It was nice. Earthy, but sweet at the same time.
When we got outside, the chill of the sea air hit me. It was so different tha
n the desert air. I could taste the salt in it, smell the various food vendors still out in the fading daylight, smell the seagulls, and smell the various ferries and boats docked. My senses were assaulted by the noise, the scents, and the lights starting to come on along the street.
“Oh, boy,” I said. “This is a lot to handle.”
“I know,” Max said. “But you get used to it. Then it all just feels normal.”
Jordan puffed his chest out as he took an exaggerated breath through his nose. “Smells like home,” he said.
“Home?” I asked.
“You know what I mean,” he said.
I didn’t know what he meant. Was Moonstone not home to him? After all it had done for him and Max?
I tried to ignore my worries about where his loyalties might lie. Instead, I asked, “So where is this place?”
“Pier 39,” Max said.
“Oh, Andrea just told me I had to go there.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” he said, taking my hand and hurrying me across the crosswalk as headlights came toward us. He waved as the car honked and slowed down to accommodate us. Once across, he let go of my hand. “It’s a huge tourist hotspot. Everyone just has to go there. It’s one of the few tourist spots that I feel is worth the hype, personally.”
“How far is it?” I asked, already acknowledging that these shoes were making my feet hurt.
“Just a couple of blocks,” Jordan answered. “You picked a good spot for our crash pad. There are so many great places around here.”
We crossed the road again, putting us on the sidewalk along the water. Various buildings jetted out off the road with boats parked along it. I realized, with embarrassing slowness, that they were all piers. Jordan gestured to the right, and we followed him onto a wooden boardwalk where the seagulls clustered in floating masses. He led us into a door and up some stairs. I gasped as the stairs opened into an elegant Japanese restaurant.
My mouth watered at the smells of sizzling fish and stead permeating the room. I realized how hungry I was. I hadn’t eaten since early that morning before I went out for last-minute checks on the water storage. And even then, all I ate was a quick snack of peanut butter on toast.
Max spoke to the greeter who found our reservation and guided us to a table by the window. We had a perfect view of the darkening sky over the water.
“A bottle of house sake,” Max ordered as our waitress arrived and delivered our water.
I raised my glass to my lips and gave Max a look that scolded the suggestion for the beverage.
“What? I said house. It’ll be …” he paused, thinking of the wording to quell my challenging look. “It’ll be cheaper than other things.”
“This is a business trip,” I reminded them. “Not play.”
“But we can play while we do business,” Jordan said. “Otherwise, life gets boring. Lighten up. Let your hair down.”
“My hair is down,”
“And it looks stunning,” Max said without missing a beat. “Can I order for you? I love ordering for women. Plus, I know all the stuff you’ll like.”
I glanced at the menu, realizing I knew absolutely nothing on it. Each dish had its own special Japanese name for it, which only iterated how foreign this whole experience was for me. I nodded my agreement to him. Between Jordan and Max, they discussed what should be ordered and how much of it would do to accommodate three shifter appetites. I kept the list of food firmly shut, too afraid to look at the prices of what was going to come to our table.
The sake arrived in a ceramic little jug with a piece of cloth wrapped around it, and three small ceramic cups were placed in front of each of us. Max reeled off a long list of dishes, with Jordan interjecting from time to time. I kept my focus out the window, on the water reflecting the changing evening sky. For all that it was a commercial area and riddled with people, it truly was beautiful.
“We’ll take you to see the proper ocean on the other side of the city,” Jordan said when the server left. “You’ll love the sand.”
“We live in Arizona,” I said. “It’s all dirt and sand.”
Jordan shook his head. “Not like this. You’ll have to see it. It’s really amazing. Maybe we can go swimming later?”
“Oh, that reminds me,” Max said. “Does the hotel have a spa or a pool or something? I just want to get into a hot tub at some point while we’re here.”
At the thought of a tub filled with who knows how many gallons of water, I reached for my water glass and took a long drink. I never liked the idea of being away from water, but equally, I didn’t like the idea of water wastage. It always made me thirsty.
“I have no idea,” I replied after my drink. I eyed the condensation running down the side of the glasses across from me, a knot forming in my stomach as the droplets pooled at the bottom of the glass. “You should make sure you stay hydrated.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right,” Jordan reached for his drink. “We have sake. Here, let me pour you some. Have you ever had this?”
I bit the tip of my tongue to stop myself from telling that wasn’t what I meant and instead shook my head. I didn’t need them thinking I was a total freak. The whole pack already knew I had a weird water obsession. I didn’t need to add to how bad the obsession was.
“It’s an acquired taste.” Jordan began pouring the beverage. “But if you’re going to have sake for the first time, this is one of the best places to do it. They really know how to serve it. It’s rice wine. This thing, what the sake’s served in, is a tokkuri, and we serve it in small ceramic cups like this—” he held up my cup before pouring the liquid into it. “—called an ochoko. I personally prefer it warmed, which this is.”
He picked up his own ochoko and poured his helping of sake.
“What this oaf hasn’t mentioned,” Max said, “is that it’s bad etiquette to serve your own sake.”
“Yeah, well, my manners are being saved up for chopsticks.”
I froze for a moment. I didn’t know how to use chopsticks. What would they think of me in a place like this? Could I get away with using a fork? Should I use my hands?
“That’s something I’ve never mastered,” Max told me.
A wave of relief swept over me. I didn’t know if he sensed my anxiety, or if it just happened to be that he was in the same boat as me like he said. Either way, I was glad that I’d be able to see how he operated rather than rely on my own guesswork.
“Well, I’m looking forward to whatever it is we have coming our way,” I said.
“We are too.” Jordan held up his ochoko. “We’ve been wanting this for a long time.”
“To San Francisco,” Max said.
“To sushi,” Jordan said.
“To new experiences,” I added.
Our cups clinked together, and I shot my sake to the back of my mouth. I went for the water and used it as a chaser to the sake as the hot liquid made it down my throat.
I finished my water and realized the guys were laughing at me.
“How do you do that and laugh?” I demanded.
“We didn’t shoot our sake, for one thing,” Max said, his hand on his chest as he tried to get ahold of his breath.
“What?”
“You’re supposed to sip it,” Jordan said. “I told you. It’s rice wine. Drink it like you would a very small glass of wine.”
Embarrassment washed over me, and I felt color rise to my cheeks. This day was not shaping out to be a good one. Clearly, I wasn’t having any luck with wine. The warmth of the sake began to spread through me, and I realized that it wasn’t worth worrying about. I knew these guys. I hung out with these guys in Moonstone. Just because I was in a dress didn’t mean that I was any different, or that they were any different. I’d always been able to take these things in a stride. What happened to that Emily?
“Just you wait, boys,” I said. “I’ll get my own back.”
I motioned to the server for more water while Max poured me another cup of sake.
&n
bsp; “Sip this one, alright?”
“Hardy, har, har,” I said.
“Ems,” Jordan addressed me. “Why aren’t you shacked up yet? You’d think someone like you would be by now.”
“Jeez. Let’s just cut to the chase, shall we?” I replied, dryly. I lifted an eyebrow and leaned forward on my elbows. “Why aren’t you shacked up?” I turned the question away from me.
“Hey man, we tried,” he replied.
“Still trying,” Max said, holding up a finger. “It’s harder than it looks.”
“There’s the answer to your own question,” I deflected.
“I don’t think so,” Jordan said, leaning forward and putting his elbows on the table. “I’ve never seen you so much as look at a guy in a more than friendly way. You’re into girls, aren’t you? That’s it, right?”
I laughed. “No, nothing like that,” I said. “I’m just kept busy at the compound. And it’s slim picking there. Never mind that no one there is interested in me, either.”
I paid close attention not to say that I wasn’t interested in anyone in the compound. After all, if anyone was going to get me hot under the collar, it was these two, and they were doing a pretty good job of it. They looked quite dashing. Something about them was glowing this evening. Maybe they really were in their element. Maybe not all shifters needed to live in nature. I wondered if it was that these two were more in touch with their human sides rather than their Wolf sides.
Whatever it was, they looked the most relaxed and comfortable aside from when they were sitting beside the fire after a hunt. There was something about this city, this setting, that brought out another side of them. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I liked it. That much I knew.
“I certainly haven’t had the exploits that you two have,” I added. I tried my sake again, sipping it this time. I hummed my enjoyment.
“Our exploits,” Max scoffed. “Please.”
“Well, that’s all you seemed to want to talk about in the car,” I jibed. “That and partying. You are sure you actually graduated from college, right?”
“Sure, we did,” Jordan said. “And we partied. That’s what college is for. That’s what everyone did.”