Chapter 10
Wade
I woke wrapped around Dustin in my bed. The taste of him lingered in my mouth, a bit stale and yet my dick hardened approvingly. I forced myself to let go and climb off him. He smiled, something soft and hazy in his expression that I’d never seen from Dustin.
Then his gaze sharpened. “Right. Time to get moving.” He bounced to his feet, ducked around me, and headed for the bathroom. I thought about asking to join him in the shower, but heard the lock click, so okay, maybe not.
We ate a fast breakfast, and by six-thirty, he was out the door and on the road, planning to return Mina’s key before heading to Chicago.
The apartment felt much bigger and quieter without his presence.
I inhaled, savoring the scent of him lingering on the air.
He hadn’t brought much to begin with, so his shoes were gone from the closet, he’d stuffed all his clothes in his pack and slung the bulky sack over his shoulder, leaving nothing behind.
I wandered through the living room, the bedroom, the bathroom, and pretended I wasn’t searching for some affirmation that Dustin would be returning. Except I really was.
All I found was his toothbrush, a spare of mine I’d opened for him, sitting in the cup by the side of the sink. Even I wasn’t delusional enough to believe he couldn’t abandon a twenty-five-cent toothbrush.
To take my mind off things, I got out my knives and some blocks, and set about replacing a few of the items I’d sold at the craft fair. If three of the holiday ornaments turned out to be burly wolves, that was purely coincidence.
My phone rang shortly after noon, and I grabbed the receiver, but the voice on the other end was Mina’s, not Dustin’s.
“Nothing unusual in the office today,” she told me.
“Your friend asked me to check when the next planning meeting is, and they have it scheduled for Friday, three p.m. The road expansion is on the agenda, but it’s been on the agenda every meeting for the last five months, so that doesn’t mean much. ”
“Thanks,” I said. “You’re a big help.”
“My father wants to stay in his apartment. I’ll do what I can.”
I hung up and dithered for a bit. I didn’t want to be out if Dustin called, but how likely was that? Even Dustin the Fixer would need more than four hours to work miracles. I slipped on my shoes and headed out.
Mrs. French heard my door and popped her head into the hall. “Hey, Wade. Any word on you-know-what yet?” She gave me an exaggerated wink.
Expecting any of the residents to keep secrets was clearly futile. Luckily, what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them, so I just said, “Working on it, ma’am.”
“You’re a good boy,” she told me. “By the way, my bedroom window’s jammed shut. Not a problem right now, but in a month or two it’ll be getting warm.”
“I can help now. Show me.” I appreciated the distraction.
She led me into her neat little apartment.
The window sure was stuck, but applying the right force at the right angle let me get it started.
This was not my first warped old wooden sash in this building.
I forced the pane high enough to reach into the tracks.
“Ivory bar soap. That’s a good option for getting wooden windows to slide smoother.
Cleaning helps too, but for now, bar soap. ”
“I think I have a bit.” She hustled off to the bathroom and came back with a sliver of a bar. I spent a few minutes working a thin layer into the tracks, and then making sure we hadn’t overdone lubrication to where the pane would come crashing down.
When I was finished, she thanked me, then eyed me, her head cocked to the side. “Is that friend Dustin of yours going to stay with you for a while?”
“I don’t know.” Some of my pleasure at being useful faded. “We’re working on some things. He has a place in Chicago.”
“That’s not so far.” She patted my arm. “I’m sure you boys will work it out.”
“Work what out?”
“Living together. I’ve seen how that young man looks at you when you’re not noticing. Like you hung the moon. He’s totally gone for you.”
Shock rocked me back on my heels. “He’s what? No, you’re mistaken.”
“Oh, Wade, dear. You don’t have to pretend with me. My younger brother Danny was that way. He had a special friend, too. A neighbor boy named Luke. They were happy for a few years.”
“What happened?” I didn’t want to know, but couldn’t help asking. A fight? Bigotry? Murder?
Her eyes went sad. “The war happened, dear. They both went off to fight. Only Luke made it home, and he was never the same afterward.”
“Oh.” We’d had Korea more recently, and had barely pulled our boys home from that Vietnam mess, but to people her age, there was only one “war.” Several of our older wolves had fought in Italy, France, Germany, and even the Pacific, and our losses haunted them too. “I’m sorry you lost your brother.”
“Thank you. That was years ago. I want you to take it as a warning, Wade. If Danny hadn’t been brave enough to go after Luke, they wouldn’t have had the years they did.
Yes, their love ended in tragedy, but before that, they lived.
I envied them the relationship they had together.
I found my Steven, and we were very happy for thirty-one years, but we never lived for each other like those two did. ”
“That’s…” My voice trailed off as I realized I’d missed the chance to say, “No, I’m not gay,” and be believed. “I’m glad they had that time.”
“You’re not young forever, and life only gives you so many chances. Don’t waste one. You’ve been too alone these last five years.”
“Uh, I’ve dated women.”
“Not one you brought home. Not one who made you happy like the last week, or made you smile like you did when you caught him looking your way at that meeting.”
“I didn’t.” Surely I was more careful than that.
“You’re allowed to be happy, Wade. There are people who may turn up their noses, but I think your Dustin’s big enough and you’re tough enough not to care.”
He’s not my Dustin. But her acceptance and support felt too wonderful to reject.
I could admit now I’d wondered what the people in this building would think if they found out I’d had sex with a man.
That I wanted nothing more than to do it again.
No doubt there were bigots here. Fifteen apartments, twenty-nine people counting the kids.
Had to be a few, but if Mrs. French supported us, we’d be fine.
“Thank you,” I told her. “Now you let me know if you have any more trouble with that window.”
“I will. You go run whatever errand I distracted you from.”
“Sure thing.”
I jogged down the stairs in a bit of a daze.
I’d vaguely imagined someday, bringing a wife back here with me, but that image hadn’t felt real.
I’d dated women, enjoyed women, but there wasn’t one I’d wanted to let into my private life.
I didn’t bring them home, I didn’t tell them about my brother, and it’d be years of marriage, if ever, before I could share the truth of my species with them.
Dustin changed everything, like a blast of fresh air through my life.
Shawn was alive, Dustin had seen every bit of my apartment and sucked me off in my bedroom, and we’d run in fur together.
He fit in my narrow bed— well, just barely.
He expanded my narrow life, cracking me open, taking down the walls I’d built tight around me.
I’m falling for him. It seemed both fast, and inevitable. Just days since I’d thought I hated him, and yet every good memory of the old pack was tinged with Dustin’s presence. As a crush, as a friend, then a deadly enemy, but always so important.
Driven by a sudden impulse, I left the building and started off at a jog down the street.
Still April, but the sun was warm on my shoulders, and my muscles loosened as I ran.
After about five miles, I went into a little corner market and begged change for a few dollars, paying them a dollar’s commission.
Then, my pockets jingling, I headed to the payphone on the corner two blocks down.
The phone at the apple farm rang and rang, but when I was about to give up, Zay answered, a little breathless. “Meadow Cider. How can I help you?”
“Um, it’s Wade. Is Shawn around?”
“For you? Sure thing.” Past some muffling, perhaps his hand on the receiver, I heard him call, “Shawn! Phone. It’s your brother.”
It’s your brother. Words that I’d once thought I would never hear again hit me in the chest, and I blinked back tears. A moment later, Shawn was saying hi, and I cleared my throat. “Hey there.”
“Is everything okay at home? You two took off so fast, we barely had time to talk.”
“Yeah, fine. Well, not perfect. There’s a developer who might want to tear down my apartment building. Dustin and I are figuring out how to make him change his mind.”
“A pity you can’t just rip his throat out, eh?”
“Sadly, not an option. And what’s with the eh? You turning Canadian?”
“By my ID, I am Canadian. Like maple syrup. Which, by the way, we’re working with for a maple-infused cider. I like the idea of having a flavor that’s our own invention.”
“Apple and maple could go together,” I said cautiously.
“I hope so. We don’t have it right yet.”
In the background, I heard Zay call, “You think it’s not right. I think that last batch was righteous.”
“Ignore my boyfriend,” Shawn said. “He just likes to give me a hard time.”
“Very hard,” Zay retorted, softly enough he maybe thought I wouldn’t hear him. “Amazingly hard.”
I snorted. Shawn hurriedly said, “Extra sharp hearing, hon,” no doubt avoiding the word werewolf where an operator might come on the line and hear us, and to me, “Sorry. I can’t take him anywhere.”
“We’re in our own kitchen,” Zay retorted, adding more loudly, “Sorry, Wade. Didn’t mean to offend your ears. Shawn, I’m going to fix the sprayer, but you take time with your brother.”
Before I could say anything, the operator cut in, “Deposit two dollars for another minute.”