Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
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“ Y ou put any up by your place?” Tyler picked through the stack of flyers for our show and stapled one to the bulletin board by the skate spot entrance. There were a bunch of old, tattered flyers from shows and events passed, and I ripped them down while he stapled up a few more for good measure.
“Yup,” I balled up the trash and tossed them into the big, overflowing can on our way inside. I dropped my board to the ground and hopped on, kicking lazily against the concrete to keep moving forward.
Until I caught a whiff of wintry sweet and sour, that was. Then, I almost stumbled and wiped out over fucking nothing. Ty glanced up at me with his own board tucked into his side. He raised a brow, silently asking me what the fuck was wrong with me all of a sudden, but I didn’t give a response.
My chest was tight as I tried to restrain myself from looking over at the Wolf girl and keep my Jaguar from doing something reckless just because she was here again.
Usually, she arrived at night, but a few days ago, she’d started to come earlier in the day. Maybe she’d been doing that for longer, but work mostly had me tied up at this hour. What did it say about me that I made sure to be here, at this time, on my day off? And drag my nocturnal friend with me for reinforcements.
He groused about the heat and pulled his hat lower on his brow. Good thing the legends got that part wrong, because I’d feel bad if my stupidity and his being a decent friend made him burst into flames. “Fucking hot as shit,” he grumbled while we found a bench that was in the shade. Luckily for me, Tyler was high up enough as the owner of his family’s funeral home that he pretty much went into work whenever he felt like it and took care of things from home if he wanted to. Left him free to skate when I had the itch but also needed the backup.
To give me the confidence to finally talk to her or keep me from doing it, I still wasn’t sure.
“You got me here, so let’s hand these out, too.” There was a decent crowd, despite it being in the middle of the day, but I guessed that was thanks to it being summertime. Teens, college kids, and townies were shooting the shit and dropping into the bowl. Grinding on the rails and working on their latest tricks.
Now that I’d joined the band, it was back to performing after their last guitarist moved away. I’d never really played in one before, just messed around on my Iceman alone, but I had to admit. It was nice, and Brody and Jess were cool, too.
Tyler and I split up with a stack of flyers each. I dapped up a few skaters I recognized, talked up our show that was next week and featuring three other bands. And what of it that my arc around the park brought me closer and closer to the girl with the prettiest pair of legs I’d ever fucking seen? Her tight jean shorts ended right below the curve of her ass while her hoodie covered everything else but her neck, face, and hands.
Those honey eyes hadn’t looked up at me at all, but was I hallucinating the stiffening of her shoulders as soon as I’d caught sight of her and the pup on the far side of the park where the ground was flat?
The pup with red pigtail braids and a green helmet to match her skates and pads was clinging onto the Wolf girl’s hand as she walked them in slow circles. The little girl couldn’t have been older than five or six, but she was catching on pretty well. The first time I’d seen them, she was still getting used to standing on shifting wheels, but now, she was able to shuffle along while her aunt guided her across the smooth surface.
I absently handed out more flyers while listening to what the Wolf girl was saying, clear as the deepening sky above. “You got it, Dolly. Yup, remember what you need to do if you wanna slow down? Yeah, yeah, good job!”
A smile pulled across my face as I listened to her teach and encourage the pup. A guy I’d given a few pointers to on his kick flip asked about the show, so I talked about our newest set, pulled out my phone so he could hear a little bit of our latest song.
He nodded along to the music and took a picture of the flyer I held out so he’d remember the details. Jess ran the Instagram profile she’d convinced Tyler to agree to us starting, so I directed him to that. I was gonna have to figure out how to make sure my photo didn’t show up on the page or any of the videos, and I cursed myself again for my bright fucking ideas causing more problems.
When I turned around to seek out the next person to invite to the show, I froze and had to clench my jaw. Tyler was talking to her. He was gesturing to the flyer, talking about the bar we were performing at, and my feet were already marching me closer to them. When his eyes lifted to track my advance, he pointed at me, dead center in my chest, “Yeah, here’s our new lead guitar right here.”
And then she looked up at me, those eyes lighting mine up like golden rays of sweet and decadent honey. Her braid cascaded down her chest, curly tendrils plastered against her temple with sweat. She blinked a few times, chewed on those luscious lips I just wanted to bite and lick and?—
A loud squeak snapped against my trance, and the pup was sprawled out on the concrete. She took a tumble over her wheels, and even though her pads certainly took the brunt of the fall, I could already smell the welling of tears before she started to whimper. Probably more out of surprise and embarrassment than pain since we shifters were pretty tough.
Her aunt shot down to the ground, checking her over for injuries, and I crouched a few feet away, unable to not respond to the little girl looking around with wide, leaking eyes. Her lip trembled while her aunt petted her back and gave her reassurances.
“Hey, pipsqueak,” I cooed. “You’re all right.”
They both turned to look over at me. The Wolf girl glared for a second, like I was being a dick and making fun of her niece. But I pressed on. “Fallin’ hurts, but I’ve seen you learning fast. We all wipe out, and it can be scary. But you’ve got it. Yeah?”
She sniffed and wiped a scraped hand over her cheek. Luckily, it wasn’t bleeding. She nodded and managed to give a shaky smile. Mine in return was wide and encouraging. Even though I healed fast, falling was definitely something you had to get used to, and she’d just started. I extended my fist her way, and she perked up, turning around fully to do the same. “You’re a skater, now. Which means you’re brave. We gotta be pretty special do this stuff and get back up every time we wipe out.” With the Wolf girl and Tyler both boring holes into me with their stares, I slowly led the pup through a simple handshake. She was the youngest kid out here, one of three females, and the only one with safety gear on.
We did the handshake I made up on the spot—a fist bump, two claps, and some finger wagging before a final dap—a few times more before she seemed to have the hang of it. “All right, pipsqueak. Remember the right way to fall, and do what she says. ‘Kay?”
The three of us stood, and the Wolf girl took extra care to steady the pup back on her wheels. With no more tears, she beamed up at me, “‘Kay.”
Tyler cleared his throat, and the Wolf girl was still eyeing me warily as she snatched the flyer from his stack. “Yeah. So, the show will start at eight, but doors open at seven. See you around.” She nodded as Tyler pulled away, and I hesitated. She was gorgeous, proper with the elegant way she always twirled on her skates. Even with her perfectly white sneakers and designer hoodie today, she had a depth that I was itching to dive into.
The pup started to pull on her hand, trying to urge her to keep going with her lesson, so I forced myself to take a step back. It was for the best that I put some space between us. She watched me go, heart a quick patter in her chest that matched mine. “See ya around, rich girl.”
Her lashes fluttered before settling on a sharp look and delicate sneer. Her gaze swept me up and down, and her heart started beating an even sweeter, faster pattern. My nose was good, and that cold grapefruit darkened with wisps of desire that had me downright grinning.
I spun on my heel, leapt unto my board, and rolled after Ty. I wondered if she would taste just as sweet and sour, too.