Chapter 6 #2
“Whoa there,” Roscoe said, slowly pointing to the bags lined against the wall. “We’re just gonna get our things and skedaddle.” He froze, and that shitty grin inched up his maw as he eyed one of the officers. “Oh damn. It’s Sergeant Buttercup!”
“You!” The officer grew more irritated at the sight of the werewolf. He looked to be in his mid-thirties but was built like he’d spent several hours a day in the gym. “Every time I’m called about werewolf disturbances, you’re involved somehow.”
Roscoe’s tail wagged while he took a careful step closer. “If we keep meeting like this, we may as well start datin’.”
“One day your luck’s gonna run out, buddy. I want to be there when a judge finally puts your ass in werewolf prison.”
“I didn’t do nothin’ wrong this time. I’m just helping the kid out.”
“Yeah,” he said, opening the front door. “Grab your shit and we’ll escort you off the premises.”
“I’ll be mailing you the bill for the lease termination,” the property manager said, opening the blinds before turning back to me.
“And I’ll rub it against my sweaty taint as payment,” Roscoe rebutted, grabbing four of the bags before leaning in close to the older man. “How’s that sound?”
The man said nothing, visibly shaken by how close Roscoe’s teeth were to his face.
The cop stomped his foot. “Roscoe! Out! Now!”
“Fine, whatever. Let’s get the hell out of here,” the werewolf grunted, pushing past the cops and walking outside with me close behind. As we got to the edge of the property, the officers stopped.
“If you come back, it’s not going to end well for either of you, understand?”
I nodded, intending to leave it at that, but the temptation to be a complete idiot was too obviously much for Roscoe.
“I guess we’ll have to put a pin in our plans to rob the place, huh?” There was an obvious air of sarcasm to his tone, but the cop that knew him furrowed his brows before leaning closer.
“Excuse me?”
“It’s a joke, Deputy Donut. Lighten up a little.”
The officer unsheathed the taser and fired it point blank into Roscoe’s abdomen. He yelped, dropping the bags before collapsing onto the ground.
“Whoa! You can’t just shoot people like that!” I shouted, and the officer turned his attention to me.
“You’re not people,” he said, his words dripping with disdain. Both men walked back to their patrol cars while bystanders gawked at the commotion, some recording on their smartphones.
I knelt next to Roscoe, who lay on the ground, holding his stomach.
“Are you okay?”
“I think I pissed all over myself.”
“You’re a fucking moron,” I hissed, grabbing his hand to help him into a sitting position. “You could have gotten us both in a lot of trouble.”
He stumbled to his feet, winking at the cop car driving by. “Damn, if I had a dollar for every time I’ve been tasered.”
“Are you a felon or something?”
He shrugged. “The past is the past.”
“Roscoe, let’s get one thing straight,” I growled out, my vision turning red again. “I’m not going to jail because of you!”
“Stop worrying about it. I was just having some fun.”
There was wet fur around Roscoe’s crotch and a damp spot on the sidewalk where he had fallen. “Yeah, that looks like a real good time to me.”
The slightly shaky werewolf picked up the bags and walked with me toward the bus stop. “You were worried about me, weren’t you?”
“Yes,” I said, annoyed by how nonchalant he was. I wasn’t used to being treated like a criminal, especially since my only crime was existing in a place I no longer belonged. “If something happened to you, I’d have to carry all this myself.”
“You really like me.”
“I hate your guts, dude.”
Roscoe put the bags on the ground before sitting on the bench as we waited for our ride. I sat next to him, the adrenaline rush from earlier finally settling.
“I just remembered something,” Roscoe said, his ears lowering into a guilty, airplane position. “I, uh… may not have a job anymore. Kinda forgot to go back.”
“Well, it’s not like you can take four-hour-long bus rides every day. Just get another one at the beach.”
When he slumped his shoulders forward and he let out a dog-like whine, I knew what was coming. “C’mon, Cody. We’ve got enough until yer money comes in.”
“Yeah, my money, not our money. You’re not going to leech off me and lay around the house doing nothing.”
Roscoe continued with the act, his eyes growing big and watery.
“It didn’t work before. What makes you think it’s going to work now?”
He got on one knee and stared up, his nose nearly touching my face as his ears dropped to the sides of his head again.
“You’re making an idiot of yourself,” I whispered through my teeth.
He leaned back a bit. “Man, I must be losin’ my touch.”
“You never had a touch.”
He made the face again, this time struggling to hold it. It was disturbing how easily he could do that. “Nothing? Really? Nary an ounce of pity?”
I glared at him.
“Eh, fine. I’ll find a way to make some money.”
“A legal way,” I added.
“I wonder how many times people’ve called you a nerd,” he muttered before sitting back on the bench. His tail wagged, which immediately set off alarm bells. “Hey, I’ve got an idea.”
“Can’t wait to hear it.”
“You remember how I said I had an OnlyStans?”
“Yeah,” I replied, growing more irritated by the second. “And three hundred dollars a month isn’t going to cut it.”
“Well, I could get more…” He flashed his brows. “If I had a nice half-turn to share the screen time with.”
“No.”
He playfully shoved me. “Werewolf accounts featuring half-turns are where the money’s at. The nastier the sex, the more we make.”
“I’m probably going to regret asking this. Why?”
“Cause half-turns look kind of human, and I could do stuff to you I can’t with a regular guy, for obvious reasons. It’s a fetish thing, and people love that shit.”
“Absolutely disgusting.”
“Don’t pretend you didn’t love what we did in that shower.”
“That’s different. It’s not in front of a camera with a bunch of goons jerking off to it.”
“Pretend the camera ain’t there, and it’s not like you’re ever gonna see any of those people.”
He had a point.
“So, hypothetically… how much could we make doing that?”
Roscoe’s tail pounded the bench.
“Hypothetically,” I repeated, a little sterner.
“Well, that depends. What are ya willing to do?”
“And with that question, I’m no longer interested.”
His tail stopped wagging. “Okay, okay. We don’t gotta do anything too gross, but it can’t just be vanilla, either.”
“It’s your account. Come up with something interesting that doesn’t make me want to vomit.”
“All right, all right. Yer giving this consideration, so that’s good at least.” He grabbed the bags as the bus rolled to a stop in front of us. “You like bondage?”
I returned that question with another glare.
“I’ll put that in my back pocket then.” He walked up the steps of the bus with me following. “What about e-stim? Ever stuck an electric metal rod in your pee hole before?”
My face got hot as we walked down the aisle to the back of the bus, people staring.
“Can we not talk about this right now?” I whispered. “Idiot.”
“Hey, if we’re gonna go into business together, I gotta know what you like,” he said, setting the bags down before taking his seat. “I think I’ve got a great idea.”
“If the word Caligula leaves your mouth—”
“Costumes.”
“Excuse me?”
“Think about it, Cody. We could do some dirty cosplay. People love that shit!” The fur on the back of his neck stood straight as he grinned. “I love Halloween, and it could be Halloween every week.”
“This sounds like a lot of work. You’ve got to get the costumes, record us, edit the video, advertise somehow, and you have to upload often. Are you sure you’re up for that much work?”
“Well, I was hoping you’d handle all the boring, non-sex stuff.”
I sank my fingernails into his leg as I tried to not lose my temper.
“Ow ow ow,” he said, prying my hand away.
“And what the hell are you going to do?”
“Well, I’ll get the costumes and let you ride my dick.”
His audacity once again left me speechless.
“Find an actual job, Roscoe.”
“All right, I’ll do the editing, but I don’t got a computer.” He paused and gave me a nudge. “Hey, you got a laptop, don’t ya?”
“You’re not editing porn on my computer.” That was a little louder than I intended, and it garnered a few stares from humans sitting closer to us. I lowered my voice. “Sounds like you need to earn some money first to buy the equipment.”
“Can’t you just loan me the money?”
“What money, Roscoe? We need income now, and you’re the only one who can walk into a business without getting thrown out.”
“Damn, you really don’t know me that well.”
“Get a fucking job.”
He let out a wistful whine. “I’ll see if Darryl’s company is hiring temporary lifeguards.”
I poked Roscoe’s protruding gut. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so much as walk at a brisk pace. You’re too fat to be a lifeguard.”
“I’m a werewolf, and I’m buoyant,” he grunted, flexing one arm while patting his stomach with the other. “I’m in the best shape of my life.”
“I guess round could count as a shape.”
Roscoe dropped his arms and laughed. “Okay, maybe a lifeguard is pushin’ it a bit.”
“Just find a little part-time gig so we can eat. Maybe once I start getting money, I’ll give you a loan for a computer, and I’ll dress up in your costumes. You’re responsible for everything else.”
A contemplative hum left his nose as he sat back in his seat, seeming to give my proposal some thought.
“I’ve never used a computer before.”
“If you can use a smartphone, you can use a computer.” I scratched my head. “Wait a minute, how do you have an OnlyStans account? I’ve never even seen you use a phone except for mine.”
“Ah, see I got this buddy—”
“Never mind,” I interrupted. “You’re going to need to figure all this shit out, because I’ll be busy trying not to kill you.”
“All right. But I get most of the money.”
“That’s fair. You can cut me in for thirty-five percent.”
“Thirty,” he said.
“Thirty-six.”