Chapter 14 #3
“You are so lucky I’m not a werewolf.” My hands trembled as I adjusted the rearview mirror so I could see behind me. Then I moved the little knob for the side mirrors.
“Make sure you move them so that you can see behind, but you can’t see none of the truck. It’ll help with the blind spots.”
I did as he said and quickly shifted the truck in reverse, this time able to see behind me.
“Slowly take yer foot off the brake and back out of the yard. Don’t need to hit the gas, just keep yer foot close to the brake.”
The truck slowly moved out of the yard, and I turned the wheel enough that I was able to get it all the way onto the asphalt. I wasn’t paying attention, and my foot hit the gas.
“Whoa!” Roscoe shouted as I slammed on the brake, the force pushing us back against the seats.
The scent of pee caught my nose, and I looked over. “Roscoe.”
“That scared me a little.”
“This is only going to get worse. Please, I’m begging you.”
“I guess you better drive more carefully then.” He gave another sharp grin. “Think of me as a box of unprotected wine glasses. If you slam on the brakes, turn too hard, hit the gas unexpectedly—there’s gonna be a mess.”
“You’ve made your point. Come on, man. Don’t do this to me.”
He shuffled in his seat some more. “I shouldn’t have had all that coffee.”
“Fuck,” I said, putting the car in drive.
“Just tap the gas a bit, no need to floor it. Try to stay in the middle of the road.”
“I hate you so much.”
We made it five miles outside of town, and luckily there were hardly any cars on the road, which made an already harrowing situation a little less so. The longer I drove, the easier the truck was to handle, but Roscoe swayed faster in his seat.
“All right. This is good,” he said, holding his crotch. “That’s a nice tree over there. Go ahead and pull over.”
I did as he said, and before the car could come to a complete stop, he leaped out and ran into the woods.
With a steady exhale, I shifted the vehicle into park and turned it off, my legs still shaking from the adrenaline.
This was the first time I’d ever driven anything, and I had to admit, it was a little more fun than I thought.
After what seemed like five minutes, Roscoe strode up to the truck and playfully hopped back into the passenger’s seat.
“Muuuch better,” he said, patting me on the back. “Perfect tree. Not bad, kiddo.”
“Don’t ever call me that.” I smiled at him. “And I still hate you.”
“These are the best years of yer life. We don’t stay young forever—well, I mean, I guess we kinda do, but still.
Bein’ young means you get to try new shit and fuck up, and then try more shit and fuck that up, too.
” He rested his padded hand on my leg. “I kinda wish I could do it again, but I know too much now.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“You know what’s funny? Darryl was kinda like you. The difference between you and him is, he knew when to take risks, and he also knew when to have fun. Yer too afraid to do either, and that’s why yer so crabby all the time.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. I’m comfortable not taking risks, and I’ll have fun when we’re not running from someone or trying not to be homeless.”
“Did you have fun driving?” he asked.
“It was okay.”
Roscoe raised an eyebrow.
“It was a little fun, yes. I can’t believe I did it.”
“You said you only take risks when yer back’s against a wall.
Think about how much better this experience would have been if you made the choice on yer own terms instead of me forcing you?
Think about all the times life forced you to take action, and now imagine doing those things because you wanted to experience something new.
Yeah, maybe your life would have turned out the same, but the journey would have been fun instead of traumatic. ”
“It’s never fun, Roscoe. I’m always worried. Even when I make big choices, there are so many awful scenarios that play out in my head.”
“You got me for now,” Roscoe said, leaning in, but stopping shy of my lips. “No one goes it alone forever. Sometimes, the biggest risk we take is trusting someone else to do the worryin’ for us.”
“You’d do that?” I asked. “Why?”
“Why not?”
“You’re like, four times my age. Why did you even follow me home?”
“Because you act like yer four times my age, and that’s kinda hot.”
Our lips met as we slipped into a longer kiss. I was always comfortable with him. I even started sleeping better at night, wrapped up in his arms.
I pulled away. “You know that’s bullshit. You pretend to be all stupid and immature, but then you say stuff like this.”
“That’s why we work.”
“I thought that was just because you piss me off and I insult you.”
His eyes shifted to the right. “Wanna do something else risky?”
I opened my mouth to protest, but all that came out was a sigh. “That depends.”
“Let’s take a walk on the wild side,” he said, hopping out of the truck. He took a few steps toward the woods and waved me toward him. “C’mon.”
I climbed out of the driver’s seat and followed. “We’re not supposed to go in there.”
“Who’s gonna know?” He looked around. “There’s trees on both sides of the road, and there hasn’t been a single car since we pulled over. Let’s be real werewolves and fuck in the woods.”
Some of the mayor’s warning echoed strongly. Roscoe was Whasha at one point in his life, and he had seemed more interested in the woods when I’d brought up Norwich at Darryl’s.
“There are pine needles everywhere. Sand was one thing, but pine needles are where I draw the line.”
“I’ll let you be on top.”
“Are you suggesting—”
“We ain’t tried that yet.” He grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the trees. “Think yer man enough?”
“That’s the problem. I’m still basically human. This is going to be awkward.”
“You’ve got a big dick fer a human, though. Kinda scary thinkin’ about what that monster might look like when you turn.”
“You’re sure laying that flattery on thick, aren’t you?”
“I’m serious. You’ve got a bigger hog than I did when I was half-turn.”
“Christ, seriously? How big am I gonna get?”
Roscoe shrugged. “Well, that part all depends. Sometimes we get huge, sometimes we don’t. I’m kinda curious about what Adam’s gonna look like. If he ends up being bigger than Austin, I just may lose it, cause that’s gonna be the funniest shit.”
“How much longer do you think he’s got?”
“Hard to say.” Roscoe pushed a few low-hanging branches out of the way so I could pass.
“It’ll be soon, though. The poor guy’s really going through it.
The weeks leading up to the big event are some of the worst. He’s gonna get really moody, and I may have to step in to keep him in line.
Austin don’t know what the fuck he’s doin’. ”
“That just killed my mood.”
Roscoe looked over at me, but I kept my focus ahead.
“You must really hate Adam or somethin’.”
“I don’t hate him. I just… hate the thought of you with him.” I rubbed my forehead. “God, it sounded even more ridiculous saying it out loud.”
Roscoe wrapped an arm around my waist, and pulled me closer to him. “I didn’t know it bothered you.” He radiated smugness. “You really like me, don’t ya?”
“Let’s change the subject.”
“I did promise I’d make him feel good tonight.”
“Good, you didn’t specify. Tuck him in and tell him a bedtime story,” I muttered.
“I was thinkin’ of the old proverb ‘teach a man to fish.’” Roscoe stroked his chin. “Austin needs to learn how to be a werewolf because obviously the guy’s so fucked up he’s ignoring instinct.”
“What are you thinking, exactly?”
“Well, I have a classroom all set up in his room now,” he said, his tail wagging enough that it was slapping my lower back. “This is a job for Professor Roscoe.”
“Oh, you’ve gotten promoted to professor, now?”
“Spent over eight decades on my degree.” He paused and turned to me. “Yer okay with that?”
“You and Austin screwing around isn’t the same as you and Adam. I don’t—” I let out a frustrated groan. “I don’t know why it feels different, but it does. It doesn’t bother me when you’re with other werewolves.”
Roscoe gave my earlobe a slight flick. “It’s a half-turn thing.”
“I don’t like all this weird magic shit,” I said. “Did you know the mayor can turn all the way human?”
“For real? I can’t even do that. Explains how the guy got to be mayor, though.”
I reached into my pocket. “You should take a picture of when I’m fucking you so I can send it to Adam.” My fingers brushed against something familiar, but it wasn’t my phone. I stopped cold and pulled out the gold lighter I thought I’d thrown away. “Roscoe…”
“What’s wrong?”
“I think we need to get out of the woods now.”