Chapter 27 #2
Roscoe appeared in the doorway holding several tacos while being shoved into the room by two other werewolves. He looked around until he found me, then trotted over while shoving one of the tacos into his mouth.
“Want one?” he asked with his mouth full, holding one of the meat-filled shells in front of my face.
“Well, that’s up to you.” I held up the bottle of poppers Willa gave me earlier. I’d always thought poppers were pills, but apparently, I’d had it all wrong for years. “It’s either sex or tacos. It can’t be both for obvious reasons.”
Roscoe shoved the rest of the tacos into his mouth before grabbing my hand. “Oooo!”
Werewolves. If there was one thing Roscoe loved more than food… As we walked out of the center, I caught a glimpse of Austin stripping off his costume while Adam ran away, the werewolf’s eyes glowing a furious yellow. It seemed the vironoct had worn off faster than usual.
He looked down at the floor before finally disappearing after Adam.
“I think I should see what’s going on.”
“Nah, let them handle things for once. Let’s have fun!”
I wasn’t entirely sure when I’d lost my thong, but I was drunk enough that my embarrassment vanished in a sea of propositions and catcalls.
I never thought I was ugly, but I was so self-conscious that I also never found myself particularly attractive either.
My history with men wouldn’t have been enough to write a one-page report on, and the few terrible experiences I’d had made it hard to think of myself as worthy of affection.
Before I’d met Roscoe, I’d been a pretender.
I worked at a gay bar, but I secretly despised the culture and every man I served.
Forcing myself into the thick of what I hated had only isolated me further, because I never felt like I belonged.
None of it had helped me accept who I was, but my gradual evolution into lycanthropy was changing that.
While human Cody could hide in the shadows, avoiding confrontation and heartbreak, half-turn Cody couldn’t hide from anyone.
“Let’s fuck in the hay maze,” I said, pulling on the golden cord tied around Roscoe’s neck, leading him through the haunted labyrinth. “Always kind of wanted to be railed by a minotaur.”
“Yer bein’ unusually nasty,” Roscoe said with a grunt, straightening the horns on his head that had come loose. “Wish it was a full moon every night.”
We approached the stacked hay bales but were beaten to the action by a few other partygoers who had the same idea.
A human man, a werewolf, and a woman. The only one who noticed us in the dark entryway was the werewolf, and when he silently beckoned us over, Roscoe looked back over at me for approval.
It might have been a night of debauchery, but I wasn’t that loose.
With a shake of my head and smile, I pulled a reluctant Roscoe out of that part of the maze.
As we stepped out of the shrubs, I stopped and gazed at the moon. If I had to describe the sensation, it was like being plugged into an outlet after being completely drained.
“I sure am glad there are no trick-or-treaters in Norwich, because everyone has lost their minds.”
“Wasn’t expectin’ the town to turn into one big orgy,” Roscoe said, his voice almost a whisper.
“You almost sound disappointed.”
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s hot, but there’s somethin’ missing. Halloween ain’t the same without kids dressing up and lookin’ fer handouts. Makes me all nostalgic.”
“You remember trick-or-treating as a child?”
“Naw, I’m talkin’ about when I was living in the city, looking for hand-outs.” He nudged me with his elbow. “Every Halloween, I’d get lots of candy to hand out to the kiddos, but I’d always run out too soon.”
“You ate it, didn’t you?”
He wrapped an arm around my waist and laughed in response.
“Willa said that the kids here get a whole area of the town sectioned off with bumper cars, laser tag, ice cream, taco stands—”
“Goddamn it! We’re on the wrong side of town,” Roscoe shouted. “I want some more tacos and ice cream.”
“I can make you some tacos when we get home if you want.”
“Uh,” Roscoe stumbled through his words.
“How hard could it be?”
“Five, Cody,” Roscoe said, holding up his hand.
“Excuse me?”
“That’s how many times you’ve said that and nearly burned the house down.” One ear dropped sideways. “I really don’t get how someone can be so bad at somethin’ so easy.”
“Maybe you could teach me how to cook. That might be fun.”
He gave me a squeeze. “You really wanna learn?”
“We can make it a night, like movie night. It’s just another thing we could do together.”
Roscoe tensed a bit, and I looked at his face, expecting a smile. Instead, he looked like he was on the verge of tears.
“Fine, I won’t make you eat what I cook.”
He let out a quiet chuckle but didn’t respond.
“You’ve been acting kind of weird today. Are you upset with me?”
“Of course not. It’s just, uh—” He stopped walking and looked away.
“No one’s ever wanted to spend time with me like this.
You know, doin’ regular stuff. It’s always been sex, drugs, or drinkin’, or all three.
Never really just sat on an old, ugly couch and watched old movies with someone who enjoyed it. ”
“I knew it!” I shouted, trying to lighten the mood. “You think that couch is ugly, too!”
“Oh, it’s hideous, and I love it.”
“Fair,” I said, continuing to walk alongside him. “You never did any of that with your many girlfriends?”
“I lied. You think any woman would live with a dumpster diving monster that sucks dick fer smack?”
“Why are you always so secretive about your life? It’s not like lying about having girlfriends made you more appealing.”
“Habit,” Roscoe said, his eyes still averted. “I haven’t exactly been the romantic type, so I like to put on an act.” He turned and gave me a deep sniff. “You smell good. Is that a new cologne?”
“It is, actually. I thought you’d hate it.”
“Well, I do like yer regular smell. You know, that skunky, weed smell.”
“I do not smell like that!” I snapped. “Since you got into my head, I’ve been asking just about everyone I meet if I smell okay, and not one person said I smelled skunky.”
Roscoe raised a brow. “They’re lyin’. You smell like the dankest weed. It’s incredible. I just wanna bury my nose in yer crotch.”
“Every human I’ve talked to said I smell like cologne, but…
” I thought back to a few weeks ago when I’d gone with Austin to the barbeque place.
“Every werewolf has a different take. One said I smelled like gasoline, another said I smelled like Londonport roast beef, and two thought I smelled like one of those rubber kong dog toys.”
“Ya know, that kinda makes sense, actually.”
“I don’t smell like any of that!”
“You smell like all of it, cause that’s what half-turns smell like to us. Every half-turn I’ve been around smells like you, so maybe you just give off a scent that reminds us of things we love smellin’.”
I looked down at my naked body. “Everything about me is so weird now.”
We walked further along the road in silence, but Roscoe pulled his arm back and started fidgeting with his chest mane.
“There’s something else bothering you, isn’t there?”
“Eh. Just thinkin’ about the day I met you. I was about to do something that I was gonna regret.”
His tone became somber, and I turned toward him, studying his face. He looked at me for only a second before staring straight ahead.
“That day, I spent my last thousand dollars on Fentanyl, Xanax, Adderall, and weed, and I was gonna take that bus outta town, find a nice tree to sit under, and get higher than ever. Nothin’ killed me yet, so I was ready fer anything.
My pockets were full, and I was about to end two years of sobriety.
“Never believed in fate, but the moment I saw you, I felt somethin’ weird.
I knew you was gonna be a half-turn soon, ’cause you had that smell.
So, I sold that synthetic shit back to the dealer at a discount and kept the weed.
That was the baggie I gave you that night.
I didn’t have a job, but I started doing odd things fer people to make money so I could stay with you.
” He turned and locked eyes with me for much longer this time.
“I keep thinkin’ I’m gonna screw something up again, like I did with Darryl—like it’s all temporary. ”
It was like someone knocked all the air out of me. This was the Roscoe that would often come out when I least expected it, and it was why he had me so hooked.
“You’re not going to screw it up, and even if you did, I’d help you through it.
” We continued along the narrow road until we were just outside of town next to one of the corn fields that had just been harvested.
I took his giant hands in mine. “You’re one of the most talented and interesting guys I’ve ever met.
You can cook me a three Michelin star meal and serenade me as I eat it.
How did someone like you end up on the streets? ”
“It started out with me tryin’ to get back those missing years.
I thought there had to be some drug that would help me remember, but all that happened was I became a junkie.
That story I told about me havin’ sex with all them guys and blackmailin’ them fer money to move to the city was a tall tale too.
The truth is, I don’t remember how I got to the city.
It’s like decades of my life just disappeared fer some reason. ”
“You should talk to me more about this stuff, you know?” I pointed to the kuu earrings dangling from my lobes.
“When I thought I couldn’t leave, you could have slipped right back into the drugs, using me and treating me like shit, but instead, you treat me like a best friend—when you’re not peeing on me. ”
We both broke into hushed laughter.
“Can I tell you somethin’ without you gettin’ upset?”
I arched my brow. “That depends…”