I packed my things away in my backpack and slung it on my back. “Oh, I don’t have one. I usually run to and from town.”
His mouth dropped open. “How far do you live from here?”
“Just a few miles. In my wolf form, I can run it in fifteen minutes.” When the appalled expression didn’t move from his face, I added, “It’s good exercise!”
“That’s insanity,” he exclaimed. “I’ll drive you home.”
“Damn right, you will!” Dick exclaimed from the back of the shop. “Like a gentleman!”
“I think a vampire dropping me off at the werewolf compound I call home will cause a lot of questions,” I replied. “Questions I probably shouldn’t answer.”
“That is a good point,” Dick conceded. “I’m still watching you, Bonfils.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Alex conceded.
“Goodnight, Dick! You adorable menace!”
“Goodnight, Cough Drop Hater!”
“Still gotta work on the nickname!” I called back as we walked out. “Goodnight, everybody!”
The various vampires called their goodnights as the door shut behind us. I gestured towards my usual “exit point” into the woods. He kept a respectful distance, and I felt grateful for it. I’d been on too many blind dates where the moment I stepped into a secluded space, my companion basically attacked my face. Respectful distance was a pleasant contrast.
“So, when you say you run to your home from town, do you mean in your human form? Or your wolf form?”
“My wolf form, usually. I’m faster on four feet,” I said as we reached a wooded area where it would be safe for me to strip down.
“Will you show me your wolf form?” he asked, frowning when I threw my head back and laughed.
“It’s the first date! We’re not in the ‘transforming into supernatural creatures in front of each other’ stage yet!” I exclaimed, only half-kidding.
“I’ve just never had the opportunity to see a werewolf in an interaction that didn’t involve me getting bitten, clawed or otherwise injured. I didn’t realize I was asking anything untoward. I’m sorry.”
I giggled. “Okay, but you don’t just ask someone for that. It’s like saying ‘send nudes’ two messages in.”
He shook his head. “I have no idea what that means.”
“That’s for the best, trust me,” I assured him.
It dawned on me that he had no way to inappropriately ask for nudes because he had no idea how to contact me. “This is a weird conversational transition, but would you like my phone number? We could text instead of waiting for both of us to end up at the same place at the same time.”
“I would very much like to have your phone number, but I don’t text that often,” he admitted. “Cal and Nik mock me constantly for it.”
“Well, I will help you catch up to modern dating conveniences,” I told him, holding my hand out for his phone. He handed it to me and I programmed my number into his contacts under “Tylene, Terribly Interesting Werewolf Girl” and then texted to my phone so I could have his info.
“Did you just save me in your contacts as Aunt Myrtle?” he asked.
“If an unfamiliar male name pops up on my screen while my family is around, you will be on the receiving end of a lot of harassing calls,” I told him as I tapped on my phone screen. “It’s better to save you as a fictional aunt.”
“Won’t your parents realize that you don’t have an Aunt Myrtle?” he asked.
“I have so many aunts, it’s pretty unlikely.” I grinned up at him as I hit send on a text.
He paused to look at his screen. “Heart, winking face, grey German shepherd.”
“That’s a wolf,” I told him. “Our first step towards modern communication is getting you comfortable with emojis.”
He frowned. “I don’t know if I want to be comfortable with emojis.”
“I promise not to use frustrating and abbreviated text speak.”
He looked down at his screen and hit a button.
“Cowboy hat, cardboard box?” I asked.
“It’s going to take some time,” he told me, nodding.
I burst out laughing. There was this moment of silence, where I wondered whether he was going to kiss me. A strange sensation of dread rippled down my spine. This part of the date could be so, well, freaking awful, when you were dating an alpha male werewolf type. You’re just standing there, minding your business, and suddenly they lunge at you, like they’re going to eat your face.
What if it was worse with vampires? Would there be fangs involved? I didn’t know a lot for sure about this…whatever it was. But I knew