Page 5 of Wolf's Forbidden Curse

“Ah, c’mon,” I begged. “Let the sub watch your class tomorrow! You haven’t taken a day off this entire year, and the kids aren’t going to pay attention anyway. They might as well watch a movie and have a little fun with their Friday, too, seeing as it’s basically summer.”

Cornelius opened his mouth to say something, but Nic cut him off. “Oh no, you don’t,” she said. “Whatever excuse you’re about to use to get out of going to the bars, I don’t even want to hear it. You haven’t had a job in over a month, so you don’t get to claim being too tired or too busy to grab a drink.”

“Actually,” Cornelius said with a slight glare in her direction. “I was going to say that a drink sounded very nice.”

“That’s the spirit!” I said. “Now you have to come, Matt. It’s so rare that Cornelius wants to go out with us. We might never get a chance like this again.”

Matt rolled his eyes, but I could tell he’d been convinced. “Fine,” he said eventually. “I’ll go to two bars, but that’s it. After that, I’m going home to get some sleep. I’m supposed to give the kids a test tomorrow, and I don’t want the sub to be responsible for that.”

“Sure, of course. Just two bars.” I clapped him on the back, and we headed for the door. “You’ve got a deal.”

“Let’s go to Smart Choice.”

“Bleh, no,” I said. “I hate that place. It’s always dead, and I don’t think the guy who owns it likes me very much.”

“Yeah, but he likes me,” said Matt, who had made the suggestion.

We were walking from the first bar we’d gone to, all four of us a little buzzed and in a good mood. It was a beautiful night in Solara Bay, with a soft breeze coming up from the water’s edge and a sea of stars overhead. It got me thinking that maybe Cornelius was right to want to go running outside again. I’d forgotten how nice it was to see the moon overhead while tearing through the forest at night.

“He always gives me a free beer because he knows I’m a public school teacher,” Matt added. “It’s one of the better perks.”

“And I like that it’s dead,” Nic added. “Then we can actually hear ourselves talk. Boonies is way too loud, and The Hip Rabbit is where all the tourists go. You know how much I hate tourists.”

“We all do,” I said. “But Smart Choice is just so boring.”

“Beggars can’t be choosers, Rory,” said Cornelius. “You wanted us to go bar hopping, and you got to pick the first place. Now you gotta let us pick the second. I also think Smart Choice is the smart choice.” He winked at me, but I refused to laugh.

“You are such a rule-follower,” I said. “But whatever. If you guys want to go to Smart Choice, I’m not going to argue. At least their drinks are cheap.”

So, we took a left at the next intersection and walked two blocks toward the ocean. Not even twenty feet from the sand was where we stopped, directly in front of the small brick building with a solid wood door and a neon “Open” sign illuminated in the window. Another thing Smart Choice had going for it was the location, but I wasn’t about to admit that out loud.

I pulled the door open and let everyone go in before me, catching a whiff of the stale cigarette smell that wafted out. Even though Al insisted that smoking wasn’t allowed in his bar, the place still somehow always smelled like someone had just burnt through a pack without even opening a window. I liked the smell; it reminded me of my grandmother, who was a chain smoker her entire life.

Okay, so maybe this place had a few things going for it besides location…

Inside, there were a couple of people sitting at the bar, but my friends beelined for one of the booths lining the side wall. This was our spot. We never sat anywhere else if we could help it. The three of them got settled, and I went to get the first round since I’d promised to do so at the last bar. Al was pouring a pretty older woman a beer, and they were chatting like good friends. When I came up next to her, she glanced my way with a smile.

“Oh, sorry,” she said to Al. “You’ve got other customers, and I’m keeping you from doing your job. I’ll stop talking your ear off.”

Al, whose cheeks were a shade of red I’d never seen on him before, shook his head. “Nonsense. I’ve enjoyed listening to you talk. And this is exactly why I hired a new bartender to help out around here. Then I don’t have to miss out on riveting conversations like this one.” He frowned and scanned the room. “Although I don’t know where she is at the moment.”

“New bartender?” I said. “How’d you convince someone else to work in this hole in the wall?”

His eyes landed on me, and he offered me a pained smile. “Ah, hello, Mr. Hawkins. Always a pleasure. What can I get for you tonight?”

“Hi, Al,” I said. “Just four pale ales, thanks.”

“Are you opening a tab?”

“Yes.” I handed him my card. He took it with a sly look in his eye, but I resisted the urge to say anything directly to him. When he turned to pour the drinks, I leaned over to the woman and spoke in a low voice. “A few years back, Al claims I left the bar without paying. He didn’t have my card since I was paying in cash, and he thinks I ran out on him. The truth is, I left a wad of cash on the bar, but someone must’ve stolen it.”

The woman smiled. “Is that so?”

“It’s true! I would never skip out on a bill.”

“I can hear you, you know,” Al said. “And you did skip out on a bill. We both know it.”

“We’re never going to agree on this,” I said. “But there’s something fun about having a lifelong feud, don’t you think?” I winked at the woman, and she laughed.

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