Page 42 of Because You Rejected Me

However, when I grabbed the door handle, I found it was locked. Knowing I couldn’t wait, I just ducked around the back of the building and into the woods. I didn’t stop to see if anyone else was there, I just unzipped my pants and relieved myself.

Across the park, I could hear the others still laughing and carrying on. Their sound seemed somewhat hollow inside the trees, but I didn’t need to know what they were saying. When I heard a sudden burst of shouts, I knew someone had emerged victorious in the wrestling match between Ace and Sam. And my bets were on Ace.

Just as I was finishing up, I heard the first pops of the fireworks show. Zipping up my pants, I darted back out of the woods and around the side of the bathroom. A bright flash lit up the sky as the first big rocket went off. An explosion of gold and red lit up the park. I stood there, my mouth hanging open in a wide smile as I watched. I had no idea how Sam had gotten permission to do this, or if he had at all, but one thing was for sure, these were not cheap fireworks. Whoever this Cory guy was, he’d done a professional job. And clearly, he’d spared no expense.

As the golden sparkles died away, I heard the snap of a twig behind me. I spun around on the spot, expecting one of the other guys I’d met to be coming out of the woods the same way I had. There was a figure, but it was so dark that I didn’t recognize them immediately. I just gave them a small wave and turned back toward the party. Right then, another burst of color in the sky, this time blue, pulled my attention upward.

“Bathroom is locked, huh?” a deep voice said.

“Yeah,” I replied, still staring up at the sky. “Hopefully I didn’t flash you by accident.”

“Oh, I saw everything.”

My brows furrowed. That was a weird thing to say.

“Sorry,” I said, turning back toward him. “I didn’t mean to–”

I stopped dead in my tracks, my throat seizing up as I laid eyes on the hulking figure standing less than a foot away from me. Anxiety streaked through my chest as I recognized him.

“You… You’re the guy from the farmer’s market,” I said, not really sure why I spoke at all. All I could think about was how unnerved I’d been by him. And that hadn’t changed. The entire vibe was weird, though I couldn’t place my finger on it. “Are you a friend of Sam’s?” I asked, hoping he wasn’t some creep like I thought.

“Not a friend of Sam’s,” he said, a smile curling over his lips. “But we have friends in common.”

The wind shifted, carrying his scent toward me. The moment I took a breath, my blood ran cold.

“You… You’re the wolf from the beach… on the full moon…”

“That’s right,” he smiled. “And the one in the truck.”

My heart was pounding so hard I couldn’t hear myself think. I knew I should run and shout, drawing as much attention to myself as possible. The others would help me, I just knew it. But I was frozen in fear, my feet practically glued to the ground.

“W-What do y-you want with m-me?”

“Nothing much. Just to settle some unfinished business.”

“What unfinished–”

I never finished my sentence. The moment I began to speak, his hand flashed out, a small blunt hunk of wood clutched where I couldn’t see it. I felt it connect with the side of my head, and there was a bright flash of white-hot pain.

Then there was nothing.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Ace

Sam and I were facing off, our arms outstretched as we circled one another. We looked like a couple of bears about to throw down. Every inch of my body was covered in dirt, sand, and grass from rolling around on the ground with him. I’d been going easy on him so far, but I was ready to bring this little tussle to an end. Sam never beat me in a wrestling match, and I wasn’t about to break my streak for his ego.

“Sweep the leg!” one of the guys called from the group like he was on the set of The Karate Kid. “Sweep the leg!” he insisted.

Well, it wasn’t a terrible idea.

I kept circling around Sam, waiting for him to make his move. He always left himself open when he was getting desperate, and I could see it in his eyes. He wanted to win. But that wasn’t going to happen.

Finally, the desperation kicked in, and Sam made his move. He dove toward me, trying to feint to the left to throw me off. But I’d seen him try that move nearly half a dozen times just in the past five minutes. I easily sidestepped him, ducked down, and swung my leg so it connected with the back of his knees. They gave out instantly, dropping him into the sand before he even knew what was happening. Cheers rose up all around me.

I stood over him, one cowboy boot resting on his chest. “Give up yet?” I smirked.

Sam stared up at me with that grumpy look of his whenever he lost to me. “Yeah… fine,” he admitted at last. “You win. I give up.”

“Good boy,” I laughed, removing my foot from his chest. I held out a hand to him. “Come on.”

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