Page 2 of Losing My Rejection

Those thoughts sobered me up, unfortunately. I took a drink of my coffee, the bitter bit balancing out the intense sweetness of the bun. For the next few minutes, I worked my way through it. I enjoyed every bite, but I tried to keep my emotions in check. It was already hard enough without having to remind myself constantly that I had nothing.

When I was finished, I tossed my wrappers and headed for the car. But something stopped me halfway there. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the tall blond man at his booth conversing with another vendor in a black cowboy hat. Neither of them looked terribly busy for the moment, so I figured I’d take my chance.

I couldn’t leave without figuring out who’d made those buns. Because, if I was being honest, I wanted to eat more of them. Whoever had made them was a true artist. Once I found myself a job and got some money flowing, I’d probably be buying two or three a week.

As I approached the booth, the blond man turned to look at me, another giant smile on his face.

“Back for more, eh?” he laughed.

“No…” I paused awkwardly. “But… uh… I was curious who made these.” I pointed to the sticky buns. “They’re pretty good.”

“I made them.”

I stared up at this annoying ball of sunshine. “Oh.”

“I’m glad you like them,” he beamed. “It’s an old family recipe that I improved upon. Grandma was good, but she needed a little updating. It’s not the depression anymore!”

“Well, they’re really good,” I said at last. I’d been hoping he was just the salesman and not the baker. But then again, it wasn’t every day that I tasted something so extraordinary. “Do you have a place here in town?”

He pulled out a business card, handing it over to me with a flourish. “Sure do! Amarok Cafe.” He pointed back toward downtown. “We’re open every day of the week and I’ve always got fresh bakes ready to go!”

“Great. I… uh… might stop by again.”

“Glad to hear it!” He held out a meaty hand. “The name is Andy.”

“Josh,” I replied, taking his hand.

There was a strange bolt of electricity that shot through my skin, like static but stronger. I jumped at his touch, but didn’t let go. I felt my eyes dilate, the bit of Alpha blood in me reacting to his touch. And I wasn’t sure what it meant.

“Josh,” Andy said, rolling my name across his tongue. “Cute name.”

“Thanks?” I pulled my hand away.

Weird.

“So I know you’re new here in town,” he added, leaning across the bench until he was nearly face-to-face with me. “Would you like someone to help show you around?”

“I… I don’t know.” Was it just me, or was this dude flirting with me all of a sudden? His expression had shifted from friendly to intense in less than a second.

“I’d be happy to show you around.” He leaned closer, those blue eyes of his fixed on me. “Maybe I could take you out to dinner.”

I took a step back.

“Or we could skip dinner and do something more… engaging.”

“First off,” I said, that familiar anger filling my chest once more. “I’m not gay. And secondly, even if I was, I wouldn’t be looking for some sleazeball like you.” I took another step back. “Do you just ask every guy you meet to fuck you or what?”

Andy opened his mouth to reply, but I held up a hand, cutting him off.

“You know what? I don’t care. Fuck you and your donuts. Piss off.”

With that, I turned on my heel and headed back to my car, fuming the entire way. Not only had I lost everything I cared about, but now some asshole was treating me like a piece of ass. That was not the way I wanted to start things in Shifter Grover.

Fuck that guy.

Chapter Two: Andy

“What the hell was all that?” Matt asked, bringing me back to my senses.

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