Page 15 of Semi-Rejected Life

Andy sat there for a long moment. “Well?” he shrugged. “Tell me what’s up.”

“Fine. But I’m only gonna give you the short version.”

“Just don’t leave out the juicy bits.”

“Don’t worry. There aren’t any.” I took a sip of my coffee and grabbed the fritter. “So that guy came to the pizza shop yesterday and basically asked me to go on a date with him after work. I had him meet me at the beach. I brought the food, you know, just trying to be Midwestern and hospitable.”

“Right.”

“Well, we’re doing pretty good. He’s laying it on real thick and of course, I’m lapping it up because I’m so fucking pathetic.” Andy made a sound of disbelief through his nose, but I ignored him. “Then, when I tell him I was surprised he asked me out on a date, he got all quiet.”

“Uh-oh.”

“Right?” I ripped a piece of my fritter off with my teeth, chewing and gesticulating wildly. “Then he tells me that he’s not into dates and that he has to leave at the end of the month.”

“Which you already knew.”

“Yeah, but get this,” I said, leaning forward. “Then he tells me that after he leaves here, he can never see me, speak to me, or even text me again. And he says that he’ll never come back under any circumstances. Now what does that say to you?”

“That he just wants a piece of ass?”

“Exactly!” I waved the donut again, driving my point home. “He couldn’t just say that from the beginning? Instead, he’s calling me all these cute pet names and buttering me up with all this romantic shit just so he can fuck me?! I don’t think so!” I took another bite, crumbs flying. “Like just be fucking honest with me, dude! What the fuck?”

“It does sound a bit bait and switchy,” Andy nodded. “Asking you out like that feels like he set some false expectations.”

“Right?!”

“But,” Andy said, glancing my direction. “Can you honestly say you’re not interested now?”

I looked up at him, my mouth full of fritter and my brows furrowed.

“Just hear me out,” he replied, holding his hands up. “There’s a hot guy that’s interested in you. And an Alpha. You know the dick is gonna be good and there’s absolutely no strings attached. Obviously you like the attention from him or else you wouldn’t have given him the time of day. So there’s definitely chemistry there.”

“Yeah?” I muttered, swallowing hard. “What’s your point?”

“My point is that you have an opportunity here.”

“To get my heart broken?”

“To get fucked!” Andy seemed a bit more excited about the prospect of that than I expected. “When was the last time you got laid?”

“I don’t see what that has to do with–”

“Exactly,” he interrupted. “It’s been forever.”

“Fine,” I sighed. “It’s been a while. And?”

“And this is your chance to get some long-term, no strings attached, Alpha cock. You know that guy is packing a damn hog in those shorts. When’s the next time you’re gonna get to do something like this?”

“But… what if…”

“What if what?” Andy scoffed. “You’re a male werewolf. You’re not gonna get pregnant or and STI. What could you possibly have to lose by doing this?”

“I don’t know if I’m interested in casual sex…” Of course, that was a lie. If River was involved, I was super down with casual sex. I’d wanted to fuck him from the moment I saw him. “This feels… weird.”

“Look, I’m not saying you have to do it,” Andy replied, leaning back in his chair. “I’m just saying think about it. You and I both know that guys like him don’t come through town very often. If I were you, I’d ride what I could while the getting was good. Because you don’t know when you’re going to get the chance again. And I’m sure I speak for both of us when I say that downloading apps for hookups is a fucking nightmare. At least this way you know what you’re getting, for how long, and when the expiration date comes, you can go back to things just the way they were. At least you’ll have the memories.”

I stared at Andy for a long moment, the fritter’s glaze slowly melting down my fingertips.

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