Page 23 of Semi-Rejected Life

And, if I was being honest, that sort of hurt my feelings. I knew I couldn’t get involved with River. He’d been explicit about that. But that didn’t stop me from wishing and hoping. Brains were silly things and no matter how much logic I tried to force through my hippocampus, it still liked to conjure up images of what our future could look like if I were living in some Hallmark Channel fairy tale.

But real life didn’t end in grand gestures and happy endings. If it did, I wouldn’t be in Shifter Grove. No, my parents would have found a way to love me instead of kicking me out of the house at fourteen if this were some sort of movie. Instead I got to figure out how to live on the street and friend hop until I was old enough to make my own decisions legally. And now I was being rejected by the best cock I’d ever ridden.

Grand fucking life, right?

By the time I pulled up to the cafe, I was good and grumpy. Thankfully Andy saw my face the moment I walked in and didn’t bother making fun of me. He just told me to go find a seat. I complied, picking a spot near one of the windows as far away from all the other customers as I could. From there it was easy to watch the people in town go about their lives, completely oblivious to how desperately irritated and depressed I was.

I was only there for a minute or two before Andy slid a tray onto the table and took a seat across from me. The tray was laden with sweets, coffee, and even a couple of breakfast sandwiches.

“Mind if I join you for brunch?” he asked, taking a sandwich from the tray.

“Can’t be brunch,” I said. “There’s no booze.”

From out of his apron pocket, Andy produced two single shot bottles of Kahlua. He cracked them open and poured one into each of our coffees, giving them a quick stir.

“There you go,” he smiled. “Brunch.”

“That’ll work.” I grabbed the coffee, taking a quick sip. The alcohol burned ever so slightly in the back of my throat, but it was nice and sweet, regardless. “Not bad.”

“You can never go wrong with Kahlua and coffee.” He took a bite of his sandwich. “So, you look extra depressed this morning. What’s up?”

He always went right for the jugular. “My brain is being stupid.”

“Is that different than normal?”

I burned him a dirty look. “About that guy.”

“Was the dick really that good?” He leaned across the table, keeping his voice low. “Because like… if he’s done with you… can I get in on that?”

A low growl rose up in my throat before I knew what was happening.

“Alright, alright,” he laughed, putting his hands up in defeat. “It was just a joke.”

“Sorry… I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” I shook my head and went back to staring out the window. “He’s got me all sorts of mixed up.”

“So the dick really was that good, huh?”

“There’s something about him… something I just can’t shake. I know I can’t like him, but there’s… I don’t know… something there.”

“Is this something enough something to get him to stay? Does he feel it too?”

“I don’t know…” I glanced down at my food that seemed suddenly unappetizing. “I don’t think anything would get him to stay.”

“Well, Vincent, you’re not just anything.”

I sighed, looking up at Andy. “That’s nice of you to say… but I don’t need pitiful words this morning.”

“So you want me to be realistic then?”

I flinched slightly. “Only if you’re nice about it.”

“Forget about him,” Andy replied nonchalantly, taking another bite of his sandwich. “It sounds like he’s already too high maintenance for you, so drop his ass. It was never going to turn into anything, anyway. Instead of sitting here and torturing yourself, find some other dick to ride for a while.”

“I know all the wolves in this town, Andy,” I huffed. “None of them want me.”

“Who said you have to fuck a wolf?”

I stared at him for a long moment.

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