Page 20 of Fighting Furry

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“It's time to go,” I hollered through the bathroom door. “Hurry up.” I wasn't a big primper, the only thing that took time was dealing with my shoulder-length curls, but I'd showered and bundled them into a tight ponytail, so it hadn't taken too long. I was planning to go the gym after, so I'd put on jeans and a t-shirt and had my work-out clothes in my gym bag.

Axel emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of steam, and my heart stopped beating for a moment. He'd shaved and he'd done something to his hair so it was kind of slicked back. Without all the hair, I could see his face. He had a scar on his chin, but otherwise his face was absolute perfection, all angles and smooth skin. His bright amber eyes stood out even more, somehow. He was wearing a fitted t-shirt that clung to every muscle and jeans that hugged him in all the right places.

“Still weird?” he asked with a bit of a strut as he stalked toward me.

“Did you shave off your personality, too?”

He frowned and stopped moving toward me. “Ready to go?”

“Been ready. Shelly hates it when I'm late. Come on.” I hurried past him and out of the condo like I hadn't just frozen in place and ogled him for the past three minutes.

He followed me out and I led him to my car this time. It wasn't fancy, just a boxy four-door sedan, but it got me where I needed to go. He got in and I backed out. He was silent for most of the ride, until I headed into a visually less appealing part of the city, with dilapidated buildings and shady types hanging out on the street. “Are you driving me to an abandoned warehouse to kill me?”

I was proud of my past. I'd gotten away from an abusive father, and I'd made my own way to a comfortable, safe life. I'd worked my ass off and I'd found success. “Shelly and I met on the streets here when we were sixteen. The diner we're headed to is the first place that gave her a job.”

“You were homeless?” he asked, surprise and awe in his voice.

“We were both runaways. We were lucky to find each other.”

“What were you running away from?”

And that was where my desire to share ended. “A bad situation. Don't worry, it's in my past.”

“That's not why-”

“There's the diner.” I pointed it out like he was the one driving and needed to be told where to park. Of course, Shelly's tiny sports car was already in the lot. She was going to give me hell about being late. Axel got out and followed me into the diner.

Shelly was already seated at our usual table, but she leapt to her feet and squealed like she hadn't seen me in months. I hugged her back and breathed her in. I loved hugs and I'd missed her. She was my best friend, my only family, and my sister all rolled into one. She smelled like cinnamon and roses and…Wait, what was that other smell? Before I could figure it out, Shelly had pulled away from me. “Where's your cast?”

“I don't need it,” I said. I'd totally forgotten about the whole broken arm thing. I guess the turning-into-a-werewolf thing had distracted me.

Shelly frowned with her whole face. She was petite but fierce. “It was broken, Jules. In three places. How do you not need the cast?”

“It's…Um, well, you see. . .” How had we been so stupid not to have worked out our story before we got to the diner?

“Faith healer,” Axel chimed in behind me.

Shelly lifted her face to stare at him, her eyes narrowed. “Why hello,” she said, her voice dripping with southern honey and twang. “I didn't see you there.” She gestured to the booth. “Why don't we all sit down and talk this over?”

Axel had the good sense to look worried, but he stood his ground instead of running from the diner and slid into the booth seat next to me.

“I'm Shelly Simmons,” Shelly said, offering her hand to Axel.

He took it and shook. “Really? You both have alliterative names?”

I watched Shelly's grip tighten on Axel's hand and I knew we were in for it. “Where I come from, making fun of a person's name is not an acceptable greeting.”

Axel straightened his shoulders. “I apologize. I'm Axel Montgomery. It's very nice to meet you.”

Shelly pursed her lips and released his hand. “The same.” She paused while the waiter took our orders, smiling sweetly at the man. I could see the powder keg about to go off behind her pleasant expression. Maybe it had been a mistake to keep our breakfast date. As soon as the waiter walked away, Shelly turned to Axel. “Mr. Montgomery, how is it that you and Miss Jacobs met?” Aw shit, Shelly only got weird and overly formal when she was level thirty-five pissed and ready to kick some ass.

“I live near her cousin, Krista,” Axel said. “We met while Julie was visiting.”

“I see,” she said, her teeth clenched even as she smiled. “And you must have gotten to be very good friends if you are now here in LA with her and she's brought you to breakfast with me.”

I got another waft of her scent when she gestured at the table like Vanna White showing off a prize, if Vanna White was trying to kill someone with her eyes and was smiling with all her teeth. What was that smell?

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