Page 25 of Awakened
As we chatted, I found out the redhead to Sarah’s left was named Brittany. She owned an ice cream shop in the Central West End and lived in our neighborhood.
After about twenty minutes, Marie stood up and yelled, “Hey! Shut it!”
Everyone laughed but then settled in for the business portion of the meeting. What the Amazons considered business differed vastly from the Blue Moon Pack. For an hour, members stood up, giving notices of open job positions, rentals, and other community opportunities. They announced different charity events and the successes of the past month.
Then Marie reminded everyone that there would be a vote to affirm her role as alpha at the next month’s meeting. To say I wasshocked would be an understatement. I’d never heard of an alpha needing a vote of confidence to maintain rule.
Marie addressed Sarah and me as the meeting part of the day wound down. “We have a couple of new faces. Sarah, Celeste, can you give everyone a wave?”
I awkwardly raised my hand, giving the group two quick jerks while Sarah pumped her elbow back and forth with a huge smile.
“Please introduce yourselves and make them feel at home! Meeting adjourned! Let’s get drunk, ladies!”
“Fuck you!” This time, Sarah and I yelled with the Amazons. The pack felt like home already.
We cleared the tables and headed down to the water. People of every shape and size stripped down to their swimsuits and splashed their way to the scaffolding. I found a floaty with a drink holder and paddled away from the shore. Drinking and floating without a care, I dozed off only to be rudely awakened when Bonnie dropped off the zip line right next to me.
“Hey! You got water in my beer!” I shook the can back and forth, playfully glaring as she treaded water.
Bonnie flashed me a million-dollar smile, “Sorry, Les, I promise to make it up to you.” Then she cackled and flipped my floaty.
I resurfaced to Bonnie laughing as she swam away. Not one to let shit slide, I took off after her, cutting through the water with a speed I didn’t know I was capable of. I caught her by the ankle, and she shrieked, thrashing about, trying to escape my hold.
It was no use. I dunked her four or five times. Growing up with a big-ass little brother, I’d been both the dunker and dunkee, so I was always prepared for an aquatic tussle.
When Bonnie came up one last time, she shot her hands up and yelled, “Truce!” Laughing, she grabbed my arm and towed me to shore. We got a couple of beers and plopped down in two lawn chairs.
“So, how do you like the pack?” Bonnie asked while gesturing to the buffoons playing in the water.
“Sofar, so good. Though I’m not going to lie, the meeting made me feel like a loser. You all are seriously accomplished.”
“Ah, you’ll get used to that. I mean, it’s really just a handful of Amazons. The rest of us are pretty unremarkable.”
I chuckled and took a sip of beer. “What do you do, Bonnie?”
“Graphic design. I went to art school, but you have to pay the bills.” She shrugged as she pulled off her swimming cap and started fluffing her hair. “I’m actually learning front-end web programming right now.”
“Wow, that’s pretty fucking cool.”
“I like it.” She nodded. “You got that job at Rubin Black, right?”
“Yeah, business advisory. It’s a bit different from what I was doing in Kirksville. More focused. I had the same role there, but it was all hands on deck during tax season, you know? I’m excited to try something a little different, but I’m annoyed to have to start over.”
Bonnie slipped on her sunglasses and leaned back in her lawn chair. “Starting over?”
I took a sip of beer. “I worked for my aunt’s company and was going to run it one day. By forty, the company would’ve been mine. Leaving meant giving up that sure path and a company I really loved.”
“That sucks. Do you mind me asking why you left?”
“Uh, my fiancé found his mate. Had to get the hell out of dodge.”
Bonnie let out a low whistle. “Ouch, that’s the worst. Well, his loss is our gain.” She gave me a warm smile.
Wanting to break the tension and change the subject, I asked, “Are you from St. Louis, or . . .”
“Nope. I’m from Salt Lake. Came here about ten years ago.”
I nodded, drinking my beer and giving Bonnie the space she needed to talk or not talk.
