I had to keep trying. “Your instincts say I’m the one. I don’t have those instincts. Instead, I just keep thinking how I don’t even know you. And the little bit Sam told me, that you spend most of your time in your fur, doesn’t help me understand how there could be an ‘us’. I have no fur. I can’t just run off into the woods with you.” My softly spoken words appeared to make a difference. The clicking of the ratchet began to slow. He listened.
“I’ve enrolled in college, one I chose despite Sam’s opposition. Do you know why I picked it? Because it was far enough away that I knew it’d be harder for people to tell me what to do. Major decisions up until this point, have been made by others based on what they thought would be best for me. Sure, they ask me what I think and try to consider it, but not always. How do you think Sam got me to Introductions for the past two years? It wasn’t by asking me each time if I felt like going.” The ratcheting stopped, but he remained facing the engine listening.
I continued speaking softly, rationally. “I don’t mean to sound heartless. I’ve been through enough Introductions to know what it means to your kind. I’m not trying to throw your traditions back in your face, I’m just asking for some compromise. Don’t ask me to forget the one thing I’ve chosen on my own.” My pleading didn’t appear to sway him any further so I switched tactics and offered him a little hope. “If you’re serious about me, then come to the city with me and learn while I learn. We can get to know each other. I need that in order to even consider there being an ‘us’.” Still he didn’t move. Frustration crept into my words. “I know I’m asking a lot. You’d need to start talking, stop growling, and bathe. No offense meant, but you look like a crazy man the way you are.”
He moved slightly as if I’d poked him in the ribs. So he did understand he looked bad. Inside, I jumped up and down on the balls of my feet, clapping my hands excitedly. Leaning against the truck to take some weight off my bare feet pressing into the gravel, I pressed my case further, “And I know it wouldn’t be easy on you. You’ll be surrounded by people. It’ll probably be uncomfortable after you’ve been on your own for so long. But we’d be able to spend time together to get to know each other the normal human way and see how things go. We’d both be giving a little then. Well… you’d be giving a little more, but will you think about it?” I didn’t wait for his reaction. I turned and walked back to the compound. It had to work.
I spent about five minutes trying to wipe my feet clean on one of the entry rugs before giving up and walking back to my room, my speech running through my head. Either it would work or not. We both knew I couldn’t live in the woods. He needed to rejoin society. He’d see I wasn’t worth the effort.
With a mental sigh, I pushed it from my thoughts and focused on the present. I planned on lounging in the apartment and finishing a novel I’d started over a month ago. My stomach rumbled loudly. And eat.
The next morning I woke early. I’d grown so bored reading the day before that I’d gone to bed by eight. No surprise when I opened my eyes, my phone flashed five a.m. Sam would kill me if I woke him up this early. I only hesitated a moment before I threw back the covers and got out of bed. In the pitch-dark room, I managed to pull on my zipper hoodie and tiptoe to my door, opening it without a sound.
I’d only managed three steps into the living room when Sam grumbled from the foldout bed, “Doesn’t anyone sleep around here?” The light near the sofa clicked on blinding me for a moment.
“Sorry,” I whispered. “I should know better than to try not to wake you.” His hearing made him a very light sleeper.
“What are you doing up already?” He sat up and ran his hands through his hair as if trying to wake himself up more.
I doubted it would work and didn’t think he’d appreciate an offer to make him coffee given the time. He’d rather just go back to bed. “I was going to check on the truck,” I explained. “He had it mostly taken apart yesterday afternoon. I wanted to see if he started putting it back together.”
“What did you say to him yesterday?” he asked, tiredly getting out of bed. Sam surprised me when he started to strip the sheets from it. We changed the bedding just before leaving making it ready in case anyone else ever used the rooms. But it was five a.m….
“What do you mean?” I took a few steps backward to lean against my door and watch his progress. I couldn’t believe he actually got out of bed at this hour. He almost tripped over his bag while pulling off the fitted sheet. “Do you want me to start some coffee?” It wasn’t normal for werewolves to be anything less than agile. Coffee couldn’t be good for him.
“No, I’m fine,” he answered my last question first. “I mean, he asked for the keys to the truck last night and brought them back earlier this morning. Truck’s fixed. I checked myself. So, I’m wondering what you said to him.”