Lux Cafe

I could smell him – he was on campus again, only a week after the soldiers had visited with Kitra’s coven. Denim, sweat and Old Spice drifted up through the window, mixed with the sweet smell of motor oil. The smells of garage work: oil, grease, dirt and gasoline were forever ingrained in my memory as scents of safety and home. However, the Old Spice was distinct among the medley, a new development that signified only one person. My stomach lurched. I would have to go downstairs, or he would come up to find me, I was certain.1

Kitra poured over her notes for medieval Europe. (I wouldn’t know why…she was there..) Her shoulders pinched slightly as his scent drifted past her nose, but she sat still. She would not like to have him up here. “I’m taking a break, I’ll be outside for a minute,” I sighed, grabbing my jacket and walking out the door.2

He leaned against his bike, seeming to be thinking about whether he was coming to get me or not. Then he caught my scent and turned to look at me. “Hey Lizzy,” he smiled. I waved a little as I walked up, but didn’t say anything. I was still remembering his touch on my shoulder at Kit’s house. We stood there awkwardly for a moment, then he started again. “How.. uh, how are you doing?” He lowered his voice, “I haven’t heard anything from the pack since that thing with the vampires. Are you ok here, with her?”3

“We really have more in common than you might think,” I laughed jokingly. “It is probably all for the best that the two monsters on campus are roomies.”4

“You’re not a monster,” he sad firmly. I rolled my eyes.5

“I really think you guys are making a huge deal out of nothing,” I went on. “If all goes according to plan, Kit will get feeding rights around here – with certain rules – and that will be that. It really isn’t that different from when we hunt.”6

“How often do we drag down human prey, exactly?” he asked, his eyebrows set in a line. “I don’t know Beth, I just don’t feel right about it. If they want to do that sort of thing in Idaho, or wherever they’re from, then by all means. But how many of us does there have to be before something awful happens?”7

He looked very worried, trading glances between my face and his hands, playing idly with a fringe on one of his saddle bags. “Did you really ride over here just to tell me your problems with Kit and her coven?” I had heard this song before from ten different people. It was getting old.8

“Well yes, and no. I don’t know. I just, I can’t stand the thought of you sleeping in that room with her. What if she gets hungry?” I laughed.9

“What, and decides to make me a midnight snack?” Dusty frowned. “Would you rather that you sleep with me every night?” It didn’t come out like I thought it would, and I blushed. Dusty had the good grace to blush as well.10

“That wasn’t exactly my plan,” he smiled. I attempted to smile back, but his eyes flashed and I saw what his wolf was thinking. It sounded like a very good idea to the big brindle timber wolf. I turned away, blushing fiercely this time. “I’m sorry,” Dusty said quickly, ashamed.11

“I should get back, I – have homework,” I stammered, but I couldn’t move. My she-wolf was insistent on staying with him. I turned quickly before he could see what she wanted. “Goodbye.” I ran to the dorm, hardly hearing him as he took leave of me as well. The stairs seemed so short as I tried to catch my breath before returning to the room, but I needn’t have bothered.12

“You two should really talk about that,” Kit murmured from behind her book, not even looking at me. She could smell my frustration. It was just as well. I flopped into my chair and tried to read, but I knew there was really no point. His scent was in my nose, and my wolf would not let me think of anything else.13

The next day he was in the parking lot again – this time at eight in the morning. I growled to myself, shrugged into jeans and a sweater, grabbed my keys and stormed out the door, all before Kit could bother to pretend to wake up (as she insisted on doing.) He grinned at me like a hellhound, and I glared at him. “Do you know what time it is?” I hoped my tone would put some fear into him. My hair wasn’t brushed and I was still sleepy.14

“Are you hungry?” he asked.15

“I haven’t been awake long enough to consider being hungry, thanks to you.” He smiled again. I growled, but that only made his eyes shine brighter.16

“Come to breakfast with me,” he offered, handing me the extra helmet on his bike. I stared at it – I had not noticed it before. The old rhyme that dad had taught me ran through my head: ass, grass, or gas. In order to get a ride on a guy’s bike, one of the three would be required. I had neither the means nor the desire to pay for that privilege. “It is just a ride, Lizzy, I promise.” I glanced at Dusty once before taking the helmet and climbing behind him. The harley roared to life and we sped out of the parking lot.17

At Lux’s we sat at a window booth, taking awkward glimpses of each other over our orange juices. My stomach had finally decided to rumble, but it was hard hearing it over the butterflies that flew around inside. I could not believe I was sitting across from Dusty, of all people. “When is your first class?” he asked.18

“Not until two in the afternoon.”19

“Oh good, I have you all morning then,” he smiled. I could almost see the tongue lolling out of his wolf’s jowls – pleased as a fox in the henhouse. My stomach lurched again. I didn’t know if I was hungry, or about to be sick. We both spoke at the same time:20

“Look…” “No, you first.” “No, really Beth, ladies first,” he finally said, laughing, but suddenly serious.21

“I think we need to talk about yesterday,” I began.22

“I agree. That was totally out of line of me, and I apologize. I’ve given myself a good talking-to, and he is most ashamed of himself. He begs your pardon.” From any other man it would have made no sense at all, but I knew what he meant. Our wolf sides could be hard to control, when they saw something they wanted.23

“It isn’t entirely your fault,” I admitted. Telling him the truth might possibly kill me, but he would have sensed a lie. “Truthfully, my wolf wasn’t quite herself either yesterday.” I could almost see Dusty’s ears prick up.24

“She wasn’t?”25

“No.”26

“Beth, I..” But the waitress brought our meals, and his mouth snapped shut like a vise. He had ordered a steak and eggs, I had chosen the meat-lover’s omelet, with extra cheese and mushrooms. I was both ravenous and nauseous. From the way he picked at his food, Dusty was too.27

“You were saying?” I urged.28

“Yes, yes…I was saying…” But he seemed to be having trouble with the words. “I really can’t tell you what is going on, because I don’t have any idea, myself,” he sighed, raking his hand through his hair. “I’m sure Harold and the guys would probably know, and your parents. But I feel weird about asking, you know?” I nodded, attempting to take a bite of the omelet.29

“And then Whiskers is always spouting off this stuff about how wolves mate for life,” he continued. I put my fork down – eating would be out of the question now. Throwing up sounded like a distinct possibility. “And I would never want to mess up on something this important. Gosh, this is hard.” He looked up at me. “This is one time when I wish I were a normal kid. Can you really trust an animal that’s living inside you?”30

“I don’t know. It seemed to work for everyone else.” My hands were shaking. I tried to preoccupy them by attempting to eat more, but the fork kept clanging against the plate. I gave up and flung it down in frustration. Dusty smiled and took my hand. I couldn’t hide the small yip that came from somewhere in my throat. Dusty held it tighter and smiled, his eyes turning deep gold before going back to blue.31

“I think our wolves like each other, at least,” he said softly. I nodded.32

“But I hardly know you.” And it was true. Dusty was a recent addition to the pack, a young man that I had never met before a summer ago when he joined.33

“We can learn about each other, can’t we?” he asked. His eyes seemed to be pleading then, and I laughed inside at the thought of his wolf sitting up to beg. “My wolf is telling me to try, Beth. Will you help me try? I won’t ask for anything more.”34

“Yes, I’ll try.” Dusty’s wolf would have howled, except that we would have scared the diners. “But we have to take this slow,” I informed him, wagging my finger. “Tell that wolf of yours not to be getting any ideas.”35

“Yes ma’am,” he grinned, and tore into his steak like he hadn’t eaten in days. I looked down at my omelet and smiled. I was hungry again as well.36