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“Seriously, just say it.”

“You read books, right?”

“Yeah,” I answered slowly.

“Like those romance novels with men that aren’t quite human?” She chews on her fingernail, observing me.

“Yes, what does this have to do with anything?”

“What if I told you that world is real?”

“What is real? The aliens?”

“I don’t know about that. It’s certainly possible. I do believe in them. I heard about another one of those crop circles on the news the other day. How is that possible? A man would never be able to do that. Sometimes I wonder about getting abducted. You hear all about this probing. It sounds interesting to me.” She gets a faraway look.

“Ava, are we really talking about aliens and probing? Is that what you wanted to tell me?” I sigh.

“Sorry, I got sidetracked.” She just looks at me.

“So?”

“Oh, right. Well, what if there were shifters and vampires and all kinds of things?” She raises her eyebrows.

“You are saying the world is full of half-human, half animals running around among us,” I ask.

“Yes, exactly. Don’t forget the vampires.” She reminds me.

I looked at her for a minute and burst out laughing. I laugh so hard that I have to hold onto my stomach while tears stream down my face. I haven’t had a good belly laugh in a long time. I wipe my eyes, taking deep breaths. “Shit, that was a good one.” I turn to look at her. “Why aren’t you laughing?”

“I’m serious.”

I scowl at her, looking from her to the empty bottles. “How drunk are you? You’ve had way too much.”

“Don’t insult me. I can hold my beer better than most men. I’m dead serious.”

I study her face. She isn’t showing me any of her tells. She believes what she is saying. “How do you know?” I don’t believe it.

“Three years ago, I met this guy on my app. He was super cute. He had these penetrating eyes. All gold and yummy. We talked on the phone for months, both of us too busy or too hesitant to meet in person. I heard many horror stories from girlfriends about online dating, so I wanted to get to know him before we met. Finally, we thought it was time to take the leap. He took me to The Mark. He knew the owner.” She gets up to pace. “At the time, it seemed like just another bar, a great one, but just a bar. We had a good time.”

“And?” I ask when she stops and faces me.

“I went out with him again, and again. I thought he was sexy, plus he had loads of money to throw around. Why not throw it at me? He seemed off. He was secretive about parts of his life, which made me suspicious, but we continued to see each other. We made out a lot. But never sex. Why not? I mean, I take care of myself. I smell good.” She acts offended even now.

“You do smell good. Now get on with the story.”

“So I ask him. Why no fucking? What’s wrong with him? ‘Cause it can’t be me. I was giving him all my best moves. I made a big deal about it. He shrugged me off, gave lame excuses, and stupid me, I let him string me along for a year. I would harp on him about it until finally, he said he had to tell me something before we crossed that line.” She bends down for her beer; seeing it’s empty, she slams it down and puts her hands on her hips. “He was nervous, like it was a huge secret. He told me he was a wolf, a shifter. He was waiting for his mate, and I wasn’t her. So if we crossed that line, I would have to understand that it was temporary. If he met his mate while we were together, he would drop me in a second to be with her. I laughed as you did. He got annoyed and showed me. He turned into a wolf in front of me. I saw it. He was a man, and before I could blink, he was a wolf. I made him do the change thing five times.” She holds her hand in front of her, wiggling five fingers, lets out a breath, and sits beside me again. “He spilled his guts about Ryker, vampires in the world, and others that blew my mind. Apparently, showing a human that isn’t your mate is a big no-no,” she says, rolling her eyes. “He got in deep shit about it, and stopped speaking to me. I avoided that club—shit, that whole side of town—fearful of being wolf food or a vampire blood bag.”

Am I in a coma? That’s it. That’s why I met all these beautiful people who like me. A man that is dark and yummy. A woman that befriended me and has three men. This doesn’t happen in real life. My best friend isn’t nuts. The last hit to the head Tom gave me put me in a coma. This is all a dream my bleeding brain gave me to pass the time until I wake up.

I get up, get a beer from the fridge, and drink it standing up in the kitchen. I drink until it’s gone. Why does it still taste like shit in my dream?

“Are you okay?” Ava asks, coming to stand beside me, concerned.

I stare at her in confusion. “Why doesn’t it taste good in my dream?”

“Honey, you're not dreaming.” She touches my arm.

I glance down at her hand. “I can feel you.”