Page 7

Chapter seven

Hayley

“I think the raccoon is back,” I say, cheeks still warm as I return from the dumpster to toss my regular trash before pickup day tomorrow. There was a notable absence of my vibrator when I went out there. I didn’t dig through the trash or do anything gross like that, but I’m pretty sure it’s gone.

“Huh?” Freddie asks, looking up from his magazine, this time one about fishing.

“There was something missing from the dumpster. I threw it out last night and when I went out there, it was gone.”

He cocks his head at me. “That’s weird. What was it?”

My face grows hotter. I can’t exactly tell this nineteen-year-old boy that it was my busted vibrator. “Oh, uh, nothing. But it wasn’t in a trash bag, so it was easy to see that it was gone.”

“Huh,” Freddie says again, unhelpfully.

“Are raccoons drawn to, uh, specific types of smells?” I immediately regret asking since I can’t answer any follow-ups about what kind of smell I’m talking about. But this is the second time now that something has stolen an item that smells like my pussy.

“Not sure. You should ask Jake.”

“Why Jake?” The prospect of talking to my standoffish neighbor sounds even less appealing than usual after he was the surprising star in my sexual fantasies last night. I’m still on edge from my ruined orgasm, and a night filled with dreams about him running away from me while I beg him to fuck me.

A weird look crosses Freddie’s face and his golden eyes widen. “Oh, uh, just because he’s had to deal with them before, and it’s his dumpster too, so he’d want to know that there’s an issue.” Freddie coughs and looks back at his magazine.

“I think maybe I’ll look up online how to catch one. Or call animal control.”

“No!” Freddie protests, fumbling the magazine and dropping it. “Don’t call animal control. They’re mean. And bad. Jake will deal with it.”

I narrow my eyes at him, wondering why he’s acting so strange. Then it hits me—is animal control a bad topic to bring up with shifters because they might be mistaken for a wild animal when they’re fully shifted?

Crap, I wish there was some kind of guidebook for when you come to Hallow’s Cove that teaches you how to not accidentally offend its monster inhabitants. I’d go check in the bookstore, but the vampire that runs the place seems kinda mean.

“Oh, sorry, okay, I guess I’ll go do that.” I give Freddie a little wave and step out the front door right now like a dumbass instead of saying I’ll go talk to Jake later and then never actually go. Now I have to do it or Freddie might get suspicious about what the raccoon has been stealing.

I inhale deeply to steel myself for dealing with Jake, and close my eyes for a moment. Which is a mistake, because the image of him smiling at me pops into my mind again. I open them and let out a startled yelp when I see Jake coming directly my way from the game shop across the street.

He freezes in alarm at my reaction, stopping halfway across the street. It feels like time slows again as I drink the sight of him in. Did he somehow get hotter than the last time I saw him? Because the way his pants hug his thick thighs and the streak of silver hair falling over one eye is doing things to me.

A car honks at him to get out of the road, breaking us both out of our stupor, and he scurries the rest of the way across the road with a sheepish wave to the driver.

I resist the urge to flee back inside the bodega and give Jake a strained smile and a wave. “H-hey!”

“Hi Hayley.” His low voice paired with the intense look he’s giving me makes me shiver.

“Hey!” I say again, like a moron, broadening my smile to mask my embarrassment. “You’re just the person I was looking for. ”

His thick brows raise and a hint of a smile stretches his full lips. “You were looking for me?”

“Y-yeah, I need you to help me with a problem.”

“Oh? What kind of problem?” His eyes drop for a moment, giving me a once over that makes my pussy clench.

“It’s, uh… it’s…” It’s between my thighs and needs something thick and hard to take care of it.

Jesus, get it together. Don’t eye fuck the guy who hides whenever you show up.

His smile drops when I stand there and stare at him for a moment too long.

“Raccoon!” I blurt. “The raccoon is back. I thought you said you’d talk to it,” I add with a weak laugh.

Jake’s cheeks burnish a little. “I did?”

“Yeah, I didn’t know if you meant it literally or not, since you’re a shifter.”

“Oh no, I can’t talk to animals. Damn, that’d be really cool, though.” He strokes a hand over his beard. “Or awful, depending on how their life is going and how intelligent they are. It’d also hinge on if I could turn that power on and off or if it’d be going on 24/7, because insects are pretty much everywhere, so I’d never get a moment of peace and probably lose my mind.”

I blink at him as he laughs at his own thoughts.

He’s really cute and funny when he’s not acting like he’d rather be anywhere but talking to me.

“Sorry, what were we talking about?” he asks, his cheeks growing even darker .

“I read a book once where the bad guy could speak the language of ants and used that to command them. He took over an entire kingdom in the jungle using them. So there are pros and cons.”

Jake’s mouth falls open, clearly surprised by me engaging with his strange tangent. “Whoa, that sounds cool. But yeah, I, uh, I meant it metaphorically. I thought the raccoon would move on, but I guess it didn’t.” Jake winces like it’s a personal failing that the raccoon returned. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine!” I say quickly, not wanting to ruin how well this is going.

He shakes his head, lips down turning as he looks away and sucks in a shaky breath.

Oh god, is he going to cry?

“I’m sorry for how weird I acted when we met. And at the café. I’d, uh…” Jake rubs the back of his neck, still not meeting my gaze. “I was exposed to some fumes, and it messed with my head. It’s super embarrassing, and that’s why I’ve been… why I haven’t talked to you since.”

“Oh shit, no worries.” Tension bleeds out of me at his apology and explanation. It might be the people pleaser side of me who wants everyone to like me that’s happy, but the relief I feel knowing Jake doesn’t hate me is intense. “Are you feeling better now?”

“Much,” he says with another dazzling smile.

The urge to ask him if he wants to go get coffee rises in me. I surreptitiously scan his throat for a mating bite, realizing that I have no clue if he’s single. I don’t find one, and there’s no ring on his finger, either .

“Would you like to—” I begin, but Jake speaks at the same time.

“We can do a stakeout—”

My brow furrows, my question forgotten. “A stakeout?”

Jake nods. “Yeah. For the raccoon. We could get together tonight and watch the dumpster to see if it comes back.”

“Uh…”

“I’ll bring dinner,” he offers, looking worried that I’ll decline. “What kind of food do you like?”

My weird, sexy neighbor inviting me to a raccoon stakeout/dinner date was not on my strange interactions bingo card. Butterflies fill my stomach as he waits for my answer.

“I like tacos?” It comes out like a question.

“Me too!” Jake says excitedly, and my damn horny brain interprets that as some kind of euphemism. “Okay, meet in the alley at sundown. I’ll bring the tacos and you bring the raccoon bait.”

“The what?” I sputter, thinking he means another pair of used panties. Not that he could know that’s what the raccoon stole.

“Something tasty to attract it. Something that smells really good.”

Am I imagining his voice growing thick as he speaks? Is it possible he knows?

No, there’s no way.

“O-oh. Right. Got it.”

“See you later, Hayley,” Jake says with one last smile, before heading off towards his shop, leaving me reeling .

Jake

Fuck, where the fuck do I get tacos? There’s no restaurant nearby that serves them, and I sure as shit don’t know how to cook them. I should’ve told Hayley we’d need to do something different, but I was so shocked by my own boldness to ask her to have dinner with me that my brain wasn’t functioning properly.

Does she think this is a date? I don’t know if I came off like a weirdo who likes to stare at a dumpster platonically with my neighbor, or if my romantic interest was clear. The former is honestly a lot more in my comfort zone, even though I definitely meant it as a date.

Shit, I can’t have my first date with my mate be sitting by the trash and giving her unpalatable homemade tacos. I’m making a mess of things again. She gave me a chance and bought my lie about why I acted so strange when we first met, so I need to figure out something that will make the stakeout more romantic.

The problem is, I don’t know what the hell she’d like. I know on an instinctual level that Hayley is amazing, and I’m stunned by how lovely she is, but I don’t know anything about her. What do beautiful human women with cotton candy hair and adorable outfits and perfect smiles like? Other than tacos.

I need advice. I need the perspective of someone who doesn’t think a raccoon stakeout is a normal date activity.

I watch out the front door of the shop, scanning the street to make sure that Hayley hasn’t left the bodega again, then tug a hoodie on and put the hood up before heading outside and darting across the street to Gargoyle’s Horde.

I wave to my gargoyle friend Gabe as I rush inside, though he won’t wave back since he’s stone during the day, then scan the busy shop for Gwen. I see a flash of her brown hair and move to her side, almost knocking over a display of minifigures in my hurry.

“Whoa, Jake!” Gwen exclaims as she turns and finds me right behind her.

“Sorry for startling you, but I need to talk,” I pant, out of breath from running over here. Which is kinda sad given it’s diagonally across Main Street from my shop. Damn, I need to go for more runs.

I wonder if Hayley enjoys running. If not, we could figure out something else to do together. Like hiking in the woods. Or going to the ice rink. Or hell, get one of those dance aerobics videos and stay at home and exercise. She’d look so good in tight leggings and a sports bra. Fuck, maybe that’s a bad idea because I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off of her. Though, sex is a workout sometimes.

“Okay… Did you come over to tell me you’re missing D&D tonight?” Gwen prompts, making me realize I’ve been on a mental tangent for too long and she’s waiting for me to continue.

“No. Well, yes, but that’s not…” I swallow down my agitation and try to focus on why I’m here. I feel bad about not making it to our gaming session, but making a good impression on my mate is a lot more important ri ght now. “You’re a human. What kind of things do you like?”

Gwen gives me an incredulous look. It’s the same one I get across the table when my wizard casts an unusual spell during a battle instead of something practical like a fire bolt. “Jake, you’ve known me for years. You know what I like.”

“On a date,” I clarify, and watch as the bemusement shifts to surprise, then excitement.

“Did you ask a human on a date?” Her eyes widen and her smile grows even broader. “It’s the cute girl that moved into the bodega! Betsy’s niece. Oh my gosh, you asked her out?”

“I’m the one who needs questions answered!” I huff, gesticulating in frustration and almost knocking over the minis again. Gwen winces at the near miss, and I step further away from them. “But yes, it’s Hayley. We’re going to have a dumpster stakeout and tacos. Except, I’m a terrible cook and no one in town sells them."

Gwen’s brow furrows. “What’s a dumpster stakeout?”

“It’s a terrible idea for a date, that’s what it is. But when she mentioned the raccoon being back and wanting my help to keep it away from the dumpster, I panicked. I can’t mess this up, Gwen.” My words tumble out of me at an increasingly fast pace, and I reach out and take her hands into mine. “Please help me. I don’t want to fuck it up because I’m… because I’m me and she’s… perfect.”

“Oh, Jake,” Gwen says softly, squeezing my hands back. “If someone is the right person for you, they’ll like you because of your eccentricities, not in spite of them. Be yourself. Trying to start a relationship as anyone else will only end poorly. If Hayley thinks you’re too weird, then—”

I shake my head. Gwen’s sentiment is sweet, but not exactly helpful right now. “She’s my mate,” I blurt.

Gwen gasps, her brows shooting up to her hairline. “Oh! Oh wow, okay. That, uh, hmm… that’s trickier.” A beat passes as she processes the rest of what I said. “Wait, you were doing a stakeout for a raccoon?” Gwen pulls her hands back and crosses her arms over her chest. “She doesn’t know what you are?”

“I’ve already fucked it up too much! It’s hopeless. Sorry for bothering you, I’m going to go cancel and then hide forever—”

I turn and take one step away, but Gwen grabs my arm and uses her surprisingly strong grip to hold me in place. “Nope. You’re not running away from this. You’re going to make this the best damn dumpster stakeout and dinner date ever.”

“I am?” I blink at her determined tone.

“Yes.” She leads me over to the checkout counter and starts scribbling on a sticky note. “Go get these things from the bodega and bring them back.”

My stomach flips at the mention of going into the bodega. “But what if she’s in there?”

“Then you say hello and tell her you’re getting supplies for tonight. She’ll be impressed that you’re going to the effort of cooking for her.”

My brow scrunches. “But I’m not! I told you, I’m a terrible cook. ”

Gwen pats my arm. “Breathe, Jake. I’ll help you make the tacos.”

“You will?” I ask, shocked by her offer. Gwen and I are friends, but I didn’t realize it was at the “cook tacos so their first date goes well” level.

“Yeah. It’s not every day you find your mate.” She gives me a slightly wistful smile that I don’t quite understand. “You’re a good guy, Jake. You deserve to be happy.”

“Thank you,” I say, tugging her into a quick hug so she doesn’t see the tears welling in my eyes at her kind words. With her help, I might just have a shot at things going well with Hayley tonight.