Page 32 of Same Thing
“For what?” Nory asked, jerking to a stop.
“He physically harmed and threatened one of the human tenants here.”
“Oh my God, please tell me you aren’t talking about Jackson, whom I have reported multiple times for stalking me,” Nory barked out. She had no idea where her boldness came from. She just didn’t like the way Layla was talking to Liam. “But stick up for the stalker though, right? Poor Jackson got threatened by someone, and did you ask why? Did you ask for Liam’s side of it? Did you ask what he did to get a reaction like that from someone?”
“He choked him!” Layla said, and there was such stark judgement etched into her facial expression.
“You kicked out the person who could keep me safe from Jackson’s bullshit.” She shook her head. “Want to know what he did to me today? Or nah? He’s human so he gets a free pass, huh?” She felt so disgusted. “I’m breaking my lease. I’ll figure out the money, and I’ll sign the paperwork after work tomorrow.”
“Look, I didn’t make these rules,” Layla called after them.
“The werewolf shit aside, you are human, and I am human,” Nory yelled. “You are a woman, and I am a woman. We’re on the same damn team, and you are defending that,” she said, jamming her finger at Jackson’s apartment. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Please have the paperwork ready.”
“Okay, just…calm down before you write any reviews or anything, okay?” she called as Liam opened the passenger door for Nory.
“Lady, she just told you something happened to her, and you’re worried about a bad review right now?” Liam asked. He shut the door beside Nory, but she could still hear him clear as day when he said, “Fuck, you humans are backwards.”
He said it with everything he had, and yeah, he was right. None of this was okay.
Grossed out was the feeling of the evening. Nory sank back against the seat and watched the town go by, lost in thought. Bits of that mortifying text conversation flittered this way and that through her mind.
“You wanted to know me,” he said after ten minutes of driving.
She rolled her head to him. “You’re interesting to me. You came in and shook up my boring life. I like the feeling.”
He stared at the road ahead of them, eyes thoughtful. “The way you talked in that text—”
“Oh gosh, I’m already embarrassed enough.”
“No, no, you shouldn’t be. You’re adorable when you text. I was entertained by everything you said. I wish it had been me you were talking to. You were asking questions though, like you wanted to know me.”
“Yeah,” she said. Her cheeks were on fire right now, so she looked back out the window to hide it from him.
“I work at a sawmill.”
Surprised, she glanced at him, then at her hands she’d clasped in her lap. “Which one?”
“Redland Woods.”
“F-for how long?” she asked, not wanting to waste a single moment if he was offering his backstory.
“Seven years next month. They give us these little gift baskets each year and order a cake for anniversaries. The gift baskets get bigger and more expensive each year. Sounds lame but I look forward to it each year. I don’t get a lot of presents, so that feels like a big deal.”
He glanced over at her and then back to the road. “That smile is my favorite one you have, at least out of the ones I’ve seen so far.”
She unbuckled and crawled halfway into the back seat.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his hand resting on her back like he didn’t want her to fall over.
“Just drive nice and steady. I’m almost done.”
She unhooked this silly little teddy bear keychain off her duffle bag and pulled it into the front seat. She buckled again and held the tiny bear in front of her. It was worn, and one of the ears was missing. “I got this guy when I went on a road trip with my friend Alese to the Grand Canyon. He’s my little travel buddy. I named him Gary.”
“Nice to meet you, Gary,” Liam said.
She offered it to him.
Liam frowned at her, then gave his attention to the road again. Frowned at her, then back to the road. “What’s that for?” he asked.