Right now itʼs kind of sucky, but its for the best in the end.”
“Do you think I made the right choice?” My voice was pathetically weak and whiny.
I was grateful that Talley took the time to think about it instead of just blurting out a confirmation to placate me. “Charlieʼs great, and heʼll always be a big part of your life, but heʼs not Alex. I donʼt think Charlie is the wrong choice, but that Alex is more right. Does that make sense?”
“Perfect sense.” It was pretty much my thoughts, word for word. I would have thought she had pulled it out of my head if she had been touching me.
“And donʼt worry about Charlie. You guys will get through this. You care way too much about each other to let something like this screw up a lifetime of friendship.” I whisked away any spare moisture hanging out on my face. “Youʼre the bestest best friend a girl could ever have. What would I ever do without you?”
“Well, you wouldnʼt be doing this,” she said, turning off the highway onto a one lane back road, “which might not be a bad thing.”
After less than half a mile the road turned to gravel, tossing Talleyʼs little car around and planting a seed of doubt in my stomach that had to be rooted out before we reached our destination.
“I have to do this.”
“No, you donʼt. You shouldnʼt. It is the text book definition of a bad idea. There is probably an entire Wikipedia entry on it under the heading of ʻBad Ideasʼ.”
“Why? Why is it a bad idea? I mean, really, what do you think is going to happen?” Talley shot me a look that screamed, Have you gone insane? “You do understand that he is going to turn into a wolf, right?”
“Really? A wolf? I thought Alex was a were-fluffy-little-bunny.” Talleyʼs expression indicated that she did not share my appreciation for verbal irony.
“Yes, heʼs going to turn into a wolf,” I sighed, “but heʼs still going to be Alex.”
“Part of him will be Alex. The other part will be a wolf. A wild, predatory animal that acts on instinct instead of logic.”
“One, wolves rarely attack humans. And two, as long as there is a tiny part of Alex in there, he isnʼt going to hurt me and you know it.”
Talleyʼs car slowed to a snailʼs pace as she negotiated a spot of the road that had washed away ages ago. “What about my vision?”
“You donʼt have visions. You canʼt See the future.”
“I know, but--”
“And even if you could, itʼs Liam we would have to worry about, and he can Shift anytime the mood strikes. Going out on the night of a full moon does not up my danger level, but seeing Alex in wolf form might help me figure out how to defend myself in the event that your non-vision vision tries to come true.”
“I just have a really bad feeling about this, Scout. Please, let me take you home.” We were nearing the place where the road dead-ended into the forest. Knowing that I was going to see Alex in a matter of moments steeled my nerves.
“No, I want to do this,” I said confidently. “Plus, you donʼt have time. Youʼre barely going to make it to Tobyʼs house before sundown as it is.”
She conceded defeat by throwing the car into park and pulling me into a rib-crushing hug. I sent an Itʼs going to be okay message her way mentally, something I was still getting used to.
“Promise me youʼll be safe.”
“Cross my heart, hope to die.”
“Scout! Donʼt hope that!”
I laughed as I opened the door and gathered up my things, my mood suddenly elevated by the boy walking towards the car. “Have a good night, Tal. Go howl at the moon.” I winked as I slammed the door shut on her wary expression.
Alex was immediately there, his mouth saying hello to mine without the assistance of words. “ I wasnʼt sure you were coming,” he said as Talley drove away, kicking up a cloud of dust in her wake. “I thought you might have changed your mind.”
“Not a chance.” I pulled him in for another kiss. This time when we pulled apart I held his eyes with mine. My hand brushed his hair across his forehead. “I love you.”
“You do?”
“Of course I do. How could you not know that?”
“I just thought...you know, with Charlie last night...”
“Last night I did what you asked me to do. I weighed my options and...” I kissed the tip of his nose. “I choose you, Pikachu.”
Alex lifted me into the air and spun me around, a testament to his lycan strength. He was still laughing when his mouth closed over mine. As I ran my hands greedily over his back I felt a muscle twitch against my fingers.
“While this is very entertaining, itʼs not the show I came for,” I said, disentangling myself from his arms. I made a shooing motion with my hand. “Go. Change.” Alex flashed his perfect dimples. “Not here.” He grabbed my hand and led me towards what could have passed for a mountain compared to the low hills that surrounded it. “I want to show you something.”
There was no trail leading up, but that didnʼt bother either of us. It was a beautiful evening for a hike. The air hung heavy with the sickeningly sweet smell of honeysuckle. The newly green grass was adorned with hundreds of yellow daffodils.
“So, whatʼs with the chicken?” he asked when I handed him the bag so I could pull myself up the rocky embankment that he easily leapt atop of.
“Talleyʼs idea. She said you would need food post Change, and she didnʼt like the idea of you leaving me alone in the woods in order to hunt. I only took it to be polite.” I finally managed to hoist myself up to where Alex waited. “You donʼt have to eat it. Iʼll be fine while you go snag a rabbit or squirrel or whatever. I know how much you love to hunt.” I reached out to take the bag back, but he grabbed my proffered hand to drag me further up the hill. “Correction, hunting I like. You, I love. Well, you and KFC extra-crispy. So much better than raw rabbit.”
We reached the spot where the trees began to thin. Once we rounded a large rock, I found myself in a clearing that had been prepared for my arrival. A blanket was spread on the ground next to a rolled up sleeping bag and pillow. A dozen white pillar candles were scattered about.
“Itʼs our first real date,” Alex said, blushing ever so slightly. “I wanted it to be nice.” I squeezed his hand, staring in awe at the view. The summit of the hill broke off into the lake, creating a scene that looked more like Colorado than Kentucky. “This is beautiful. You definitely win the Best First Date Location award.”