Six Times a Charm

by Deanna Chase

  I glanced in the direction of the shiny object and found the source of the foul odor. I saw overbite. Fan-flippin’-tastic. And his partner in crime stood beside him.

  Both sported matted hair and devilish grins. Damn them. I didn’t know who they were, but they messed with the best date I’d ever had, which made me less than happy. One thing was for sure, I had to get Jack out of there before he saw them.

  How these characters could slink around as their furry selves without people noticing, I had no idea. If I did that, I would have been in the dog pound faster than I could utter “put to sleep.” I refused to let their antics ruin my evening.

  “I’m a little chilly,” I whispered into Jack’s ear. I shivered for emphasis.

  Even though the night air was still warm, he didn’t question me. He smiled and ushered me the few remaining steps to his car. As he closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side, I stuck my tongue out at the hairy scoundrels peeking out from the alley. Thank goodness Jack didn’t spot anything out of the ordinary. The one who had torn my shirt exposed his fangs and pumped his paw in disgust as the car zoomed away from the curb. Sucker.

  A few minutes later, we drove up in front of the building we called our home. It felt strange saying that. Living in the same building as my date was a little odd for me. Jack jumped out and ran over to hold the door open as I stepped outside.

  The coast was clear, as far as I could tell. The sleazebags hadn’t followed us. I wondered if they knew where I lived. Since they appeared to be stalking me at the restaurant, anything was possible. We moved inside the building, climbed the stairs and came to a stop in front of my door.

  “I had a wonderful time.”

  “Me too,” I said, still clutching my handbag in front of me—it had to look as if I took a somewhat guarded stance with him.

  I gazed into his eyes. I wanted to invite him in and rip his clothes off, but it was too soon. I couldn’t jump into bed with him without a chance for a relationship. And he must have felt the same way, because he didn’t ask me to come to his place, either. Moistening my lips, I waited for the goodnight kiss I hoped would soon come. I’d had a taste of how delectable Jack was, and I wanted another sampling.

  “Thank you for tonight. For picking out such a terrific place. The food was great.”

  “Thanks for dinner.” How long could we stand like that, staring and offering cordial exchanges? Finally, he leaned in and fixed his lips on mine, giving me another taste of his sweet mouth. He wrapped his arms around me, rubbing the small of my back, tracing tiny circles over my skin. My entire body relaxed against his as I ran my hand through his hair. It would be hard to fall asleep after tasting him and feeling his body pressed to mine.

  After he moved away, I bit my lip to keep my excitement at bay. His kisses could quickly become addictive.

  On the other side of my door, Jennifer talked to the television. At least, I guessed the TV. Whatever she watched must have been good, because her voice became louder by the second. Unfortunately, Jack took her conversation antics as a cue to let me go.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, neighbor.” He leaned in and gave me one last delicious kiss. The tingle from his lips lingered.

  A besotted giggle escaped me in spite of my efforts to hold it in.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Did that mean another rendezvous? He watched as I stepped into the apartment and closed the door. Maybe I should have invited him in and shown Jennifer I didn’t sabotage dates. Only two more left. Bummer.

  Chapter 6

  How to Date a Werewolf Rule # 6:

  “On the prowl” isn’t a good way to describe looking for a date.

  “Oh, oh. Come here quick. You gotta see this.” Jennifer waved me over to the spot next to her on the sofa and patted the cushion.

  “What is it? A natural disaster? A fire? A terrorist attack?” I hurried over.

  “Look how cute Jason is. He’s adorable. Isn’t he the best? I love him.”

  “What?” I plopped down beside her and curled my legs up under me.

  “You have to see the ghost footage they captured too. It’s amazing. Anyone who says there is no such thing as ghosts needs to watch this. They caught an apparition on their infrared camera. What more proof does anyone need?”

  “What? I thought you had something serious to tell me.”

  “It is serious. It’s a flippin’ ghost, is what it is. This is important stuff.” She poked me with her elbow. “Ghost Hunters is on, you know… Ghost Hunters with Jason and Steve. Jay is so cute with his bald head. Makes me just want to rub it for good luck, or something.”

  “Or something? I hope you mean rub his bald head.” I snorted.

  “Of course. Get your mind out of the gutter. He’s married.” She shot me a dirty look.

  “You have a little pet name for the guy on TV? You really need to get out more. He’s not your type. I thought you said you liked short guys. Jason is not short.”

  “I like tall, bald guys too.”

  “So what you’re saying is all men are your type.” I snickered.

  She stuck out her tongue. “No, that’s not what I’m saying. Be quiet, I’m missing the show. Oh, oh. Look.” Popcorn spewed from her hands and scattered about as she flailed. “That is a ghost. Did you see that? There’s no way they could fake that footage.” She pointed to the television.

  “Technically they could fake it. I’m just sayin’. I saw something like a blob. Was that it?”

  Another dirty look from her. “They would never fake evidence. No, not Jason and Steve.” More popcorn landed on the floor. If that show was on for much longer, she would need a drop cloth.

  “Do you know those guys personally? Unless you do, they could fake it.” I knew that would get her goat. She was fun to mess with sometimes. Of course I believed in ghosts too, but I enjoyed teasing her on occasion. Especially when her favorite show was involved.

  “Well, no, I don’t know them, but I know they wouldn’t do that.” She smirked.

  The “Viva Viagra” commercial appeared, breaking her attention from the show.

  “So how was the date? I want to know everything. Did you kiss? Give me details. Is he a good kisser?”

  The television show looked better than ever to me now. At least when it was on I didn’t have to go into the details about my evening. I wasn’t looking forward to telling her about the incident at the restaurant.

  “I don’t kiss and tell,” I said.

  “Since when? I’m waiting…”

  I might as well get it over with, I thought. It didn’t appear she would drop the subject anytime soon. “I was caught unclothed in the women’s restroom at Emilio’s.”

  Jennifer started choking, and I pounded her on the back. Those darn popcorn kernels can be a real pain.

  Jennifer’s eyes brightened with a curiosity like I’d never seen before. “Did you say you weren’t wearing clothing? As in nude? Because I think you said unclothed, as in bare with no clothing on.”

  “Yes, last time I checked that was the definition.” I popped one of the kernels in my mouth. It needed more butter.

  “I don’t know what to say. Where do I start?”

  “I’ll save you the energy. Our date moved along perfectly fine until I decided to check on my hair and makeup. You know how frizzy I get in this humidity, not to mention my makeup glides right off my face as soon as I step outside. I looked like hell.”

  She gestured for me to get on with it. “I don’t care about your frizzies. Get to the good stuff.”

  “Okay. Okay, I am. Anyway, I went to the ladies’ room and two werewolves were waiting for me. They were hunkered down behind a couple of trash cans next to the door that led into the alley.”

  “How do you know they were waiting for you? Maybe they just needed to use the restroom.”

  I raised an eyebrow and gave her an “oh, please” look. “Trust me—I knew they were waiting for me. Why would they be hiding if they we
ren’t waiting for me? They were hiding behind a trash can, and not doing a very good job of it, I might add.”

  “So one of them was Lily, right? I told you she would follow you. I warned you.” She propelled more popcorn into her mouth.

  “See, that’s the thing. Neither one was Lily. I don’t know who they were, just some repulsive-looking weirdos.”

  “Eeeks. They don’t sound nice. Why would someone do such a thing?”

  “I’m sure Lily is involved somehow.”

  “What did they look like? Well, besides hairy and such.”

  “Dirty.” I grimaced. “They had matted fur and were kind of stinky.”

  “Yuck. So then what happened?”

  At that moment, she glanced down at my shirt and noticed the claw marks. Her eyes grew wider, even though I didn’t think that was possible.

  “They wanted to fight, of course. I didn’t want to mess up my clothes, so I ducked into the restroom. When I was undressed and ready to rumble, I opened the door. I was half-werewolf at that point, mind you. A little old lady stood there, right in front of the door, and I almost gave her a heart attack. What are the odds she’d show up just when I opened the door? She almost got me kicked out of the restaurant.”

  “Almost? I can’t believe you weren’t kicked out on your naked butt. I’m surprised you weren’t arrested. Maybe you should be more careful with your so-called werewolf activities.”

  So-called? What was that supposed to mean? It’s not as if I did it for fun.

  Before I had a chance to ask what she’d meant by the comment, she shushed me the second the show returned. Apparently my playtime with werewolves was far less interesting than Ghost Hunters. Oh well.

  We watched in silence until the next commercial. Jennifer was mesmerized, and I knew better than to speak until another break.

  “By the way, did you talk to your mom?” I asked.

  She swallowed her bite and then said, “I did. She’s still in remission.”

  “Oh, Jen, that’s great. I’m so glad. I can’t imagine the relief she must feel. And you too. Did you tell her I said hi?”

  “I did. She wants us to come to dinner soon.”

  “I’d love to. Did you talk to Todd?”

  “I talked to him, but not about our relationship. I’m working up to it. I will, though, I promise.”

  “You’ll work things out. I know you will.” The show returned and I lost her focus again. “I’m going to bed. It’s been a long day.” I stood and yawned.

  “Goodnight.” She mumbled my sendoff with a mouth full of buttery treat and eyes intent on the program. At least the show distracted her from extracting details of a goodnight kiss. I glided into my favorite gown and slipped into bed with thoughts of Jack racing through my mind.

  ***

  Jack stood in my room. From the foot of my bed, he looked down at me and, without saying a word, moved closer to where I sat. My senses were on overload from watching him gaze at me with what I knew was longing.

  Jack reached for my arms and then pulled me with him as he fell back onto my bed. He moved his face close to mine and began softly kissing me. Jack slid my gown over my head and immediately began gently caressing my body, mapping out the shape of my hip with his hand. I tugged at his clothes, yearning to feel his skin pressed against mine.

  After I removed the shirt, I traced the outline of his chiseled abs with my finger and he moaned in approval. Just as he stood to remove his jeans, I jerked up in bed. It was the middle of the night, my legs were tangled in the sheets and my heart raced. I felt a bit confused. My dream had felt so real, and it saddened me to discover it was nothing more than a fantasy. It felt so lifelike I could still taste the sweet flavor of his mouth on mine. I wanted to hang on to every detail so I wouldn’t forget. The dream would be the closest thing I got to actual sex for no telling how long. I couldn’t just let it float away from my memory.

  Probably a noise from the street below woke me, and I cursed under my breath at whoever made it. Needless to say, I tried to drift off again. I wanted to pick up where we’d left off, but no such luck. It always turned out that way. Just when I’d gotten to the good part.

  The next morning, I reflected on my glorious dream and the previous evening. The date had turned out all right, I thought. In spite of the ripped-shirt, naked-woman calamity. Granted, that old lady gave me the evil eye all night, but other than that, things worked out fine. The werewolves hiding in the alley and then following me spooked me a bit. But what could I do? With no clue as to who they were, I wouldn’t know how to make them stop.

  Jack hadn’t specifically asked me out again, but he had hinted. At least I read the signs as allusions to another date. I was almost afraid to agree to another outing, for fear of the curse taking over. It was a lot of fun with him and the thought of not having the opportunity to do that again was not a pleasurable one.

  Without knocking, I slipped into Jennifer’s bedroom, thinking she was still asleep. I wanted to borrow her black wrap-dress. I’d already seen what it looked like with my Prada pumps. To my surprise, however, Jennifer wasn’t in her bed. In fact, she wasn’t even in the room. Her bed was already made with her pink floral comforter, and placed safely by the door waiting for her arrival home, were her coveted bunny slippers. Rarely did she beat me to work. I grabbed the dress from the hanger, snatched my shoes up from the floor of the closet and went to my room to slip into my clothing.

  As I put on the dress, securing it around my waist, the faint sound of voices wafted in from, I thought, just beyond the front door. With a swift brush of my hair, then slipping into my shoes, I hurried from the room. My guess was correct—there were voices. But it was way too early to deal with Lily, I thought, as I poured myself a cup of coffee. Wait. What if Lily was in the hallway having a one-on-one with Jack? I spit my coffee into the sink, tossed the mug down, grabbed my bag and made a leap for the door.

  It didn’t budge when I yanked on it. I pulled again, and the door flew open. Two sets of eyes looked back at me as if I were insane.

  Chapter 7

  How to Date a Werewolf Rule # 7:

  Don’t give your date a bouquet of wolfsbane.

  Jennifer and Jack were once again having what looked like a lively conversation in the hallway. All right, I wasn’t the jealous type, but I did have a tinge of some strange feeling in the pit of my stomach and I didn’t like it. Jennifer was my best friend, for heaven’s sake. There was no need to be mistrustful of her, or was there? No. She probably just ran into Jack on her way to work.

  “Oh hi, Rylie. I just bumped into Jack on my way to work.”

  Phew. See, nothing to worry about. I could send that green-eyed monster packing.

  “Hi, I didn’t hear you leave.”

  She eyed her dress that clung to my body. If she said anything about my borrowing it, I might have to make her eat it. But Jennifer wasn’t the only one eyeing me in the dress. Jack drank in every ounce of my appearance and I loved each second of the attention.

  “I was quiet. I thought maybe you needed to sleep in. You know, after last night.” She winked at me, then glanced at Jack. What was wrong with her? I needed to remind her to stop with the teasing looks and tones. We weren’t in eighth grade anymore. Feeling fidgety, I smoothed the front of the dress.

  “We weren’t out too late, you know that. I have a client at nine, and I need to do some work before then, so I didn’t sleep in.” My gaze flicked to Jack. I probably had Jennifer’s doe-eyed look after his kisses and my dream last night. Thank God he couldn’t read my mind.

  “I have to get going too,” Jack said. “Can I walk you to work?”

  Once again, he looked utterly delicious. I loved his style. He was a casual kind of guy—just the way I liked them. His navy chinos were a perfect fit, and his rugby shirt was untucked. I swear if I knew psychiatrists looked like him, I would have made an appointment years ago. Heaven knows, my parents provided me with plenty of reasons to need one.

&nbs
p; “Absolutely,” I said.

  “I’m off.” Jennifer moved around us and bounded down the steps. Her curls bounced with each step. She was always a bundle of energy. Like a cheerleader chugging a can of Red Bull.

  “Again, Emilio’s is delicious. I had a great time last night.” He held my arm as I stepped down onto the first step. He was such a gentleman.

  “Me too.” There I was, making a great impression again with my vast vocabulary.

  When we made it to the bottom of the stairs he said, “Before I let you get to work I wanted to ask you…”

  Yes, yes. That’s what I wanted to hear. Or did I? I was torn apart on the inside. Did I want to date him or not? One step closer to the curse, I reminded myself. Oh well, did it matter anyway? I’d probably discover some serious flaws—like he secretly wears women’s clothing.

  “A client of mine runs…well, er, has access to tickets for one of those walking ghost tours. He insists I can’t live here without doing it at least once.”

  “He’s right. You have to do it no less than one time, preferably several. It’s a part of the city. Practically a requirement.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t want to do something like that alone. I’m afraid of ghosts.” He wiggled his eyebrows. He didn’t seem to be the type to believe in the supernatural, which was unfortunate for me.

  “I’d love to,” I said.

  “You would? It wouldn’t be too boring for you?”

  He had no idea. Working with the supernatural world on a daily basis made me somewhat blasé about the whole ghost story thing. Yeah, there are ghosts. Everyone should know that by now. But I wouldn’t let him know my feelings on the subject. I’d go on the tour and pretend I had the time of my life. With Jack by my side it wouldn’t be a stretch.

  “I wouldn’t want you to be afraid. I can handle the otherworldly creatures for you.” He thought I joked—little did he know I was completely serious.

  “Great. I’ll call and let him know we’ll be there. It’s tonight, a special nighttime tour. Is that all right? You didn’t have other plans? I know I haven’t given you a lot of notice for our dates.”