“You want to go have a beer? Ruby and I are going over to the casino, they have a small bar and karaoke.”
“Yeah, believe it or not, I’ve never been to the casino before. I bet I could twist my friend’s arm.” Twist his arm until I feel the bones break if he tries to screw this up.
“I’ll tell you what; I’ll give you my number if you show up.” She grins at me and looks up through her eyelashes.
My insides are rumbling as we walk down the steps to meet her sister. “You’ve got a deal.” This time, her heart did skip a beat. My wolf growled at the thought of letting her out of my sight. Breathing her in, I satisfy his need to be near her.
~~~~~~
“The casino, really? I saw that girl you were sitting with, she’s foxy,” Collin said with a slight inflection of his voice.
“Foxy? Who says that?”
Collin smiled and shrugged. “I heard my brother say it the other day; I thought I’d try it out.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “Yeah, it’s not working for you.”
“Noted. Which casino; you know they’ve put one on every reservation?”
“The one in El Reno.” She didn’t specify which one, surely she meant that one. She told me she is Arapaho, and that’s where the Cheyenne and Arapaho reservation is located.
Climbing into Collin’s jacked up truck made me wish I’d driven tonight. He had antennas and a giant metal toolbox in the bed of the truck. The interior is the precise way I’d expect from him and his O C D self. The strawberry air freshener stings my nostrils and I must adjust my sense of smell. I bet it costs him over a hundred dollars a week in gas to drive back and forth to work.
He cranked up My Chemical Romance and headed for the highway.
My inner-wolf has never reacted to a human before meeting Sapphire. The restlessness was getting worse as we made the forty minute drive to the casino. Like a kid anticipating Christmas morning, waiting to unwrap the gifts from Santa. I close my eyes for a moment as I imagine unwrapping her. The idea is irresistible.
Could they place a casino any further away from civilization? The waning crescent moon didn’t offer much light as we drove down the desolate road. Like a blaring beacon, the sign for the casino flashed colorful lights. The drone of the tires, after a long ride, would have typically put me to sleep. I was too wound up to be sleepy.
We drive around the packed parking lot until we find someone leaving. Thankfully, they are driving an oversized SUV, leaving enough room for the giant truck. The moment I open the door, I pick up her scent. No longer worried about being at the wrong casino, I’m filled with anticipation.
Collin said he needs to make a quick call. I can’t help but hear him on the phone. He asks his brother to meet us at the casino to be our designated driver. Ready to get our drink on, we walk through the automated doors.
“I’m going to hit the ATM, and the bathroom, I’ll meet you in the bar. Don’t take this personally, but if she stood you up, I’m gonna laugh,” Collin says as he walks away.
“I didn’t get stood up,” I say with confidence. We part ways as I look around for the bar. I follow the sound of someone singing “Wind Beneath My Wings” off-key.
The bar looks the same as every other nightclub. The lights dimmed low to make everyone look better in the dark. The back of the bar has a small stage, big enough to hold a band and a karaoke machine. A group of giggling drunk girls take the stage, and pick a song to sing. Two round tables are pushed together, and that is where I spotted her. Ruby is telling a story to a guy who is obviously hoping to get lucky tonight. I can see Sapphire’s profile, she looks anxious, by the way she bounces her leg up and down. Without coaxing, she turns around and faces me. Relief washed across her face, her leg quit bouncing, and she stands up, and walks over to me.
Her grin alone was worth the forty minute drive. She flings her arms around me like I’m a long-lost friend and whispers; “You made it.”
Instinctively, I hug her back and mentally inventory every part of her that’s touching me. Like a puzzle piece, Sapphire fits perfectly in my arms.
She pulls away and blushed. “I’m sorry, I’m a hugger. Come on over, I’ll introduce you to my friends. We’ll get you started with a shot of tequila.” She takes my hand and leads me over to her friends.
The waitress leans down to take our order, not without brushing up against me. Like a cat marking me, and I can’t stand cats. “Bring her a shot of your top shelf tequila, and I’ll take a Jack and coke. Come to think of it, bring the rest of the table whatever they are drinking,” I say as I reach for my wallet. The waitress continues to flirt, not attempting to hide it from Sapphire. I have a feeling that if it were to come to blows, Sapphire would kick her ass. There’s a vibe from her that she can handle her own, and I’m counting on it.
“I’ll need a glass of water too…if you don’t mind,” Sapphire says with confidence. I smile at her, knowing she was staking her claim of me.
After a couple of drinks, Sapphire is tipsy and giggling, but not sloppy drunk. She grabs Ruby’s arm and pulls her away to the ladies room. I’m left with Collin and the girls that were singing when we came in. Collin wasn’t kidding when he said he’d need a DD to get home. I on the other hand am a werewolf, my body absorbs the alcohol and heals the intoxication more rapidly than humans do.
A familiar beat starts blaring through the speakers and I turn around and spot the karaoke culprits.
I SAW HIM DANCING THERE BY THE RECORD MACHINE
I KNEW HE MUSTA BEEN ABOUT SEVENTEEN
THE BEAT WAS GOING STRONG
PLAYIN MY FAVORITE SONG
Sapphire and Ruby were up on the stage singing surprisingly well. Sapphire took the microphone like a rock star and held her other arm out, pointing at me… she struts off the stage as she sings. She stops in front of me, with a grin across her face.
AN’ I COULD TELL IT WOULDN’T BE LONG
TILL HE WAS WITH ME, YEAH ME
AND I COULD TELL IT WOULDN’T BE LONG
TILL HE WAS WITH ME, YEAH ME, SINGIN’
I LOVE ROCK N’ ROLL
SO PUT ANOTHER DIME IN THE JUKEBOX, BABY
I LOVE ROCK N ROLL
Without warning, she’s in my lap, and I can’t hear anything but the beating of her heart. Mmmmm …I stare at her graceful neck as her head tilts towards me. I put my hand on her waist, and pull her closer to me. She jumps up and runs back to the stage and Ruby takes over.
Collin leans in and mouths, “I think she’s into you.”
I lift my glass and toast him.
As the girls come back to the table, I pull Sapphire’s chair closer to me. She laughs and tells jokes until everyone at the table is captivated by her.
“Can I see your phone?” Sapphire says with her hand out.
I pull it out of my pocket and hand it to her. She can ask for my bank account and I’d give it to her. I watch as she frantically types something out. Standing up, she hands me my phone but hits the talk button first. Her phone begins to vibrate, and I know it’s in her back pocket. She answers the call and shoots me a flirty smile.
“I told you I’d give you my number if you showed up. Now, I have yours too,” she holds her phone up showing me her screen.
My brain screams to run as fast as I can, my wolf screaming not to let her out of my sight. She’s human…as in human, human. I think to myself. “Will you have dinner with me tomorrow, which is really today?”
She presses her lips together in a grin and nods her head yes. Her list of positives is beating out the fact she’s human. The way her dimple only shows when she grins, and the way her dark hair gives her an exotic vixen look. The way she laughs at her own jokes and laughs harder when she screws up the punch line.
We walk with the girls outside and to our surprise the girls walked over to the Tribal Police car parked by the doors. Sapphire runs back to me and gives me a hug and whispers in my ear not to forget to call her in the morning. I’m going to need a good long
run when I get back to the farm.
The officer driving the car looks to be friends with the girls and happy to see them.
I turn to Collin, who is propped up against the building. “Toss me your keys, I’m fine to drive.”
He makes a feeble attempt at tossing me the keys, which is nothing more than him tossing them straight up over his head. My reflexes are fast, and he’s too intoxicated to notice. I get him to the truck and fasten his seatbelt. I take his phone from his hand and text his brother not to bother coming out to the casino.
Chapter 3. Phone Call
SAPPHIRE
“Ruby, stop with the interrogations, I’m going out with him. Don’t ever complain to me about men, you drop everything for that asshat Erwin. Parker will call; he wouldn’t have driven all the way to the casino if he wasn’t interested. Trust me, he’s interested.” I set the coffee cup I just washed into the strainer hard enough I have to double-check to see if it cracked.
“We’ll see,” Ruby smirks.
As if he knew we were talking about him, my cell starts ringing. I turn and stick my tongue out at her.
“Good morning Parker.” I cross to my room to talk to him in private.
“Good morning Sapphire, it isn’t too early is it?”
His voice sends shivers through me. “No not early at all, we get up around seven. Are you a morning person?” I close my eyes and lean back on my bed. I try to picture his face as he talks to me.
“I’m a morning person. I like to go out hiking in the mornings before we tend to the crops. I work at a farm.”
“I remember you telling me that last night. You’re a real cowboy…I like cowboys,” I flirt.
“Do you now?”
Yes! Yes! I love them! “I do,” I say demurely.
We talk for another five minutes and agree to meet at Zooka’s International Cuisine at seven tonight. He tried to pick me up at the house, it is one of my rules, don’t bring them to the house until I’m sure about the relationship. My mom lives next door and would find any reason to come over if she sees a strange car in the driveway. I’m not ready for Parker to meet Pearl.
~~~~~~
I decide to wear a dress I splurged on a few weeks ago, for nights like tonight. It’s a fifties styled dress, cut low to show some cleavage, and tight in the waist. The chiffon skirt flares out, but not too far. At 5’9” dresses look shorter on me. I’m confident about who I am and how I look. Other girls might think 145 lbs is too big, whatever, I’ve never had a complaint. I smile to myself at the thought. Last week I stopped at Pink Cleavage in the mall to buy the perfect bra and panty set. It’s not as though he’ll see what I have on under my dress…or will he? You never know…what if I trip and fall with my skirt flying up? What if he ravages me and we make passion blush? Ravaging me wouldn’t be too bad. Stop thinking about him like that! Oh, the way his hands were on my waist as I sang to him. I shake my head and run over to turn off the water for my bath.
“Girl, if he makes it through dinner without touching you, he’s not human. I bet you have that peach thong on you bought last week!” Ruby proclaimed.
I turn around and flip my skirt up, flashing her my ass. “I hope there isn’t a draft!” I giggle at the face she makes at me.
“Draft? Hell, a breeze will show him your hiney. You better go, you don’t want to leave him waiting. Will you be home tonight?”
Raising an eyebrow, I shake my head in disbelief at her. “I’m planning on it.”
“Make sure you have your GPS app activated so if he steals you, I can find you.”
“What makes you so sure I want to be found?” I rattle my keys and turn haughtily towards the door.
Chapter 4. Running
PARKER
I drop Collin at his house and pick up my car before heading out to the farm. It’s almost four in the morning as I pull up to the house. Alastar the Phelan dog raises his head in acknowledgement I’m home. To my left, a branch breaks under the weight of someone’s feet. The black werewolf was almost completely hidden in the dark to the human eye. To werewolf eyes, I recognize Dolly in her wolf form. She’s the General’s wife, she’s gentle and sweet, and mothers all of us as though we were her own. As the female alpha, she patrols the woods before dawn to clean up any messes left by our younger pack members. I’m beta to the alpha, and I run with Dolly when the General can’t, to keep her protected. She nods at me and sprints back into the woods, knowing I’d catch up to her in a few minutes.
We run for at least an hour before I head off to bed. I slept like a log for about two hours, up until my brain started screaming for me to call Sapphire.
~~~~~~
Sapphire pulls up to the restaurant promptly at seven. I watch her get out of the car, she pauses to see her reflection in the car window. She looks perfect in a short peach colored dress with her raven hair flowing over her shoulders. My wolf is pleased to see her, and he scolds me for being away from her for so long.
As she walks across the parking lot, the clicking of her stilettos on the concrete drew my eyes to her feet. A man who doesn’t appreciate a woman in a pair of heels is dead on the inside. Her muscular legs are perfectly tanned to a golden hue. The moment she spots me, her face brightens as she smiles.
“Hey you,” she says as she closes the space between us.
I reach for her and pull her into a hug, the material of her dress feels silky against my hands. Her perfume is lighter than the one she used at the game last night. “You look fantastic,” I whisper in her ear as we hug.
“Thank you,” she says and smiles up at me. In her heels, she is only about an inch shorter than me. “I’ve never been here before, you’ll have to help me order,” Sapphire says as the waiter fills our glasses with water. “Do you come here often?”
“My boss is friends with the owner; we come here a couple of times a month.”
“Great, I’ll let you do the ordering,” she laughs nervously.
Through dinner we talk about the various happenings going on around the city. I asked her if she’d like to go downtown to walk around the gardens.
“I’ll let the owner know that you’ll ride with me and we’ll get your car later.” The waiter drops the leather folder with the bill on the table. I give him a look and he lowers his eyes and walks away. Sapphire is as still as a mouse in a cat’s domain. “Sapphire, if you’re not comfortable riding with me, we can take your car or each drive downtown.”
She smiles and reaches her hand across the table and takes my hand. “Parker, I’m more than comfortable riding with you. Dinner was delicious and so is the company,” she smiles up at me.
My wolf practically howled when she called me delicious. He’s going to be difficult to keep restrained around her. I take her hand and slowly, I take her delicate index finger to my lips. The move is bold, but I have a feeling she likes bold moves. I lick the pad of her fingertip, and hear her catch her breath. “I’m thinking you’re the one that’s delicious my dear.” She blushes but doesn’t pull her hand away.
“I guess you’ll have to wait to find out,” she says and pulls her hand back. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to trade out my heels for some sandals.” Giving me a knowing smile, we both stand up and walk outside.
Chapter 5. Date Night
SAPPHIRE
After what felt like an hour, I pull up to the restaurant and see him standing outside by the doors. The building is freshly painted salmon with a fancy awning. I maneuver my Volkswagen into a space next to a Prius. Here goes nothing I think to myself as I step out of the car. I love that he is dressed in khakis instead of jeans. Even better he is here for me. The guys I usually date think going inside Wendy’s to eat is fancy. Parker’s broad shoulders and huge biceps are magnificently showcased in his Polo…the kind with the horse and jockey.
The clicking of my heels is driving me crazy. To me, it sounds like I’m stomping across the parking lot. I smile as he looks down at my shoes; he probably thinks I walk like an elephant. As
I approach him, he holds out his hand and pulls me into a hug. He smells like Irish Spring soap and fabric softener, a perfect combination.
During dinner, I can’t help but admire his good looks and easy spirit. I dig the way his hair is wavy, and long enough to graze the top of his collar. I love how he uses big words, but not in a way that sounds pretentious. He has a way of making me feel comfortable. For reasons unknown to me, it feels as though we’ve been a couple for a while. To the outsider, you’d never think we’re on our first date. He suggests we go downtown to walk through the gardens. Thankfully, I threw a pair of sandals in my car…there’s no way I could walk around in these stupid heels. I’ve no idea what I was thinking. No, I do know what I was thinking….and it would make my mother blush if she knew what a tramp I can be.
I reach across the table to thank Parker for dinner, and assure him I’m fine with him driving. Before I can register what he’s doing, he lifts my hand to his lips and licks the end of my finger. He licked me! I liked it! My body shrieked and went into full alert the moment his tongue made contact. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! Do it again! Now. Take me, here…on the table. His eyes blaze as I look at him and smile. My heart is racing and my body gets goose pimples at the memory of the moment. I’m walking into a web, one which will be hard to escape.
My eyes divert from his mouth and back to his eyes. I swear they were glowing with heat. I wonder if he’s this way on every first date. What a bunch of idiots to leave this fine man behind to be captured by someone like me. I wish I hadn’t turned down that glass of wine; I could use a drink about now. Before we leave, I excuse myself to the ladies room. I send Ruby a text to tell her I’m safe and it might be a long night.
HE LICKED YOUR FINGER?
He did!
THAT’S WEIRD!
No it isn’t, it was HOT!
WHATEVER - STAY SAFE AND DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE!
OK <3 Phire
Sapphire, A Werewolf Love Story Page 2
