“At least you didn’t get some girl knocked up, right?”
“You’d think, but they never look at the bright side of my situation. No. Now it’s ‘why don’t you have a proper job yet?’, ‘when are you going back to school?’, ‘how will you ever get married and settled down if you’re stocking shelves and playing childish games in your parents’ basement?’. Good luck explaining to them that there are girls out there who like video games, and guys who play them.”
“I know, I know.”
“And Nate and Brian are all ‘oh, we’re going to spoil that baby’ which means I’ll be least favorite uncle for years because I can’t afford to spoil a baby. That’s why I didn’t get a girl knocked up.”
Phillipe didn’t bother mentioning that it had been years since Patrick had been on a date serious enough that he’d have the chance to knock a girl up. He didn’t need to give Patrick more reason to rant.
“I’ll be out of state before the kid is old enough to appreciate video games and you’d better believe my brother isn’t going to let the kid game online with me, ever. No, the kid will be perfect – top marks in school, involved in some high-end extra-curricular activity. Even this unborn kid is more loved by the family than I am.”
Phillipe was nodding along to his friend’s rant. It used to be that he’d join in the ranting, or at least agree with Patrick, but he was feeling tired today – not even physically tired, just tired of the same old rant.
When did that happen? Patrick is my best friend. We’ve been through everything together. I just wish he’d get it together. Why am I thinking like this?
“Hey, you there, man?”
“Yeah, sorry, lost in thought.”
“Any word from your family?”
“My mom called this morning. She wanted me to come over today. Guess she thought that since it was Christmas and all. She even listed off the menu.”
“The way to a shifter’s heart is through his stomach, don’t ya know. I’ve seen you eat. You sure you want to pass up the free meal?”
“It’s not free and I don’t want to pay what she’s asking.”
“Your mom would never ask for money from you.”
“Because she doesn’t want money from Brock. No, I’d be paying in sitting there listening to her try to convert me away from my horrible lifestyle.”
“I can’t believe people are still that stupid. We’ve only been telling people how shifters are ‘made’ since we were forced into public knowledge during the wars. I still see people online going on about being afraid of infection. And this praying it away shit?”
“There is no cure for stupid,” Phillipe said.
“Got that right.”
“You free for the evening?”
“I think so. The brothers have gone home and taken their perfect spouses with them. Supper is done. I took the garbage out.”
“Want to log in to something and play for a few hours, kill some time, de-stress?”
“That sounds like the best thing I’ve heard all day.”
“Then I’m hanging up on you.”
Phillipe hit the button and sighed. If we’re playing he won’t be ranting so much. Fuck, I used to complain just as much as him. Why is his attitude pissing me off so bad today?
He shook his head and logged his computer on. He’d been planning to do laundry but this was more enjoyable than folding clothes, or listening to Patrick complain all evening.
Chapter 9
Phillipe was the last one to arrive at Brock’s the next day. An evening of gaming had turned into a night of gaming and he’d gotten to bed in the wee hours again. Luckily no one did anything too early in the day over the holidays and he’d gotten a few hours of solid sleep before having to get up to shave and shower.
Connie let him in, as always, and herded him to the living room. Gia was curled up in one chair with a little pink bundle in her arms and Tara was playing with Gia and Brock’s son, whom everyone nicknamed the Teddy Bear. He thought it was wonderful and growled at everyone.
There were handshakes and hugs and ‘Merry Christmas’ was said over and over as he made his way around the room. When he got to Gia he said, “Congratulations by the way.”
“Thanks. Isn’t she lovely?”
“One of each, does that mean you’re done?”
“We’ll see. My ankles do not like the last few months of being pregnant, but I do love holding these little things.”
“In a few months Kylie’s going to stop bugging me about weddings and start bugging me about babies,” Jules said.
“They’re so sweet,” Kylie said. “Even if they are loud and smelly. We’re definitely having some.”
“They’re also expensive and take up space and we live in a one bedroom apartment,” he replied.
“Details,” she said with a wave of her hand.
Later in the afternoon Remy managed to get Phillipe aside. “I’ve spoken with my friend in Montana. He would love to have you.”
“I guess you said all nice things, then.”
“I had to be honest, Phillipe, so he does know about your past, at least a little.” Phillipe nodded. “When do you plan to leave?”
“I’m not sure. I had a friend in trouble and loaned them some money. Soon as they repay me back, I guess.”
“Are you going to tell the others?”
“Not today. I don’t want to ruin their party with news like that. And then there will be miles of questions that I don’t want to answer tonight.”
“I understand. Let me know when you’re ready to set a date.”
“I will.”
The weekend was swamped with work so Phillipe didn’t get a chance to see Brigid until Monday. Luckily she was still on semester break and Patrick was working extra hours to keep up with the holiday rush. He tidied up his apartment and was just tucking the last of the laundry out of sight when the doorbell rang. He jogged up the stairs to find her on the doorstep with her hands full.
“Think I got enough?” she asked.
“We’ll find out,” he said, grabbing one of the oversized paper bags from her. They went downstairs and set all the bags on the counter.
He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. “I’ve missed you.”
“Mmm. I’ve missed you, too.”
“I have something for you.”
“I know. Food first. I’m starving.”
He chuckled and went to grab plates. They unpacked the Chinese take-out she’d grabbed on the way over and served themselves. He’d actually cleared the little table off so they didn’t have to sit on the couch. He pulled a bottle of iced tea from the fridge and poured them each a glass and carried it to the table.
She told him all about her family dinners over the holidays and he told her all about dinner at the Tandell’s and how hectic work had been. They both had three helpings of Chinese food and nearly polished off the iced tea between them. When they were both full and the conversation dropped into a lull, Phillipe cleared the table and came back with a brightly wrapped box only a few inches square with a mass of curly ribbon on the top.
“I was hoping you’d forget,” she said.
“You don’t want it.”
“I’m embarrassed. You know I’m broke.”
“I don’t care. I told you, I only have to buy like two gifts usually. I wanted to get something for you, too.” He handed it to her and sat down. “Go ahead.”
She was blushing but she accepted the gift. She slipped the ribbon off and carefully split the tape. She slipped the box out of the paper. It was simple, a deep purple, probably cardboard, but it had the name and logo of a local jewelers on the top.
“You’re not proposing, are you?”
He laughed. “No.”
She slipped the lid off the box and stared at the contents for a long time.
He fidgeted, waiting for a response that didn’t come. Finally he said, “Well?”
“Phillipe, it’s perfect.”
He lifted the
necklace out of the box. The chain was silver and quite thin, and from it hung a sparkling snowflake pendant. “I know we don’t get snow here but there was something festive about it.”
“It’s beautiful.”
He stepped around her, lowering it over her head and doing up the clasp for her. She adjusted the pendant so that it hung straight and then looked up at him.
“Thank you.”
He bent down and kissed her. “It suits you.”
“How am I going to explain this to my family?”
“Gift exchange with your friends?”
“Too easily busted.”
“A gift from an older professor who’s motives are suspect so you’re transferring out of his class, but you’re keeping the shiny.”
She turned in her chair and slapped his arm. “That’s gross.”
He shrugged. “I’ll try to think of something. In the meanwhile, let’s see what’s playing today.” He tugged her out of her chair and led the way to the couch. She tucked in beside him, his arm over her shoulders, and they flipped channels until they found a Christmas movie to watch.
Not that they paid it much attention to the movie for long. The casual brush of their fingers, hers against his leg, his against her shoulder, led to a few gentle kisses, kisses which soon deepened until they were focused on nothing else. He had a hand on her cheek and she had a fist full of his shirt. Both had their eyes closed.
They ran their hands over each other’s arms and sides. She ran the tip of her tongue over his lips and he tried to nip her. Their tongues danced as they kissed some more. Her phone rang and for a moment they didn’t even hear it. At the second ring, they stopped and she rested her forehead against his. Somehow she’d ended up on his lap. Another ring.
“I should get that.”
He nodded and she slid off his lap. While she was gone, he adjusted himself, willing his hard-on to go away, hoping it hadn’t been too noticeable.
When she came back she looked disappointed.
“Emergency?”
“No, everyone’s fine. A last minute invitation to a girls’ night out. I couldn’t say no without telling them where I was.”
“Couldn’t tell them you had family plans?”
“Too easily busted. I have been friends with some of those girls a long time.” She curled up beside him again. “But I don’t have to leave right away. Besides, you’re working tonight.”
“Are you going to swing by the club?”
“Didn’t sound like it. I think we’re doing sushi and then heading over to Maya’s place.”
“Well then, let me show you how much I’m going to miss you,” he said, pulling her close again and kissing her deeply.
By the time they convinced each other to stop, they were both running late. “You’ve kissed away all my lipstick,” she said, pouting.
“Don’t pout or I’ll kiss you some more.”
She laughed. “I need to go home and get ready.” She kissed his cheek. “Call me when things slow down at work and we’ll do lunch or something.”
“Something like making out?”
“Maybe.” She blew him a kiss. “Bye.”
“See ya.”
For New Year’s Eve every year Bastien ran a promotion. He offered a discount on the cover charge and special drinks, but you had to buy your ticket in advance. Sure, you could still try to pay at the door, but there was a chance the place would be full. Most people came by nine and stayed until the ball dropped, and you had to pay full price at the door.
On the one hand, that made Phillipe’s job easier since the vast majority of the people in line were ticket holders and they’d have them all inside in the first two hours of the shift. On the other hand, it meant people joining the line late in the evening, looking to sneak in somewhere just before midnight, and usually those people had been drinking somewhere else already. Add to that the fact that it had drizzled earlier in the evening and Phillipe was not happy.
They had three guys on the door tonight, thankfully, and they took turns doing frequent line walks, weeding out the drunk ones and sending them on their way. The line wasn’t long and they kept warning people that they might not get inside. A few people had done the smart thing and headed for somewhere less attended, yet most stayed.
Phillipe had just come back out from break and had volunteered to brave the chilly evening wind to do the line walk so Michael and the other bouncer could stay by the relative warmth of the doors a while longer. His timing was perfect because as he stepped out onto the sidewalk, he spotted the beginning of a fight about halfway up the line.
“Quit shoving! I was here first!”
“Like hell you were, let me through.”
“Back off!”
By the time Phillipe hustled over, the screaming had progressed to shoving. “Hey!” he bellowed. “Break it up.”
The one woman took a step back, hands in the air. The other, the one with her back to Phillipe, took that as a sign of weakness and leapt at her opponent. Phillipe caught her by the shoulder and pulled her up short.
“I don’t think so.”
She whirled around.
“Coraline?”
She put her hands on her hips. “You gonna let me in?”
“I can smell the alcohol on you. How much have you had?”
“Barely anything.”
“You’re listing.”
“I can hear you, why?”
“I said listing, you’re standing crooked.”
“Am not.”
“You’re drunk. You’re picking fights in the line. Do you have a ticket?”
“No, but I’m a VIP, so lemme in.”
“Former VIP. Look, if it wasn’t New Year’s and if you weren’t drunker than a skunk I’d pull you to the front, you know that. But tonight I can’t, and maybe it’s better you just head home, sleep this off.”
“It’s not midnight. I’m not going home until next year.”
Phillipe sighed and grabbed his phone. “Hey Michael. Yeah, I got a DD here. Stubborn one, too.”
“I am not disorderly!” she shrieked.
Of course she would know that for bouncers a “DD” wasn’t the designated driver, it was a “drunk and disorderly”, someone who needed to be pulled from the line and put in a cab. He didn’t bother answering her, he just put his phone back and waited.
Coraline smoothed her hair and smiled. “You still with that girl?”
“Yes.”
“Bet I could change your mind with a kiss.”
She stepped towards the rope and he stepped back.
She ducked the rope, but before she could come at him, a cab pulled up to the curb and Michael appeared at his side.
“Come on, time to go,” Michael said, catching her elbow.
Phillipe grabbed her other arm and they helped Coraline into the cab. She went with surprisingly little fight but at the last second, when Phillipe bent down to close the door, she spat in his face.
“Bastard,” she said. She reached over and slammed the door herself.
Phillipe wiped his face on his coat sleeve as the cab pulled away.
“I wasn’t expecting her,” Michael said. “You okay?”
“I need a shower now, but I’m fine. Thanks for the back-up. How’d you get the cab here so quick?”
“They’ve got ‘em out in the club neighborhoods because they know it’ll be a brisk business tonight. Think she went home?”
“I don’t care. Let’s get back to the door. I can’t wait for tonight to be over.”
Most of the pack had spent New Year’s Eve at home with family, or at the pack hall. It wasn’t mandatory, but with the full moon being on the second of January it was encouraged for the wolves to stay close, especially the teens, and to avoid anything too wild.
Now they were in the process of cleaning up after the full moon dinner, which was doubling as pack Christmas. The meal had started quite early in the day and there had been food for miles. Most of it was gone now.
Brigid and Michelle stayed close to Miranda and her mother through the entire meal and kept Miranda by their side after her mother left.
When Louis called for the pack to change, Miranda whispered, “Thank you,” as she hid behind them to undress. There was no sign of trouble yet, but the night was still young.
Brigid almost thought they’d get through the whole night with no troubles, that maybe the wolves that had been harassing Miranda had learned their lesson, or had gotten bored – the latter was more likely. But then Miranda started quivering beside them, her nose recognizing her assailants before Michelle or Brigid picked them out. They came around the corner, their bodies low, stalking prey.
I don’t intend to be prey tonight, Brigid thought.
Miranda whined so Michelle started nudging her away towards the elders. Brigid braced herself and stood her ground, putting herself between Miranda and these three wolves who seemed intent on scaring her.
She was no match for three of them, but she was counting on the fact that they were more interested in scaring, chasing, and harrying than actually hurting someone. They fanned out, flanking her as they closed in. She bared her teeth but it did nothing to dissuade them.
There was a snarl at her back and for a moment she thought she’d been surrounded, but her attackers hesitated, then went bellies to the ground and slunk away.
As soon as it was safe, Brigid turned. There was a large pale grey wolf behind her. She dropped her chin in respect. It was Louis, her alpha. He stepped up to her, nuzzled her cheek once with his own, and then bounded off. Brigid’s whole body relaxed and she went in search of her sister.
When they were human again and dressed, Louis came over to their secluded corner. “Brigid, can I speak with you a moment?”
“Of course.”
“I don’t like to see my pack fighting like this.”
“I know. I’m sorry. They were scaring that young wolf. I had to stick up for her.”
“I’m glad you’re sticking close to her. You’re a good person, and a strong wolf. You’ve got leadership potential – as a human or a wolf, I’m not sure yet.”
“Thank you.”
Phillipe Page 9
