"So... what about you? What position do you hold?" he asked hesitantly.
He was sniffing around like a deer with a death wish, I thought. Jokes on him—I wasn't just the big bad wolf, I ran the damn forest.
"I started and currently run Luna's Compass," I replied dryly.
Gordon tilted his head like a confused puppy. "Why does that - oh."
I pressed my lips in a tight line, tasting the remnants of the spiked punch and humiliation. "Yea..."
"Fuck, I didn't mean you, Allison. You've been fantastic to speak to. Just the business in general. I- shit, I'm digging a deeper hole. I'm so sorry."
I wanted to reply, but all I could muster without cursing and screaming was a lackluster "Yea."
The silence between us was more awkward than a middle school dance supervised by the creepy math teacher. The only thing that punctuated it was the sound of the party off in the distance, the group of young guys still playing football and a random frog calling out for love from under a log.
Can I join you? I thought to the amphibian with a mental sigh.
"Listen," sighed Gordon, "I really am-"
"Alpha," called a young boy with a mighty frown. I recognized him as the boy with the flower crown from earlier—now with chocolate smeared across his face.
"Yes, Peter," replied Gordon in a tone that said he was pretty much done with everything.
"She's doing it again."
Gordon closed his eyes with the weariness of a man who'd dealt with this exact problem 1,000 times, and took in a long, deep breath. "I'm really sorry," he said finally, opening his eyes and looking at me. "I have to go take care of that. Can you wait here? I shouldn't be too long."
I took my own deep breath and nodded, slapping my customer service smile on my face. "Sure. I promise not to sink my fangs into any pack politics while you're gone."
He gave me exactly the reaction I had hoped for, an awkward slightly apologetic smile, before stepping out of the lake and after the little boy, not bothering to put his shoes on.
As my eyes tracked his progress away from me, I dropped my smile like a hot plate - all burned fingers and mental cursing. Way to make an impression, smack him in the metaphorical balls before dealing with an issue. I rolled my eyes and shook my head before turning and continuing to walk along the shore. I wasn't going to wait for him like some lovestruck idiot, hell no.
Of course. Too good to be true. He laughs at your jokes, listens like a dream, and then calls your entire business - a.k.a. you - a parasite. I stepped in a particularly soft patch of mud and felt my foot sink all the way up to my ankle as if the earth was trying to steal my foot as consolation for my shredded dignity.
"Fan-fucking-tastic," I growled, yanking my foot out violently and turning to the deeper water to wash it off. "Just the icing on the cake, isn't it? First the cold ass water, then the mud. Now, I'm alone and humiliated. Happy Equinox to me!"
I looked up, trying to spot the moon so I could lodge a mental complaint with the goddess herself—my taste in men was clearly her idea. I guess she had the last laugh though.
Just as I spotted the moon, I heard a yell of "Oh shit, watch out!"
Most people duck. Not me. My grumpy ass turned just in time to catch a football to the forehead. The teenager chasing after it in an uncoordinated sprint, however, I caught with the rest of my body. Cold swallowed me whole before I even had time to scream.
If I thought the water was cold when I dipped my feet in, I was shocked to find out just how much colder it was when fully submerged.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Note:
And the universe said: "You wanted romance? Try humiliation instead."
Also no real toads or frogs were harmed in the writing of this chapter. Just feelings.
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