“A perfect match, huh?” I mused after rolling my eyes. I didn’t have a lot of confidence in that statement, and yet I clicked on it and let the photo unblur.
Oh.
I suddenly found myself staring at the heart-shaped face of a stunning woman, her jade-green eyes blazing brightly from under her red bangs. Even though I could only see her shouldersand the tiniest hint of the swell of her breasts, I could tell she had a strong form. No doubt an athlete of some sort, and a gorgeous one at that.
Swiping through her photos, I grew more and more intrigued as I saw her have black, blonde, pink, and even green hair in different images. And just as I had guessed, her full body pics revealed that while she was quite petite height-wise, she wassolid.She had to play softball or lacrosse if I had to guess. Maybe I was putting too much into her hair choice, but I couldn’t help but think that she seemed fun. And earnest. There was something to her smile that pulled me in.
So, I accepted the match. After all, what was the worst that could happen?
FIVE
NAOMI
First Bites
“It’s just a date, it’s just a date, it’s just a date,” I chanted as I fixed my hair. I’d tried to do heatless curls overnight, but apparently, I’d been tossing and turning a lot, because I’d woken up with a bird’s nest instead of effortless waves.
Ugh.
Thankfully, it wasn’t something a good pomade, a brush, and a hairdryer couldn’t fix, but it was taking more time than I would have liked. I still needed to do my makeup.
I didn’t consider makeup a must, though I liked getting glammed up when the occasion called for it. And right now, as I stared at my plain-faced reflection, I was feeling a lot more self-conscious about my appearance than I usually did.
I looked toowolfy.
I had no clue what that even meant. Going on a date with a human had me wondering if my magical side was noticeable—even if every shifter I met would probably argue that I didn’t have a magical sidetonotice.
“Let’s not go down that road,” I reminded myself as I refocused. But as soon as I felt like I got a good hold on my thoughts, I glanced down and noticed how hairy my arms were. Was that within the normal range of hairy for a human woman or did my limbs screamwerewolf?Should I wear long sleeves? Should I shave?
Ihatedshaving. Enough that I’d tried electrolysis when I was younger, but it turned out I hadjustthe right amount of shifter healing ability that the process didn’t work on me. A complete waste of money. I kept telling myself that one day, I’d stop shaving entirely, but I hadn’t been quite brave enough to take that leap yet. It was almost like a consolation prize in a way. Like “Hey, sorry I’m lacking an intrinsic part of being a wolf shifter, but look at my smooth shave!”
My phone buzzed, interrupting my growing anxiety, and I snatched it up. Just as I’d hoped, it was a text from the man of the hour,CozyCardigan1913.Rowan.
Never in a million years had I expected my first match on a human dating app to result in an actual date, but the guy had charmed me. He was a little stilted, but not enough for it to be awkward. In fact, it made me feel quite a bit better because I was less self-conscious about being so out of my depth. If he wastoosmooth, it would have been a turn-off.
He’d sent a gif of a cute cat clapping its paws in excitement. Yet another thing I never expected. It wasn’t that Idislikedcats, not at all. I was just solidly—and perhaps obviously—a dog person, while Rowan was a cat guy through and through. A rare find, yes, but I took it as another green flag.
After the gif, he sent:Looking forward to seeing you soon! Be safe!
I grinned to myself, swiping back to look at his picture yet again. Although we hadn’t talked a lot,we’d talked enough that I knew he loved music, cardigans, and the aforementioned catswhile also being relatively funny and easy to talk to. Not having to explain that I was a latent shifter and dealing with all the questions that came from that made the entire process go so much faster. We’d only been talking for two days on and off—two nights, really, given Rowan’s job—and we were already going on a date.
Nothing too serious, of course. Just ice cream and a walk in the park. We were in the perfect, later half of summer, where it was cool enough not to be a sweaty mess after dark, but not so cool that ice cream would be uncomfortable. Even as a wolfless wolf, I ran much hotter than most human females.
See you soon!I fired back.
I didn’t wantto waste too much time on my hair, so I got it somewhat presentable before donning a sundress with sunflower print leggings, and a pair of boots that were dressy enough to be date-worthy but still quite comfortable to walk in. Believe me, I knew when shoes were good to walk in or not.
The rest of my routine went by in a flash, with my conscience flitting rapidly between feeling guilty for duping a hot human man who was no doubt eager to date a human female, excitement at the hint of chemistry we already had, and fear that everything would backfire, go down in flames, and also inadvertently expose the entirety of my species to a world that was never supposed to know that we existed.
So, no pressure.
But somehow, even with all of that going on, I still managed to pull up to the parking lot at the southern entrance of the park and give myself one last look in the rearview mirror. Winged eyeliner? Check. Red lips? Check. An undiagnosed anxiety disorder that was making my heart ricochet around my chest?
Possibly.
“Here goes nothing…” I murmured, pulling out my phone and shooting him a text to let him know I was here. Part of me was certain Rowan would have suddenly come to his senses and buzzed off to do something better, but a moment later, I got a response.
Rowan:Wonderful! I’m over where the sidewalk starts under the welcome gate.
