Maybe both.
I decided not to linger on that and continued with the conversation. After all, when was the last time I’d had one witha possible romantic partner without the lack of my wolf hanging over my head?
“Is it difficult being nocturnal? During college, I pretty much only did evening walks with the dogs, and combined with studying, I usually woke up so late it was hard to find time to do anything I needed to if it involved a business.”
Rowan nodded along, his expression peaceful and relaxed. Honestly, it felt a bit like it was rippling into me, which put me at ease. With my anxiety waning, I felt like I was noticing things I didn’t have a chance to before. Like the surprisingly thick and coiled muscles of his forearm under my palm. Definitely a sleeper build if there ever was one.
But also, I couldn’t help but notice how cool he was. I knew I ran hot, sure, but clearly his clothes worked wonders not to retain heat, because he was cool to the touch.
What if my heat gives me away?God, my hands had to feel blazing compared to him. But as I studied his profile while we walked, he didn’t seem to indicate anything of the sort.
Clearly, I needed to cool down. The guy was probably anemic. Which would explain why he was rather pale.
“It’s got its ups and downs, but you know, I’ve been at it so long that I’ve gotten pretty good at navigating life while being one of the things that goes bump in the night.”
“That’s good, then. It feels like the world used to be a lot more amenable to that sort of stuff, but lately everything seems to close at ten and customer service hotlines are borderline unusable.”
“You’re not wrong on that one. Quality has long since gone the way of the dodo, if you do ask me.”
“Ah, and of course you’re familiar with the dodo, at your advanced age.”
From Rowan’s photo, I’d figured he was a couple of years younger than me. I had no problem robbing the cradle, as longas everyone was an adult with a fully formed brain. But during our text conversation, I learned he was actually in his forties, which was crazy to me, because he didn’t look a day over twenty-five. Naturally, I’d taken to teasing him about being older than me.
“Nah, they were a bit before my time, believe it or not.”
“Give or take a couple of years?” I said on a laugh, batting my eyelashes. The last dodo bird likely died somewhere around 1690.WhyI knew that was a mystery. Probably from all the nature documentaries I’d watched as a kid while all the shifter kids my age were out on various wolf adventures or runs.
“About five or so.”
“I knew it!”
He laughed again, and gosh, it was such a lovely sound. Light and a little breathy, like we were sharing a mischievous secret. It made me feel young again, even though I wasn’t really all that old to begin with. Not even middle-aged for a shifter, and thankfully, us latent ones also tended to live at least a hundred years, give or take.
“So, which direction are we going?” he asked.
Goodness, I’d forgotten we actually had a destination in mind. Whoops. It was nice to pretend to be normal for a little while.
“That way,” I said, pointing. “The cart is there all summer. I don’t know who the owner had to kill to get his spot, but it’sprimo.”
“No doubt he has many tales to tell from the food truck wars.”
“Certainly, certainly. Generations from now people will tell legends around the campfire of the ice-cream slingin’ swashbucklers of Straight Scoopin’!”
“I can’t wait until a rival ice-cream truck opens on the other side of the park called Queer Spoonin’.”
I snorted. “That sounds like a quirky rom-com waiting to happen. I can see it now—a gruff veteran down on his luck trying to find the sweeter side of life, and a bisexual ex-convict who’s trying to prove she can be something. They start as rivals before they come together against their common enemy: a mustache-twirling, evil business man who wants to buy the park and turn it into a parking lot!”
I expected Rowan to roll his eyes—that’s what my brothers did when I started to get especially niche with my references—but he chuckled. “Depending on the rating, coming together could mean a couple of things.”
A loud laugh tumbled out of me. I clapped my hand over my mouth in embarrassment, but that really only lasted for a second because the proud look on Rowan’s face wiped away anything negative I could possibly feel about the interaction.
“It’ll be the newFifty Shades.”
“A bold claim,” he mused, changing our direction slightly when I nudged him. It was yet another silly thing to like, but I couldn’t help but feel flattered that he was so cognizant of even the tiniest bit of input from me. “Not that I’ve ever read those, of course.”
“Oh, of course.”
I couldn’t believe the banter was flowing so easily between us, and I was almost sad when I saw the pastel lights of the ice-cream cart. But onlyalmost, because I wasn’t kidding when I’d told Rowan that the custard, sorbet, and other treats they sold were utterly divine.
