Adam smiled. “You think so?”
I nodded. “The reason Roscoe didn’t do anything is… well, I kind of got jealous and made a stink about it.”
“What’s the big deal? We fuck werewolves. That’s our thing.”
“How would you feel if Austin and I slept together?”
“I’d feel sorry for you.”
“Well, we did, and I kind of liked it,” I lied, gauging his reaction. Sure enough, had his skin been lighter, it would have flushed as he bit down hard on his upper lip.
“Are you going to fuck both of them now at the same time, you fucking slut?”
“Whoa, calm down!”
“I’m not going to calm down! You fucked my kuu mate,” he shouted, shooting up from the chair, which flipped backward. “He’s bathing, and he’s making you breakfast and taking you out to eat! What the fuck, man? He doesn’t do any of that shit for me!”
“We didn’t actually have sex.”
“You’re a lying, back-stabbing fa—”
“I’m proving a point,” I interrupted before Adam could finish that slur.
Adam paused and took a deep breath before setting his chair upright. “Sorry, I don’t know why I snapped like that.”
“It’s because you feel the same way about Austin that I do about Roscoe.”
Adam’s gaze shifted to the ground as he sat on the chair.
“Austin’s in a very vulnerable state of mind right now, but he’s trying, even if it seems like he’s not. When you go back in, just sit next to him quietly and see what happens.”
“Just what exactly are you implying?”
“Nothing! It’s just, after being with him alone for a day, I learned things are going to take time. The guy’s been trying to isolate himself for a while, and it’s hard to get him in the mood to talk. If he starts to feel comfortable, he’ll start talking.”
Adam leaned forward, eyeing me suspiciously. “What exactly do you know?”
“Not more than you do.” I lied again. It wasn’t my place to tell Austin’s story. “Just trust me on this.”
“I think I need a break from werewolves. Roscoe was—” He paused and ground his teeth. “I don’t know how you do it.”
“He grows on you.” I gave the half-turn a sly smile. “Like a fungus. To be honest, I think that’s what keeps things interesting between us. We’re so opposite that somehow it just works.”
Adam stood and stretched. “Let’s go out somewhere. I found a bar downtown that doesn’t look too bad.”
“We’re not allowed to drink, remember? And you’re not even old enough.”
Adam grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the chair. “The mayor said it was illegal to sell alcohol towerewolves.I saw a half-turn in town earlier sucking down a frozen margarita, and goddamn it, Cody, I want a drink after all this.” He held up a fake ID. “You’re buying.”
I shot him an uneasy glance but thought about it a little more. Another opportunity was about to fall into my lap, and with how tense things had been between us lately, a guy’s night out at a bar might work in my favor.
“Fine. I’ve got a little extra money, and we don’t get to spend nearly enough time together. Roscoe’s going to be disappointed. He’s kind of sitting in the bedroom waiting.”
“Good. He can experience what he put me through.”
“That was fun,” Adam slurred, holding onto me for balance as we made our way to the front door. “But that music suuuucked.”
My phone vibrated, and I took it out to examine the caller ID. It was unknown, so I tapped reject and dropped the phone back into my pocket.
