“Thanks,” I said, looking back down at the cup.
“Can I get you something else?” His tail swayed softly behind him. “Maybe something to eat?”
“Um, one sec,” I said before taking out my wallet to make sure Roscoe hadn’t decided to help himself to the cash he’d returned last night.
The werewolf grabbed my hand, stopping me. “You don’t pay.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s free,” he replied before pointing to my hoodie. “It’s a little hot in here for that, isn’t it?”
The werewolves sitting at the other tables stared at me while occasionally glancing at each other, each one rigid as if waiting.The classical ambiance of the room suddenly shifted to a bunch of crinkling papers.
“What’s the catch?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. After my last encounter with a werewolf—who was now sleeping in my bed—I couldn’t help but be suspicious.
“New half-turns don’t pay. That’s the policy.”
“Oh,” I said, my face growing hot. “Do I look worse now?”
“It’s not how you look,” he said, pointing to his nose. “You may as well take the coat off. It’s just making you sweat more.”
Another rush of embarrassment hit me as I slowly removed the coat and sunglasses. The barista gave a nod before walking away, disappearing into the back room. When he was out of sight, a different werewolf approached, nervously holding a wrinkled sheet of paper. Three more got up from their tables and rushed over to me, holding similar sheets.
“What’s your name?” a tall, black werewolf asked. The shorter brown one next to him let out a growl before a gray one cut in front. The mood of the place shifted to what I could only describe as polite aggression.
“Cody,” I answered, growing more nervous as the atmosphere of the room grew tense.
“Need a roommate?” the brown one asked.
Before I could answer, all of them slid their papers in front of me and stood waiting, their ears sticking straight up.
“I’ve got a job,” the brown one said with a proud, toothy smirk.
The gray werewolf pushed brown to the side. “He works one day a week at the quarry, and he doesn’t bathe. I don’t have a job, but I’m clean, and I’ll do anything you want. Nothing’s off-limits.”
When the larger black werewolf shoved them both, and they fell into the third, things started getting violent. Snarls tore through the cafe as punches and claws splattered blood, some getting on my shirt. As the noise in the café grew louder, the doorto the back room swung open, and the barista ran out, banging a pan with a wooden spoon.
“Knock it off!”
Each werewolf went still and silent, turning their attention back to me.
“I’ve got a roommate,” I said, clearing my throat as they each took a seat at the table. I looked down at the papers they placed in front of me earlier. “What’s all this?”
“Stuff about us,” the black werewolf said. “You’re going to need a werewolf roommate.”
“Why?” I asked, picking up one of the wrinkled papers. It was like reading poorly written resumes. There was everything from detailed—and at times graphic—physical descriptions as well as what they did for fun, and it was typed in small, bulleted font. I looked at the others. Each of these profile sheets followed the same template. “I already have a werewolf roommate.”
“It’s too early to make a decision like that,” the barista said, setting a plate of hot apple turnovers in front of me, way more than I could eat alone. “You should at least review a list of candidates first.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Whenever there’s a new half-turn in this part of town, he gets handed these.” The barista pointed at the papers. “You just go through them and pick out which one you like best.”
“You guys… just carry these on you all the time?”
The four werewolves nodded in unison.
“Never know when we’ll get lucky. So, hopefully you’ll choose me,” the gray werewolf said, flashing his eyebrows. “I put a little something in mine that might spark your interest.”
