“Aw damn. Forgot my bus pass,” he said with a flirty wink to the bus driver.
The large woman sighed. “Just get on the damn bus, Roscoe.”
He smiled and patted the driver on the shoulder. “I owe you another good time.”
“You’re a real piece of work, and you owe the city thirty bucks.” She looked up at him and lowered her voice. “Tomorrow, six-thirty. Don’t be late again, bastard.”
I tried to scrub that exchange from my brain before taking a seat by the window, but to my abject horror, the beast decided to squeeze in next to me, the seat way too small to accommodate him.
“The werewolf section, Roscoe,” the bus driver called back. “Stop harassing people.”
“Aw come on, Patty.” He put his heavy arm around my neck and yanked me close. My nose was practically in his armpit. “He’s a good friend of mine.”
“Let me go,” I whispered just loud enough to not make any more of a scene as the other passengers gawked at us. The bus began to move, and Roscoe released me.
“What’s yer name, bud?”
“None of your business,” I said, staring out the window. “And I’m not your bud, so stop talking to me.”
I could still see him staring from my peripheral vision. When he tilted his face downward, I pulled the resume to my other side.
“Dakota.” The werewolf snorted. “What a queermo name, Dakota.” He enunciated it slower, in a nasally tone. “Daaaa-ko-daaaaah.”
“Dude, your name is Roscoe. I’m surprised anyone would find you remotely fuckable.”
“Ouch,” he said, his tail wagging for some reason. “Little twink’s got some sass to him.”
“Do not call me that.”
“What, Dacooter?”
I bit my lower lip and looked away from him again. “I think I know your game now. You’re just going to keep following me and annoying me until I give you money.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out a five-dollar bill. “Here.” I threw it into his lap. “Now get lost.”
“Gee thanks, bud.” He folded the money in his palm. “So, where’re ya headed?”
I tilted my head back against the seat and let out a groan. “Okay, see this is how it’s supposed to work. I give you money, and you leave me alone. Why are you still talking?”
“’Cause you gave me money,” Roscoe said, still grinning like an asshole. “Gotta complete the transaction, ya know. So what’ya want? Want me to suck yer dick?”
My face got hot as every passenger in earshot turned toward us in unison.
“I’m done with this.” The bus stopped a few blocks from the bar, and I stood, squeezing by him as I made my way down the aisle.
“I can eat yer ass too,” he called after me, even louder. “You got a nice one, and I got a good tongue for it.”
The bus driver looked back at me with an expression I could only assume was pity as I picked up the pace and practically jumped off the bus. When it pulled away, what was once a drizzleearlier turned into a thunderous deluge, and in my desperate attempt to escape, I’d left my umbrella behind.
I wanted to kill that werewolf.
“Whoa! What happened to you?” Rob hopped the bar and ran to me as I dripped on the floor, my shoes making squishing sounds with every step. “Did you miss the bus?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said, still fuming from my earlier encounter before throwing my now-ruined resume into the garbage. “I’m going to need a uniform. I forgot mine.”
“Okay, you’re not going to like this.”
I glared at him.
“This is all we have. I mean, you could just march that hot ass out there naked and everyone would be throwing their money at you.”
