“No, it’s a possible felony. Put it away,” I whispered sharply. Darryl let go of his dick and laughed at me. “At what point do you guys lose all sense of shame? Roscoe’s the same way.”
“Eventually, you’ve gotta stop giving a shit what other people think. We’re not human anymore, and other humans either like us, hate us, or shit themselves when they see us. We either stop caring or it’ll drive us nuts. The half-turn phase is important, and how you handle things now determines what kind of werewolf you’ll turn out to be.”
“I didn’t know that.”
Darryl reached for my head and ran his clawed fingers over my earrings.
“The kuu’s not just for werewolves getting free places to live. Half-turns need werewolf companions, and these things help keep your urges and anger under control—or whatever.”
“Speaking of,” I said, wondering how I’d word this without him misinterpreting it. “I sometimes see red, like I’m gonna lose control or something. When I’m…witha werewolf, it goes away.” This was an embarrassing topic for a complete stranger, but he was a werewolf, and he would probably give me better answers than Roscoe often did. “Is that normal?”
“Pretty much. Every time it happens, you get a little closer to being a werewolf.”
“So, if I want to be a full werewolf, I just need to have more sex?”
Darryl scratched his head. “I don’t really know how it all works, but I know it helps. It’s why we’re so damn horny all the time. I got fucked a lot as a half-turn. Like…a lot.Man, I was a huge slut.” The werewolf smirked at me. “Still am.”
Now I was starting to understand all the rumors about him. “How long have you been a lifeguard?”
“Couple decades. I did a lot of surfing when I was human and half-turn and just didn’t feel right ever leaving the ocean. My life’s here, and I wasn’t gonna let being a werewolf determine where I’d end up. I bought this tiny chunk of beach, built a house on it, and now I live every day in paradise doing what I love.” He raised his beer and drank the last of it. “You should strip naked tonight and come for a swim.”
“I, uh… I don’t know how to swim.”
Using his pointer claw, he opened the other bottle he’d grabbed. “Well, you’re in luck, bud! I giveadultswimming lessons too.”
“Adult?”
Darryl took another drink. “I’ve got a lesson plan with a one hundred percent success rate.” He paused and let out a contemplative hum. “Okay, more like ninety-five percent. I got one guy who’s a special case.”
“That’s tempting and all, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“You sure? It’s a reeeeally good lesson plan, and everyone should learn how to swim.”
I opened my mouth to respond but was interrupted by Roscoe calling from the boardwalk. He carried my backpack over one arm, which was so full he couldn’t zip it all the way back up. He also carried four cases of beer, two in each hand and two under each arm.
“Daddy Darryl’s drinkin’ on the job?” Roscoe asked as he climbed up the deck steps. “I didn’t think you did that anymore after you got in trouble that one time.”
Darryl raised his bottle. “It’s my day off. I was just filling in for someone earlier.” He let out a sudden snarl, which startled me. “I also think you’re misremembering who got in trouble.”
Roscoe’s ears fell as he cleared his throat again. “Gettin’ to know my new roomie?” Roscoe sat the cases on the deck and began tearing into them, placing each bottle into the cooler.
“Roomie?” He glanced at my earrings. “Probably more like a mark. Didn’t you say the whole kuu thing was dumb?”
“That was before they started promising houses. I’ll get to sit in my own home and smoke as much weed as I want, and no one’s sayin’ shit!”
“You do realize they’re probably going to make you get a job, right?” I said as Roscoe moved onto the sausages.
“We’ll see about that. I’m pretty fuckin’ useless.” He smirked and closed the cooler lid. “And that’s me not even trying. Just think of how useless I could be if I applied myself.”
“When you apply yourself, things go missing,” Darryl said, his eyes now aggressively wide as he stared Roscoe down. The atmosphere began to grow more uncomfortable, but the larger werewolf relaxed and looked back at me. “No one holds a candle to Roscoe when it comes to being useless,” Darryl said in a tone that sounded like he was trying to hold back his anger. “I think he’s been kicked out of every house he’s ever lived in, including mine.” He turned back to Roscoe, who was now in a more submissive posture. “Which brings me to my next question—why the fuck are you back?”
Roscoe scratched his head. “Uh, did you kick me out? I don’t remember.”
“Of course you don’t remember. I’m surprised your brain still functions after all the drugs.”
I glared at Roscoe.
“Oh,” he said, letting out a nervous laugh. “Kinda forgot about that. I’m clean as a newborn now. I swear.”
