“Yeah, but it’s not gonna matter if we get pulled over and arrested.”
“Well, I’ll just have to drive reeeal careful, won’t I?”
“How’d you even rent this?”
“I got a friend that owed me a favor.”
“After all the stories I’ve heard, I’m starting to have doubts about these so-called friends that oweyoufavors.” I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. “I might actually have a stroke in my twenties.”
Roscoe laughed and slapped my back. “That’d be a first.” He glanced over at Darryl in the distance, who was perched high in his chair, surveying the water. “Wonder if he’s gonna see us off?”
“He’s working. We should go say goodbye to him.”
“You guys go do that. I’m gonna go wake Adam up,” Austin muttered as he stomped toward the house.
“We don’t have time for another four-hour fuck session in Darryl’s bed, just so you know,” I called after him.
He held up a middle finger without turning around.
“This is such an awful idea,” I said under my breath. “Why did I agree to this?”
“Because yer helpin’ out a friend, and there’s nowhere else to go. Besides, Austin ain’t bad. He’s still a kid himself, and he’s seen some shit.”
“Yeah. So I’ve been told.”
“Give him a chance. We’ll have a good time if you know how to look at life a little better than you do.” He wrapped his armaround me as we walked along the beach toward Darryl. “Stop worrying so much and enjoy being young for a change.”
“How do you do it? How do you not give a shit about anything, even when you really should?”
“I’m old,” he replied with a wily grin. “Drugs helped a lot back then, but now I just don’t let things get to me. I ain’t some fount of knowledge, but I’ve got a lot of experience. All those years, things always worked out somehow.” He looked down at me. “Hell, even this worked out. I found a half-turn who’s smartandhot… and didn’t know about my history to refuse my kuu. What’re the odds?”
We approached the high chair in front of the tower where the other lifeguards usually stayed.
“You guys heading out?” Darryl asked, still scanning the choppy water, his attention narrowing on a few children wading in waist-high surf.
“Yup. Gotta hit the road now if we want to get to Norwich before midnight,” Roscoe said, pausing for a moment. “Thanks fer lettin’ us stay here.”
The huge werewolf didn’t look down; instead, he nodded. “I’m actually going to miss having you guys around.”
“Wish you could come with us,” I said.
Darryl jumped down from the chair and pulled me into a hug. “You’re a good kid, Cody. Just keep the old fart out of trouble.” He let go and took a step back. “If you guys ever get the chance to come back to the beach, I’m not going anywhere.”
Roscoe ran over and held his arms out. His tail wagged fast at first but slowed as Darryl stared him down.
“Eh, what the hell.” Darryl wrapped his arms around Roscoe, and both of their tails swayed in time with one another. “I’m gonna miss pounding that ass into hamburger meat.”
“Uh, yeah.” Roscoe’s tail lowered between his legs. “You gave the old hole an early retirement.”
“Heh.” Darryl pulled away and looked back out to the ocean, making sure the children were still safe. “These careless little turds have been turning my fur gray all morning.” He turned back to us again. “Drive safe, okay?”
“You got it, bud.” Roscoe slapped Darryl’s arm and headed back toward the truck.
“I meant what I said, Cody. If you run into any problems out there, you’ve got my number.” He stared at Roscoe who was now out of earshot. “I think you guys are going to be okay. All things considered, Roscoe’s a nice guy, if he’s not using. Just do me a favor and look after Adam.”
“What’s your take on Austin?”
Darryl paused, gritting his teeth. “He’s fucked up in the head, but I feel sorry for him. When he was a half-turn, he was puny and had a big-dog complex. He hated himself, hated people, and hated life. I tried to help him, but sometimes you gotta let people make their own shitty choices. I’m still surprised he even managed to get Adam to like him.”
