Bing was looking through a drawer of empty Chinese red envelopes for the New Year. Then he realized that Walter had meant the question seriously.
“It doesn’t suck,” he answered honestly. “But it isn’t always great.” He thought about his possible bad future, but he didn’t want to go into that now. One problem at a time.
“Is there a full moon problem?”
“Not for me. We didn’t create Red Wolf that way, so I don’t have that problem.”
“So we created Red Wolf and then, wham—there you are?”
“There has to be a lot of belief behind it. All those fans. Plus, there was a magic spell.”
“What!”
Bing held up his hand before Walter could say more. “I don’t understand it. You’ll have to ask the people in charge. But right now—”
“Auntie Sand. Okay, okay.” Walter moved through the main part of the trailer to the back, where her bedroom was. “What exactly are we looking for?”
Bing searched inside a cabinet. “Some clue as to what the demon is, I guess. Or where she’s gone. Or—”
“How about a map with a big ‘X marks the spot’?”
Bing chuckled. “That’d be nice.”
Walter stepped out of bedroom holding up a map of Wisconsin. On it was a big red circle and the wordsKangaroo King.
Well, okay. That was helpful. Then Bing grinned and tried to tease his friend. “That’s a circle, not an X,” he said.
“You’re a dick,” Walter returned without heat.
And right there was the perfect setup. Bing had spent the past eight weeks listening to dirty banter from his fellow wolves. It was humor, and it created a bond with his teammates, so he tried to share it with Walter.
Bing waggled his eyebrows, pretending his words were casual and that they easily rolled off his tongue. “I thought you liked that,” he said.
Oh hell. The comment didn’t roll off his tongue. It didn’t even get close, and Walter’s frown showed that he’d noticed.
Instead of smiling, Walter sobered and lowered his hands to his sides. “Soooooo,” he drawled. “I’m getting mixed messages here.”
Crap. “I was trying to make a joke.”
“No you weren’t. That was sexual.”
Bing felt his chest heat. “We’ve been sexual together.” Why was it so hard to say that word? “I thought you liked that kind of banter.”
Walter stepped forward. He had to avoid some mushy bananas to do it, but he came close enough to touch without actually connecting. “Let’s get honest here for a moment, okay?”
Crap. American honesty was often awkward and embarrassing. Bing’s culture tended to sweep things under the rug and pretend none of it ever happened. Fortunately Walter looked as nervous as Bing did. He took a breath and nodded.
“You’ve never gone for sexual banter before. Why now?”
“You’ve always told me to loosen up,” he said, feeling his entire body stiffen. “Everyone tells me to relax, so I’m trying to do that. Relax. In a new way.”
“With sex talk? It feels weird coming from you.”
It felt weird saying it. But this was his best friend, and he wanted to connect with Walter again, and that meant offering an explanation. So he folded his arms across his chest, as if that could protect him, and spoke.
“The day I became a werewolf, I lost everything. The movie, my identity, everything.”
“I know. That’s why I’m making this movie. So you—”
