Lycanthrope

“So, tell me about about this boy. What’s his name again?” my mother inquires over dinner after telling her that I would be helping someone study tonight.

A soft sigh passes through my lips as I poke at the mashed potatoes on my plate with my fork. “His name is Tyler, his father is or should I say was the Mayor before he passed, and he’s a dick.”

“Sydney Elizabeth Brown,” my mother says in a harsh tone causing me to cringe, “what have I said about that kind of language?!”

I quickly mumble an ‘I’m sorry’ before rephrasing my opinion about Tyler, “He’s not always the nicest guy in the world.”

“And this is the boy who you said you were talking to when you went out for a jog a couple weeks back?” I simply nod my head as I think back to the night of my werewolf encounter and my mother continues, “Do you like this boy?”

Dropping my fork on my plate, my eyes widen and I look at my mother as if she has ten heads. I shake my head and answer, “I think you’ve lost your mind to even think that I like him. I mean, Tyler is a jerk to me and we bicker... a lot.”

“I know there’s a ‘but’ not too far away from that answer so just get on with it,” she smiles, an amused look in her eyes.

“I mean, sure, I think he’s attractive and that’s kind of the extent of it. Like I said, we bicker back and forth a lot but I don’t know, I kind of like that we do,” I answer and run a hand through my hair. Bringing my legs to my chest, I think about my answer and ask, “Is it weird that I like fighting with him?”

She lets out a soft chuckle and shakes her head. “Honey, you enjoy fighting with him because somewhere inside of you, and based on what you’re saying it’s probably somewhere really deep, deep down, you like this boy. Now it could be a silly little crush or actual feelings. Who knows? But there’s definitely something there.”

Before I even have a chance to protest, the doorbell rings and I softly excuse myself from the table to answer the door. I open the door and see Tyler standing there with his backpack slung over one shoulder. Without saying a word, I motion for him to come in and close the door behind him then lead him to the kitchen where my mother is waiting to meet him.

“Mom, this is Tyler,” I introduce him to her. She looks him over, a small smile pulling at her lips and just before she can say anything embarrassing, I interject by saying, “We’re gonna go upstairs and study.”

I grab Tyler by his shirt and quickly drag him upstairs. Once we’re in my room, I release Tyler from my hold causing him to glare at me and ask, “Was that really necessary?”

Rolling my eyes, I take a seat on the bay window and say, “Get your French book out so we can get started.”

“Uh, right. I don’t have it,” he replies while scratching the back of his head.

I let out an annoyed sigh as I lift my legs and cross them Indian style. “And you don’t have it because?”

“Because I’m not taking French.”

My jaw drops slightly and my eyes widen. Once the initial shock has subsided, I narrow my eyes at Tyler and exclaim, “You asked me if I could help you with your French homework. Why would you ask that if you’re not even taking that class?!”

“If I asked you to hang out, would you have said yes?” he inquires causing me to shake my head, “Yeah, I didn’t think so.”

I watch Tyler as he takes a seat next to me and leans back against the wall. Following in his lead, I turn and lean back against the opposite wall so I can look at him. We sit in silence for a few minutes and I break it by softly asking, “Why did you want to hang out with me?”

Tyler shifts uncomfortable before avoiding my question and asking one of his own, “Did you ever find out who sent you that folder of papers?”

“Uh, yeah. It was some of my dad’s research on werewolves. He sent it to me.”

“Didn’t you tell Mason that you’re dad moved somewhere far?” Tyler asks while furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

I nod my head while dropping my gaze, my eyes focusing on my hands that are playing with the hem of my shirt. “I guess when my dad left, he didn’t go as far away as I thought he would.”

“So, are your parents divorced or something?” Tyler asks after a moment of silence. I quickly bring my gaze to look at him and burrow my brows. He takes note of my expression and says, “I’m sorry. Is that too personal and off limits?”

I quickly shake my head and reassure him that the question is fine, “I just have no idea. I mean, I’ve never thought about it or even asked my mom. For all I know, they’re still married but separated.”

“Why’d he leave?” I run a hand through my straight, reddish-brown locks and shake my head, dropping my gaze as I do so. “That one is off limits, huh?”

A soft chuckle passes through my lips as I nod my head. “Yeah, that’s something I can’t talk about.”

I lift my gaze to find Tyler nodding his head in an understanding manner. Silence fills the room once again and I find myself staring intently at Tyler. Keeping my eyes locked on him, I take notice of the way his brown eyes shine when the light hits them then bring my gaze to look at how perfect his square jaw is. I then take notice of his black leather jacket and the way his grey shirt hugs his body in a way that allows you to notice his toned muscles.

My gaze manages to find it’s way back to Tyler’s eyes and when they do, I notice the smug smirk playing on Tyler’s lips. “Like what you see?”

I simply glare at Tyler and reply, “Don’t flatter yourself, Lockwood.”

Tyler nods his head, his smirk still in tact which causes me to roll my eyes. The silence quickly returns and I lower my head, my eyes wandering to to the loose piece of thread at the bottom of my jeans as I begin to tug at it.

A few minutes pass and when I lift my head, I notice Tyler’s face merely inches away from mine. Before I even get a chance to say anything, Tyler presses his lips against my own and I quickly find myself melting into it. I allow my eyes to fall shut as I return the kiss. After a few seconds, Tyler pulls away and presses his forehead against mine.

My eyes soon flutter open around the same time that Tyler’s do and our eyes quickly lock. Then in a matter of seconds, we find ourselves leaning forward and locking our lips together once more. Unlike the last kiss, this one seems to be a little more passionate and full of hunger.

Tyler lifts his hand to rest on my cheek and pulls me closer to him. His tongue soon grazes my lower lip and I immediately part my lips to allow our tongues to become tangled with one another. As our tongues wrestle with one another, I find myself lifting my leg and placing it on the other side of Tyler’s body causing me to straddle him.

I press my body against his as his hands travel down the sides of my body and I quickly begin pushing his jacket off of him. When he is stripped of his jacket, his hands soon grip my hips as I bring my hands to the back of his head, pulling him closer to me to intensify the kiss and allow my fingers to get tangled in his hair.

Taking his lower lip between my teeth, I pull away slowly causing Tyler to groan. A smirk tugs at my lips as I crash them back down to Tyler’s and let my tongue explore the contents of his mouth. Tyler pulls away shortly after and begins to leave a trail of kisses along my jawline and down my neck. He continues to kiss my neck, stopping every so often to nibble lightly on it when he finds the weak spot on my neck.

Tyler begins to suck on the patch of skin below my earlobe causing me to lean my head back and suppress a moan. I can feel Tyler smirk against my neck as he continues to nibble and suck on that patch of skin before he slowly makes his way back to my lips. Our lips attach once more and we continue to kiss until I feel myself getting worked up.

I quickly break away from the kiss and pull my body away from Tyler, swinging my leg over him once more so I’m not longer straddling him and immediately rise to my feet. Running a hand through my hair, I walk forward just a few feet and keep my back towards Tyler.

“What did you stop for?” I hear Tyler ask from behind me, confusion evident in his voice.

Sighing, I shake my head and turn around to face Tyler, “I just don’t want to take this chance of letting this go any further and do something that we might regret later on.”

“But I’m willing to take that chance,” he retorts while rising to his feet and making his way towards me.

Once he’s standing in front of me, he places his hands on my hips and begins to lower his head. I quickly turn my head but that only results in Tyler attaching his lips to my neck. My eyes quickly fall shut as he begins to work on my neck. Trying to prevent myself from letting a moan escape, I push Tyler away from me and shake my head while saying, “Tyler, I’m serious. I think you should go.”

Tyler lets out a deep breath as he nods his head and grabbing his jacket off of the bay window. He puts his jacket back on and grabs his bag from the floor before making his way towards me once again. He brushes my bangs out of my eyes and says, “Fine. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

I simply nod my head and Tyler presses his lips against mine once more. Sighing, I return the kiss and after a couple of seconds, he pulls away before walking out of my room and leaving. Once I hear the front door shut downstairs, I groan loudly and collapse backwards onto my bed as I try to wrap my mind around whatever it is that I’m feeling.