Rejecting Him

"Okay, that’s not normal,” I said as Logan won another plastic ball from the arcade’s claw machine. The way this game worked was that each ball was worth a certain amount of tickets. Red was five, blue was twenty, and green was a hundred. We would trade it in at the front counter when we went to have our tickets counted. “I must have played this game like a zillion times and I’ve never won a thing.”

“It’s super easy,” Logan assured me. “You just need to be one with the machine.”

“That’s it? That’s your secret?”

Logan chuckled. “Nope. If I told you my secret, it wouldn’t be a secret.”

He snagged the green ball from the slot and, grinning, and dropped it into my hand.

“Milady.” Logan bowed with a flourish. I laughed despite myself as he took my hand in his. Logan brushed his lips lightly across my skin. Electricity shot through me. Our eyes met, causing my heart to skip a beat.

A blush heated my cheeks and I glanced down at the ball, drawing back my hand. I didn’t realize how dry my mouth had become until I ran my tongue across my lips.

“Um,” was all I could bring myself to say.

“Do I dazzle you?” Logan asked with a joking, lopsided grin. “Do I make you speechless? Weak in the knees, perhaps?”

With each question, Logan brought his face slightly closer to mine. I put my finger on his forehead and pushed his face away.

“What do you think, mister smooth?” I said, hoping to regain my cool. Logan’s grin only widened.

“Answering a question with a question, eh? I see how it is.”

“Oh puh-leez!” I rolled my eyes with a laugh. “Just grab the tokens, will ya? I want to play House of the Dead.”

Logan chuckled. You and my cousin Bee would get along. She loves that game.”

I grinned. “Yeah?”

“Mm-hmm. She’s hardcore, though. You think I’m inhuman for winning the claw game? Just watch her play. Woo!”

“I think I can do one better,” I said, feigning innocence. Logan shook his head.

“Thank your lucky stars she isn’t here to hear that, Callie. Thems fighting words to her. You wouldn’t believe how protective Bee is over her high scores,” Logan warned. I just smiled.

“Get her over here, I can take it.”

He pressed his lips together. “Callie…”

I leaned forward and gave him a peck on the nose. “Challenge accepted.”

Several rounds and one thoroughly defeated boss later, I had left Logan speechless yet very much certain in the fact that when it came to House of the Dead, I meant business. Mom and Dad hated that I was into FPS games, which only made them all the more appealing back in my more rebellious teenage years. Since I was very firm about keeping my werewolf social circle separate from my human social circle, I was able to come to the arcade without worrying about getting caught playing those kinds of games. The werewolves I was friends with at the time had parents who wanted to get close to Dad, and I had become convinced that if I took them to the arcade with me, Dad would have found out that I was still playing House of the Dead.

We rounded out the night by hogging a Ski-Ball machine, since that game was the most generous with its tickets. Even after I’d gotten sick of playing, Logan wouldn’t quit, so I stood off to the side and joked with him while he let his tickets collect in a steadily-growing pile on the floor. That night, I left the arcade with Logan by my side and a giant neon pink bear in my arms.

After the arcade, Logan treated me to dinner at a nice Middle Eastern restaurant. The inside was warm, decked in a cream and gold color scheme. Traditional Middle Eastern music played in the background. Each round table was covered in an off-white tablecloth, and murals were painted on the walls. A woman in her early thirties with warm, brown eyes and long black hair woven into a braid greeted us at the door. With a knowing smile, she showed us to a small booth tucked into an out of the way corner.

The werewolves in my life seemed to have a knack for timing as well, but whether or not it was on purpose, that was anyone’s guess. I wondered in annoyance, as my phone vibrated in my pocket during dinner, if they’d ever stop calling whenever I went out with Logan. Lucky for me, he had excused himself to use the bathroom.

I dug the phone out of my pocket and watched it ring. Mom was calling, and I knew I should have felt guilty for not answering, but instead I just held the phone like it was a live grenade. Mom’s smiling face blinked at me until the vibrating stopped. My background, a photo of me and the girls with our arms wrapped around a giant redwood tree, replaced Mom’s face. I smiled faintly at the memory.

Last year, Della had to put her dog down after old age had finally taken its toll. She was reeling from the pain, a loss that I could hardly comprehend since Dad had taught me early on that our kind could never own any pet that wasn’t boring old fish. Maya, Jamie, and I had decided to take her on an impromptu road trip down to the Redwood Forest. It was something we had all wanted to do for a long time, so the next day we packed our bags and hit the road, top down, belting out Katy Perry’s “California Girls”.

“What are you smiling at?” Logan asked with a smile, sliding back into his booth. I set down my phone and smoothed out the pristine table cloth.

“Just a picture…” I smiled shyly in return and showed him my phone background. Logan’s eyebrows shot up.

“Damn!” He took the phone and grinned. “You went to the Redwoods?”

“Yup,” I said. “Della there—” I pointed to my blue-clad friend. “—lost her dog so we wanted to take her mind off things for a bit. You ever been to the Redwood Forest?”

Logan shook his head. “No, but I really want to. Hiking, nature walks, that sorta thing? I can’t get enough of it. It’s so peaceful, getting back to nature.”

“Same here,” I agreed. “Oh man, you should see the redwoods. They’re amazing.”

Logan tore a piece of lamb off the kebab stick. “How about Forest Park?” he offered. “Ever been there?”

I pressed my lips together and shook my head. “Nope. Never. It’s been on my to-do list, of course. But lately I just haven’t been able to find the time.”

“Aww, that’s a shame.” Logan shook his head.

As a werewolf, I was naturally drawn to wide open wilderness. It was the animal in us. It loved to run. Living where I did, in the city, was like living without a part of myself. It didn’t matter that Portland had a lot of parks and kept some natural beauty within city limits. Being without all that green set me on edge sometimes.

“Well,” he went on. “Some of my favorite hiking trails are there. Maybe I can take you sometime.”

I broke into a wide smile. “I’d like that.”