Page 59 of UNAwere

He nods. Shrugs a little. ‘His family took us in.’

‘Am I…?’ I swallow. ‘Am I going to like it there? With him?’

Something flashes across his face, and his mouth screws. Then he nods. But he doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t try to soothe my concerns.

Our conversation dies off, and I wonder whether I’ve said the wrong thing.

It’s a little while until he stands up and asks if I want another beer. I do, so I nod.

I reach into the pocket of my cardigan, fingering the packet of cigarettes I stuffed in there before we left the motel room. Looking around, I try to judge where a door might lead outside. I find it past the table with the men, and when they see me watching them, they grin and wink.

I quickly dip my chin.

It wasn’t often I got this much attention in a bar when I used to frequent them. And I don’t know why I suddenly am. I used to work pretty hard at trying to get a man to go home with me, when all I was craving was the mind-numbing sensation of sex. And most of those men were human. Because Weres were too familiar. Too usual in my day-to-day life.

Briggs comes back and places another beer in front of me.

‘Thanks.’

‘All good.’

‘Do you wanna maybe go smoke?’ I ask.

He raises a brow at me.

‘Hey, you were the one who bought me a packet,’ I say teasingly.

‘Because I felt like if I didn’t, you were going to bite my head off.’

I grin. ‘Can you blame me?’

‘No,’ he says softly, and the look on his face tells me things I’ve been desperate to ignore.

‘C’mon, then…’ I wave my hand and grit my teeth when I feel him follow close behind.

We head outside through a set of glass doors, bumping our way through groups of people standing around on the back porch until we’re down on the grass, under tree branches strung with festoon lights.

I find a fairly secluded spot, knowing Briggs will prefer being away from people, and set my drink down on a nearby table so I can pull the packet of cigarettes out. He’s still watching me, his eyes now lit gold by the lights hanging over our heads, and so I keep my gaze down, puckering my lips around the cigarette in my mouth as I light it.

‘Want one?’ I ask when I exhale a cloud of smoke.

His nose scrunches slightly, and instead of responding, he takes the one I’m holding and sucks on the end. I watch, stomach flipping, as he smokes the cigarette with ease, blowing smoke from his nostrils as he exhales.

‘You’ve done this before, Briggsy,’ I murmur around a grin.

He nods, handing the cigarette back. ‘Once or twice.’

‘You about to tell me how you were a little rebel when you were younger?’ I pick up my beer, taking a sip.

‘Maybe.’ He leans against the table we’re standing by and peers at me. ‘You wanna hear it?’

‘Are you kidding?’ I ask, ashing my cigarette. ‘Have you even gotten to know me in our time together?’

His mouth twists into one of his smiles. ‘Right. What do you want to know, then?’

I raise my brows, considering it. Truthfully, I want to know everything. Secretly, I want to know everything and so much more.

‘You mentioned your father before,’ I start. ‘Was it bad?’