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Drake closed the door enough to look at Tido. “Now is the perfect time to tell him things are over.”
“Things never began again,” Tido said with a huff. “One freaking visit and he thinks we’re dating again.”
“Did you tell him it was just a visit?”
“Well…no.” Tido crossed his arms. “Whose side are you on?”
“Yours.” Drake shook his head. “I’m only trying to help you end things with Alan. Do you want him to come back?”
“No.” What Tido wanted was not to be alone anymore. All of his friends were dating now, and Tido was the only one who was single.
And that sucked. Only, as of this very moment, Tido was swearing off men. Dating was just too damn complicated.
“He’s gone,” Drake said. “Come on, scaredy-cat. Let’s go get some ice cream.”
Tido ignored Drake’s barb. He really was a scaredy-cat when it came to breaking things off with a guy. “That was the worst lie I’ve ever heard.”
“If you don’t like my lies, don’t stick me in front of one of your exes and make me talk to him.” Drake headed out the door.
Tido peeked around the door to make sure Alan’s car wasn’t in the driveway before he hurried outside and rushed to the passenger side of Drake’s car.
“Hey, Kenji!” Drake said as he waved to Stud Muffin.
Tido’s jaw dropped. Why was his neighbor still outside? Slowly, Tido turned his head and looked across the street. Kenji was seated on his steps, his elbows resting on the porch behind him, as if he was just soaking up the sun.
“You’re a dick,” Tido said under his breath as Drake passed him.
“You wanted to know,” Drake said. “Now you know his name.”
“I’m going to murder you.” Tido slipped into the car, fuming that Drake would do that. When his friend got in, Tido hit his arm.
“Ow.” Drake leaned away from him. “You can’t abuse the driver. We might get into a crash.”
“We’re in my driveway.” Tido glanced in the side mirror and saw that Stud Muffin was still watching them. “Can we just go?”
With a huff, Drake pulled from the driveway and headed into town.
“So, he’s Ajax’s friend and is in town for a few weeks to visit.” Drake pursed his lips and looked as if he was thinking about something. “I haven’t been keeping track, but I’m pretty sure he’s only got a week left… I think.” He shrugged. “Don’t quote me on that.”
Which meant Kenji wasn’t sticking around. “If he’s Ajax’s friend, does that mean he’s not human?”
A few weeks ago, Drake had given Tido the complete rundown on shifters. Tido hadn’t been surprised they existed. About a year ago, he’d seen a man transform into a lion, although back then, he’d thought he was going crazy. He’d been too far away, and although he knew what he’d seen, and told his friends about it—a year later—his brain had still tried to convince him the incident wasn’t real.
“Just like Ajax, Kenji’s a wolf shifter.” Drake drove them toward the ice cream hut that opened every summer. Thankfully the line of people waiting for their treats wasn’t long.
After Drake parked in the lot behind the hut, Tido got out and walked to the window. Some teenager was inside, her ponytail bobbing around as she walked from one end of the small shack to the other. Then she noticed him and gave Tido the biggest smile. “How can I help you?”
“I need a second to look over the menu.” Though the menu hadn’t changed in years. Tido had grown up in Midnight Falls, and very little had changed. Storefronts had gotten facelifts or repairs, but no new businesses had been seen in a while.
Except for Wild Tiger Barbecue, and he was over the moon for Mason’s cooking. Tido still swore that Mason added some kind of drug to his food. No one cooked that damn good. Even the side dishes were beyond amazing.
He looked to his right as Drake approached, stuffing his phone into his back pocket. “Order yet?”
“I was waiting on you. Since you forced me out of the house, you’re buying.” Tido turned back to the menu, which was on a board and mounted on the side of the order window. “I’ll have onion rings, mozzarella sticks, with dipping sauce, a Coke, and a banana split.”
Drake looked Tido over then shook his head. “I really hate you sometimes.”
He knew why Drake said that. It wasn’t Tido’s fault he couldn’t gain any weight. Lord knew he tried. It sucked going through life looking as if he starved himself for weeks on end. His mom was just as slim. Tido had inherited his slim form from her side of the family. His father was of average size.
