“Speak for yourself,” he replied, reaching down, and retrieving his boot. “I have one shoe!”
They both dissolved into laughter. He was irked plenty that some little bastards managed to do this to them and more livid then he would admit that they took one of his favorite shirts, but he had to admit it was also comical in a way. The only question was how they were going to get home.
“I guess we’re shifting and taking the woods back home,” Lucy said, a step ahead of him but of the same mind.
“Seems that way,” he agreed. ‘I’ve got a spare key to my bike at home. Hopefully, they won’t steal it.”
“Hopefully. Those were my favorite jeans too,” she added.
“Come on. Let’s get shifted and get home before we freeze to death. My place is closer.”
“Let’s go,” she replied.
They shifted and headed back down the mountain, edging their way around the bottom of the woods and toward his house. The run was good for him, helping clear his head of the anger that was filling it now that the initial absurdity of the situation had passed. He decided to go back for his bike tonight if it was still there. Creeping up on the back porch of the small brick rancher he had purchased a year or so ago, he felt agitated, even as he and Lucy shifted back into human form again.
“Fuck!” he growled.
“What?” Lucy said, wide eyed.
“I don’t have any keys to the house. They were on the keyring with the bike key.”
“What now?” she said, sounding a little less amused herself now.
“Damn it,” he muttered, reaching down to pick up a sizable rock that made up part of the border around a row of shrubs around the edge of the house and throwing it through the glass window.
It shattered and he reached through it to unlock the door, pushing it open and reaching around to flip on the light with his hand before stepping inside. He scooped Lucy up and carried her across the broken glass to make sure she didn’t step in any of it and then sat her back down across the room. She stood there looking lost and awkward.
“Come on. I’ve got some old sweats you can wear,” he said.
Lucy went with him and accepted the black sweatpants and t-shirt he gave her. She slipped into them and looked at him, her hands extended to either side as if to model them for him. They were a mile too long, suited much more for his six two frame than her five four one. The t-shirt he had given her bore a single word if you could call it that. It just said “Jenius”
“Your mom?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said, feeling his mood lighten, but only a hair. “You up for going with me to get my bike?”
“Don’t want to leave it overnight?”
“Nope. If it’s still there, I want to get it home. If it’s not, I need to report it.”
“I’d like to hear that explanation,” she laughed.
He smiled and looked down at her feet, frowning.
“I don’t have any shoes that will fit you.”
“Get me a pair of thick socks and I’ll stay in the car.”
“Done.”
“Where is the Charger?” she asked as they stepped into the garage to find an older Jeep Cherokee parked inside.
“It belongs to the department. This one is mine.”
“You don’t need it for your new job, the Charger?”
“No. I have a new one now, well, new to me.”
“I like this better. You don’t look like a drug dealer in it,” she commented.
There was something in her tone that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, but he didn’t pry any further into the comment. Instead, he just let it lie as he drove them back out to the trail head. He was relieved to see that his bike was still there, leading him to believe that it had been pranksters out for their own little night walk through the woods who had stolen their clothes. He hopped on the bike and let her follow him back to his place in the car.
“You want me to take you home?” he asked.
“No. I don’t have any keys either. I’ll just wait until tomorrow and see if I can’t get a key from my landlord. I’m glad my phone was at least locked in your bike’s saddlebag.”
“Small favors,” I guess he told her.
She smiled up at him and the events of the evening melted away again. He kissed her and was soon forgetting all about how annoyed he had been when they arrived back at his place.CHAPTER SEVENLucy
Getting punked by a bunch of kids sucked, but Lucy could hardly complain about being forced to spend another night in bed with Ryan. He was so much more than anyone she’d ever been with. It wasn’t a love affair, but it was shaping up to be a helluva fling. It defied words, explanation, and was beyond her dreams with excitement.