That Shifter Love

The door opened, letting in a quick blast of fresh spring air before closing. Lucy looked around and recognized the lecherous fart who liked to harass her and the other waitresses. They’d complained to the boss, but since the man had never touched one of them, the boss claimed they’d be fine. He was a good tipper, after all, even when the girls were borderline rude to him. She rolled her eyes and looked at Kayla, whose shoulders had dropped at the sight of him.

Lucy whispered, “It’s your turn.”

Kayla’s eyes widened. “No way! I had to deal with him last time.”

“Actually, we made Tiffany deal with him last time, so it’s your turn.”

“Rock, paper, scissors?” Kayla held out her fist, and Lucy put hers out too. Three bumps later, and Lucy was headed over to take his order.

“Hi, there,” she said to him in an unenthusiastic manner. “How can I help you today?”

“You can start by walking away so I can check out that fine ghetto booty you’re rocking,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows at her. Lucy stared at him blandly, pencil poised over her notepad. He cleared his throat and ordered with a grin on his face. “A pint of Guinness and some of that gumbo I’ve been hearing about.”

Lucy turned without replying and walked to the kitchen. She could feel his eyes following her as she walked away, and she mentally shivered.

“Hey, hot stuff, bring me a glass of water too,” the guy called to her. She responded with a lifted hand but did not turn around or speak.

What she wouldn’t give to shift in front of him and scare the sh*t out of him. But no, that wasn’t allowed here. Humans in the city preferred to believe that weres kept themselves in the country rather than in the city. Many actually still seemed to believe weres were myths, although proof was available on YouTube, on the news, and in the newspapers.

She put in the guy’s order and returned with a glass of water. The guy’s name was Austin, but none of the girls called him by his name. He was Pervert. “Here you go.”

“Thanks, sexy,” Austin said and winked lasciviously at her. She rolled his eyes at him, which only made his grin widened. His favorite thing was getting a response out of the girls. “How long for that Guinness?”

“I’m going to check right now,” Lucy replied in a monotone. She was hoping to return with both his drink and his gumbo so she would only have to come back once more, so she took her time wandering back to the kitchen. Luckily, the gumbo had been ladled and was waiting for her in a steaming bowl. She smiled her thanks at Sammy, who waved at her, grabbed the bowl and the beer and headed back.

“Here’s your food and your drink,” Lucy said. She set his order down and stood up straight. “Anything else you need?”

“Just your phone number,” Austin replied with a wink. “And a date.”

Lucy knew better than to answer, but she did. “You won’t get either of those things from me.”

“Too bad,” he replied around a mouthful of the spicy gumbo. “The tip I can give you is quite large.”

Lucy stared at him, debating whether he was making a crude remark. The look on his face told her he was. She grimaced at him and walked away without speaking. She could hear him chuckling as she walked away. When she told Kayla what he’d said, she was furious.

“Ok, that’s enough. I think it’s time Jeff had a talk with that guy,” Kayla fumed. “I’m going back there to tell him now.”

“He’s not here today, remember?” Lucy reminded her as she added salt to a shaker. “He won’t be back until tomorrow. Sammy is in charge.”

“GRRRR! That guy burns my ass!”

“Yeah, he’s a scumbag. Let’s just ignore him, maybe serve him a beer we’ve drooled in,” Lucy giggled.

Austin remained in his booth for the rest of Lucy’s shift, steadily plowing through three more pints and slurring cruder innuendos as afternoon shifted to evening. Kayla’s shift had ended at 5:00, and she’d been replaced by two waitresses, both of whom refused to serve Austin. Around 5:30, the dinner crowd wandered in, so Lucy’s attention was more divided, which seemed to irritate Austin. He called her over more frequently with requests for more ketchup, even though he’d ordered nothing but another bowl of gumbo. At one point, out of the corner of her eye, he had lifted a hand as if to slap her ass but lowered it when she turned on him and glared. He had just grinned.

Lucy was incredibly grateful when her shift ended. Having Austin in the café the entire afternoon had been wearing, not to mention all the other tables she’d served. She mentally counted her tips as she changed back into the other sneakers; the rain had continued to fall steadily all day. A nice haul for a Wednesday afternoon, she thought.

She stepped to the backdoor and looked out. The rain had let up some, now just a drizzle that wouldn’t quite soak her as she walked the two blocks to her apartment. She sighed heavily, called out a good bye to the other waitresses, and headed out. She looked around as she walked, ever conscience of the dangers of a big city. When she heard footsteps behind her, she halted and looked over her shoulder. A man was walking behind her, but he didn’t seem to be following her.

Lucy glanced around again as she started walking. The street was far from crowded, but there were people here and there hurrying along the sidewalk. But when she turned the corner of the street her apartment building was on, no one was in sight. She again glanced behind her at the man, who was still there but seemed preoccupied by his phone.

Only a hundred yards to her front stoop; she increased her pace. Her heart was pounding louder than it should, and the instinct to shift and defend herself was strong. Her mind kept telling her everything was fine, that she was overreacting, but her instincts were screaming danger. She’d never ignored her instincts before, and she didn’t now. She broke into a run.

The man did as well; he caught up to her quickly and easily, grabbed her arm and halted her progress. He pushed her up against a building and trapped her there with his arms on either side of her head.

“Hey, hot stuff, why the rush?” Austin leaned close to her as he spoke, his alcohol breath expunging all other scents from her nostrils. Lucy pushed against him, but he didn’t budge. “Come on, Lucy. Aren’t you glad to see me?”

“No, Austin, I’m not. Step away from me before I scream,” Lucy said calmly, refusing to panic yet.

“Scream? Why would you scream?” He leaned in again and tried to kiss her, but she jerked to the side. He put his hands on either side of her face. “I’ve been wanting to kiss those big lips and massage that big ass for weeks. Give me a chance, hot stuff.”

Lucy pushed his chest again, harder this time, and managed to throw him off balance a little. With that moment of advantage, she shoved passed him and headed quickly for her building, now only about fifty yards away. She looked back at Austin, who had put his hand against the building for support. When he saw her looking, he ran after her. For a drunk man, he moved very quickly and had her arm in his grasp once again. When he pushed her against the wall again, she cracked her head against it hard; she saw spots briefly.

When she’d regained her senses, he was groping her, feeling her bre*sts and kissing her neck. Her mind screamed in indignation as she shifted into her wolf form. She dropped to all fours, and Austin nearly fell over. His face hit the wall; he yelped and put his hands over his face.