Behind the Eight Ball Read Online Free PDF Page B

quickly became concerned.
    Then I stumbled to a halt as I remembered the first words he said to me: “Mine.”
    Janelle immediately zeroed in on my reaction. “What?”
    “Hmm?”
    “Don’t ‘hmm’ me. Did you remember something? You remembered something, I can tell, so spill it.”
    Oh, she was going to gloat. Knowing Janelle, she’d be gloating for days. “I…. aw, God. The first word out of his mouth was ‘mine.’”
    “Ha!” Janelle pointed a long red nail at me. “I knew it! Did you smell anything?”
    “You’re kidding, right?” Flustered, I threw my hands up in the air. “Smell anything? Come on, Janelle. There’s a whole assortment of scents in the shop. Can you narrow that down a bit?”
    “Oh, for crying out loud. Was there a scent that affected you? And yes, by affected I mean”—Janelle waggled her eyebrows—“ affected .”
    “Please don’t do that. My poor heart can’t take it.” The gloating was going to last for months at this rate. “Lord, I hate to admit this, I really do. But yes, there was this scent. I noticed it when I was kneeling by him. Smelled like coconut. I remember wondering if we had a new candle or something. It was noticeable but not overpowering. I liked it.”
    “You smelled his arousal.”
    She couldn’t be serious. I waited for her to smile or laugh, but all she did was stare steadily at me. “Arousal doesn’t have a scent. Does it? I mean, I heard about pheromones and stuff, but I never really paid that much attention to… It’s not the same as… is it? Did I really smell his arousal?”
    “Yes. When we find a scent that calls to us, we don’t let it get away.”
    Now I was sure I was goggling at her. Why was I just now hearing about this? She said that the way she’d say it was sunny outside. Neither she nor Marshell had mentioned it before. “That sounds a little stalkerish, just so you know.”
    Janelle shrugged. “Only if you’re human.”
    I glanced down at myself then back up at her. Were we even in the same conversation? “Um, I’m human.”
    “Aw, I know, sweetie. Don’t feel bad, though.”
    “I’d tell you to bite me, but you probably would.”
    Janelle hopped off the desk. “Naw, you’re family, and I’d only bite you in an emergency. Besides, your werekitty wouldn’t like it.”
    “Right. You’re assuming I’ll ever see him again.” I wasn’t touching the whole werekitty thing. I had a feeling that would go over as well as being outside in the rain with him.
    Janelle walked to my office door but paused and looked at me. “Oh, you’ll see him again. Trust me.” With a wink, she walked out.
    I didn’t know whether to be relieved or scared.
     
     
    THE NEXT week passed in a blur and we said good-bye to October. November arrived with much cooler temperatures. I made a note to discuss Thanksgiving plans with Janelle and Marshell. Until they met me, they didn’t observe holidays, but it was something I couldn’t let go of.
    It was the one holiday my entire family celebrated. All my aunts and uncles came to the house and stayed for several days. There were so many of my cousins around I always had someone to play with. Then that ended.
    Now I celebrated with my adopted family: Janelle and Marshell.
    It was Friday night again and my mind really wasn’t on work. All week my thoughts had revolved around that guy. I had hoped to see him again, but he hadn’t come back. It left a little ache in my chest, which was just stupid. We weren’t around each other long when we met, and then he ran off.
    That hurt and pissed me off… and I was having doubts. Anyway, my thoughts were all over the place and I was sick of them. At the end of the workday, I grabbed my jacket and fled the office. I was the first one out of the shop. Since it was a weekday, we closed at seven. It was already dark outside. I hated this time of year.
    “Hey! Man, slow down.” Marshell hurried out of the building, waving frantically at me. “Jeez,