Werewolf Girlfriend: Sheba (special preview)

It was raining a lot as you drove in. Not only that, you somehow made a wrong turn along the way. You went over this cute little bridge at one point. You only remember because you made note to come back when it wasn’t raining. But then, when you turned around to head back, the bridge was covered by the river. So much rain had made it overflow.

“Oh boy.” You sit in your car and stare out the windshield, trying to think of what to do. You then  see a sign near you saying that the ‘Hearthway Forest Nature Reserve’ is five miles from here.  Deciding rather than wait on the rain to end, you head towards there if only to find somewhere dry to go. You eventually see more signs for the town of Hearthway Hollow. How serendipitous, you think. Maybe you can hang out at a cafe there until the rain ends.

You park and slip on your hoodie then put your laptop case inside close to your chest. You knew you should have packed your umbrella before you left, but you didn’t listen to your better judgement. You rushed through the rain, making it inside the cafe. It’s quiet inside, only a few people scattered about at tables. Even the staff seems to be waiting out this rainstorm. You look over the menu hanging above you just as someone else comes into the cafe.

“Excuse me.” She has a gruff voice but when you look up at her you notice she has the most beautiful eyes you’ve ever seen. She walks around you, going up to the counter where she plucks up a paper bag. You notice her leather jacket is dripping wet, as are parts of her hair.

“You’re not going back out in that, are you Sheba?” Someone behind the counter asks.

“The Locklear Bridge is out, so I can’t exactly go home at the moment,” the woman scoffs. “I’ll probably have to shack up at the motel tonight.”

You screw up the courage. “Excuse me,” you blurt out. “But could you tell me where the motel is? I’m afraid I’m stuck here for the night too.”

Sheba turns and looks down at you, beautiful eyes sharp, stance stiff and defensive. “You go across the street,” she points out the window. “Then you make a left turn and down Deep Holler road. Once you come to the end of it, you make a right and it’s there.”

“Across, left, right,” you murmur to yourself. “Thank you!”

A slight smile appears on Sheba’s face. “Not from here, are you?”

You shake your head. “I think I crossed that Locklear Bridge you were talking about,” you murmur. “I got turned around on my way to Asheville and I ended up here.”

Sheba holds back a smile. “You really did get turned around, Asheville is back about an hour that way.”

Your jaw drops as you look at her. “That’s what I get for using the post-it note system!” You stomp your foot. “I can’t afford a smartphone or anything. Really, I still have a flip phone! So I make a system of post-it notes along my dashboard with directions and-”

Sheba is snickering and huffing as she tries to keep from outright laughing at you. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh.” She combs her fingers through her long, dark hair, swooping it away from her face. “I don’t even have a phone myself. I’ve just never heard of a post-it note system.”

You blush from embarrassment, but also because Sheba is so pretty. She’s tall and muscular, she actually would look pretty scary if you weren’t in such a cute cafe. “I’ve used it since high school.” You smile shyly at her. “But thank you for the directions. Once it stops raining I’ll try to get back to Asheville.”

“It usually rains for a few days in a row here,” Sheba says warningly. “You could get stuck for a few days.”

“Oh,” you begin to sink.

“It’s a cool town though.” Sheba walks by you again to the door. “You might like it here.” She leaves and through the window you see her go for a motorcycle outside.

You stay for a bit at the cafe, long enough to enjoy a warm drink and a particularly fancy sandwich. After that, you go to the motel and check out a room. As you’re unlock the door to your room, the next one over opens up. Sheba walks out with an ice bucket in her hand.

“You again,” she says with a smile.

“Hi,” you say shyly.

Sheba looks you over. “Guess my directions worked then?”