Troy woke to the sound of running water. He blinked, disoriented. His head pounded. He pushed himself out of the pile of pillows and looked around. He was naked in a strange room and the shower was running.
It hit him. Blake was in the shower. Blake, the mountain lion who had fucked him last night. Troy groaned and sat up, swinging his feet over the edge of the mattress. The digital clock on the nightstand screamed 6:00 in angry red numbers. Troy stayed out all night and now might be late for work.
He gathered his clothes from where they lay piled on the floor. He stepped into his jeans and tank top, unforgivingly tight and damning in the morning sun. Troy put his hand on the door and looked back.
“Bye,” he whispered.
He opened the door and slipped out into the summer morning sun. Troy shut the door as he heard the water shut off in the bathroom. He sighed and scampered across the road to the bar where his blue truck stood as a solitary reminder of the night before. He slipped inside, wincing slightly as he sat, and pulled off toward home.
***
The back door whined as Troy snuck inside. It was 6:53. His dad wouldn’t be awake until seven and breakfast wasn’t served until 7:30. That was enough time to shower, change, and pretend he had been home the whole night.
“What are you doing?”
Troy whipped around and saw Bekah, his younger sister, standing next to the refrigerator with a glass of milk in her hand.
“None of your business,” Troy snapped.
She looked at him curiously. “Why are you dressed like that?”
“Dressed like what?” Troy snapped, pulling on the hem of his shirt.
“Like a vampire,” Bekah said taking a sip of her milk.
Troy rolled his eyes. “I don’t know Bekah, it doesn’t matter. Just don’t tell dad, all right?”
“Fine,” said Bekah, “if you promise to drive me to the movies later.”
“Fine,” Troy whispered, picking his way around his sister and heading for the stairs. “Whatever you want.”
“Good night,” Bekah whispered after him.
“Good morning,” Troy whispered back.
He tiptoed to his door and slid inside. When the door shut with a soft click he sighed and tossed his tank top to the floor. It was 6:55, still over a half hour to be presentable for breakfast. Troy walked to the jack and jill bathroom he shared with Bekah and went inside, locking both doors behind him.
He groaned as he looked in the mirror. There were purple bags under his eyes and pink bite marks down his neck. Troy turned and looked over his shoulder, the bite marks continued down his back and were joined by light scratches.
“Mountain lions,” Troy muttered before slipping off his pants and stepping into the shower. Nothing a little warm water wouldn’t fix.