Betrayed By You

Ch.37 - Working With Her

Nothing had made me more excited in months than having the chance to help Angeline. The fact that I'd been able to give her a safe place to stay when she was scared was something I was more than happy about, but being able to give her her freedom back in the form of a job where she wasn't inside a house all day was fantastic. The fact that we had the same hours and worked at the same place so we could carpool if we wanted was just a bonus. A flat out bonus. We got up early in the morning at different times, we went to bed at the same time and I don't know about her, but I would lie in bed, just staring at my ceiling knowing that in the morning I'd have the chance to get up and spend more time with her before we went to the same place to do our jobs.

Her first day on the job Roy let me introduce her and train her on what to do. Luckily one of my favorite coworkers was nearby so she got to meet Roy and then Jeremiah. Jeremiah was a little out there, but he was a sweetheart when it came to helping people or animals. When he wasn't working at the factory he was helping abandoned animals by fostering them. I'd wanted to talk with him for a long time about the adoption process, but I was always worried that, because I was a werewolf, an animal might not take to me and then it would be a big mess. In public animals seemed to do just fine with me, but that was when my scent was dispersed in the air. At my home my scent would be a lot stronger and a lot of animals couldn't handle that when it came to werecreatures. Maybe something with the fear that a werecreature who wasn't able to control himself or herself might attack the pet. Whatever it was, it had always made me cautious. It was another of those things I'd never been able to ask mom and dad before they died.

Angeline hit it off with Roy and Jeremiah was his usual sweet self to her. I'd talked about her with him, so he knew how I felt about her. Ange took to the machinery right away and was able to work it like she'd been there for years. I wasn't sure if it was because she was just natural at whatever it seemed she picked up, or if it was because I'd worked there for years and I'd told her how I did my job and what happened while I was there. She'd learned a lot about what I did after she moved in with me. So many fun conversations. It was nice to have someone who was really interested in how my day went and what I did all day. Not that Sam and Luke weren't interested in what I did at work, but Sam was usually buried deep into one of his books either reading one or writing one or doing research sometimes and Luke was usually about to head to work when I was getting off work. Now that Angeline had a job again I could ask her how her day was and hopefully made her as happy as she made me when she asked that same question.

At the end of the first day I stood by my car, waiting for her. When she came out she was walking with Jeremiah, talking about animals and what he did outside of work. He waved at me and walked over to his truck, telling Angeline he'd see her tomorrow. She walked up to my car and smiled. "I survived."

"Like there was any doubt?" I teased, smiling as I opened her door for her. "What do you want to do for dinner tonight?"

"I don't really care. Anything sounds good. I think there might still be some leftover pizza in the fridge."

"I think Luke took that to work with him today. That or I sent the last of it home with Luke and Sam. You'd be surprised how fast it seems to go when you do it once a week. It's really odd."

"Well, what about takeout? Or making something with whatever we have on hand at the house?" She shrugged.

I tilted my head back and forth a few times, leaning my head back against my seat and fiddling with my keys. "I dunno. Don't think there's all that much at the house. I try to keep a stock of microwaveable meals, but I don't remember the last time I stocked up on them and I really don't feel like going to the store because then I'm going to spend a lot more than I should because I'm hungry."

We both laughed and she spoke up. "Why don't we have something delivered tonight? Not pizza though. No delivery or instant or whatever other types of pizzas there are can compare to your homemade pizzas on family night."

"Thank you. And yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I've got a bunch of takeout menus at the house so it shouldn't be too hard to find something out of them. And most of them are really good about fast delivery times and good prices on top of that."

"Orange Pine Valley, home of the awesome delivery places."

"Mock all you want, it's true. From what I hear there are actually places out there that have to wait and wait and wait and by the time your delivery gets to you at your own home, it's cold! That's just wrong."

"Wrong on oh so many levels." She leaned her head back against her seat, belt already on, when I started the car. "It almost seems strange, y'know?"

"What does?"

"This. All of it. Living with you, working with you, being with you. As in dating you. It's something I'd thought about off and on for so long, but I never thought it would actually come true."

"You're not alone there. I wished for a future like this time and again when I was a kid. Even before I'd met you. It was just one of those things I wanted in life. Then I met you and the question mark woman in my dreams had a real form. A real face. And lucky for me she actually liked me."

"Still likes you. Loves you." When I stopped at an intersection she leaned over and kissed me. We drove the rest of the way home holding hands with our fingers laced together. Best day of work ever.