This story takes a bit of time to build. Give it time to set the scene, and I think you will enjoy it.
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Marty never thought about them really. Werewolves that is. Never figured they would be a reality or an issue. Granted, she use to think that they were fairy tale monsters and characters for fright movies. Ranked them right up there with witches, ghosts and vampires. She ought to have known better. You can't have whole genres of literature without a little bit of fact hiding somewhere. Never thought she'd ever meet one, let alone date one.
Marty met Graydon at a party. A 'bring a friend and a bottle' type. One of those parties where the real objective is to get laid. She didn't have a friend, but she had a lovely bottle of brandy. Marty never dressed up. There wasn't even a dress in her closet anymore. They were just impractical in her life. So, Marty wore her usual jeans, flannel shirt and moccasins expecting to be comfy and drunk by the end of the evening.
She walked in and found Jessie doing her best to be the hostess, which is really funny. Jessie loves people and parties and is hopeless at organization. She was trying to get everything out and as usual had botched it. Marty smiled, stuffed her coat in a corner and started to straighten out the table of glasses and paper plates.
"Thank goodness someone knows where I keep things!" Jessie said.
"Yeah, and good thing you throw parties where I can practice these skills." Marty smiled as she plunked the last of the plasticware into a large cup.
Jessie looked Marty over and just shook her head. "Glad you had time to shower before you came over."
"Hey! I do my best not to smell like my charges. It's just difficult sometimes when I'm in a hurry," she said trying to defend her damp hair and general sloppy appearance. Marty worked at a fancy kennel and stable outside of town. Lots of big dogs and horses.
"She still hasn't forgiven you for the time you brought the Great Dane to that picnic," said Dirk as he came out of the kitchen with a tray of cheese, crackers and sliced meats. Dirk was Jessie's lover. One of those tall, dark and handsome types that walks right by Marty like she was invisible. Jessie is blonde and thin. They make a beautiful couple.
"Well,... I couldn't help it. And he was well behaved right up until he ate that potato salad." Even though it was the truth, it sounded so lame. The dog loved Marty and had escaped the dog run at work and followed her. "I was at the park by then and had figured it would just be easier to wait for Nick, our vet, to come pick him up. Silly me."
"It's okay Marty. I just had to tease you," Dirk smiled.
Everyone else leaves their jobs at the office and Marty's has the darnedest way of following her everywhere. She pulled her hair back again into a scrunchy. Damp brown curls that had a mind of their own were doing their best to escape. She keep threatening to chop them short, but never had the time or the guts to do it. Plus, she hadn't graced the inside of a beauty parlor since she was five years old.
Marty got the last of the foodstuffs from Jessie and had just set them on the table when the door bell rang. Dirk got it and she didn't notice who came in.
"Graydon, I'd like you to meet Marty," Dirk said as he tapped her on the shoulder to get Marty's attention. She turned around to see a man with dark hair, slim muscular build and broad shoulders. Most of the crowd are desk jockeys and cubicle rats, so to see someone so physically fit was a change.
"Um... Hello, I'm Marty," she said as she held out her hand.
He took her hand and gave it a firm shake. "Graydon Roche. Nice to meet you."
Marty smiled and then suddenly felt set up. She looked over to Jessie who was smiling. Marty was being set up! Well, she wasn't going to play this game no matter how nice this guy was. She had her mind set on just getting drunk tonight. Horses and dogs are so much safer. "Excuse me a minute, I need to talk to Jessie."
"No problem, where do you want this?" Graydon asked. He had a bottle of red wine in his hands. Marty took it and placed it on the table where other bottles had been left earlier.
"Jessie, can I speak to you in the kitchen?" Marty moved towards her, put her hands on Jessie's shoulders and pushed her into the small kitchen before she could protest.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" Marty asked.
"I was trying to find you a date! Or don't you care if you ever get laid?" Jessie asked.
"Well, of course sex is important, but I'd kind of like to find my own guy. I don't even know this man!"
"No, but you know everyone else who usually comes to our parties and I thought a bit of new blood might actually interest you. You've picked over and turned down most of the guys. The ones you've actually taken to bed could be counted on one hand. So what's wrong with Graydon?"
"I don't know him!" she hissed.
"No, but you could get to know him. Talk to him. Give it a chance. Worse that could happen is that you could bore him to death with talk about horses and dogs," Jessie finished with her hands on her hips. She was getting pissed at Marty.
"You... you... oh! Okay, where did you find him?" she asked, trying to calm down and not walk straight out the door.
"He works in Dirk's office. New guy, transferred in from Idaho or Montana. Been there about a week, and Dirk likes him. Says he really knows his stuff. Has a brain and all that," Jessie was trying to calm down too. She was running her hand through her hair. "So, I had Dirk ask him to the party. He doesn't have any expectations. So relax. Just have a good time okay?"
"Fine. I just don't like having dates found for me. Let me do my own hunting, okay?"
"Okay," Jessie said as she ran her fingers through her hair again and then left the kitchen.
There was only one door and Marty looked around to grab something that might need taken out. She saw the salt and pepper shakers, and grabbed them. The last think she wanted to do at the moment was talk to Graydon. Marty put the shakers on the table, grabbed a glass of brandy and started to head out to the back yard where most of the guests were mingling. No Dirk or Graydon in sight. She found a bench under the back trellis and curled up on it.
People were bringing in more food and Jessie was beginning to fret again. Marty just sat and ignored her. She could just stew for a bit. Marty was still not feeling very party friendly, but the brandy was helping. Somewhere between the kitchen and the bench, She'd lost her scrunchy and her hair was doing it's best to take off on it's own in every direction except down. One curl kept falling right between her eyebrows. Marty tried tucking it behind her ears and it wasn't working. Her glass was empty, and the food was beginning to smell good. Marty left the bench and ventured forth for provisions.
When she returned with a full plate of food and more brandy, Marty found her bench occupied by two giggly blondes and a couple of guys from Jessie's office. She turned to try and find a new place to sit out of the way and almost ran face first into Graydon who had a plate in his hands.
"Oh! Sorry."
"No problem. I didn't mean to startle you either. Is there some place we can sit and talk?" he asked.
Although it was the last thing she wanted to do, Marty didn't feel she had much choice at that point. Marty looked around and saw that the compost bin had a decent sized lid on it and pointed in its direction.
"I think we can sit over there if you don't mind grass cuttings and apple peelings," she said.
"No, I don't mind. It looks like a table to me." He moved to set his stuff down and then took her plate as well while she settled down on top.
"Thanks."
