Free Bizarre Life of Sydney Sedrick by Mandi Casey Page B

it’s my turn for a question. Are you dating anyone?”
    I looked at him in surprise. My heart began to pound in my chest, making it hard to think of what to say.
    “I’m between boyfriends, if that’s what you mean.”
    He chuckled. “I suppose that answers my question well enough. How many boyfriends have you had?”
    “That’s two questions, so now it’s my turn. What does Morris really want with me?”
    “Sydney, your topics of small talk are a little disappointing. Morris wants you to be on his side, the wolves’ side, as the Selected. He doesn’t want the vampires to have sway over you. He doesn’t want you to help them find our dens because they want us all dead. Since we value our lives, we all hope the same, actually. Now, for my question, how many human lovers have you had?”
    “What kind of a question is that? And why would you specify human?”
    “I answered your question. You owe me an answer to this one, Sydney.”
    “I find this highly personal, and I don’t like how you’re using this against me, but fine, I’ll answer you.” She paused. “I’ve had seventeen human lovers.”
    He must have found my response extremely humorous because he laughed so hard, he struggled to breathe. When he was finally able to catch his breath, he said, “Oh my, that is a lot of lovers for someone your age, and that’s a complete and utter lie. There’s no way you have had seventeen lovers in your life, so tell me the truth.”
    I acted offended and pouted, trying not to laugh myself. “How can you sit there and tell me I’m lying? You don’t think I’m pretty enough to attract that many men, is that it? Thanks a lot.”
    “Don’t try and twist my words against me. You are not the type of woman to go around sleeping with every man who pays you the slightest bit of attention, and that’s what you would have had to do if you really had been with all of those men. Sydney, you are a very attractive, very feminine woman, and that was the opposite of an insult when questioning your truthfulness. So tell me the real answer.”
    “Two, and I’m not sure if the first one even counts. Are you happy?”
    When he learned how many men I’ve not been intimate with, he grew serious for a moment. “Yes, that actually makes me happier than it should.”
    He stayed quiet, in deep contemplation mode when it was my turn to ask a question. We were just entering the center of the city, so we had at least twenty more minutes just to get to the outskirts, and then only Blake knew how much longer we had to drive to get to Morris’ house.
    “Okay, it’s my turn. How long do werewolves live?”
    “Werewolves usually live long lives. A wolf’s lifespan depends a lot on their choices they make, how they live. So roughly they range anywhere from eighty to two hundred and fifty years.”
    “Wow, that’s a long time. It’s surprising to have never run into one before now.”
    “Well, wolves tend to stay to themselves, socialize among their own kind. Hanging out with humans can be very dangerous. Once a human knows about our true nature, they tend to want to tell the world about us, which obviously would be very bad. So, what would you say if a werewolf asked you out on a date for tomorrow night, after you get off of work?”
    “Blake, we can’t go on a date. We can’t have that kind of relationship between us. There’s just too much going on right now to even think about it.”
    The hottest man I’ve ever seen just asked me out on a date! He did feel the same strong pulling attraction between us, and that made him all the more dangerous. The temptation of getting to know him better, to have him to lean on through all of this would be great. It wasn’t clear who to trust. The feelings between us were mutual, but what was he willing to say or do to get me to comply with whatever it was his uncle really wanted?
    All he said was, “We’ll see.” His jaw set a little tighter, and the air in the car became a little