赤裸裸的滑稽故事

A knock at the door drew Caleb’s attention as he finished getting dressed. The sound of the water falling made it clear that Ashleigh was still showering.

He approached the door, sniffing the air just before he opened it, knowing whom he would see on the other side.

Red hair, a thick beard, and the same golfer’s cap.

Liam had a wide grin and a tray of food in his hands.

“Hello, boyo,” he said.

“Liam,” Caleb replied.

“Oh, what’s that now?” Liam said with a look of disappointment. “Are ye still all hepped up? I was sure yer lass woulda cleared the air by now. It’s been three days! I cut Maeve’s murderous gaze that same night!”

Caleb raised his brow and crossed his arms. Liam took a deep breath.

“Ain’t ye got nothin to say to an old friend, Caleb?” Liam sighed.

“Did you try anything on Ashleigh?” Caleb asked flatly.

Liam scoffed.

“What kinda rat bastard do ye take me for!”

Caleb didn’t reply, only continued to stare at Liam with a look of suspicion.

“Oi,” Liam said. “Nothin' happened with yer lady. I was a perfect gent!”

Liam pushed past Caleb and brought the tray into the room. He walked to the desk, set it down, and turned back to Caleb, who was facing him but had not left his place at the door.

“I’m sure you can understand why I find that hard to believe,” Caleb replied.

Liam sighed but nodded.

“Yea, all right, I made some mistakes in the past,” he said. “But ye were my friend, Caleb. When she came, ye were gone more than a year, but she was still mourning ye somethin’ fierce. Even I have lines I won’t cross.”

Caleb narrowed his eyes.

Liam furrowed his brows.

“What?” he asked. “Ye still don’t believe me? Ask her ye self. She’ll tell ya I did nothin’ uncouth.”

“How long?” Caleb asked.

“What?” Liam asked.

Caleb took a deep breath.

“How much time did you plan to give her to grieve before you made your move?” Caleb growled.

Liam scoffed and hung his mouth open momentarily before a grin slipped over his lips.

“Six months,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Caleb let out another low growl.

“Ye can’t blame a guy,” Liam shrugged. “Ashleigh’s a fine woman, and ye were gone. If anythin’ did happen, tweren’t nothin’ wrong with it.”

Caleb took a step toward Liam with a dark look in his eye.

“I said if!” Liam shouted, holding his hands up between them. “If! If something happened, but it didn’t! I swear!”

Caleb stopped.

“Yer right,” Liam said after taking a deep breath. “I was plannin’ on making a move on her after six months. I figured it was a respectable amount of time to wait.”

“How considerate,” Caleb growled.

“It was,” Liam stated. “I wasn’t the only one interested in yer lass. She’s a gorgeous woman, and for all intents and purposes, she was single.”

Caleb clenched his jaw.

“But,” Liam continued. “Ashleigh wasn’t havin’ any of that. A few approached her. First, she politely refused. But soon, she realized they weren’t gettin’ the message. So, she got more... assertive in her refusals.”

Caleb turned away, hiding his smile before clearing his throat and looking back at Liam.

“And how assertive was she with you?” he asked.

Liam chuckled.

“I have a deep appreciation for beauty,” he said. “But I appreciate me own health and well-being a lot more.”

Caleb laughed, and Liam smiled.

“You’re a right lucky bastard,” Liam said. “She’s a good woman.”

“I know,” Caleb smiled.

“Beautiful and strong,” Liam continued. “And she never gave up hope that ye’d come back one day.”

Caleb nodded. “I know.”

Liam smiled. Then clapped his hands together.

“So, we’re good now, yea?” he asked. “Yer not gonna throw me into another wall or growl at me some more?”

Caleb shrugged.

“I can’t make any promises,” he smiled. “But, I do apologize for assuming the worst and getting physical with you. I shouldn’t have done that.”

Liam chuckled.

“Nah,” he said, “I woulda lost some respect for ya if ya hadn’t.”

Caleb furrowed his brow but laughed.

“Why?” he asked.

Liam swallowed and looked away briefly.

“I meant it when I said that I made mistakes in the past,” he said. “And that includes my impure thoughts and intentions toward yer wife.”

Caleb swallowed.

“I may not have acted on it, but it was still wrong,” he continued. “I didn’t realize that until I met Maeve.”

Caleb nodded.

“Finding your mate is life-changing,” he said.

Liam nodded.

“It is,” he said. “Especially when yer mate doesn’t want anything to do with ye.”

Caleb’s eyes widened and then he furrowed his brow.

“What?” he asked.

Liam nodded and smiled.

“I only met Maeve a year ago, but she had heard plenty about me from other wolves,” he sighed.

“I see,” Caleb said, nodding in understanding. “So, your reputation finally caught up with you.”

“It did,” Liam nodded, “and it almost cost me everything.”

Caleb let out a soft chuckle. He felt comfortable laughing about it since it was clear that Maeve had eventually come around to giving Liam a chance.

“You’re quite lucky she was willing to look past it,” he said. “How did you convince her to do that?”

Liam smiled.

“I couldn’t,” he said. “She wouldn’t even talk to me. I’m still shocked she didn’t just outright reject me and get it over with.”

“So, what happened?” Caleb asked.

“She did,” Liam said, tilting his head toward the bathroom door where the sound of the water still came through clearly. “Ashleigh convinced Maeve to give me a chance to prove who I was to her one way or the other.”

Caleb looked at the bathroom door. He swallowed as he thought back to the past. Before Ashleigh had been willing to accept their bond. To the nights spent in agonizing loneliness as his dreams were haunted by her smile and the soft sound of her laugh.

“Maeve told me later that Ashleigh had pushed her to not let what others had to say influence her decisions. That she needed to see for herself whether or not she wanted to accept or reject me.”

Caleb smiled and took a deep breath.

“That’s what she meant when she said she helped Maeve settle into your pack,” Caleb said.

Liam nodded.

“Maeve was only willing to give me a chance if Ashleigh stayed and kept me in line in case I ever decided not to be a gentleman.”

“She seemed pretty capable of handling herself,” Caleb said, gently touching the place on his throat where Maeve had held a blade to him.

“Aye,” Liam nodded with a sigh, “that is also thanks to yer woman.”

Caleb chuckled.

“Maeve was a sweet and shy thing when we first met,” Liam continued. “Six months with Ashleigh and that sister of hers, and she’s become one of my most lethal wolves.”

“Sister?” Caleb asked.

“Aye, the one that taught my Maeve to always have a weapon in every room… scared the bejeesus out of me the first time I moved a picture, and a knife came flying at my foot!” Liam shook his head with a sigh. “Alice was her name.”

Caleb’s eyes widened.

“Alice came here?” he asked.

Liam nodded.

“Off and on for a few months,” he said.

Caleb didn’t know what to say. It was already strange that Ashleigh was outside the territory and seemed to have been so for a long time, but to hear that Alice was as well? Why? What had changed in the past five years that the Luna of Winter would be out in the human world?

“I should go,” Liam said.

“Hmm?” Caleb asked. Having been distracted by his thoughts, he didn’t notice when Liam approached the front door again.

“I’m glad we cleared the air between us,” Liam said, reaching a hand to Caleb’s shoulder. “I have always valued our friendship.”

Caleb nodded.

“So, I should go before that door opens, and ye want to kill me again,” Liam smiled with a wink.

It was then that Caleb noticed the sound of the water falling in the shower had stopped.

“Get out!” Caleb growled as the handle began to turn.

Liam chuckled as the bathroom door opened and steam billowed out. Ashleigh stepped into the room, scrunching her hair with a small towel. Her robe hung loose, with the belt barely tied at her waist. The curve of her breasts and the top of the scar on her stomach were visible to any that looked.

Caleb clenched his jaw and turned toward the room's entrance just as the latch locked into place.