[11] Cinnamon

After taking a shower Massie dressed in the comfortable attire of long pajama pants and a tank top. The moment she came home she informed her mom of the babysitting job she was taking up tomorrow. As expected, her mother shrugged and said, 'sure'.

Massie loved the trust her mother gave her, and really, she had no reason not to. She was 18 and still a virgin (which based on certain schools she's been to is a humongous feat). She's never taken drugs, and although she had a little love for alcohol, she never got so drunk she made of fool of herself. Most of the bad reports she received were from school, and none because she was failing. Only the usual "overly talkative" and "disruptive behavior". But Massie always convinced her mom it was their way of saying she actively participated.

After putting on some comfortable shoes, Massie silently descended the stairs and snuck out through the back door near the kitchen. Once outside she smiled, giddy with excitement. She was planning on going to the park again in hopes of seeing Cinnamon.

As before, the streets were eerily quiet and solitary, completely different from any previous town she'd been to, where there were always cars driving regardless of it being the middle of the night. When she reached the park she immediately saw his large figure, laying at the very edge of the park only a few steps from the forest. Upon seeing her near Cinnamon stood tall and powerful on his four hinds, his amber eyes watching..

"Miss me?" she asked, laying beside him. He stared at her. "Mmhmm, I thought as much." When he remained standing Massie pat his side. "Sit down, you're blocking the view of the moon." The wolf silently complied and snuggled near her form, bringing a comforting warmth.

Massie smiled, "Guess what? I got a job at the famous Dark Falls diner. Every girl in school is impressed. . . and crazy jealous seeing as all the hot guys in school work there, including my crush." The wolf barked, as if asking 'who?'.

"Sebastian. You have to see him Cin, he's tall, handsome, and big, just my type." The wolf made the same comical noise he had last time she'd come and busted her ass on the ground, which sounded suspiciously akin to laughter. Massie cupped her hands around his snout, forcing him to face her. Her eyes narrowed "That's not funny!"

Cinnamon bared his teeth, releasing her hold. Giving up she opted to examine his canines. "These are some big papas," she murmured. Skimming her index finger past the top row. She could only imagine the damage his teeth could do.

The thought of Cinnamon being part human crossed her mind as her fingers finished inspecting. She's been spending time with a wild animal who has had countless opportunities to harm her, and yet here she was, alive and well with no bites, scratches or scars. Her eyes locked with his as the idea ran through her head, and to be quite honest, she didn't think it was too unrealistic.

Cinnamon put his head on her chest. She caressed his fur, feeling the thick, dry texture. "Someone needs to use conditioner." He gave an annoyed growl; she only laughed. "I have bad news—well, for you anyway. I won't be coming tomorrow, I'm gonna babysit Hailey." After not getting a satisfactory reaction from him Massie huffed. "Oh, so now you're gonna pretend you don't care? Everyone misses me if they don't get a taste of me daily. It's no coincidence I'm the only girl Hailey finds favorable. I'm a naturally lovable person."

Cinnamon yawned and blinked at her, as if to say really? "Trust me, you'll definitely shed a tear at my absence." Feeling it was getting too late Massie stood and wiped the dirt off her pajama pants. "I need to get my beauty sleep before I see Sebastian tomorrow, bye Cinnamon." She gave him a farewell kiss and turned to leave, but not before hearing a surprised yelp.

Massie slowed turned, a sly smile slowly forming. "Oh my Cinnamon, don't tell me that was your first kiss?" The wolf barked, disagreeing. Massie snorted, "Worst liar ever."

Five hours and thirty-six minutes of sleep was not enough for Massie Wilton. Yes, she had done the math. As fun as going to the park in the middle of the night to visit an intelligent wolf was, she was beginning to notice it's cons. Firstly, she had not gotten enough sleep, so her eyes were puffy during all of first period. Thanks to the lack of cute boys in that class she didn't mind the physical setback, but could you blame her for always wanting to look her best?

Second, she had not realized she picked her dad's shirt when she had dressed this morning. All she remembered thinking was how comfortable it felt, but in her stupor she didn't realize it was because it was fairly oversized. Sheesh, if only she hadn't been as lazy when she opened her moving box and realized her father's shirt was included with her wardrobe. Of course she just had to put it in her drawer rather than taking the walk and carrying it to her parents room. Lesson learned. Massie sighed, so much for Fashionable Friday. She would just have to pretend she intended to look bummy.

"Massie!" called Emma from the far end of the hallway. She was quickly making her way toward Massie, Emily and Lucy at her tail.

Upon seeing them she almost turned and ran in another direction. She remembered the promise she had made them yesterday about asking Kristin to think about hiring them at the diner. Of course, after hearing Kristin's babysitting offer she got completely distracted to the point when she forgot to ask her in the first place.

When they finally reached her she blurted the first thing that came to her head, "I can explain."

However, judging by their expressions it appeared she would not have to. They all had wide Orbit smiles and beaming faces. She was just waiting for one of them to say 'just brushed clean feeling'. Rather than this however, she heard Emma say, "I can't believe you actually did it!" Emma pulled her into a tight bear hug that almost broke her ribcage.

Deciding to go along with it Massie smiled. "Yeah, you know me. Always a doer."

Lucy jumped, excited. "Oh my gosh you're like a miracle talker! I mean, to get us all a job a the diner? I thought only one would get it. We tried so many times before. Thank you so, so, so much Mass!"

Finally understanding, Massie furrowed her brows in confusion. "Huh? How did you guys—"

"Kristin told us." Emma filled in, cutting her off. "She was driving the twin's little brother to school and she saw us. That's when she told us she considered your idea and was taking all of us as her new waitresses!"

"Thanks Wilton," said Emily. While her appreciation wasn't as large as the others, Massie could still see she was thankful.

"We'll see you at lunch Mass, love you!" After sharing farewells they scurried off, walking amiably amongst each other.

Massie blinked, her mind unable to make sense of anything that just happened. It was clear the girls had gotten what they wanted: a spot at the most highly envied job of town. Where it was guarantied they would interact one way or another with the Cult. There was just one problem, she didn't remember ever telling Kristin to hire them. As a matter of fact, she was sure those words never left her lips. So if she never expressed this idea to Kristin, how in the world had she found out?

"Want to be my partner?!" she rushed, getting the words out in record pace.

Amazing. Massie had to give the girl props, she had talent. The moment her Pre-Calculus teacher Mr. Seaman had told the class they could work in pairs to finish the review packet, Stacey had somehow managed to walk from the far edge of the room, and come all the way to Jordan's desk before Massie could finish putting her pen down. Massie let her eyes fall to Stacey's legs.

She must be in track.

"Sorry Stacey," Jordan replied, apologetic. "Massie asked me first."

Massie stopped an 'I had?' from escaping her lips. Evidently, Jordan had no plans in working with this girl, and if she was being honest with herself she felt pretty happy about it.

Stacey's entire demeanor fell. ". . .Oh. Well, that's fine."

Taking note of her disappointment, Jordan grabbed her hand and turned on the charm. "With a face like yours, I doubt I'd finish any work. Count yourself lucky, or else I'd blame you for a missing homework." Giving her a wink, he let go of her hand.

Stacey blushed furiously as she babbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'so right' and 'wouldn't want that'. When she finally left Jordan turned his attention to Massie, nearing the desks together.

"Would you like to remind me when I asked you to be my partner?" Massie questioned, laughing.

Jordan chuckled along with her. "Sorry, but I've been partners with her before and it was the most awkward twenty minutes of my life. All she had done was stare at me. She didn't even try talking to me, I swear, it was like being with a blinking statue."

"Sounds awkward. Most guys interested in me try to talk to me. But since you're on a whole other physical level girls must get too nervous to talk to you."

Jordan raised a brow. "Other level? You'd impress any guy I know."

Massie huffed when she realized it was exactly what Kristin told her yesterday. And like yesterday, she couldn't help but think that if it were true Sebastian would show the most remote sign of interest already. On the bright side she always found a challenge fun, especially since she seldom found those. Actually, now that she thought about it, Sebastian has been the only guy she's ever had to work for.

"Let's hope so," Massie replied wistfully.

Jordan smirked, "who are you aspiring to conquer?"

Massie smiled. "You shall find out soon enough."

Jordan smiled back, almost as if he knew. "I think I have a pretty good idea on who it is."

She narrowed her eyes, unbelieving. "Really? Who is it then?"

Jordan threw his hands up in defense. "I'm not saying anything."

"That's because you don't know." She countered.

"Oh, yes I do know. I just don't want to embarrass you by knowing that I know."

"But me knowing that you know won't embarrass me. Especially since technically I know that you know I know that you know his name."

"Not yes technically because it's not a certain I know that you know that I know since I didn't tell you his name. And when I say his name you'll be embarrassed because you'll definitely know that I know so you think he who doesn't know will found out by me."

They both doubled over laughing, catching Mr. Seaman's attention. "Will I have to separate you two?"

"No Sir," they said in unison, restraining further laughter.

"You have got to be kidding me."

The red stain on her underwear was doing anything but. Thankfully the stain was so recent it didn't damage her pair of jeans, but she wasn't expecting her period for at least another three more days. Great, more panties added to her Period Panty drawer. Ugh, and to think she loved these, it was one of her boy shorts--by far the most comfortable.

Shaking her head she added a couple of tampons and pads to her bag. God only knows how heavy her period was on the first day. Grabbing her necessities, Massie rushed to the bathroom to take a shower. Today she was babysitting Hailey and not even her period could dampen her mood, especially when she heard the Cult just happened to live together deep in the woods in a set of humongous homes. It was obvious her and Sebastian were meant to be together, there's no way destiny would bring all these coincidences at her and not expect her to marry that handsome hunk.

Deciding to dress laid-back, she grabbed a pair of sweats and a comfortable shirt. Taking a scrunchie, she tied her hair into a high side pony tail and put on her pink stud earrings to complete the look. She may not look as if she came off the runway, but no one could deny she looked effortlessly beautiful.

When she arrived at the Dark Falls Diner she was surprised to see Emma, Emily, and Lucy already working the tables. Although she knew they had gotten the job, she didn't expect them to start work so soon. A part of her was mad they had already taken over her territory—what she perceived to be anyway—until she remembered she was the one asked to go to the Cult's estate to babysit Hailey.

"Massie! You're here! I knew you wouldn't bail," exclaimed Kristin when she viewed her and her bulging book-bag. Her eyes roamed the diner. "Jordan should be here any minute I already called him."

"Honey, I'm home," said Noah, entering the diner. Massie remembered him as the buff one who actually interacted with people in school.

Kristin gave him a hug. "You, at the diner? To what do I owe this miracle?"

"I came to pick up Hailey's babysitter. The others are still getting ready, you know how unorganized they are. Jordan couldn't make it." Suddenly, his eyes flickered to Massie with interest. "And I bet you're Hailey's new babysitter."

Massie smiled, impressed. "Did my bag give me away?"

Noah winked. "Nah, I just had a feeling." Kristen bumped his shoulder after the comment, warning. "After you princess," he said, opening the diner's door with a charming smile.

Kristen rolled her eyes, murmuring. "My cousin is the biggest flirt."

"Wow, handsome and charming," Massie replied, feeling flattered. After being ignored by Sebastian this felt pretty good. She pat his shoulder on her way out. "You're on your merry way to impressing any girl I know."

Noah chuckled and flashed her a beaming smile that surely made girls drool. "That's just what I wanted to hear."