Diaries of an Urban Panther by Amanda Arista Read Free Book Online Page A

if the tingle they still had to the touch was physical or mental. “Because the only time I run is to catch the ice cream man.”
    Devin laughed as he put the scope back around his neck.
    “So are you really here for a checkup?” he asked as he felt my neck with his warm hands.
    “Actually, I just wanted a man to touch me before I die.”
    Devin stopped what he was doing to recover from laughter as he stood and gestured for me to lay back on the pink paper.
    “I thought the same thing until last week.”
    “What happened last week?” I asked as he thumped around on my stomach.
    “Peter.”
    “Peter?” I leaned up on my elbows to look at him with a raise eyebrow.
    “I met someone,” he said little boy excitement in his voice. “His name is Peter and he’s a lawyer.”
    “Wow, congrats.”
    “We’ve only been out a couple of times, but Violet, the man is perfect.”
    Uh-oh. The P word again. It was haunting me. I lay back down and stared at the Care Bear poster pinned up on the ceiling. Devin thumped around a few more times on my abdomen.
    “I hope everything works out,” I said, trying to mask the sadness in my voice. Devin had been my fellow lonely hopeless romantic. Who was I supposed to commiserate with now?
    Devin offered a hand and pulled me to a sitting position. With the triangular hammer, he began hitting around on my knees.
    “Any news on the man front for you?” he asked as he made my legs flinch and kick.
    “Nothing worth noting.”
    “Don’t worry, luv. Someday someone will come and rescue you.”
    I had to force myself not to laugh so he could finish the exam. “And that’s why I love you, Devin. Always the optimist.”
    “Glad I could be of service,” he said, slightly confused at my response. “Well, I think you’re fine. Seem to be in good health, but there is one concern.”
    “What?” I asked, growing very concerned very fast.
    “You’ve got a fever,” he said rolling over to get the thermometer.
    He quickly stuck the plastic-wrapped stick under my tongue. We both waited for the gray probe to beep. When he removed it from under my tongue, the furrow in his brow only got deeper.
    “What?” I asked trying to get the plastic taste out of my mouth.
    “100. Perfect Score,” he said showing me the read out.
    I read it and my eye brows jumped. “Go me.”
    “Mild grade fevers can come with allergies, general tiredness, but you say you haven’t had any symptoms?” he asked as he put everything back in its place.
    “Not yet.” I shrugged. It wasn’t a lie.
    “I t’s right here, Miss Jordan.” Stan’s voice cracked as he pointed to the lowest shelf in the aisle. “Here’s the supernatural section.”
    “It’s a bit small,” I said disappointed in the public library’s book selection.
    “Oh, well,” he said licking his lips and wringing his hands. “If you search the catalog and you find a book, we can always do an interlibrary loan to get anything you want, Miss Jordan.”
    I smiled down at the teenage kid. “Thanks, Stan. I’ll start here.”
    He scurried away and left me with a shelf of books.
    This portion of the library was just the place to do a little old-fashioned research about werewolves. Not for me, of course. For the script that jerk of an ex-boyfriend couldn’t construct to save his flat ass.
    I’d spent half the night locked up in my office looking on the Internet. It had some wicked stuff about werewolves, scary wicked stuff about demon worship, and satanic possession, and then there was the entire Furries community, which was slightly scarier than anything previously mentioned.
    I settled in at a table in the 133 section with the whole shelf before me, opened to pages with snarling wolves and detailed diagrams about the metaphysical transformation of a human body into a wolf. Muscle by muscle. This was insane. Great for a movie though.
    I started to jot down notes and then realized that, though I appreciated the tactical sensation of flipping