{"id":296,"date":"2023-06-03T01:00:17","date_gmt":"2023-06-03T06:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/?p=296"},"modified":"2024-02-16T13:47:46","modified_gmt":"2024-02-16T19:47:46","slug":"pump-pay-and-deep-regret","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/pump-pay-and-deep-regret\/","title":{"rendered":"Pump, Pay, and Deep Regret"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The van rolled to a sputtering stop outside Buckhorn Quick Mart & Liquor<\/em>, the only gas station within twenty miles that didn\u2019t look like it doubled as a meth lab\u2026 just a highly suspicious bottle return depot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark killed the engine with a growl. \u201cFive minutes. Fuel, caffeine, and whatever passes for food.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBathroom too,\u201d Jonah said, already bolting for the door like his bladder had filed an HR complaint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel stepped out, stretching with a big yawn, his black T-shirt riding up slightly as he did. Two things happened instantly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. The automatic doorbell to the Quick Mart let out a bweep<\/em> like it was dying.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. A high-pitched gasp came from the snack aisle.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cOH. MY. GOD. It\u2019s HIM.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Everyone froze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Out stepped a twenty-something woman with dyed green hair, phone in hand, wide eyes sparkling like she\u2019d just spotted Elvis doing the Macarena. She turned the screen around to show\u2026 Gabriel<\/em>. Shirtless. Flexing. Covered in glitter.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Caption: “Rawr Daddy \ud83d\ude08\ud83d\udc3e #LycanLust2023\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The entire band blinked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Gabriel blinked harder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201c…Oh no,\u201d he said softly. \u201cThat was a dare. That was for charity. THAT WAS PRIVATE.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cIT\u2019S ON REDLUSTFURRIES DOT NET,\u201d she squealed, practically vibrating. \u201cI run a whole fan page! You\u2019re like\u2026 a LEGEND!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Thane choked on his Mountain Dew mid-sip. \u201cRedLust what<\/em> now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Cassie dropped a protein bar. \u201cOh my god. I knew<\/em> I recognized that abs pic from somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Rico couldn\u2019t stop laughing. \u201cDude. Dude.<\/em> That site has rankings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Jonah came out of the bathroom, took one look at Gabriel\u2019s face, and immediately went: \u201cNope. Not getting involved in whatever the hell this is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The girl was now circling Gabriel like she was trying to summon him with her camera app. \u201cCan you do the howl? Like the one in the video<\/em>? Please?! I have merch.<\/em>\u201d She pulled out a handmade T-shirt that read \u201cTeam Pupslut\u201d<\/em> with paw prints in\u2026 questionable placement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Maya was screaming<\/em> into a bottle of water, trying not to pass out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Mark just walked back to the van and mumbled, \u201cThis is why I drink soda.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Gabriel looked like he wanted to ascend to another plane of existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cI\u2014I can sign something,\u201d he stammered, \u201cbut only if you promise not to tag me on anything ever again<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    She happily handed him a RedLust-branded notepad shaped like a paw print.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    He signed it with shaking hands. Thane patted him on the back like a soldier returning from war. \u201cWe\u2019ve all done shameful things for gas money, my wolf. You just did it better than most.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    They all scrambled back to the van, half-laughing, half-mortified. As they pulled out, the girl waved both arms and yelled:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cWE LOVE YOU GABRIEL! TEAM PUPSLUT FOREVER!!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Gabriel curled into a seat and groaned, \u201cI\u2019m never stopping at a gas station again.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The van rolled to a sputtering stop outside Buckhorn Quick Mart & Liquor, the only gas station within twenty miles that didn\u2019t look like it doubled as a meth lab\u2026 just a highly suspicious bottle return depot. Mark killed the engine with a growl. \u201cFive minutes. Fuel, caffeine, and whatever passes for food.\u201d \u201cBathroom too,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3329,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296\/revisions\/3329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}