Romance: Bears Seeking Bride: Double Trouble: A BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance Standalone

by Ashley Hunter

  Bears Seeking Bride

  Double Trouble

  Ashley Hunter

   Copyright 2015 by Ashley Hunter

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced

  in any way whatsoever, without written permission

  from the author, except in case of brief

  quotations embodied in critical reviews

  and articles.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any

  person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  First edition, 2015

  I.

  College hadn’t turned out the way Sabrina had planned. In high school, she dreamed about college, fantasizing about how much better it would be. She’d been shy, short, and heavy, but dreamed that university life would change her for the better.

  She lost the weight by working hard over the latter part of her last year of high school and the summer before she arrived at her new university. She even was able to start a conversation with her new roommate, Delia, on move-in day at the university apartments. She’d hoped to live in the dorms, but her father preferred her to live off campus because his own college dorms always flooded.

  All the same, her roommate was a freshman as well, and they had a pleasant two minute conversation about where Sabrina could put her dishes. Although she was still short and curvy, she felt herself turning over a new leaf. She would embrace her height, her body, and her personality.

  That was, until she met the Bogart twins. Once they came into her life, her dreams of college grandeur were shattered. At the very least, they forced her to face a reality check.

  She met Lucas Bogart first in her Algebra II/Pre-calculus class. She already wasn’t a fan of having to take such a class with her poor math skills, but that was GE classes for you. She decided to take a seat near the back next to a handsome young man with dark hair and a brooding brow.

  “Is this seat open?” she asked.

  He looked up and readjusted his glasses, “Is anyone sitting there?”

  “No.”

  “Then I guess it’s open, isn’t it?”

  She gave a slight smile and sat. He leaned back in his desk and crossed his arms, not seeming to want to be conversed with any further. Thankfully, she had no interest conversing with him either. Yet, once the class was left alone to work on the lesson of the day, she was lost. There were too many x’s and y’s and numbers and math symbols… she had no idea.

  “Um, do you understand this?” she turned to her brooding neighbor.

  He turned to her, “Are you talking to me?”

  “It seems like you know how to do the exercise, so I thought I’d ask…”

  “It’s explained pretty well in the book,” he responded. “Or you can ask the teacher.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  She opened her book and struggled through the rest of the assignment. At the end of class, Lucas informed her she probably should’ve “learned some math before taking a math class.” She rolled her eyes and packed up her things for her next class.

  “What a jerk,” she thought as she walked to her next GE course, Freshman Health, which she also was quite excited for. Excited for it to be over anyway.

  She again sat near the back. She figured if any awkward questions were asked (like in high school health), she could shrink down out of sight. It helped that the class was in a large lecture hall so she could disappear behind the other students’ heads.

  “Is anyone sitting here?” a male voice asked.

  She looked up into the face of the boy she sat next to before, though now he’d taken off his glasses and put on a hat. She wasn’t sure how to respond.

  “Well, besides your ass, of course,” he smirked and sat a few seats away.

  She rolled her eyes again. At the time, she thought he’d become more petty since the last time she’d seen him. But he was actually the other Bogart twin, David.

  She decided not to ask him any questions, since he obviously was only going to condescend. At the end of class, she stood to gather her things and leave. Her nemesis allowed her to pass and followed her out of the lecture hall.

  “Do you have to buy two plane tickets when you fly?” he asked from behind her. “That ass is really remarkable.”

  “I’m not sure, my math is so bad I can’t tell the difference,” she responded.

  “Typically they tell you,” he answered, not seeming to get her snappy retort.

  Outside the lecture hall, she turned to him, “Look, you’ve been a jerk to me all day. I don’t even know you.”

  “I don’t know you either. I just met you.”

  “Don’t even…” she started, but stopped when she noticed the boy from her math class with the glasses. “Oh my God, there’s two of you.”

  “Yeah, that’s my brother Lucas, and I’m David,” he laughed.

  Lucas looked up and adjusted his glasses as he did earlier, “Come on, we have to go.”

  “See ya’ later. Try not to eat too much before we see each other next!” David called back.

  Sabrina only frowned. She expected her first day of college differently, that was for sure. Unfortunately for her, every class she spent with each brother grew progressively worse. In math, she continued to not understand the concepts.

  Even if she asked someone else to help her, Lucas would have some snide comment on her “incompetence.” On the other hand, David insisted on sitting near her, seemingly to just make fat jokes. She counted the days until the semester was over.

  II.

  Somehow, she made it through her first semester with her GPA - and sanity - intact. She sauntered into her first class - a Chemistry lecture - of the new semester with a new view on life. She sat near the back (as she often did), excited to finally be free of the Bogarts.

  “Why, if it isn’t Sweet Buns,” a familiar male voice said behind her.

  She cringed and turned to see not just one of the twins, but both. She felt her heart sink from her chest to her stomach like a stone. “Hello David. Lucas.”

  Lucas seemed as dour as always. He readjusted his glasses and nodded in greeting before sitting down. He didn’t seem especially interested in seeing her.

  “It’s such a pleasure to see you,” David grinned. “Did you gain weight?”

  “No. I lost ten pounds, actually,” Sabrina frowned. “Did you and your brother become even bigger jerks?”

  Lucas raised an eyebrow as David laughed. The former didn’t respond, while the latter retorted that it “wasn’t possible” for him to become a bigger jerk.

  “If you ask any of my exes, you’ll know that I’m already pretty big,” he winked.

  She rolled her eyes and turned back around. So much for a new start.

  After class, she left as quickly as she could in order to avoid any kind of conversation with the twins. Lucas seemed to want to get her attention, but she was in no mood for his condescension after David’s insults. She slammed into her apartment with an exasperated groan and collapsed into the couch. Delia sat on her “man chair,” checking her phone.

  "Glad to see you’re back in town. I thought you were coming back tomorrow for some reason,” Delia said. “Good day?"

  "No. These twin brothers who were in my GE classes last semester are making my life hell," Sabrina answered. “They’re in my class again because someone up there hates me.”

  "The Bogart brothers?"

  "How did you know? Did I mention t
hem before?"

  "No, I just figured. I went to high school with them, and they were in my Physics class last semester. They have been jerks forever."

  "I hate them."

  "I think David is infatuated with teasing people about being fat. They are usually not fat either."

  "He does that to me all the time!"

  "Lucas is just really pretentious."

  "So, it's not just me?"

  "Well, they are usually more cruel to girls they are attracted to."

  "Shut up."

  Delia shrugged, "It's just what I've observed. They are some weird dudes."

  “I hate them both. They are so mean to me.”

  “You know what you should do if they are both secretly in love with you?”

  “Even if they were attracted to me - which they aren’t - it’s incredibly unlikely they’d be in love with me. We’ve known each other a very short time.”

  “I’m not going to argue semantics with you,” Delia snapped. “What I’m saying is you should date them both and then break both their hearts. That would really show them.”

  “Yeah right. I hate their guts, but they are both really attractive. I’m not their type.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I’m short and chubby, Delia. I can’t get guys like that.”

  “You aren’t chubby! Are you kidding me?”

  “I’ve been invisible all my life. Guys like that don’t look at me.”

  “Apparently they do because they’re making your life hell,” Delia smirked. “You know what, there’s a party tonight to celebrate the new semester. Let’s get dolled up and go.”

  “I don’t really want to go to one of those parties. They get too crazy for my taste.”

  “Sabrina, we’re going. We’re in college. College girls go to parties.”

  Sabrina sighed and conceded. She felt down from the disappointment of the day - what could a party really hurt?

  Delia possessed a strong talent for make-up and enjoyed primping her roommate. Sabrina didn’t mind, of course, though sometimes it made her feel even more insignificant next to the pretty, tall Delia. Still, Sabrina admired herself in the mirror with the perfectly applied cat eyeliner tracing her brown and effortless red lipstick making her full lips look even fuller.

  “Look at you,” Delia grinned. “Look at all that potential. Now let’s go break some hearts, huh?”

  III.

  The party’s music could be heard from blocks away, leading Delia and Sabrina like a trail of breadcrumbs. As the music became louder and they came closer, Sabrina could feel her nervousness growing. She’d never been to a party before.

  Delia had invited her the previous semester, but she declined in order to focus on her schoolwork. Now, she wanted to kick back and put the abuse of the Bogart brothers behind her - at least for the night.

  As they entered the thumping house, it was so packed that it seemed people were coming out of the walls. Sabrina took a deep breath, attempting to hide her fear. Heads seemed to turn as she and Delia walked through the house.

  “Okay, I’m going to scope the place for that cute guy from my English class last semester,” Delia whispered. “Don’t take drinks from anyone, and if you get a drink, don’t leave it unattended. Make sure you get a drink that you pour yourself as well. Got it?”

  “Got it,” Sabrina answered, though she felt terrified by the thought of being left alone.

  “You can do this, Sabrina. Just start a conversation with some hottie. The worst he can do is turn you down.”

  Sabrina nodded. She decided she didn’t want to risk getting a drink at all, so she grabbed a cup and pretended to drink out of it. She surveyed the scene - a group of boys were having a raucous beer pong tournament, some girls were flipping their hair and giggling to each other, a couple was making out in the corner…. It was all as she expected a college party would be.

  She felt her social anxiety rising as she considered joining the group watching the beer pong game. She started to make her way toward them, but at the last moment, she noticed a deserted couch, so she changed her direction. She wished Delia had stuck around to keep her company, but she figured her roommate wanted to step out of her comfort zone.

  Sabrina didn’t enjoy stepping out of her comfort zone. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, hoping she’d settle into the party mood and become more sociable.

  “Well, hello! Fancy seeing you here?” that familiar (and grating) male voice she heard earlier.

  She opened her eyes to see David Bogart. If she had anything in her cup, she would have thrown it in his face. “Hi.”

  “Can I sit next to you?” he asked before he sat anyway.

  “I guess so,” she responded, as if it mattered. “I’m waiting for my roommate to come back.”

  “Ah, I’m avoiding my friends at the moment,” he took a drink from his own cup, so she pretended to drink as well. “You usually don’t come to parties.”

  “No. I’m not very social.”

  “Lucas isn’t either. He stays in and does homework most of the time.”

  “Hmm.”

  “I wanted to say, I’m sorry I’ve been so unkind to you,” he said softly. “I’m like a little kid, you know. The way I flirt is to be mean. It usually doesn’t work in my favor.”

  “I don’t know why you’d think it would.”

  “There’s a reason why I’m not considered the smart brother.”

  “Right.”

  They both awkwardly paused. She didn’t have anything to say to him, and he seemed a bit tipsy. She figured that was why he seemed nicer.

  “Do you accept my apology?” he finally spoke again after taking another gulp of his drink.

  “I suppose.”

  “Good.” He took another drink, set his cup down, and then, surprisingly, kissed her.

  Out of surprise, she let him continue kissing her - his lips felt soft and warm - but she quickly gained her wits and pushed him off. “What are you doing?”

  “I thought that would go over better than... I thought.”

  “Than it did?”

  “Yes, I thought it would go over better than it did.”

  “I can’t imagine why.”

  “I’ve been drinking.”

  “Right.”

  “Okay,” he waved his hands slightly. “How about I take you out to dinner Friday night, I don’t kiss you without your permission, and we have a good time?”

  “Um… I don’t think so.”

  “All right, how about this? I make a reservation for that nice Italian restaurant by the river…”

  “Giuseppe’s?”

  “Yes, that one. I make a reservation for about six…”

  “I have class until 6:30.” She didn’t, but it was a way to say no.

  “For seven then. And you meet me there if you want. If not, I’ll sit by myself. Either way, you win.”

  “Oh really?”

  “Yes. On one hand, you get to have a great dinner with me; on the other hand, you get to embarrass me by standing me up. Both work, right?”

  Sabrina shrugged, “I guess so.”

  “Great!”

  “Dave! There you are! We’re playing beer pong!” one of David’s friends called to him.

  The particular boy had been playing beer pong the whole time. Sabrina tried to hold in her own laugh. David gave her a kiss on the cheek and went on his way.

  After a brief time, Delia returned, a tall, hipster boy trailing her. He held out his phone as she smiled and giggled, seemingly telling him her number. She then touched his arm and headed toward Sabrina on the couch. The boys playing beer pong called out to her, but she paid them no mind.

  “Ready to go?” she asked Sabrina once she arrived.

  “Are you?”

  She shrugged, “I got what I came here for.”

  “Found the cute guy from your English class?”

  “I did. We’re going for a hike tomorrow morning.”

  “
Nice. David asked me out to dinner Friday.”

  “David?”

  “Bogart?”

  “Oh. Yes. Oh, oh no. Did you say no?”

  “I didn’t really say anything.”

  “We must go to discuss this. Post haste.”

  Sabrina narrowed her eyes, “What?”

  “Never mind,” Delia shook her head. “Let’s go.”

  Delia advised, at first, to not go on the date. She didn’t believe it would be “worth the effort” to date the worse of the two brothers (though she didn’t explain why David was the worse of the two.) After thinking it over though, Delia seemed to change her mind.

  “I believe they’re quite wealthy,” she shrugged.

  “So?” Sabrina answered.

  “So… I don’t know. He is attractive.”

  “I guess so. But he’s mean.”

  “He told you that’s just a thing he does.”

  “So?”

  “So… you have to date a jerk sometime.”

  “That’s not a good reason to go on the date with him.”

  “I don’t know. I’m pretty excited about the guy from my English class, so I guess I want everyone to just find love.”

  Sabrina rolled her eyes and said she’d consider it before going to bed. It had been a strange day that she was ready to be over.

  IV.

  On the next time she had Chemistry, David didn’t attend. Unfortunately, Lucas did. He appeared to be in the terrible mood he usually was, though he also looked to be quite ill.

  She wondered if David were avoiding her after their last meeting, if the whole date was off. She somewhat hoped it was - that would solve everything for her - but, then again, she had been looking forward to it. She hadn’t had Italian food for some time since attending college. As a poor college student, she rarely went out to dinner.

  At the end of class, she packed up her stuff and noticed how sluggish and tired he seemed. He usually appeared more put together - clean cut, his glasses perfectly propped on his face.

  Yet, with his stubble and his tired eyes, he looked more handsome than before. Perhaps, she thought, because when he looked tired, his frown appeared subtler.