by Sable Sylvan
“Nice to meet you, Niles,” said Carmen. “You know...I’ve never ridden in one of these things.”
“A car?” joked Niles. “Just kidding. You know, you might wanna sit facing forward if this is your first time and you don’t wanna get sick...I’m sort of a fast driver.”
“You been a driver for a long time?” asked Carmen.
“Oh, yeah, and I’m one of the best,” said Niles. “I worked in London and that’s how I met Jennifer Asher and got this job.”
“Wow, you met the Jennifer Asher?” asked Carmen. “The matriarch of the clan?”
“That’s right, she’s a hell of a gal,” said Niles. “By the way, Aiden’ll have my head if I forget to tell you, you can help yourself to anything back there. There’s beverages, snacks, and some spa products for comfort.”
“Oh, awesome,” said Carmen, opening the fridge. There was a variety of sparkling and still beverages in the fridge, so she picked out a bottle of mineral water, and a bottle of coconut water. She picked out a piece of her favorite chocolate from the fridge’s candy section, and she also went through the personal care section and picked out a small hand lotion and a lip balm. She looked at the label. It was not just some cheap drug store quality stuff. It was the good stuff. Hot damn. She used the lip balm. It tasted like dark berries and it said ‘Marionberry’ on the label. Was that the brand or a flavor? She had no clue what a marionberry was.
Carmen chatted with Niles during the ride through rainy Seattle and her nerves were soon calmed with the mix of healthy beverages and chocolate. Niles pulled up in front of a plain looking cafe and parked before opening the door for Carmen.
“Here you go, Miss Carmen,” said Niles. He pulled out a card from his pocket. “I’m sure that Aiden would want you to have this. If you ever need a ride, you know how to call for me directly.”
“Thank you so much, Niles, for everything,” said Carmen, pulling in the slender small man for a hug. The man gave her a warm hug back before smoothing out his uniform with his hands and heading back into the car.
Carmen entered the cafe. It was very quiet with a limited selection of pastries in the display cabinet and a few old men playing chess in one corner eating scones, with another set of old people in another corner reading the paper and sipping on tea out of chipped mugs. This didn’t exactly look like the kind of place Aiden would pick.
Carmen picked up the phone to text Aiden, but before she could, the door was opened by a young lady with green and pink dyed hair and tattoos on her shoulder. “Are you Carmen?” asked the girl.
“Yes, I’m waiting for someone,” said Carmen.
“My name’s Lisa. Mr. Dixon is already here, follow me,” said Lisa with a smile.
Carmen walked with Lisa, who lifted up the divider between the back and front of the cafe and let Carmen through. This was weird, but Carmen went with it, following Lisa through the kitchen to a finely decorated hallway, resplendent in mahogany with crimson carpet, with various numbered doors. Lisa led Carmen to a certain door and let her in.
Inside, there was a very fancy dining room, with a table, a large couch, two beautiful chairs by a window, a bookcase, and a hardwood floor covered with an ornate rug. Everything in the room was either hardwood or plush fabric, except for one wall, which was all glass and overlooked a courtyard in the center of the block, which was filled with trees, so it seemed as if they were in a rural part of Washington, unless one looked carefully and saw the lines marking windows across the way. The windows on all sides were made of mirrored one-way glass, so it had the illusion of making the trees look like they were part of a boundless forest.
Aiden was looking out into this illusionary forest and turned upon hearing Carmen enter the room. His blazer was still on, his hands crossed behind his back. As he turned towards Carmen, Carmen rushed forward into his arms, and Aiden just simply held her tight, not worried about potentially crushing her in his embrace.
“Carmen...what happened?” asked Aiden, leading Carmen to the couch so she could sit down while he served her. He walked to the table, which was already filled with various treats and had a pot of coffee and of hot water for tea ready. He poured her a cup of herbal tea, because caffeine looked like the last thing she needed, and plated her a serving of cucumber tea sandwiches made with cream cheese and real Pacific Northwest lox, along with some shortbread fingers topped with dark jam.
“I was planning on telling my aunt about us, and quitting my job, but doing it in private, tomorrow, at my aunt’s place,” explained Carmen. “I was going to tell her in private, to avoid embarrassment on anyone’s part, and instead...it turns out she hired a private investigator to follow me the last few weeks, suspected something was up because I had carried my bag into your penthouse and there were pictures, and she wanted to know what was in the journals. By then, I suspected she’d read them, and my suspicions were confirmed by her silence. Of course, what she hadn’t read was my plan to tell her about us, because I wrote those plans after she had snooped through my journal. I quit, turned in my things, and was at the bus stop and had no idea where to go. I couldn’t go home, because I’m so ashamed, Aiden...not of our love, but of the secrets I kept.”
“It’s going to be okay,” said Aiden.
“Then why doesn’t it feel like it is?” said Carmen.
“Because it just happened,” said Aiden. “I’m glad you called me.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know who else to go to,” said Carmen.
“Carmen, I mean it when I say I’m glad you called me,” said Aiden. “I want to be here for you when things like this happen. Drink the tea, and eat up. You look like you didn’t have a good breakfast or lunch.”
“You’re right,” said Carmen. “I felt so nervous this morning, about seeing you, because I was going to tell you my plan and was worried you might not approve, and I was worried about telling my aunt the truth.”
“Well, listen, although it didn’t go the way you wanted it to, at least you ended up telling her, right?” said Aiden. “And you got it over with. And okay, so you quit your job. Big whoop, honey. We can figure something out. I’m not gonna let you starve out in the gutter, you just have to let me help you out.”
“I don’t want to be ‘that girlfriend’,” said Carmen.
“What do you mean by ‘that girlfriend’?” asked Aiden, genuinely confused.
“You know...the girlfriend who dates a guy because she needs to be ‘rescued’ from her own mistakes,” said Carmen. “I don’t need you to pay for me or give me a job or cover my bills. I just need a shoulder to cry on, and a chest to hug, and someone to kiss away the tears while I figure my hot mess of a life out.”
“Carmen. You’re not a hot mess. Well, you’re hot, but you’re not a mess. You’re just going through a rough patch,” said Aiden, pulling Carmen close.
“What do you know about rough patches?” asked Carmen, looking up at Aiden.
“Exactly my point,” said Aiden. “I’ve had it easy, you’ve had it hard. That doesn’t mean you have to go through tough times alone. If you need anything from me, you know to ask me.”
“What if I don’t know what I need?” asked Carmen.
“Then go after what you want,” said Aiden.
“All I want is to be around you, and out of this frikkin’ city” said Carmen, snuggling up close to Aiden and sipping at the tea. She expected a black tea or a green tea, maybe even a chai, but this tasted different, floral. She couldn’t place it at first, then she used her nose and sniffed instead, and figured out it was rose petal tea. “I know that’s stupid though.”
“That’s not stupid at all,” said Aiden. “In fact...that’s exactly what I want too.”
“Yeah, well, you’ve got work, and I’ve got to go home and do chores,” said Carmen.
“Do you?” asked Aiden. “When was the last time you just did what you wanted, for you, Carmen?”
“Other than being with you...never,” admitted Carmen.
“We c
an get out of this city within the hour, you just have to say the word,” said Aiden.
“What do you mean, Aiden?” asked Carmen.
Aiden pulled out his wallet. “Did you forget that I’m a billionaire already, baby?” asked Aiden as he pulled out a black credit card.
***
Aiden explained to Carmen as Niles picked them up that the cafe functioned as a private space for him to meet clients or just go for some respite. The cafe was a well-kept secret with backrooms for powerful men like him to rent out on a monthly basis to keep as private spaces away from the prying public eye. As Niles drove them through the city, Carmen asked where they were going.
“You wanted to get out of the city, right?” asked Aiden.
“Right,” said Carmen. “So are we going to Olympia or something?’
“We’re going a bit further,” said Aiden.
“What, Canada?” asked Carmen.
“No, in the states,” said Aiden. Carmen was visibly relieved. “I won’t make you guess any longer. I’m taking you to my place in Port Jameson.”
“Port Jameson?” asked Carmen.
“It’s a shifter town, in Oregon, only about an hour away by private helicopter,” explained Aiden. “I have a place there, and a garage full of cars. Well, it’s not ‘my’ place, I share it with cousins from both the Asher and the Dixon side of the clan.”
“I’ve never been to a shifter town...is there anything I need to know about it? Etiquette or customs or anything?” asked Carmen.
“Not really. Well. I’ll put it this way. You might have a bit of culture shock. But don’t worry about offending anyone with questions. Just get ready to see a whole lot of shirtless or even naked shifters, and lots of curvy women like you,” said Aiden.
“Lots of...curvy women?” asked Carmen.
“You know how the look up in Seattle trends more towards...beanpole?” said Aiden. “It’s the opposite in Port Jameson. It’s hard for shifters and big beautiful women like you to find good clothes in Seattle, where everything’s for a size two, right? Well, if you see something you like in Port Jameson, you let me know, because the shopping there is great.”
“You take a lot of girls down to Port Jameson or something?” asked Carmen.
“If I said yes, would you be jealous?” teased Aiden. “Actually...I’ve never taken a girl down to Port Jameson before. I’m very serious about the women I date. I just know about the fashion there because my male relatives have told me that their wives have loved shopping there. Do you need to let anyone know you’re leaving the state?”
“Yeah, just my mom,” said Carmen. “I’ll text her.” Carmen pulled out her phone and texted her mom. Hey. I’m not going to be home this weekend. Just FYI. Carmen shut her phone off.
“Not about to fiddle with your phone all weekend?” asked Aiden.
“No way,” said Carmen. “This weekend’s all about us, no distractions, no interruptions, no bullshit.”
Niles let the couple out on the tarmac, at Boeing Field, slightly south of Seattle. There was a helicopter ready for the couple.
“We’re really about to do this,” said Carmen.
Aiden looked down at Carmen. “Yeah. Yeah, we are.”
Chapter Seven
Under an hour later, Carmen and Aiden had landed in Dixon Field, a few miles outside of Port Jameson, and were driven by a cabbie through the town of Port Jameson as the sun set and cast a red glow over the town. The car took them through the woods, and Aiden had to give the driver directions to the hidden forest manor in the woods that few knew about.
Aiden helped Carmen out of the car and tipped the driver generously. “Here we are,” said Aiden. “Watch this.”
Aiden opened his phone and entered an app and hit a certain button in the app. The exterior lights of the house went on, revealing the large stone and wood facade of the house to Carmen.
“Whoa, that’s so frikkin’ cool,” said Carmen. “This place is huge...I can see why you guys share it.”
“Trust me, it’s even better inside,” said Aiden. “Come on, you must be thirsty.”
Aiden opened the front door and ushered Carmen inside. He led her to the large chef’s kitchen and got her a glass of water before opening the fridge to pull out a chilled orange.
“Is it really safe to eat that if it’s been in there for so long?” asked Carmen.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you, the house gets cleaned and stocked with fresh food before we visit,” said Aiden. “We hire a service. I had the groceries stocked today while waiting for you.”
“You really think of everything,” said Carmen looking through the fridge. “Should I cook for us tonight?”
“If you want, or I can cook for you, or, we can go out,” said Aiden.
“Go out? Looking like this?” said Carmen, motioning over her clothes. She was in the same ratty shirt and jeans she’d worn out of the house. “No frikkin’ way.”
“I think you look absolutely a-frikkin’-dorable, but, if you wanna get cleaned up, you can go upstairs and use the bathroom,” said Aiden. “Trust me, it’s got all the girly shizz you could ever want in it.”
“Because of course it does,” said Carmen. “But no, my concern is more with my clothes.”
“Like I said, I think you look great, but, if you want other clothes, I’m sure there’s something that’ll fit you in the spare clothing closet,” said Aiden.
“I highly doubt that,” said Carmen.
“Come on, we’ll look together,” said Aiden, grabbing a bottle of sports drink from the fridge and walking Carmen upstairs to the guest rooms, to the end of the hall, to a large walk in closet.
Carmen couldn’t help but be astounded by the size of the closet. It was like a miniature boutique, done up in white and pine and glass and silver, with various accessories on display. “Well, worst case scenario, I’m set on accessories,” said Carmen, looking over the luxury bags and jewelry.
“Open the closets,” said Aiden. “Come on. Stuff will fit you, I guarantee.” He opened a closet full of shirts and pulled out a burnout violet t-shirt and held it up to Carmen’s body.
Carmen looked down. The shirt was her size, weirdly. She looked at the tag. “Okay, so there’s one item here that might fit me,” said Carmen. She looked through the shirts herself...and found that most of them were actually around her size. “Aiden...did you have someone shop for me before this trip?”
“Nope,” said Aiden.
Carmen turned and put her hands on her hips. “Aiden, really?”
“Seriously!” said Aiden, putting his hands up. “I wasn’t joking when I said Port Jameson has great shopping and that my brothers and cousins have curvy wives. They love to shop, and a lot of their old clothes end up here, because it’s all still good stuff, and Port Jameson...well, let’s say it can sometimes be relaxed, but other times, it’s like Las Vegas and New Orleans had a baby. You never know what’ll happen. Help yourself to whatever you want.”
“Well, I guess we have to figure out what we’re doing tonight first,” said Carmen. “Is there anything going on in town?”
“We can check,” said Aiden, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Let’s see...there’s an art show at a gallery...there’s a wine tasting...or we can go to a water balloon fight for charity.”
“Uh, water balloon fight, no question,” said Carmen. “Is there anything special I need to know about how water balloon fights go down in Port Jameson?”
“Well...I’m pretty sure this one is open to humans and shifters, but remember, shifters play hard, and there might be a shifter only round, where we play in our animal forms,” said Aiden.
“How the heck does that work?” asked Carmen.
“You’ll see, but the years they’ve done this in the past, it’s really more like a mix of paintball and water balloon fights,” said Aiden. “Basically, they use a special edible paint, like the kind you would use in icing, that is body safe and edible, and put it in the balloons to mark teams so you
can tell if somebody got hit or not. For the shifter round, it’s really more like tag, because we dip our paws in the paint and try to tag people on the other team. Sometimes teams are random, sometimes by species or clan or family to mix it up.”
“That sounds awesome,” said Carmen. “So a shirt and shorts it is.”
Thirty minutes later, Carmen was washed up and in a plain white shirt and plain denim Bermuda shorts, with a fresh, comfortable bra and panties underneath. Aiden insisted that she take along a hoodie in case it got chilly, so she grabbed a forest green hoodie and wrapped it around her waist as they walked outside.
“So how are we going to get into town? Are we going to walk?” asked Carmen.
“I could, but you definitely can’t, it’s rough and poorly lit out there,” said Aiden, pointing at the road into town. “You felt just how bumpy it was on our way up the hill. I’ll drive.” Aiden went on his phone and clicked a button in the same app he’d used before. The lights around the garage lit up and the garage door rose. Once the door was up, Aiden led Carmen inside, where he unlocked a cubby marked with a car logo, and pulled out a set of keys.
Carmen looked around the garage. It looked like a mechanic’s garage, except much cleaner. “You guys share all these cars?” asked Carmen, looking over the fleet of vehicles.
“Yeah, but most of us like the SUV the best,” said Aiden. “Come on.” He clicked a button on the remote and lights flashed as a large forest green SUV beeped. He opened the passenger side door for Carmen.
“I think it’s awesome you and your brothers and cousins get along so well,” said Carmen.
“Hey, family’s important,” said Aiden.
Carmen got quiet as Aiden pulled out of the garage. Family. That was the one thing gnawing away at her insides. The guilt.
Aiden hit a button on the key fob and the garage and lights closed and shut off. “What’s wrong, hon?” asked Aiden.
“Nothing...it’s just...never mind,” said Carmen, looking out the window at the foliage which was illuminated by the SUV’s high beams.
