“I’m so happy you’re settling down!” Lorenzo’s father exclaimed with a bear hug around his son.
His mother greeted him, but she carried food with her. No matter whose house she ate at, she always brought a meal with her. For that reason, his mother’s friends loved when she came for dinner.
“Dad, her mom found out about our ‘gift,’” Lorenzo said grimly. “She has Aztec ancestry.”
“The girl’s an even better pick then!” his father grinned. “What’s her name?”
“Her name is Leticia. But this is very serious, Dad. I don’t know how to tell her the truth.”
“It’s okay, son. We’re here, and we’ll help you.”
“I’m afraid she’ll leave if she knows.”
“If she does, then she’s not the girl for you.”
Lorenzo didn’t like that answer. He didn’t want to think about another woman he’d begun to trust would leave him. He helped his mother prepare the meal to keep himself busy before Leticia arrived, though his stomach was in knots.
A knock came at the door. His father answered.
“Hello!” his father greeted loudly. “You must be Leticia!”
Leticia entered, looking beautiful in another slimming black dress. She smiled amiably at Lorenzo’s father and introduced herself to his mother.
She and his mother were actually close to the same height, which interested him. He always thought his mother was so small, but now he felt almost cruel for thinking that. He put those thoughts out of mind as he set up the table for the meal.
The dinner itself went rather well. Leticia and his parents got along splendidly, and she even asked his mother for cooking lessons. Yet, the time came for the truth he’d been dreading to come out.
“So, I hear your mother has Aztec heritage?” his father asked.
Leticia nodded, “My father is Spanish though.”
“Yes. And she told you about our gift?”
“Your gift?”
“Our family’s gift from Tezcatlipoca.”
Her eyes raced to Lorenzo, who couldn’t meet her gaze.
His father continued, “It’s nothing to be scared of, dear. We can control our transformations, and we’re not dangerous when we are bears.”
“I um…” Leticia began, but stopped.
“If you need some time to process, that's okay. It's just something our family was blessed with."
Leticia only nodded. She had nothing else to say.
The rest of the dinner went quietly - mostly with "get to know you" questions and business discussions. Leticia had very little to say. Lorenzo feared when his parents left. She was small, but terrifying in her silence.
It was the eye of the storm.
His parents left, with his mother giving Leticia a longer hug and whispering something in her ear. He hoped his mother said something to cool her down (if she were angry.)
He leaned against the door after he closed it, "I guess this is when we talk about the bear thing."
Leticia looked him straight in the eye, looking taller and more beautiful than she ever had, "So that's what's wrong with you? Besides the constant grumpiness."
"I guess so."
She took a deep breath with her eyes closed, then looked at him again, "Anything else I should know?"
"Well, I wanted to get married straight off for the bear clan, but also because my last girlfriend left me after I told her. So, I was scared to start again."
"Emotional baggage then?"
"Yes. But you... you are just everything I've wanted. You're smart and funny. And love sports and so, so beautiful. I'm glad it was you who answered the ad."
"But it could've been anyone."
"Yes, but I got many, many emails back, and a lot of texts. You were the one I picked."
She was silent for a moment, looking away from him and (seemingly) in thought. Then, she locked eyes again, strode forward with her head held high, and kissed him.
He felt electricity move through his veins as she mixed her lips, her tongue, with his. He felt himself losing control, becoming more excitedly animal as she kissed him harder and pulled at his shirt.
"Do you want to? I may be um... hairy," he grimaced slightly.
She smirked, "If you can't control yourself, I can't either."
He initiated the kiss this time and lifted her up to straddle him as he moved to (at least) his couch. He unzipped her dress, revealing a black bra and floral underwear.
She removed her bra, and gestured for him to remove his pants. They became naked together, moving into ecstasy as they let everything go to fully trust each other.
They made love into the night, moving to the bedroom after the couch became too uncomfortable. After being alone, he loved the feeling of a woman sleeping next to him.
He'd never been able to be so close to someone before, even Teresa. As he drifted to sleep, he felt completely content.
VI.
Months and months and months (perhaps add a few months) Leticia and Lorenzo got married. They took their time getting to know - and fall more deeply in love with - each other.
Some guests said they'd never seen a couple more in love. For Leticia, this was the greatest joy. She always wanted her wedding guests to see how in love she and her husband were.
For both of them, even with all the insecurities and baggage, they knew this was right.
They leaned together after the ceremony and the reception, seeing their future ahead of them.
"Was it worth it?" he asked.
"More with it than you know," she answered, feeling more complete and gorgeous than she'd ever felt.
He kissed her as the sun nearly set. The orange and gold of the sunset mixed, leaving a perfect moment for the two to hold onto and cherish for the rest of their days.
***
Saved For The Bear King
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.
A pretty young curvy woman sat by herself at a bench in the middle of her university campus. She kept to herself, watching the streams of students pass in between drawing and writing in a journal.
Every so often, she’d find a particularly interesting looking passerby and start to draw him. Every so often, the interesting looking passerby would smile at her. She’d hope he’d approach, but he never did.
She sighed and thought, “It would be nice if someone would approach. At least once.”
“Hey Angela,” a blonde woman passing stopped and waved. “I was just about to text you.”
“Hey Ashley,” Angela answered, closing her journal. “What’s up?”
“A bunch of us are getting together tonight, if you want to come.”
“Yeah, I’d be down. Do you mean just your sorority sisters or…?”
Ashley laughed, “No, the old high school crew! It’s Adrian’s birthday, so a bunch of people are coming back into town.”
“Adrian Hernandez? I’m definitely down then. Is he still handsome as ever?”
“Of course he is. He just gets better with age.”
“Awesome. Yeah, I’m there. Just text me and let me know what’s up.”
“Great! I’ll let you know.”
Angela watched Ashley go, her spirit brightening like the sun emerging from the clouds. Angela had always been a popular child, but never in love. She had boyfriends in elementary school, but elementary school relationships often only consist of holding hands and playing tag with each other.
Once she started blossoming into a woman, she grew into her curv
es and received more attention from the opposite sex, but still none asked her out. She wasn’t even asked to prom.
She thought things would change once she got into college, but her love life remained the same. There she sat, a twenty-four year old virgin about to graduate with her Master’s degree in Art History and a job already set up (unimaginable in more ways than one to her other Art History friends.)
She envied her friends who’d gone through the ups and downs of college relationships, even at the worst times. Her roommate while an undergrad, for example, became too close to the men she dated too quickly and always seemed to be a deep depression over one or the other. Then, by chance, she met a kind, sweet man and now was engaged.
Angela wanted the rollercoaster. She wanted to feel the pain and learn from it. She came close time and time again, becoming close with boys
in her classes or that she met out on the town, but none made the move. It was like once they got her number and a validation of mutual attraction, they pulled away.
Though the idea of a man “hitting it and quitting it” as her old roommate would say ironically (perhaps to only make herself feel better) scared her, Angela wanted to know what all the fuss about sex was. Why such an intimate act could both be destructive and loving in different circumstances.
A handsome young man passed and gave her a smile, but kept walking.
In high school, she thought perhaps her hourglass shape was too bottom-heavy, that her butt was too big. As she got older, she accepted her body and decided if that was what kept men away, then those men weren’t worth having.
Yet, she’d seen her other curvy friends have relationships, and she saw no reason why they should be any more deserving than she.
Perhaps she had become too confident in herself, too comfortable, and that scared men away. If that were the case, why would she want to date? She liked herself now. If her personality was a little lacking, hopefully her friends would have told her so.
She took a deep breath, cleared her mind, and went back to her people watching. She had class soon enough (along with her last final of her graduate career), and she wasn’t going to waste her peaceful alone time worrying about why boys didn’t want her.
There was more to life than simply being the name on the other end of an ampersand. She didn’t need to be defined by if she had a significant other or not.
“It would be nice though,” she thought fleetingly, “if I could get laid sometime.”
She drew the boy who’d just passed her and smiled. He’d long gone to whatever destination he headed toward. She’d keep her drawing as a memento to the brief moment they spent together.
II.
Angela made sure she looked completely on point for her miniature high school reunion. In high school, she’d hoped Adrian would ask her to prom, but they never became more than friends. She decided she’d finally try to push through the borders of friendship to form something more.
She arrived at dinner on-time, as she always did. Only Adrian Hernandez stood outside, looking as handsome as ever. As Ashley had said, he looked to be becoming more attractive with age - he was sure to be a silver fox when he got that old.
“Angela! How are you?” he grinned, welcoming her with a hug.
She took in his scent. He smelled amazing. “I feel pretty okay. Happy birthday, huh?”
“Thanks. Turning 25, I can’t even believe it. Where did all time go?”
“I couldn’t tell you. Are we the only people here so far?”
“It looks like it. That’s okay though. I’d love to catch up with you though, pretty lady.”
They got a table big enough for the rest of the group and talked for most of the rest of the night. Of course, once the others came, their conversations were interrupted, but Angela could tell that she had his attention.
He kept close to her, sometimes putting his hand on the small of her back as they moved to a new destination - the group decided to do a sufficient bar crawl for “the old man.” Ashley gave her a smile of encouragement, which made her confidence grow.
At the end of the night, she convinced him to walk her home. The closer they got, the more her anticipation grew. This could finally be it.
“You know, I always liked you,” he said softly. “I wanted to ask you to prom in high school.”
“Why didn’t you?” she asked. “No one asked me.”
“I always wanted to tell you but... “
“What?”
“Do you remember Nate Brown?”
“Nate Brown?”
“He was a senior when we were freshmen. He grew up right down the street from you, I think.”
She tried to remember, but she couldn’t recall anyone named Nate. “I don’t think I remember him.”
“Well, he um… I don’t know, I guess he had a thing for you, and he told all us other guys to stay away. So, we did.”
“Um… what?”
“He’s a pretty scary guy, and he pretty much told any guy that was into you to step off or face the consequences. I’m a lover, not a fighter, you know.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“No, I’m not.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t… I can’t process this right now.”
“I probably should’ve told you earlier. I wanted to let you know why I’d have to just walk home instead of come in with you tonight, even though I’d love to come in.”
They arrived at her door with her mood entirely changed from the anxious excitement just moments earlier. She couldn’t wrap her mind around some man wanting to ruin her love life since high school.
How did he know what men to tell to back off? Was he stalking her? It didn’t make sense that she didn’t remember the guy at all, but he’d made such an impact on her. Or, she supposed, on others regarding her.
“Do you know where he lives now?” she asked. “Does he still live here?”
“He lives in that big yellow house downtown now. You know, with the big bear fountain out front?” Adrian answered. “Are you thinking about going by there?”
“I think so. I think I need to talk to him.”
“Be careful, Ange.”
He gave her a kiss on the cheek, then went on his way. She went inside feeling more angry (livid, really) rather than lonely and rejected. She decided she was going to solve this problem head-on. If this Nate person thought he could mess with her without her finding out, he had another thing coming.
III.
Angela kept an eye on the house where Adrian said Nate lived to make sure an old woman didn’t actually live there. She thought to look him up in her yearbook, but she never bought one when she was a freshman in high school.
The yearbooks were expensive, so she didn’t get one until she was a senior. She thought she could handle herself without knowing what he looked like. She assumed he was a large brute of a man, and she was prepared to pepper spray him if he made any false moves.
She took a deep breath, kept her hand on her pepper spray, and walked up to the door. She noticed an inordinate amount of bear decorations.
What kind of person was obsessed with bears? She rolled her eyes before ringing the doorbell. The house looked quite old and had a screen
door shielding the wooden one behind it. She worried this would prevent her from pepper spraying him, which didn’t help with her resolve. She stepped back, her nerves started to fade as she heard movement inside.
A tall, lean (but muscular) man opened the door, his face shielded slightly by the screen door, “Yes?”
“Are you Nate Brown?” Angela stood up straighter, trying to appear more intimidating.
“I am. Can I help you?”
“I’m Angela Davis, and you’ve been telling guys not to hit on me since high school?”
He opened the screen door and peered out, revealing one of the most handsome faces she’d ever seen. He looked like he could be a model with his defined cheekbones, full lips, clear blue eyes, and effortless blonde h
air.
His eyes caressed her face as if they were coming upon an old friend. She gulped - she felt her nerve completely vanishing.
“Hello Angela,” he finally said with his gravelly, calm voice. “Perhaps you’d like to come in?”
“I will pepper spray the crap out of you if you try to even touch me,” she answered.
“Understood.”
He moved to the side to let her inside. She motioned for him to go ahead so she could keep an eye on him. She wasn’t in the mood to get murdered by some crazed, incredibly handsome stalker. She would not be wooed by his good looks - he’d done her a grievous wrong.
“Would you like a drink?” he asked, gesturing for her to sit on his antique, uncomfortable looking couch.
She was surprised by how comfortable the couch ended up being. “No, thank you. I like to avoid getting drugged these days.”
“That’s a good moral to live by,” he said with a slight sigh. “So… um… I’m not sure where to start here.”
“I guess you should start with why you’ve been threatening guys who want to date me. How long you’ve been doing this, how you even know me… you know, stuff like that.”
He sighed again, “Well, we grew up near each other. I think the first time I noticed you was when I was in fourth grade, and you were in first.”
“That’s not creepy or anything.”
“It wasn’t… like a romantic thing. My little sister was about your age, and she had drowned the summer before. I saw you getting picked on by some older boys, and you reminded me of her. So, I set out to protect you.”
“What was your sister’s name?”
“Aveline. I think you two were in in the same kindergarten class.”
Romance: Bearilicious: BBW Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance Collection (Werebear, Bear Shifter, BBW Paranormal Romance) Page 12
