by Sky Winters
Time seemed to fly as she jumped from site to site reading tips about pregnancy and parenting written by everyone from pediatricians to first time mothers. It seemed that everyone had a different opinion on absolutely everything and she wondered how women ever even sorted it all out. She suspected that, in the end, you just did the best you could and hoped you didn’t fuck your kid up too much.
She jumped at the sound of someone knocking on the door, having been completely lost in thought. Glancing at her phone, she noted that it was already lunchtime. No doubt that would be the guys coming to fetch her. Turning off her tablet, she set it aside and answered the door.
“Ready for a bit of lunch, girlie?” Randy said cheerfully. Ian was all smiles beside them and it was her guess that they had made better use of their room than just for work.
“I am,” she told him picking up her purse and key to the room from the table inside the door and walking down with the two of them.
The hotel restaurant was packed with people. Outside it was positively dreary, the rain poured down in buckets and the sky was an angry black streak, spouting lightning bolts and obnoxious claps of thunder. If would have been a beautiful storm under different circumstances, but it was getting ugly with the flooding and influx of people trying to escape it. They had to wait almost forty-five minutes just to be seated. They had barely finished ordering their lunch when a familiar voice spoke up from behind her.
“What are the odds that you three would take pity on me and let me sit in your extra chair rather than waiting an hour to eat?” Joshua asked.
Ian and Randy looked a bit awkwardly at Goldie. She feigned a smile despite feeling a bit trapped. Perhaps it was just an excuse for him to talk to her, but then again, there were a lot of people here so he probably did just need a place to sit. Of course, it could be that both were the case.
“Of course you can sit with us,” she told him, nodding toward the empty chair on her side of the table.
“Thank you so much! I am starving to death! I drove like a bat out of hell to try to get back and check on the house from work before it got too bad, but I was too late. The roads in are already flooded and the hotel is full. I’ll most likely be begging friends for a dry sofa before the night is out.”
Goldie supposed this would be an opportunity to invite him to stay with her, but she was really trying to avoid intimacy with anyone else before leaving this place, especially since she already was feeling like a beached whale. The way her stomach had already started to protrude was insane. She’d had to put on a dress that was a bit loose around the waist and toss a tissue thin jacket over it to hide the bulge. Obviously, she was going to be one of those that showed quickly, despite her larger size.
“Already? I was hoping it would subside rather than getting worse!” Ian shrieked. “Our poor house is going to be destroyed. All our houses are going to be soggy, musty messes!”
Goldie was almost grateful for the outburst, as it salvaged what might have otherwise been an awkward moment. The three men commiserated about their homes while the waiter began placing drinks and salads on the table, noting that someone extra had turned up and taking his order before leaving.
“Thank God for good insurance is all I can say,” Joshua continued.
“Yes, but insurance isn’t going to replace some of the precious items we’ve collected over the years. I’ve combed every thrift store and art fair in the country and some overseas locations for some of the things we have,” Randy groaned.
“It’ll be okay,” Ian told him, looking at him softly and patting his hand on the table.
Goldie sometimes envied their relationship. They were so close to one another, finishing each other’s sentences and always seeming like they were on the same page with just about everything. She had never seen them have a truly cross moment with one another in all the years since she’d known them. In fact, she had already decided that when the time came, they would be her child’s godparents. It might be unorthodox to have two godfathers and no godmother, but she doubted much about her being a mother would be normal.
“You look like you are positively glowing today,” Joshua told her, his eyes roaming across her face and dwelling for just a moment on her cleavage, which, like her stomach, was a bit swollen. In fact, she was currently wishing she had worn a different bra. Her nipples felt like they were on fire as they rubbed against the material of the one she had on.
“I’m feeling much better after being sick a few days. I was actually headed home today, but the storm held me up. I guess I am stuck here until things subside,” she admitted.
“There are worse places to be stuck, aren’t there?” he asked, his smile melting her like always.
“I suppose there are,” she said, determined not to fall under his spell.
The conversation drifted away as Joshua’s salad arrived and everyone began to eat, the rest of them having waited until he got his food rather than being rude and eating in front of him. Though they chatted lightly between bites, it seemed everyone was quite hungry and more devoted to eating their meals than being social. Salads were followed by entrees and a nice bottle of shiraz.
“Let’s order another bottle,” Randy said as they polished the first one off. “It’s not as if any of us are going to be driving anywhere.’
“How about we migrate to the bar instead?” Ian offered, nodding toward the line of people still waiting for tables. “It’s a full house and there is no need to hold a table hostage when we could settle in to a nice booth and drink.”
“Sounds good,” Joshua chimed in and Goldie realized that she might be stuck with him for a while this afternoon.
The four of them paid for their meals, Joshua insisting on picking up her bill, despite her protests that she would take care of it. The bus boys were already cleaning off their table before they walked the few feet to the entrance to the separate bar that adjoined the restaurant. It was not as crowded in there this time of day, though it was still pretty busy.
“You aren’t drinking?” Joshua asked as she ordered a glass of sparkling water for herself, something he hadn’t seemed to notice at the lunch table.
“I just still feel a bit dehydrated from being ill. I’d best stick with water for now,” she told him in an effort to come up with a plausible explanation for not drinking.
Though it had initially felt awkward to be here with him, it quickly faded into a familiar comfort as the four of them laughed and joked. Ian and Randy told him embarrassing stories about how awkward she was in high school and she returned the favor.
“So, the teacher, who had a bit of a speech impediment was talking about genetics and the probability of certain characteristics of fruit flies. Goldie kept mumbling to me and I would laugh. Finally, the teacher overheard her and completely stopped the class,” Randy told him.
“What was she saying?” Joshua laughed.
“She kept muttering “magenta” and making a face. He stopped and asked her if she was kin to Daniel Webster and she said no. He asked if she even knew who it was and she guessed that he wrote the dictionary,” Randy continued.
“Not a bad guess, given the name,” Joshua said.
“That’s what he said. He told her that it was close, but that the more accurate answer was that he was a great orator and expert on pronunciation. He asked if she was kin to him.”
“Awh, man,” Joshua remarked, smiling over at her.
“Oh, that’s not the end of it. She tells him no and he tells her that she’s probably not an expert on pronunciation then,” Randy said.
“That’s harsh,” Joshua laughed.
“That’s when it got really funny. Miss Snarky Pants over there looks at him indignantly and said, ‘Maybe not, but even I know that the word is “magenta” and not “mangled” like you are saying. Calling them mangled eye fruit flies is ridiculous!’ The entire class just lost it.”
“Oh My God! She didn’t!” Joshua said, laughing loudly. “What did he say to that?”
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“He sent me to stand in the hallway until his class was over. He said he didn’t want to look at me anymore that day,” Goldie finished, now laughing herself at the memory of being put out of class for correcting her biology teacher.
They all laughed some more, sharing stories about their respective childhoods and some of the trouble they had gotten into over the years. Before they knew it, they had been there for hours and it was getting incredibly dark outside, the weather not letting up in the least. Randy and Ian excused themselves, leaving her there to try to excise herself from Joshua’s company. Though she was honestly enjoying it, she still knew she should remove herself soon. She was guessing he sensed it, as he did her work for her.
“Well, it’s been great seeing you, but I guess I better get going. I need to call up some of the guys and find a place to crash tonight. Hopefully, this will clear up and you can get out of here tomorrow at some point,” he told her, standing up and tossing some cash on the table with what Ian and Randy had left to cover their drinks.
Incredulously, Goldie heard a voice that she was quite certain couldn’t actually be coming from her asking him if he wanted to stay with her. He paused, narrowing his eyes at her for a moment before answering.
“Are you sure? I’ve gotten the impression lately that you were doing your best to avoid me,” he said, a note of sadness but no anger in his voice.
“I am just leaving soon and saw no reason to start anything,” she admitted. It was partially the truth, but what the hell. One more night of passion before she left couldn’t hurt. After all, he knew the score and was willing, so why should she turn down hot sex with a man that knew how to make her beg for more?
“Well, if you are sure, it would be a huge help today. I will even sleep on the floor or something if you prefer,” he offered.
“Nonsense. We are adults. We can both sleep in the bed . . . or not sleep in the bed,” she said, feeling a bit brazen,
“I’m guessing that not sleeping is more likely,” he smiled, reaching for her arm and leading her toward the stairs that led up toward the rooms.
She pointed him down the hallway toward the one she was staying in and they went inside, already losing their clothes no sooner than the door was shut behind them.
Chapter Eleven
Lying in the aftermath of a rousing session that left them both heaving for breath, Goldie and Joshua drifted off to sleep on their respective sides of the bed. [T2]
His phone, still in the pocket of his pants on the other side of the room, began to ring and he ignored it. After a moment, it began ringing again.
“Ugh. Who is that?” he muttered, climbing from the bed and crossing over to retrieve it. It had stopped ringing, but began to ring again in his hand. He clicked a key and spoke into the mouthpiece. “Hello?”
Goldie listened to his side of the conversation, which was obviously with someone else who had gotten stranded in the weather. She listened to him apologizing to them, telling them that he was staying with a friend and couldn’t really extend an invite. It was obvious that it was a guy from the way he was addressing him and Goldie felt bad about someone else being stranded out in this mess, so she interrupted.
“Joshua, if they need a place to go and need to stay here, they certainly can. It’s a big room and there is a roll away cot in the closet that we can set up for them.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to turn your room into some sort of refugee shelter,” he said.
“Of course, I’m sure. It’ll be fine.”
Joshua nodded at her and told the person on the phone to come on up, giving him the room number. He turned to her once he ended the call and smiled.
“This is very nice of you. I hate leaving friends out in the cold if I can help them at all, but I didn’t want to disrupt our evening together.”
“It’s a crisis. I wouldn’t leave a friend of mine out in the mess either,”
“He will be up in a moment. He was actually down in the lobby trying to get a room and they told him they were all booked up. Seems I wasn’t the only one who decided their only option was going to be to start calling people until I found a free sofa.”
“Oh, God. I need to get dressed!” she said, bounding out of bed, grabbing her clothes and running to the bathroom to make herself a little more presentable.
“I suppose I should too,” he said as she retreated. Someone knocked on the door just a moment later and when she came out, he had only managed to pull on his jeans, standing there shirtless to introduce her to his friend. Goldie froze in her tracks, her mind racing to consider such ridiculous things as whether she could hide under the rug by the bed.
“Goldie, this is my friend, John Sebastian. He owns the general store in town,” Joshua said, seemingly oblivious to the looks on both their faces.
“We’ve met,” John said evenly.
“Oh?” Joshua started to say, then looked back and forth between them, the situation seeming to register with him suddenly. “Oh, you mean you’ve met, as in MET.”
“Exactly what I mean,” John said. “I guess now I know why you couldn’t return my messages. You’ve been busy elsewhere.”
It was too much for Goldie. Though she had never fainted in her life, she suddenly found herself feeling incredibly dizzy. She reached for the bedpost to steady herself, but it was too late. Everything went black. When she came to, she was laying across the bed with both men looking down at her. She was awake, but she felt incredibly ill. This was definitely a nightmare.
“I thought we were going to have to try to find a doctor in this mess,” John said to her, stroking her hair softly.
“What happened?” she said in a raspy voice. Her mouth felt like it was full of cotton and she was grateful to see Joshua walking toward her with a glass of water.
“You blacked out or something. I guess it is to be expected considering your condition,” Joshua told her.
“My condition?”
“Yes, your condition. I’m guessing you realize you are pregnant by now?”
“Yes, but how do you know?”
“I’ve known since I saw you downstairs and you confirmed it by drinking just water, but I didn’t realize that it might not be mine.”
“What makes you think it is or isn’t yours?” she asked him wearily.
“Well, while we are nursing you back to wakefulness, John and I had a bit of a discussion and it seems you’ve been with both of us in the past week. I don’t mean to be indelicate, but are there any others?”
“Joshua, don’t,” John told him, though neither seemed angry about the situation. In fact, they were oddly calm about it. It was quite odd.
“I think I have to, John. I know you won’t ask, but we do need to know if there are other possibilities, don’t you think?” he said, giving John a very stern look. John dropped his head and nodded in agreement.
“Not that it is really any of your business, but it was definitely one of you two. Don’t worry, I don’t want anything from you. I had every intention of leaving here and never telling either of you, but the weather stopped me.”
“Yes, this would definitely explain the sudden onset of a flood,” John said.
“What? Now I am the cause of the flood?”
“Something like that,” John said with a little smile.
“Look. I feel better, but this is just awkward. I tell you what. You two can have this room and I will go sleep in Randy and Ian’s room for the night,” she said, trying to get up from the bed.
“Oh, no you won’t. We have a lot to discuss,” John told her, putting his large hand on her arm to stop her from getting out of bed.
“We have nothing to discuss. This is not your problem, either of you. I have no intention of you being involved in this child’s life. I don’t even know which of you is the father, for God’s sake!”
“It doesn’t matter. We don’t care,” Joshua told her.
“What? Are the two of you mental or something?”
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�Well, you might think that after you hear what we have to tell you, but we really aren’t,” John laughed.
Goldie pulled herself up in the bed and sat there looking back and forth at the two of them as they stood on either side of the bed. Joshua nodded his head toward John and sat down on one side of the bed as John began to speak. After a moment, he sat down on the other side, holding her hand as he talked to her.
“First, you need to know what Joshua and I are to one another,” he said.
“Oh, Jesus. If you tell me you are lovers, I may just lose my own mind,” she told him.
“What? No. Of course not, but we are very close. More like brothers than friends. We belong to the same club, but it isn’t your ordinary organization. It’s more of a secret society sort of thing.”
“Like Freemasons?” she smirked.
“Older than that. This is going to sound crazy to you and you aren’t going to believe it, but we will show you if you need for us to do so. Joshua and I are bear shifters.”
“Okay. Now you guys are just fucking with me. I guess it’s fair to get in a laugh at my expense considering everything, but if you think I’m falling for something as far-fetched as shapeshifting, you’re sadly mistaken.”
“We aren’t joking and we can show you, but only if you tell us you are ready for us to do so. Given your condition, we won’t risk a shock to your system.”
“Yeah, right. Okay. Show me.”
“Are you sure?” John asked.
“Positive,” she replied sarcastically.
Joshua stood up and walked to the end of the bed and then took a few steps away from the bed. Goldie watched as his shape began to shift into something contorted, his nose pushing forward into a snout and hair sprouting out everywhere on his body. He dropped down on to his hands as his body quickly morphed into a four-legged animal. She found herself looking into the large green eyes of a sandy colored bear. It was much larger than any normal bear would be and she caught her breath as she realized that what she was seeing was real.
“Are you okay?” John asked.
