Laid Bear (7 page)

Bethany had never been happier.

There was just one major bump in their road to love. Chet. They’d been able to keep their relationship under wraps for about a week before Chet caught her leaving Max’s place early one morning. It didn’t take a mathematician to figure out the score.

Chet had simply sat in his truck, staring at her progress across the front porch to her door. Her body was aflame with embarrassment, though she didn’t have any reason to be ashamed. But she and Max didn’t want to rile Chet any more than necessary, so they’d tried to keep it quiet.

It was anything
but
quiet the moment her door snapped shut. Chet was pounding on Max’s door, and then the yelling began. Every word reverberated through the thin walls of the duplex. Every horrible word.

“What the hell do you think you’re playing at, kid?! This isn’t a game!”

Max was too quiet to hear clearly, obviously trying to calm his irate uncle. But Chet turned it up a notch to compensate.

“Then you should know what happens when one of us mates with one of…
them
! Disaster! Heartbreak! Death!”

More quiet talk from Max.

“No! It’s
exactly
the same! Get it through your thick bear skull, kid, this needs to end!
NOW!
”

The last word was a deafening roar that shook the building. A door slammed, a car engine revved, and the fight was over. A moment later, Max was at her door.

He pulled her into a tight embrace — what they’d jokingly been calling a bear hug — and whispered into her ear. “I’m so sorry. Ignore him. He doesn’t understand.”

After that, Chet was colder than ever toward her, but he never confronted either of them again about their relationship. Bethany had tried to put his words out of her mind, but they pinged around in there, showing up unexpectedly, like in her dreams.

Packs of bears chasing her riddled her sleep state. Sometimes they’d catch her and she’d wake with a start; sometimes she would run into Max’s arms for protection, only to look up and see a bear’s gaping maw lunging at her. The dreams didn’t come every night, but often enough to take a toll on her health.
 

Dark circles appeared under her eyes and she began losing weight.
I guess there’s an upside to insomnia
, she thought, trying not to worry during daylight hours. Her brain made up for lost time at night, and she wanted to enjoy every moment she could with Max.

The dreams were puzzling, though, since Max had eased her concerns over his being a werebear. He explained that the mythology surrounding lycanthropes — werebears, werewolves and so on — was pretty off the mark, and that humans had little to fear from them.

“We aren’t cursed or mutated or anything like that; we just are what we are,” he told her one night after a particularly energetic lovemaking session during which he’d roared like an angry bear. Naturally, this had frightened — and thrilled — Bethany, and they’d spent the rest of the night in a Q & A session.
 

“We don’t shift only at the full moon,” he said, resting his chin on the top of her head as she leaned back against his chest. “We can do it whenever we need to. Kids sometimes have trouble controlling it, so most werebear cubs are homeschooled until they’ve mastered the change. But most of our lives are spent in human form.”

He explained that their numbers had dwindled to the point of extinction, but he worked for a coalition that helped werebears find suitable mates within their species. “Some of us think we shouldn’t discount the idea of breeding with humans, but there’s some strong resistance to this idea, usually from old-timers.”

A flush rose up Bethany’s chest. The thought of a group of Max’s kind disapproving of their relationship worried her. Would they try to talk Max into dumping her?

“Why? What’s their problem with it?” Her voice was small.

He sensed her anxiety and tightened his arms around her. “Mostly bad information and prejudice. Many want to keep our bloodlines pure.”

“And how do you feel about that?”

Max lowered his head to her ear and whispered, “Haven’t you figured that out by now?”

The flush continued to spread through her body, but this time it was the flush of love.
 

~ * ~ * ~

“It’s only going to be for a few days,” Max was saying on the way to his truck. He’d been called out of town to arrange a meeting between a mucky-muck in the werebear world and a female that seemed like a promising match.
 

“I know,” Bethany said, trying to keep the wheedling tone out of her voice, “but I honestly don’t understand why they can’t just go out for a cup of coffee like the rest of us do on blind dates.”

He laughed as he threw a duffle bag on the passenger side floor. “We do things a little differently. There’s a hierarchy, a protocol that must be maintained.”

The confused look on Bethany’s face begged further explanation.
 

“Think of it like a religion. Some religions and cultures have very specific requirements for courtship and marriage. We’re just another foreign culture with customs that seem weird to you.”

That made sense, then something occurred to her. “What about us? How do we fit into those customs?”

The soft smile that lit up Max’s face melted her heart. He grabbed her hands and pulled her into a hug — not one of his patented ‘bear hugs’, but a sweet, gentle embrace. His soft lips descended on hers, wiping away any fears she had about their future.

“Darlin’, we’re making our own.” He gazed down at her for a long moment, Bethany becoming lost in his hypnotizing eyes, then gave her one more quick peck and hopped in the truck. “I’m heading up into the mountains so my phone probably won’t work. I’ll call you as soon as I have bars. Be good!”

“You, too,” she called jovially, though her stomach was churning at his departure. She didn’t want to turn into one of those clingy girlfriends that stifles her beau, but she still felt an ache deep down that she wouldn’t see him for so long.
 

“Snap out of it!” she muttered on her way back to her apartment. She’d been on her own for her entire adult life; a few days alone wouldn’t kill her. In fact, maybe she could get some stuff done that she’d been ignoring in favor of spending time with Max.

Like catching up with her friends. First she left a voicemail on Charlotte’s phone, then called Paul.
 

“Girl, I can’t believe you’ve finally come up for air! That boy must be the lay of a lifetime!”

Paul had a knack for making her laugh. “I know, I’m sorry I’ve been MIA, but I want to make up for it. Max had to go out of town and I thought it would be fun to get the gang together. How about dinner tonight? I know it’s short notice.…”
 

“Hellz to the yeah. We’ve all been absolutely
dying
for the dirt on this guy. We’ll all be there, don’t you worry about a thing. Thank God it’s Friday so we can get completely trashed while you titillate us with all the gory details. See you around six!”

Bethany was left staring at her phone. Did he just hang up? Sure enough, ‘call ended’. Shaking her head, she scrolled up to Kimmy’s contact and hit ‘call’.
 

“Ohmigod, it’s about fucking time you called me! I’m on the phone with Paul. What can I bring?”

“That was fast. I literally just hung up with him. I dunno, bottle of wine?”

“Done! Gotta go!”

Geez, had she really neglected them that much? Almost before the thought was finished, her phone chirped and the display flashed Charlotte’s grinning face.

“Hey, did you get my message?

“Yes, and I just hung up on a conference call with Dumb and Dumber,” Charlotte laughed. “They have a secret plan to get you drunk so you’ll tell us all about Max’s sexy-time skills.”

Bethany dug her toe into a spot on the carpet, embarrassed that she’d shut out her best friends for a guy and grateful that they so quickly forgave her.
 

“Tonight is Jacob’s poker night, so I’m all yours, baby. I’ve got to get to work, so see you tonight. Oh, and B?”

“Yeah?”

“He’d better be worth it. Love ya!”

“B
, I haffa tell ya look…mahvelous!” Kimmy giggled drunkenly as she staggered to the kitchen to mix up another G&T. Bethany thought gin was disgusting but Paul and Kimmy loved it so she’d stocked up on her way home from work.
 

She was still nursing her first margarita on the rocks. The anxiety of Max’s leaving and the guilt from ignoring her friends knotted her stomach so much that she just wasn’t feeling the boozy vibe. Instead she clutched her midriff from laughing too hard as Paul and Charlotte danced around to a rap song about a guy who liked shopping in thrift stores.
 

“No, I’m totes serious,” Kimmy slurred when she slouched onto the couch next to her, a little of her drink sloshing over the side. “Love likes you.”

“What?” Bethany laughed.

“I think what our sobriety-challenged friend is trying to say,” interjected Char, breaking away from Paul’s energetic dance moves, “is that love agrees with you.”

“Yeah, you’re fucking glowing,” agreed a breathless Paul. “You look like a dog that just ate its own shit.”

The girls all groaned collectively at the imagary. Paul had apparently enjoyed one too many G&Ts as well.

“And what
this
one is trying to say is that you’re walking around here with a shit-eating grin on your face,” translated Charlotte. “And that we’re all so happy that you’ve finally found a guy worthy of you but if you ditch us for a dude again, we’ll have to stage an intervention.”

“Whashesaid…” Kimmy’s eyes were drooping and her head was lolling precariously to one side.
 

“Uh oh, woman down! Houston, we have a problem! Woman down!” Paul ran into the kitchen and returned a moment later with a glass of water, which Bethany assumed was for Kimmy to drink. Charlotte managed to pull it from his hands before he let it fly in Kimmy’s slumbering face.

“My darling,” she said to him. “I think you’d better drink this yourself if you don’t want to end up like Passed-Out Beauty over there.”

He looked at her for a moment, swaying a little, then nodded. Five years ago he would have laughed and mixed himself another drink but one too many hangovers had taught him to listen when his friends warned him he’d had enough.

Bethany helped Kimmy lie down and covered her with her grandmother’s throw, then the trio moved into the kitchen. Since her friends had arrived, they’d been laughing and dancing and drinking — a typical Friday night. But now they wanted answers.
 

“So who is this guy?”

“What’s he do for a living”

“Is he good to you?”

“More importantly, does he go down on you?”

“Paul!”

“What? It’s a valid question, Charlotte. Also, is he thick or long?”

“Enough!” Bethany held her hands up in surrender. Her friends deserved some answers for being so patient with her lately. “Charlotte, he’s a really amazing guy who treats me like a goddess.”

She turned to Paul. “Paul, he works in international relations and yes, he does.”

Paul raised his eyebrows. “And?”

Bethany blushed and cleared her throat. “Um, both.”

“Oh God!” Paul fell back in his chair, overcome with joy or jealousy, Bethany wasn’t sure which.
 

“Okay, I have another question,” said Char. “Does he discourage you from calling or hanging out with us?”

That got Paul’s attention. “You mean, like, is he isolating her?”

“Yeah, I guess that’s what I’m asking, but in what I’d hoped would be a less obvious way, dufus.”

Bethany was shocked by her friends’ suspicions. “No! No way. Not at all.” She dropped her eyes and used her finger to connect the water drops on the side of her glass. “I just got caught up, is all.”

“Really, B? Cuz it seems like there’s something else eating at you. If this guy is hiding you away or trying to wedge himself between us…”
 

“It’s nothing like that, guys,” Bethany protested. She wanted more than anything to tell them about Max’s genetic quirk, but first of all, they wouldn’t believe her and second, it wasn’t her secret to tell. But there were things she could share.

“It’s actually Chet,” she started.

“You mean your asshole landlord?” asked Paul.

“Yeah. As it turns out, he’s Max’s uncle and he doesn’t approve of our dating.”

“So? Who cares what that dick pig thinks.”

“Well, Max comes from a very tight-knit community. They don’t believe in dating from outside their group. Chet found out we’re together and was definitely not happy. How realistic is it to date someone whose entire family hates you? Plus…” She shook her head, regretting she’d said anything else.
 

“What? Plus what?” Char was like a dog with a bone. She’d gnaw and nibble away until she pulled the truth from Bethany, so she might was well just tell her now and save them both the trouble. But how to do it without making Max sound like a different species, which of course he was.

“Well, I overheard Chet say something that implied their family had trouble procreating.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold the phone, little missy,” Charlotte said. “You guys have already been talking about having babies?!”

“No! Don’t be silly, it’s only been a few weeks.” She stood up and stalked over to the sink. The anxiety that had been building since Chet had implied humans and werebears couldn’t mate was finally being released and she needed something to keep her hands busy. She dumped out her drink and started furiously washing the glass.
 

“B, talk to us.”

Heaving a sigh, she set the glass on the counter and turned to them. “I want lots of babies, some day. I would love to have a big family. But if what Chet said is true, having kids with Max might not even be a possibility.”

“So Chet went from terrible landlord to fertility expert overnight, or what?” Charlotte asked.

Bethany waffled on how to respond, but finally came up with, “He has some inside knowledge.”

Paul chuffed. “Who cares? So you don’t have kids. You’ll have the stupidly hot and awesome love of your life who will fuck your brains out every night of the week.”