PARANORMAL ROMANCE: Bear Naked Satisfaction (Fantasy Shapeshifter Alpha Male Romance Book 3) (Contemporary New Adult Billionaire Steamy Romance Short Stories) (68 page)

Chapter 4

After the speeches there was a moment of calm when everyone relaxed and took stock of the day. The children were glad of the opportunity to rush around after they had been forced to sit still through the speeches, and the rest of the guests enjoyed the ability to stretch out and let their food go down. There had already been much alcohol consumed and many of the guests were feeling the worse for wear.

“So how's it feel now that you're married?” Natalie asked.

“I don't think it's really settled in yet, I think when we're in bed together tonight alone that's when it'll hit us. Right now everything is still a blur and I haven't really had a chance to process what's been going on,” Lydia replied, hoisting her big dress up in her arms as she walked. Upon seeing this her bridesmaids became her handmaidens and helped her walk down the hall, where she left for a slight break.

“So, you're married now,” Natalie said, turning to Tom.

“Yeah, feels weird. Good, but weird.”

“Thanks for what you said by the way, it means a lot to me.”

“Same to you. Who'd have thought that we'd end up here.”

“I know, I still think my parents are a little upset that we didn't end up together. They thought we were going to be sweethearts.”

“It would have been a nice story I guess, but I think we know each other too well to be a couple.”

“Well, that and you have a dick.”

“Yeah, that too. Anyway, now that I'm married we have to find you a girl otherwise you're not going to have anyone to hang out with.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well now that I'm married most of my spare time is going to be spent with Lydia. It's not going to be the same as it once was Nat, I'm going to have to check with her every time I want to go out to make sure that we don't have any other plans, and I'm not going to be able to come round to binge watch shows like we used to,” he said it in a half-joking tone but Natalie knew that there was some serious behind it, and the truth struck her that although she was happy for her friend she was also losing him to his marriage, and he was right, things wouldn't be the same.

“It'll be fine. I was getting annoyed at spending time with you anyway, finally got myself rid of you,” she quipped back, giving him a dig on the arm, but there was a moment of silence that followed her words, and they both knew that things were changing.

“So, anyway, is there anyone that's taken your fancy?” Tom asked, trying to move the conversation along so they didn't have to dwell on the ominous future that awaited them.

Natalie tilted her head from side to side, and Tom knew her well enough to know that it meant she did. He sidled up to her and pressed her body into hers, trying to coax the truth out of her.

“Come on then, spill,” he said.

“It's um, it's no-one really, I don't even think she's single, let alone a lesbian so it's probably not even worth thinking about.”

“Natalie.”

“I shouldn't even have thought about it. Anyway, you can't be playing wingman on today this is your wedding. It's your day. I don't want you to try and sort out my single life when you should be looking forward to spending time with your wife.”

“Natalie, why are you being so weird about this? Just tell me. And you know I owe you for all the help you gave me when I started dating Lydia. I would have screwed it up if it wasn't for you, so I'm at your disposal now. You tell me who it is and I'll hook you up. I am the groom, I do have some sway with this crowd.”

Natalie looked at him uneasily and licked her lips.

“Okay, but don't be mad at me?”

“Why, who is it?” he said, suddenly suspicious.

“It's nothing bad, I just saw her and she was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen and I've been trying to talk to her but the moment hasn't presented itself. I just...I don't know, she seems almost unreal, like I can't believe I'm actually in the same room with someone that beautiful.”

“Natalie, who is it?” he said in a demanding tone.

“It's one of the bridesmaids, Lydia's sister Lisa,” she said, and twisted her face up. Tom pursed his lips.

“You had to fall for one of Lydia's sisters? You don't make it easy do you,” he said, blowing out a sharp breath.

“I know! And I know she's probably straight so that's why I don't expect you to do anything. Just don't worry, it's just a nice thing to fantasize about and I'll be satisfied with it being only that,” she said in a resigned tone. Tom looked at her for a long while and sighed.

“You know, I never get why you're so defeatist when it comes to romance. You're such an amazing girl that anyone would be lucky to have you and you shouldn't be so down on yourself all the time. I don't know much about her anyway so for all I know she could be gay. I've only met Lydia's family a handful of times, and today is the first time I've seen Lisa. She spent a lot of time in Europe, where she went to school, I think she studied history or philosophy or something along those lines...anyway come on,” he said, standing up and holding out his hand. Natalie looked up at him, blinking. 

“What?”

“I said I was going to be your wingman and your wingman I shall be. So get up and I'll go and introduce you to her.”

“But won't Lydia be upset?”

“Why would she be upset? You're my friend, Lisa's her sister, what could be better? Can you imagine how fun double dating would be! Come on,” he said and grabbed Natalie, dragging her across the room, even though she was telling him to stop. Despite her usually being quite a confident person, and very comfortable with herself, she had never been that good when it came to matters of the heart. It was difficult in situations like this to go up to someone and strike up a conversation when she didn't know their orientation, especially not when they were as beautiful as Lisa. More than that she was Lydia's sister, and Natalie couldn't help but feel that Lydia would not look too kindly on that.

But she found herself being dragged across the floor and knew that she had no choice in the matter. Lydia and her entourage had returned from the short break and were being swamped by people. Tom battled through them all, and his and Lydia's face lit up when they saw each other. They gave each other a kiss.

“I just wanted to bring Nat over and introduce her to your bridesmaids since they haven't really had a chance to meet before,” he said. Natalie blushed a little as Lydia introduced them all. They all said how good a speech she gave, except Lisa, who only gave her a coy glance and squeezed her hand more tightly than the others. As they looked at each other, Lisa's eyes dropped down to quickly glance at the rest of Natalie's body, and Natalie felt like she had been dosed with poison, because she knew that she was not going to be content until she had tasted the flesh that waited for her under the dress. Tom quickly ushered Lydia off, winking at Natalie as he did so, and the best woman found herself standing with the most beautiful bridesmaid.

“So, you're Lydia's sister,” Natalie found herself saying, cringing at the lame attempt to break the ice, but her mind was a blank and she couldn't think of anything original or witty to say.

“I am indeed, and you're Tom's best woman,” she said, her eyes twinkling. It was clear that this girl was going to be a challenge and she put the pressure on Natalie, seemingly enjoying the act of torturing her.

“Tom told me that you've been in Europe for most of the past few years,” Natalie said. Lisa pressed her lips together and then spun on her heels, turning away from Natalie. She took  a step and then twisted her head back, letting her long tresses of hair drape around her shoulders.

“I'm going for a walk outside, are you  going to join me?” she asked in a light voice. Natalie quickly fell into step with her.

The two of them walked out of the door into the warm air. It was getting to that hazy time between afternoon and evening. The sun had drifted over the sky and red streaks were slashing through the clear blue. The air was warm and sweet, and although most people were inside there were still a smattering of people enjoying the fresh air. The gardens stretched out like an old English manor; there were lawn games to one side, and a small babbling brook ran through the middle. Large trees and bushes cut through the field, giving some areas a sense of privacy. In the distance there were still some kids laughing with glee as they played with a ball, and lovers had found secluded spots in which to be alone, away from prying eyes where they could enjoy stolen kisses. 

A stone path snaked through the garden, leading to a tunnel of trees that was dark and mysterious. It was this along which Natalie and Lisa walked. The younger bridesmaid sauntered along and Natalie was caught in her wake. Soon enough they were away from the majority of the wedding party and had escaped into their own private world.

“So a woman best man, that's something I haven't seen before,” Lisa said, brushing her fingers along the dark green leaves. She pulled a few off and tore them apart absentmindedly, shredding them and tossing them to the floor like confetti.

“Yeah, well, like I said in my speech we've been friends since we were born so I'm just glad he was able to look past convention and ask me.”

“It must have driven my sister crazy, seeing how close you two are.”

“Maybe at the start, but I think that's natural. We worked through it and I like to think that we can call each other friends.”

“She's changed a lot since she moved to the city. I'm surprised she actually allowed Tom to have you as his best woman. I remember when we were younger, she used to speak all the time about her dream wedding and it was always completely traditional.”

“Well, like you said, she's changed a lot since she's moved to the city.”

“Yeah, it's kinda weird, isn't it? How you can be so close to your family, like you're tethered to them, but when it comes down to it you don't really know them at all. Is it weird that I feel like a stranger with my own family?” she said, and turned her head to look at Natalie. In those wide smoldering eyes Natalie saw an inherent sadness, and it made her heart swell.

“No, I know totally what you mean. I felt like a stranger with everyone when I was younger, well, everyone apart from Tom. Didn't feel like I could be myself. It was only when I came out that I felt better about it, and, you know, having curves like mine meant that I was always conscious about the way I looked and coming out was a big deal to me, but people were accepting and Tom really helped. I probably couldn't have done it without him. But my point is that as long as you're honest about who you are then people will respond to that, and if they're decent they'll accept you, if not then they're not really people you want to have in your life anyway.”

“It's not as easy as all that though, not with family. You can't just turn your back on them. And you don't know my family. They have certain expectations. Certain standards that one must follow in order to be the model citizen. That's why they sent me to Europe. They wanted me to be cultured and to have a rounded life, but...I don't know.”

“You don't know what?” Natalie said, getting the idea that Lisa was telling her deep dark things that she didn't ordinarily tell anyone, and Natalie didn't know why Lisa was telling her in particular but she wasn't about to stop her now.

“I don't know if my family will like who I've become. They don't know what it was like living away from home and Europe it's so...open-minded. You wouldn't believe some of the things I've done and seen, and now that I'm back home it just seems so...normal. I don't know how I'm supposed to fit in.”

“Maybe you're not supposed to. Why don't you do what Lydia did and move to another city, make a new life for yourself?”

“But that's just it, I don't know what I want to do with my life.”

“There's plenty of things, just take time and do something you love. All we can do is muddle around but it sounds like you've lived more than a lot of people already. I've never left the country so I'm incredibly jealous that you've lived in Europe.”

“You have nothing to be jealous of. You own yourself, you know exactly who you are and what you want out of life. I can see it in the way you carry yourself. Confidence is very attractive you know...I wish I had the same understanding of myself that you have. I'm just a mess of confusion. Did you always know, that you liked girls I mean?”

“Yeah, deep down, it was just one of those things. It was always confusing though because everything was geared towards being straight and when all the other girls talked about boys I wondered if I was normal or strange or whatever, but I managed to muddle through.”

“Did you ever do it with a boy?”

Natalie laughed. “No, never.”

“You've never done anything?”

“I didn't say that,” Natalie said coyly. Lisa spun around and looked at her with great interest.

“What happened?”

“I'm not sure I should say,” Natalie said.

“You can't tease me like that.”

“Okay, but you have to promise never to tell your sister. It's not a big deal, but back when we were teenagers me and Tom used to hang out a lot, obviously, and we ended up making out a little, just to experiment and see what it was like. But it never went further than that.”

“Wow.”

“We both just thought that since we were such good friends we might as well be each others' first kiss, it seemed right at the time. Now it just seems weird. But at least it confirmed to me that I was one hundred per cent gay.”