Bearilicious - Collection (15 page)

“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 hair.

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.”

“I remember Aveline! I always wondered what happened to her.”

“Yeah,” he nodded, his gaze cloudy and far away. “She drowned, so, I guess, in my grief, I clung to a little girl who’d known her. I remembered you both playing together.”

She tried to think back. She and Aveline had been friends in kindergarten, and often played together outside of class. She couldn’t remember, though, Aveline’s brother at all. She didn’t even know Aveline had died - Angela’s mother had told her Aveline had simply moved away. Maybe that was easier for a child to understand.

“I kept an eye on you from then on,” he continued, with a shrug. “As time went on, of course, you became a beautiful young woman. But, you know, I felt I was too old for you. I considered asking you out when I was a senior and you were a freshman, but I…” he rolled his eyes, “I was afraid what my friends would say.”

“What, because I’m curvy?”

“No, because I was a senior and you were a freshman,” he gave a slight smile. “I was on the water polo team, I was popular… I didn’t want to risk that. But then again, I couldn’t bear seeing you with someone else.”

“So, you were embarrassed to be with me, but you didn’t want anyone else to be with me either?”

He took another labored deep breath, “I guess so. I also felt a bit skeevy trying to hit on you when I was so much older. And once I got out of high school, I thought your parents would never go for it. So, I waited and… tried to get rid of the competition.”

“But then what about after high school? I’m twenty-four now, and I still haven’t had anyone even approach me. Certainly not you.” She would have remembered such an attractive man approaching her.

“Well, no one’s to blame for that besides myself. I got a bit uh…” he scratched the back of his head, “bashful, you know. I didn’t know how to come and talk to you. I’m an engineering major, and I definitely don’t

know how to talk to people. So, as time went on, I’d try to be places where you’d be and try to work up my courage and…”

“So, essentially, you were stalking me,” she leaned back in the couch, looking him straight in the eye with a raised eyebrow.

He chuckled awkwardly, “I guess so. That ran through my mind that I was being just super creepy because I could never approach, and I was always there. And then I’d threaten the guys who would approach you, which… is even more crazy creepy. I just really didn’t know what to do.”

You just come up and talk to me. Do you know how it felt to have men show you attention and then completely ignore you? All my friends had boyfriends and were learning all the things I didn’t get to learn. I mean, if you were popular in high school, shouldn’t you have known how to talk to women?”

“It’s funny being popular in high school. Your status pretty much does it all for you, and I was one of the nicer, shyer guys, so the other popular

liked me. I am deeply sorry though for ruining your college experience. It was selfish of me.”

“Yes, it was.”

“Once I got into college, I was spending all my time on my schoolwork, and I kind of lost touch with my social skills.” He paused, biting his lip in thought for a moment.

Angela tried to keep her resolve with how sexy the biting of his lip was. He’d been stalking her! That wasn’t right!

“I’d been in love with you for so long, and I was afraid you’d reject me,” he looked her in the eye now - his eyes so clear and blue, she thought she could swim in them. “Plus, there’s… this other thing about me that… uh… I’m not sure how you’ll react when I tell you.”

“I don’t know what could be more shocking than hearing that someone’s been stalking you,” she answered.

“I’m sorry, are you sure you don’t want a drink?” he stood, seeming more awkward than before. “I need a shot, I think.”

“It’s like… noon!”

“Yeah, I need a bit of extra courage here.”

Angela declined, but gave her blessing for him to do whatever he needed to do. She kept an eye on him though, making sure he wasn’t going to pull out a weapon. He didn’t do anything suspicious and actually seemed quite harmless. Still, she couldn’t let her guard down.

“So, what is this other thing you need to tell me?” Angela asked finally.

“Okay,” he said to himself, taking another breath. “This may sound crazy. Crazier than everything else.”

“That might be a challenge.”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “I am part of a family, a group, of.... bear shifters. And my father has been the leader for many years.”

“Bear shifter? Like… you transform into a bear?”

“Yes. It’s just… something our family has always done. There’s quite a number of us. And, well, on my 29th birthday, I’m going to become the… uh… king.”

“The king of the bears?”

He nodded. She tried to keep herself from laughing - the whole thing sounded ridiculous. People don’t transform into animals - that only happens in movies or fairy tales.

“I know it’s hard to believe,” he said, looking her in the eye again. She nodded, but didn’t speak. “I can show you, if you want.”

“Okay,” she answered, not knowing anything else to say.

“All right. Don’t worry about your safety. I know what I’m doing. I’m controlled, and I’m not dangerous.”

She nodded again, but stepped back. She wanted to be out of the way and have her pepper spray ready. She wasn’t exactly sure what was going to happen. He explained that he normally didn’t wear clothing, so he went into the kitchen to transform. He left the room to presumably undress and transform. She snuck a peek at him before he undressed completely - he had that lean, muscular swimmer’s body.

She wished they had met each other under different circumstances. She also wished she didn’t have to sit in this crazy man’s living room as he “transformed” into a bear. He had to be unhinged. There had to be something more wrong with him than just the stalking for him to really think he could transform into a bear.

Suddenly, an adult bear emerged from the kitchen. Angela stood in shock. She had never seen a bear in real life before. She didn’t think Nate could actually turn into a bear.

Her heart started to pound against her chest, her breathing increased to a rate that made her feel light headed, and as the bear came closer, her sight blurred. She felt herself falling, and the world went black.

IV.

Angela’s eyes opened to see wooden beams above her. She closed and opened her eyes, trying to focus on where she was. She felt groggy. She couldn’t remember how she’d gotten there. She tried to think back - where had she been before she got to this foreign place? She appeared to be in a wood cabin, but she had been at Nate Brown’s house downtown.

“Oh my God,” she bolted up. “I’ve been kidnapped.”

“Oh, you’re awake!” Nate appeared from somewhere else in the wooden cabin. He appeared frazzled and worried. “You fainted and then you hit your head. I… didn’t know what to do.”

“Maybe you should’ve taken me to the hospital!” Angela threw up her hands in anger. “Where am I?”