Romance: New Adult: One Game at a Time - A College Football Romance (Bad Boy Romance) (Sports Contemporary Short Stories) (34 page)

Kerri looked at the bear in a state of shock.  What was going on?  Surely she was dreaming.  She tried to pinch herself and winced in pain. 
This was
no dream.  She was about to get up and move when a fight broke out.  Jay, although injured, had lunged out at the bear.  The bear fought back, roaring and clawing at Jay with such violence that it shook the whole forest.  It seemed like they would fight to the death.  

During the fight, the bear had the upper hand, being much larger and stronger.  As they fought the
bear inflicted
wound after wound on the wolf until finally he
was reduced
to a pulverized mass that ran away with his tail between his legs.  The other wolves, seeing their alpha male defeated quickly followed him, disappearing into the woods.

Patrick, still in his bear form, looked around, checking for additional wolves.  It seemed like the coast was clear.  While he did this, Kerri looked at him.  She wondered why this animal wasn’t attacking her.  She wondered why he had protected her. 
This all
felt like a weird
dream,
but the throbbing pain in her ankle told her it was all a harsh reality. 

Finally, Patrick turned around and looked at her.  The bear looked at Kerri with honey colored eyes.  They were warm and inviting.  All of Kerri’s fear disappeared.  She suddenly felt calm and relaxed in the presence of this animal. 

After a moment, Patrick turned back into a human.  Kerri gasped as her whole world flipped upside down. 
Patrick
?  Kerri couldn’t believe her eyes. 
Patrick was
the bear? 
This couldn’t
be real.  She
had
to be dreaming.  She looked at him, completely dumbfounded.  How could this be happening?  How could her best friend since second grade be a
bear
? 

“P…Patrick… how?  How are you?  How is this possible?  What are you?  What just happened?  A million questions spewed out of her lips as she looked up at her friend with accusing eyes.  She wanted to know what was going
on,
and she wanted to know now.  “Why did you never tell me?”  She asked harshly, anger coming to the surface of her words.  “Why did you keep this from me?” 

Patrick however, did not hear a word she said.  He could not process anything that came out of her lips, all he could do was focus on them.  A million emotions were running through his
chest,
but none of them
were
more concrete than the feelings he had for her.  This girl was his true mate.  The girl of his dreams.  He couldn’t hold back
anymore
. 

As Kerri spit out these
questions,
Patrick walked toward her.  His steps were sure
footed,
and soon enough he closed the distance between them.  Kerri, still lying on the ground looked up at him with curious eyes.  What was he doing?  Suddenly, he leaned down and gently picked her up, holding her bridal style in his arms. 

Kerri blushed darkly when this happened.  She looked at him, questions in her eyes, but she stayed silent for a moment.  Patrick looked down at her beautiful face as emotion consumed him.  He couldn’t help himself as he leaned down and kissed her rosy lips for the very first time.  His heart beat fast as he pressed his lips to hers and they started to kiss. 

At first, Kerri found herself in a state of shock.  Soon enough, however, her
own
emotions came to the surface.  Her heart swelled with happiness as she felt his rough lips press against hers.  She smiled into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around him and gently kissed him back.  She felt like she was floating on cloud nine.

Deep down, a part of her was still afraid of falling in love.  This part of her was afraid of getting hurt.  She was also scared of hurting Patrick.  However, as the kiss intensified, that part of her was quickly overshadowed by all the pent up emotions that came to the surface.  There was no
denying, at
that moment, she truly did have feelings for him. 

Finally, Patrick pulled away, his face beaming with pleasure.  He had finally kissed the girl of his dreams, the girl he had liked since puberty.  He couldn’t believe it.  There was a smile permanently etched onto his face as he looked down at her.  She was blushing crimson and looked incredibly cute.  He leaned down and kissed her nose gently. 

He then started to walk out of the woods, carrying her.  As he did, Kerri’s questions came back to haunt her. They started to swirl around her head, making her feel dizzy.  She wanted to ask him all of these questions.  She wanted to know all of the
answers,
but instead she stayed quiet.  She decided to take the time to think, to get her thoughts in order.  It had been a hectic
day,
and she needed some time to get everything straight in her mind.  Kerri closed her eyes feeling a little overwhelmed by the whole thing. 

Chapter 7

Finally, they arrived at Kerri’s house.  Patrick opened the door with Kerri’s spare key.  He walked inside before gently placing Kerri on the couch, careful not to hurt her ankle.  He then placed a pillow under her injured leg, elevating it.  Kerri watched as he moved into the kitchen.  She could hear the ice machine working as he filled up a bag with ice. 

Soon he came back and gently placed the ice on her ankle.  Kerri winced as he did.

“Shh… it’s alright.  It’s just sprained.  It’s not broken.”  He told her comfortingly as he
massaged
it a bit, soothing the strained muscle.  He then placed the ice on it again.  “You’re going to be
okay,
” he said with a warm smile as he looked at her. 

Kerri blushed a little at his compassion.  He had always been so protective and thoughtful of her.  She smiled at him as he sat down on the coffee table before her. 

“Patrick?”  Kerri’s voice was a soft whisper as she looked at her friend with large eyes.  Patrick raised an eyebrow at her, wondering what she wanted. 

“Yes?” 

“Can… can you get my teddy for me?”  They both blushed but eventually he nodded before getting up and disappearing into her bedroom.  A few moments later, he returned with the teddy bear and handed it to her.  She hugged it tightly to her chest, nuzzling its black fur against her cheek.  She gently fidgeted with its paw as she looked at
Patrick,
who once again sat on the coffee table. 

They looked at each other for a moment, the distance between them filling with awkward silence.  Finally, Kerri broke the silence, asking Patrick a million questions.  He answered every one of them. 
Telling her all about the shifter world.
  He told her how some people could turn into animals and how some of these shifters worked in packs like the wolves.  He even, hesitantly, told her about shifter mates and how every shifter had a mate, a person they couldn’t
live without
.  A soul mate.  Patrick didn’t tell her, however, that she was his true mate. 

“Patrick?”  She whispered, looking meek.  She looked nervous as she tugged on the bear’s left ear.  He looked up at her and tilted his head. 

“Yes?”

“Tell me the truth okay?”  Patrick gave her a curious look, wondering what she would ask next.  Nonetheless, he nodded, looking at her with serious eyes.  “Do… do you like me..?”  Patrick blushed crimson at her words before looking away.  He felt incredibly shy.  Finally, he nodded his head. 

Kerri blushed as well at his response.  She couldn’t believe that he liked her.  How long had he liked her?  She looked at him, her eyes asking him a million more questions. 

“To be honest… I have liked you for a very long time… ever since I started noticing girls… I had a crush on you… but I didn’t want to scare you
away,
so I stayed quiet.  Then you started dating other
guys,
and I thought you didn’t like
me
so I stayed away… I didn’t want to get in your way… but I do honestly like
you,
Kerri… please don’t get mad…”  He whispered softly.  He looked at her with sincere eyes.  His heart pounded in his chest as he awaited rejection.  She would surely reject his advances.  “But
…
you have honestly been the only girl I have ever truly liked… loved.”  Patrick’s ears turned red in his embarrassment as he confessed his feelings for her. 

Kerri looked at him, shocked.  She couldn’t believe it.  Patrick
loved
her?  Kerri’s heart beat fast in her chest as she tried to process what he had said. 

“Patrick?” 

He looked up at her, a little startled.  “Y…yes?”  He asked nervously, looking at her with wary eyes.  His heart pounded in his ears, making it hard to hear. 

“C… can… I see
you as
a bear again…?”  She asked him softly, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes.  He looked at her a little confused.  Had he heard correctly?  Did she
really
want to see his bear?  “Please?” 

Patrick looked into her eyes before nodding his head.  Slowly, he got up and walked to the middle of living room.  He looked at her and took a deep breath before focusing.  Soon he
shifted,
and there was a fully grown black bear standing in front of her.  She looked at him with wide eyes.

The bear walked up to her slowly.  Patrick didn’t want to scare her.  She watched him, mesmerized by his powerful stride.  Soon he was within reach.  He slowly leaned forward and nuzzled her gently with his snout.  She giggled before running her fingers through his soft fur.  She smiled at him before leaning down and gently kissing his nose.  He roared softly, a happy sound that made Kerri giggle again. 

Tears started to run down her cheeks suddenly.  Patrick, concerned, turned back into his human form, looking at her. 

“Kerri…?  What’s wrong?”  He asked as he sat next to her.  He could see her grip tightening around her teddy bear. 

“This… this bear…”  She said, sniffling as she held out her teddy bear.  “Did you give it to me… because…”  Patrick nodded his head, blushing a little. 

“I… I shifted for the first time when I was 12… that’s why I gave you the bear on your 12
th
birthday.  I knew I couldn’t tell you the truth…”  He said softly.  “The bear looked like my bear… and I knew I had to get it for you.”  He blushed deeply.

Kerri started to cry a little more as she wrapped her arms around Patrick.  She couldn’t believe this. 
It all seemed so unreal.
  She laid her head on his chest and stayed still for a moment.  Patrick held her, gently rubbing her back. 

She looked up at him with large eyes.  He smiled and leaned down.  Their faces got closer and closer.  Patrick looked into her beautiful eyes and smiled as their lips touched.  They kissed, more passionately this time.  Soon their tongues were dancing inside of her mouth as their kiss slowly turned into something more.  Their feelings were quickly coming to the surface. 

Chapter 8

Patrick soon found himself on top of Kerri.  They were still kissing, making out passionately.  Patrick found himself straddling Kerri on the couch, kissing her harder and harder as passion overtook them. 

Soon enough he had his hands running up her shirt, slowly running his fingers over her soft skin.  He smirked as he leaned down and gently kissed her neck.  Kerri moaned
softly
as she felt his lips on her neck, finding her sweet spot sending darts of pleasure up her spine. 

She shivered in excitement as she arched her back and gave herself up to him.  As she felt him take off her shirt, all of her fear of falling in love started to fade away.  She bit her lip and wrapped her arms around him tightly before pulling him into another kiss. 

Soon their clothes were scattered around the living room.  Patrick looked down at her, seeing her naked for the first time.  He blushed deeply, taken aback by her beauty.  He leaned down and gently kissed her
collarbone
before moving downward, taking one of her breasts into his mouth.  Kerri moaned
loudly
as she felt his tongue flick over one of her nipples.  She felt goosebumps form on her skin as he toyed with her.

As he pleasured her chest, she ran her hands up and down his back, her nails tracing his spine.  Patrick shivered at her touch as he pulled her closer to him.  She was soon sitting on him.  She straddled him now, looking into his eyes.  She blushed darkly before guiding his throbbing member to her entrance.  She teased him by moving his tip against her wetness, toying with him.  He moaned deeply, looking at her, his eyes pleading with her. 

She bit his lip, tugging on it slightly.  He groaned softly, finding her incredibly sexy as he placed his hands on her hips.  As he did, she started to push him inside of her.  Inch by inch his member crept inside of her until he was balls deep.  She moaned loudly. 

They both shivered in pleasure as she started to ride him slowly.  Soon, pleasure took
over,
and they were fucking hard and fast.  Patrick’s bear quickly took control and before he knew it he had Kerri pinned to a wall as he slammed into her.  She was moaning out in pleasure as Patrick’s instincts kicked in.  She had never felt anything like it before.