"So I screamed, it seemed the natural thing to do. As I did, both Charlie and the leopard looked over at me. It was so very human of the animal, which was weird. I didn't even have time to process that though, before he stood up."
"He what? He who? Charlie?"
"The leopard stood up, and changed into Jake. I don't know how else to describe it. I saw the limbs change, the fur disappear, and the head completely morph into his features. Then he spoke to me. It was him, Lucy, he can fucking change into a leopard!"
She closed her mouth abruptly after the outburst, not proud with herself over the language she had used. Now was the time for calm, collected thoughts, not wild outbursts she told herself.
"Why?" The response from her friend completely stunned her. She had been expecting some sort of accusation of being insane or similar. Instead, once again her friend was proving her wrong. She felt a little guilty for thinking so little of her, but she knew that if someone had come up to her and told her that there were people out there that could shift into the body of an animal, she would have called them insane.
"Why what?"
"Ella, there have been rumors about this type of thing for as long as rumors have existed. Yet, as far as we know, nobody has ever proven that these types of people exist. So, if it's such a hidden, highly guarded secret, why did he show it to you?"
"I, I don't know." This had given her something to think over, something she had no direct answer for at the moment. Why indeed?
Lucy sat back in her chair, giving Ella an appraising glare, waiting to see if she got it.
"He thought I already knew." It was the only logical train of thought that made sense. If he wanted to have kept it a secret, he either would never have become the leopard in the first place, or he would not have changed right in front of her.
"Bingo."
"But why would he think that? We've never talked about anything like that before. It's never even come up in conversation that he could do anything besides be an architect or a shop owner." Something was tickling at her brain though, the thought just out of reach. She was missing some crucial piece, something that would tell her just what the hell was going on. As hard as she tried to think about it though, it stayed just out of reach.
"So what do I do now?"
"Call him, apologize for being an ass, then ask him to explain."
"You make it sound so simple. How do I say 'I'm sorry I ran away when you showed me something you've hidden from the world for your entire life but decided to show me', without coming off like a complete bitch?"
Ella sat back in her chair, throwing her head back in exasperation as she looked up at the ceiling for inspiration. She was normally the one who people came to ask forgiveness from. So rarely did she make such monumental screw-up's like this, that she wasn't sure how to go about fixing it.
"There's nothing you can do about it at the moment, so stop worrying about it. He's working you said, right?"
"Yeah, the shop is open until four I believe."
"So you have until then to come up with a solution."
Lucy was right she realized, she had most of the day to come up with something to say.
***
Later that day she picked up her car, paid the overpriced mechanic's bill and headed out to Jake's place. By the time she had her car back, it was almost an hour after his shop closed. She knew from experience that he would be just arriving home now, so in the twenty minutes it would take her to get there, he would be there. She hadn't tried to contact him yet, because she was too embarrassed over her reaction.
His everyday pickup truck was parked in the driveway, giving rise to a flutter in her heart. She still had no idea what she was going to say, but knowing that he was there and that she had committed to making things right made her happy.
She knocked on the door, her arm only trembling slightly as she did. Standing back, she waited for him to open the door.
And waited.
And waited.
She knocked again, a little more forcefully this time. She had driven all the way out here, there was no way she was going to leave without speaking to him. There was still no answer several minutes later. Curious, she went and peeked into his garage. The black sedan was still there, and she knew he didn't have any other vehicles. So if they were both here, where was he?
She went around the back of the property, in case he was out there working on the lawn. There was no sign of him, nor were there any lights on in the house.
Where was Jake?
Getting back in her car, she made the long trip out to the shop. That was all closed up, looking like nobody was home. On a whim though, she walked around the back. Her heart soared as she saw Max there, sitting on the patio enjoying a beer still.
"Max!" She practically shouted, though he didn't make a move, didn't even turn in her direction. From what Jake had told her, that was his nature sometimes.
"He's not here." There was no maliciousness in his voice, just a simple statement letting her know the facts.
"I know, but where is he? He's not at home, but both of his cars are there."
"City."
"What? Why would he go to Moon River?"
"Not 'River, city. Project called, he answered because you wouldn't." The words could have been interpreted as an insult to her, but she knew Max was just telling her how it was. She hadn't been willing to even answer his phone calls or texts, so he had taken a job to get out of Sunset Valley, and he had gone south to the big city.
"Thank you, Max. Did he say where he was staying or anything?"
Max gave her the name of the hotel he was going to be living out of for some time, then went back to his beer. She turned on her heel and ran for the car. Once she got in, she simply sat there and cried, unsure of what to do next. She couldn't just get in a plane and go hunt him down.
Could she?
Jake
The long plane ride down south seemed to take forever for Jake. Although he had managed to catch a last minute flight out of Moon River, the distraction of a new project couldn't come soon enough. He needed something to bury his mind in to help him get over Ella. The image of her slamming the door in his face replayed itself over and over in his mind.
The plane debarked, and miraculously his luggage arrived without an issue. With a snort of derision, Jake realized it was the best thing to happen to him in the past day or so. Now if only the rest of his life could work according to plan, he would be back on track in no time. Perhaps, he thought to himself, it would be better this way. He had been without someone for so long before Ella, maybe he was just destined to be that way. His life was still extremely enjoyable, nothing to be ashamed of.
Pushing all thoughts of that out of his mind, he grabbed a cab and headed to the hotel that Aerodyne was putting him up in for the duration of his stay. That was another benefit of this contract, he didn't have to pay for food or lodgings. If he saw this through to completion successfully, he would never have to accept another contract again, unless it was something that intrigued him beyond the paycheck.
As he recalled the past month at the shop though, he wondered if anything could come close to that sort of feeling, of belonging. He enjoyed dealing with those people, his regular customers and clients there. They were all so passionate about their interest in the work. If he was honest, the past month of his life, running the shop and having Ella by his side, had been the best month ever.
He did not sleep well that night, tossing and turning with thoughts of Ella running through his mind.
***
The next morning he met with Doug and the other partners from Aerodyne who had employed him. As it turns out, they had already done the major groundwork of the plan, but had run into problems, and needed a solution immediately. Their on-staff architects and engineers had not been able to solve it, so that was why they had been willing to pay his asking price, because they stood to lose so much more if they couldn't complete the job on time. Grumbling internally, Jake
berated himself for not asking for even more.
The day passed swiftly as he began to absorb details of the project, turning his focus swiftly from one problem to the next. It would appear that the original design had relied on some miscalculated numbers. As construction on the building had proceeded, things began to line up less and less with the blueprints. Finally, once it passed the safety threshold, work had been halted and they had called him in.
It was going to require some substantial redesign of the internal workings, but Jake thought he saw a way to fix it. There would be a lot of testing, adjusting and retesting to make sure it worked though. He knew it was likely he would be here for a month, if not longer. The first day done, he decided to stop at a small bar he had seen nearby his hotel. It looked casual enough that he wouldn't have to worry about loud noises and drunk people.
Slipping into a comfortable chair, he ordered a beer and some fries to munch on. He would worry about a real dinner later, for now he just needed a little relaxation food after the stress of the day. As he sipped on his beer, watching the baseball game on the screen in the center of the bar, he felt more than saw the movement to his right.
"Hi there," a female voice said, clearly directing the words his way. He took a moment to focus away from the TV and onto the speaker.
She was gorgeous, a tall woman with long chestnut hair and a killer smile. He killed his instinctive response immediately, simply responding politely in kind.
"I've never seen you in here before, you knew to the area?"
"On a business trip for the next few weeks actually," he told her.
"I'm Dayna," she introduced, sticking her hand towards him with a smile. With a small laugh at her forwardness, he shook her hand.
"Jake. Pleasure to meet you."
"Mind if I steal a fry Jake?" She didn't wait for an answer, not that he would have said no anyway. She popped it into her mouth with a grin. He couldn't help but shake his head, a small tugging of his lips the first bit of enjoyment he'd felt since Ella left.
Ella.
She would be so upset if she saw him talking, and if he was being honest, flirting with her as their conversation continued. He could barely believe it himself, but he definitely was flirting with this woman. Once he admitted that fact to himself, the whole thing came to a screeching halt.
"Jake, is everything okay?"
"Yeah, it is." And it would be, once he ended what he was doing. It wasn't right nor was it fair to Ella. Things were not yet resolved between the two of them, and here he was with another woman. True, she was beautiful and funny, he couldn't deny that.
But she wasn't Ella. It wasn't even close to the connection he had first felt with her over the phone. He needed to set things right between them, or end it, if that was the way it had to be. Only then could he move on.
"I have to go, I'm sorry." He paid for both their bills, the least he could do for someone who hadn't meant him any harm, and left the bar in a rush. Taking his cell phone out of his pocket, he noticed a blinking notification of a missed call.
It was Ella!
He practically jumped for joy on the sidewalk. She had tried calling him back! There was no message, but the number was hers, he would recognize it anywhere. Jake wondered what she had wanted to say, so he hit the redial button as the door to his apartment closed.
The sound immediately went to a busy tone though, indicating that her phone was off. Although he was saddened that he couldn't hear her voice, at least she hadn't ended or blocked his call this time. He wondered just what she had to say, or what he would say, when they first connected. All he wanted to do was explain to her just what had happened, where the miscommunication was.
He sat by the phone, calling her every fifteen minutes, hoping to get through. After an hour, he began to worry. Why would her phone be off for so long? She almost always picked up right away. When they had been dating, she had never missed a call of his.
She was perfect for him, and Jake didn't want to lose her this time. Making a split second decision, he rushed out of the building and out onto the street. He had a purchase to make. A very specific purchase, one that he couldn't afford to mess up. It had to be just right.
Ella
She got off the plane, wondering just what she was going to do next. She had never been here before, had no idea where she was or where she was going, other than the name of the hotel. She hoped it would be enough information. Hailing a cab, she gave the driver the name of the hotel. To her relief, he didn't question her at all, simply pulling out onto the road. Hope flared within her, that perhaps this would be easier than she thought.
The cab pulled up to the hotel around seven. She hoped he would be back there by then, or else things might go a little differently than she had planned. There was a woman working the front counter, who didn't look all that interested in helping her as she approached.
"Hello there, how can I help you today?"
"Hi Cindy," she said, glancing down at the woman's name tag first. "I need some assistance."
"What can I do for you?"
Ella wasn't sure if she should make something up, or just straight spill the truth. After another moment of contemplating, she decided to go with telling the truth and hoping that perhaps this woman would take pity on her and give out some guest information.
"The truth Cindy, is that I messed up bad with the best man I've ever met. I'm trying to make it right, and I found out from his best friend that he's staying here for work. I need to know his room number, so that I can talk to him. Or even if you could like, connect me to his room via phone if you can't actually give me the number. If I could just talk to him he would come down to the lobby to see me."
She stopped herself abruptly, not wanting to rant on anymore to this woman. To her surprise, the stern look of disinterest that had inhabited Cindy's eyes evaporated as she listened to Ella's story.
"That's rough dear. Let me see what I can do to help you out okay? Do you have a name?"
She gave her his name, waiting patiently as Cindy tapped keys, looking for information. The longer she tapped, the more nervous Ella became. Her heart started racing in her chest while her breaths became shorter.
"I'm sorry ma'am, I don't have anyone by that name staying here. Are you sure it was this hotel?"
"I'm positive on that. He doesn't usually pay for the rooms though, because he's here on business. Are there any rooms under an architect firm or something along those lines? I'm sorry I know that's not much to go on, but I really appreciate it."
With a smile, Cindy went back to work, looking through her room bookings. this time she didn't take long before finding a result.
"I have one room booked as of yesterday for an undetermined amount of time under the company Aerodyne Construction & Design. Would that be it?"
"Yes, I'm positive! Thank you so much!" After she got the room number Ella rushed for the elevators, more excited than she had been in quite some time to see Jake. Whatever it took to set things right, she would do it for him she knew now. There was just nobody else out there for her. It had to be him, or it would be no one, and that wasn't an outcome Ella was prepared to settle for.
She emerged onto the tenth floor, following the sign to the right where it said Jake's room number was located. He was all the way at the end of the hall, but before long she was standing right outside of his door. Her arm wouldn't move. She tried, but no amount of mental force could get her arm to reach up and knock on the door. Her entire system was freezing, preventing her from doing anything but standing there still as a statue.
"Ella?" The voice of surprise and excitement came from down the hallway. She turned to face it, the fact that she knew the voice intimately only hitting her later. There, emerging from the elevator looking dashing in a suit and tie, was Jake.
"Ella what are you doing here?" He rushed up to her, enveloping her in a hug. Some mechanical part of her brain managed to respond, her arms hugging him, softly at first, but then harder as she
began to realize this really was happening.
"We need to talk about this," she finally responded, forcing the words out.
"Yeah, sure. Let's talk, I've been wanting to talk since you drove off, I'm so glad to see you're willing to talk." He rushed the words out as if afraid she would run off. Again. Then he just stood back and waited for her to speak.
Feeling a little silly, she looked around them, at their location. This definitely was not the ideal place to be talking about his secret. Turning her gaze back to him, she wondered how long it would be before he clued in.
Blinking at her stare, he finally seemed to get it. "Oh, umm yeah, did you want to come inside?"
"Yes, please." She almost giggled out loud at his obliviousness sometimes. He was so eager to make things right with her, that he was not thinking about the rest of the world. It was cute to know even after she was so rude that he still seemed to care for her so much.
"I'm sorry Jake," she said finally as they were seated in the lounge area of his suite. She wasn't sure what else to say, but first and foremost that had to be said. Even as the words tumbled off her lips, a weight seemed to remove itself from her shoulders. Things could progress normally now, they could make things right between them.
"I'm sorry too, Ella. I thought you knew. I would never have done that if I thought it would scare you."
"It's okay Jake. I realize it's not your fault, though I may have acted like it at the start. In hindsight, analyzing why you changed in front of me told me that you had thought I knew."
"Absolutely. I was going to try and tell you that I had no intentions of harming him, only scaring him off. Obviously I didn't get that chance though."
"Yeah, sorry again about that. But Jake listen, this has been bugging me so much. Why did you think I knew? We never talked about that at all. Ever. I feel like it's something I would remember."
He eyed her speculatively there for a moment, almost as if he wasn't sure whether to believe her or not.
Better Late Than Leopard (A BBW Shifter Romance) (Sunset Valley Book 2) Page 2