by Alexis Davie
Brady smirked at her as she began to pour the old man’s drinks.
“I always thought modern women were more forward and didn’t play these kinds of games,” the old man said kindly.
“Oh, we don’t. At least not with guys we actually want to go out with,” Lila smiled back, hoping once more that Brady would get the message.
Once more, Brady dashed her hopes.
“See what I mean? Playing hard to get,” Brady said, nudging the old man and laughing.
Oh my God, Lila thought to herself. Who has skin this thick? Who the fuck is this delusional?
“Maybe she just isn’t that into you, son,” the old man said.
Brady laughed again and shook his head.
“Oh, she’s into me, alright. She loves it,” Brady said.
Lila gave the old man his drinks and took his money as he peered first at Brady and then at Lila. She turned back and gave him his change. It looked for a moment like he was going to say something, but he shook his head slightly and bit his tongue. Lila partly wished he had spoken up—maybe Brady would get the hint from him—and she was partly relieved he hadn’t, as Brady seemed like the type who would lash out at someone who disagreed with him.
Lila suppressed a groan when the door to the bar opened and Clay walked in. Her day was going from bad to worse. While Clay wasn’t quite as in her face as Brady was, he was still a major nuisance and when both of the guys were together, they tended to try and outdo each other constantly, which amounted to a whole lot of preening and comments she could most definitely do without. At least she didn’t have much longer to go before her shift was over and Sam would be coming in to relieve her.
“I fucking knew it,” Clay said as he walked up to the bar.
His focus wasn’t on Lila—it was on Brady. He didn’t look too happy to see him and Brady looked equally unhappy to see Clay. Lila felt the tension in the bar go up a notch. She looked from one of the men to the other, feeling a little bit like she was a spectator at a tennis match.
“I knew I would find you here. Even after what we talked about,” Clay added. “We had a deal, Brady, and here you are, sniffing around Lila.”
Lila raised an eyebrow at this, but she didn’t comment. As much as she didn’t like the idea of these two discussing her and making deals about her, it was better that she wasn’t involved in the discussion. No matter what she said or did, no matter how clear she made it that she wasn’t interested in either of them, it only seemed to egg them on. They were both so delusional, neither seemed able to even consider the possibility that she wasn’t into them.
“You’re here too,” Brady pointed out. “And don’t pretend you only came here looking for me. Don’t think I didn’t see the surprise on your face when you saw me sitting here.”
“I was surprised to see my suspicions were right and you had betrayed me, that’s all,” Clay said, somewhat unconvincingly.
“Bullshit,” Brady snapped. “You were going to crawl round Lila, try to get her to like you. And probably badmouth me in the process.”
“Okay, that’s enough, boys,” Lila said, finally speaking up and trying to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand. “Clay, do you actually want to buy a drink or are you leaving?”
“I’ll have a beer,” he said.
Dammit, Lila thought. She had hoped he was just annoyed enough to storm out. She turned and grabbed a bottle of Bud, opened it quickly, and put it on the bar. Clay paid her and turned back to Brady.
“Well? What do you have to say for yourself?” he demanded.
Brady was quiet for a moment and then he nodded to himself.
“I say this has gone far enough. I don’t want us to fall out over some woman,” he said. “It’s clear that Lila here enjoys the attention and is leading us both on…”
“Actually, I hate the attention and I have done nothing but try to make you two see I don’t want to date either of you,” Lila interrupted.
Brady and Clay ignored her, carrying on as though she hadn’t even spoken.
“Yeah. You’re right,” Clay said. “So what do we do about it?”
“We end this thing right now,” Brady said. He turned to Lila. “Choose.”
“Excuse me?” Lila said, pretending she didn’t know what he was getting at, even though she had a horrible feeling that she did.
“Choose,” Brady repeated. “We’re done with you playing us off against each other. Which one of us do you want to date?”
“For the millionth time, I’m not interested in either of you. I don’t want to date either of you,” Lila said through gritted teeth. “And to be honest, I would appreciate it if you would both stop this whole thing.”
Lila was feeling more and more uncomfortable by the minute as both of the guys eyed her. It seemed like every time she saw them, their pursuit of her escalated, and it was getting past the point of merely uncomfortable and into a place where it made her feel nervous. She was starting to think that if she couldn’t find some way to stop them, one of them was going to go too far.
“Now you’ve gone and made her uncomfortable,” Clay said to Brady. “I guess that means she chooses me.”
“Both of you are making me uncomfortable,” Lila said. “And I’m choosing neither of you. I’m choosing to remain single. Like I’ve told you both a thousand times, I’m not looking to date anyone right now.”
“Okay,” Clay said, thoughtful for a moment. “So, hypothetically, if you did want to date someone, which one of us would you choose?”
Lila considered dodging the question, but she knew that would just egg them on further. It would make them think they did stand a chance if she ever wanted to start dating again. The truth was, Lila was open to dating, just not those two.
“Neither of you are my type, sorry,” Lila said.
“She wouldn’t be saying that if I kissed her. Then she’d see it,” Brady said to Clay.
Clay laughed.
“Yeah. Same if I did,” he agreed.
Lila felt her insides turn cold. They were making it sound awfully like she wasn’t going to have a choice in this matter after all. Brady picked his glass up and nodded to one of the tables.
“Come on, let’s go over there. I’m fucking sick of this frigid bitch,” he said.
He stalked away. Clay hesitated for a moment, but then he followed Brady with a shrug. Lila ignored the insult. She was just glad they had moved away from the bar. Brady had chosen a table where he could still watch her, but at least he wasn’t so close to her anymore.
Maybe I should have just chosen Clay, gone on one date with him, and then told him I didn’t want to see him again, Lila thought to herself. She definitely thought Clay was the lesser of two evils; Brady seemed to be the ringleader, and it was always he who made her the most uncomfortable. But despite her thoughts, Lila knew she would never do that. She refused to let two arrogant assholes scare her into going on a date with someone she didn’t find even remotely attractive. And besides, she had a feeling it wouldn’t end there. Experience had taught her that neither of these two knew how to take no for an answer, and even though Clay wasn’t quite as unnerving to be around as Brady was, she still thought she would have a hard time escaping him if she let him think she had been even a tiny bit interested in him.
Lila was relieved when the door opened again and she looked up and saw Sam coming into the bar. She hated that she didn’t feel safe without a guy behind the bar with her, but the fact was, she didn’t feel safe with Brady and Clay over there sniggering and whispering and throwing looks in her direction.
Sam was just making his way through the hatch when Brady stood up and made his way toward the bar.
“Can you start serving, please?” she said to Sam.
She darted through the door leading to the steps to the cellar before Sam could even respond. She felt bad—Sam wasn’t due to start work for another ten minutes and he didn’t even have his coat off yet, but the thought of having to deal with Brady agai
n was more than she could handle in that moment.
She hung around in the tiny passageway, waiting until she heard the till open and then close. She waited another few minutes and then she peeked through the crack in the door. Brady was gone from the bar and she came back out.
“I’m so sorry,” she said to Sam. “I just couldn’t face serving Brady again.”
“Has he been giving you trouble?” Sam asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” Lila shrugged. “He just creeps me out.”
“Oh, he’s creepy, alright. And don’t think I didn’t see him touching you last night,” Sam said. “And Clay isn’t much better. Lila, I know it’s none of my business, but why don’t you bar the pair of them?”
“I wish I could,” Lila sighed. “But their crowd accounts for about sixty percent of my takings. And if I bar those two, I’ll lose the full crowd. They come here because it’s easy, but the next town isn’t that far away.”
“I guess you’re right,” Sam said. He grinned. “Maybe we need a bouncer or something.”
“Yeah, because this place is a haven of trouble,” Lila laughed.
Lila grabbed her jacket and her purse from beneath the bar. She saw Brady and Clay watching her and turned her back on them, another shiver going through her.
“Have you got anything planned for tonight?” Sam asked her.
“Just the gym,” she replied.
“The gym?” Sam said, glancing at the clock on the wall. “You’ll have to be really quick. It’s after six already and the place closes at seven, doesn’t it?”
“My personal trainer has permission from the owner for us to stay after hours,” Lila said.
“Look at you with your personal trainer,” Sam laughed.
Lila laughed and patted her stomach lightly.
“You don’t get abs like these without someone screaming at you to do one more to the point where you’d rather do a hundred crunches than listen to the shouting for another minute,” she said.
“I think that would just drive me to carbs,” Sam grinned.
Lila was laughing as she made her way out from behind the bar.
“Have a good workout!” Clay shouted after her.
“I wouldn’t mind being the towel you sit on,” Brady added.
Lila ignored them, but she felt her stomach churn at their words. She quickened her pace and dragged the door open quickly. She collided with someone who was on their way in. She stepped back quickly and saw Jasper.
“Sorry,” she said.
“It’s probably not a good sign when you’re this keen to get out of your own bar,” Jasper laughed.
“Oh, trust me, it’s nowhere near as much fun on my side of it as it is on yours,” she smiled, holding the door open for Jasper.
He slipped in and Lila walked away. She wished he had shown up an hour or two earlier, exerting his calming influence over Brady and Clay. Maybe he should be our door supervisor, Lila thought to herself with a grin as she got into her car and headed for the gym.
3
“Okay. You did it. You broke me,” Lila groaned, throwing herself down on the mat and lying in a sweaty heap, panting.
Her muscles were burning and her lungs felt like they were on fire. Hayley, her personal trainer, stood over her, laughing.
“What are you talking about? That was a great workout,” she said.
“Maybe for you, but you enjoy inflicting pain,” Lila laughed, sitting up and wincing slightly at her aching abs.
“I really do,” Hayley said brightly.
Hayley’s cell phone rang in her pocket and she pulled it out and looked at the screen.
“I have to take this,” Hayley said. “It could be my babysitter. Can I trust you to do your cool-down?”
“If that means this hell is over, then yes,” Lila said.
Hayley laughed and shook her head. She took the call as she walked across the gym. Lila began doing her stretches, and some of the achiness left her, leaving behind the endorphin rush she loved. She felt as though she was fighting fit and on top of the world, and already, she was looking forward to her next session. Hayley had really pushed her tonight, but it had shown Lila just how far she had come since she’d started having the sessions with Hayley a few months ago.
She’d finished the last of her stretches and was heading for the changing rooms when she saw Hayley coming back toward her.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Not really,” Hayley said. “My youngest has picked up a tummy bug and she’s screaming for me. Do you mind if I take off?”
“I don’t mind at all,” Lila said. “But what about this place?”
Hayley handed her a small set of keys.
“If you can just turn the lights off as you leave and lock the front door—it’s the key with the red cover—the owner will pop down later on and lock up properly. I’ve cleared it with him. Just drop the keys through the mail slot when you’re done.”
“Okay. Yeah, sure, I can do that,” Lila said. “I hope your little one is feeling better soon.”
“Me too,” Hayley said. “And Lila? Pray for me, okay? I’m going to be the one spending the evening cleaning up who knows what.”
Lila gave Hayley a sympathetic smile and the two women moved off in opposite directions. Lila went through to the changing room. She showered quickly and got dressed. She spent a few minutes putting on her makeup and fixing her hair and then she gathered up her gym bag and headed out, turning off the lights as she went. She had seen Hayley do this plenty of times and she knew where all of the light switches were.
She made her way to the front of the building and looked out through the glass doors. It was almost dark now and Lila was looking forward to going home, fixing herself some dinner, and settling down on the couch with a movie. She opened the door and stepped outside. The cool air made her shiver slightly and she quickly pulled out the small bunch of keys and found the red one. She locked the door and dropped the keys through the mail slot like Hayley had said to do.
She turned around, startled to see two men behind her and her heart sank when she recognized them. Brady and Clay were in the parking lot. They had to have come down here just to see her—they had made no secret of the fact that they had heard her telling Sam she would be here, and they had to know what time the gym closed. They had known she would be alone here.
Lila took a deep breath as Brady and Clay began to walk toward her. They had positioned themselves so they were between Lila and her car. Lila felt real fear go through her as she saw the leer on Brady’s face. She wished she still had the keys to the gym. She could have locked herself inside and waited for the owner to arrive; even if it meant waiting half of the night, it would have been a much better option than this.
She told herself she was blowing this all out of proportion. They were probably just headed home and had happened to see her coming out of the gym. She started moving forwards and forced a smile onto her face.
“Evening,” she said.
“Look, Lila, we didn’t like how we left things back there,” Clay started.
Lila was still a little nervous, but if they had come to apologize, then it wouldn’t be half as bad as she had been imagining. She would just accept the apology and go home.
“Yeah,” Brady agreed. “This has gone far enough. We’re giving you one last chance to choose which one of us is taking you home tonight.”
So much for an apology, Lila thought.
“I’m taking myself home,” Lila said, pleased to hear that her fear wasn’t evident in her voice. “So, if you’ll excuse me…”
She started to move forward again, but Brady blocked her path.
“Not so fast,” he said. “You’re going home with one of us tonight. You had your chance to choose which of us that was. Now I guess we’ll have to decide for ourselves.”
Lila looked longingly at her car—at safety, where her cell phone was tucked away in the glove compartment. Why didn
’t I take it in with me? she thought to herself.
“I’ve liked her for longer,” Clay said. “And we both know deep down she prefers me.”
“No way,” Brady said. “She’s always had a thing for me. I’ve seen the way she looks at me when she thinks I’m not looking.”
“I don’t think so,” Clay said.
“Yeah? Well, I do, and I’m bigger and stronger than you,” Brady said.
He reached out and shoved Clay in the chest. Clay, caught unawares, stumbled backwards, but he kept his footing and launched himself forward, his fist swinging.
“Who the fuck are you shoving?” he spat as his fist caught Brady in the jaw.
Brady swung his own fist and within seconds, the two men were punching the hell out of each other, cursing and shouting. Lila saw her chance to slip past them and get to her car while they were distracted.
She had only taken two steps when she heard a loud snapping sound—a noise that could only be a bone breaking. She looked at the two men and her jaw dropped open. The snapping sound was louder now, the snaps coming one after the other, and Lila was sure she could see Brady’s face changing. It seemed to be getting longer somehow, like he was growing a snout, and fur was sprouting up over his exposed skin. His clothes began to rip away. Clay’s body began to make the same snapping sound, and within less than ten seconds, both men had gone, and in their place stood two huge, brown bears.
Lila was frozen to the spot, her eyes glued to the bears. I’ve lost the plot, she thought to herself. I’ve fucking snapped. They have me so afraid, my mind has broken.
The two bears launched at each other, a meeting of claws and teeth. Tufts of fur filled the air, snarls and growls punctuating the fight. Lila could only stand there, stunned and watching. She tried to tell herself again that she had gone crazy, but she didn’t feel crazy. She knew what she was seeing, and as impossible as it was, she knew what she was looking at.
Bear shifters. Just like in the novels she had read as a teenager. Only in the novels, the shifters were always the good guys. They were always hot and smoldering, the heroes. They didn’t try to force women into bed with them. They rescued clueless heroines and fell in love with them.