“No. That is not what you want. You want one night of sex, then I would probably never see you again. Am I right?” She was so mad her face had turned red. She felt like she was going to be sick. Oh my god. How is this happening? She was so sure he was the one, her Mark, the man she dreamed of all her life.
How could he do this to her?
Mark reached out to touch her arm. She jerked away from him.
“Please try and understand, Christie.”
“Don’t touch me, you fricking animal. Get your nasty bear ass out of my house, NOW!”
Pointing his finger at her, he yelled, “You think you are so holier than thou, don’t you, Miss Christie? Well, honey, you aren’t all that, let me tell you. I have seen better!”
She slapped him in the face. Suddenly, he shifted. Standing in front of her, he let out a huge growl, opening his whole mouth. His breath was so forced that it blew Christie’s hair back.
“HOW DARE YOU? Get out of here before I call the game warden or animal control.” She started to curl her finger toward him. He whimpered and shifted back to human form.
Putting up his hands, Mark warned her off. “No, witch. You are not going to turn me into a toad or something. I am leaving!”
With that said, he turned to leave. Christie picked up the plate of Divinity and threw it at his back. She missed, but the meaning of the action was not lost on him. He ducked just in time, then made his way out the front door. Jumping in to his red pick-up truck, he threw it in reverse, screeching the tires. He left her like a bat flying out of hell. She collapsed behind the closed door. What had just happened was like a dream. It did not seem real. What was his problem? Why did he not want to meet her friends? Christie tried to see his point, but there was no point. He did not give a reason, and he had hurt her deeply with his harsh words. Then she remembered what she had said to him. She had called him a filthy ass animal.
“OMG what have I done?” she cried out to no one.
The Truth
Driving way faste r than he should, Mark wished he had never talked to Christie. She was no good for him. Didn’t she understand that meeting her friends would open a set of problems for them? Him being a bear and her friends finding out was something he did not want or need right now. He hoped she would not tell her friends about him. Christie would not dare tell anyone what he was, would she? She was pretty pissed off. Would she even realize that if she told anyone about him, it would ruin his life and those of his people? He decided he would give her a few days to cool off then he would try to make her understand. If she could at all. He made it to his driveway, only to see his parents’ SUV sitting in front of the cabin. Oh, crap. Great. Mom and Dad are here to try and persuade me to come home to the compound and find a nice female bear to settle down with.
Running his hands through his chestnut brown hair, he turned the door knob. “Mom, Dad, what are you doing here?” He became unnerved as he saw his mom picking up his flannel shirts off the floor and his father crouched down stoking a fire in the fireplace.
“Darling, Mark, how lovely to see you. We came to see how you are getting along,” his mother, Martha Ostrander, exclaimed, floating across the room in her elegant way. She dropped the shirts on the edge of the brown leather couch. “Give me a hug, you handsome man bear you.” His father turned. “Well, hello, son! How have you been?” Dusting his hands off, Albert Ostrander rose from his lowered position to shake hands with his only child.
“I am doing quite well. Why are you here?”
“Mark, you never come around anymore. We miss you so very much,” Martha whined.
“Mom, you know you are only here to be nosey. Don’t act like you aren’t,” Mark said as he went to the fridge to grab a couple of beers, handing one to his father.
“Here, I will save you some time. No; I am not coming home. No; I will not meet one of your Bunco partners’ daughters. And a definite no to … do I want to go to Prince Edward Island to run Uncle Reginald’s compound. He has two sons. They can run it fine on their own.”
“Mark, now, don’t get all smart assed with your mother. Have some respect. We just care about you,” his father warned sternly.
“Sorry, Mom,” he said, nodding to his mother, and then turned to his father. “Yes, sir.” Mark took a big swig of his beer then flopped down in to his recliner.
“Darling, you need to do something. You cannot sit in this cabin day after day pining away for a life you cannot live. You are not human. You have to be among your own kind.”
“Excuse me. I am not the one who wanted to leave in the first place! I was vanquished, remember!”
Albert sat down on the edge of the couch, facing his son. “Mark, that was all your own doing. You knew you should have never left the compound that night.”
“Dad, I was a young man. I needed to mate. You, of all people, should have known the time would come. Why would you set me up for failure, knowing what might happen when I reached eighteen?”
“Darling, do not blame your father. We were sure you were in love with Teresa. She was the perfect one for you.”
“No, Mom. She was not the perfect one for me. She was a whore. She slept with every bear around. Hell. She even slept with my best friend, Jason.”
His parents could not believe what they were hearing. His mother plopped down on the other end of the couch in shock.
“Oh. You did not know that, did you? Well, your precious Teresa had the whole town of Watacha fooled. The night I left, she told me she had been with Jason and that she was pregnant. It killed me to hear that. It tore me apart to hear my best friend and the girl I wanted to marry betrayed me like that.
Where is she now, Mom? Huh? She is married to Jason with a couple of kids, now isn’t she? Yeah. She was not the one that got away. I was, thank God. She was bad news, Dad. She was the one who hurt me. So, I left that night to drown my sorrows in beer and someone whom I did not know and who could not hurt me.”
“Mark, we did not know that she was like that. When you were vanquished, she told us that it was killing her that you would have done something like that; ruining your love that way.”
“Darling, we are so sorry,” Martha cried.
Albert stood up. “Son, we could not have known what went down that night. Do not blame us, and do not upset your mother like this any further. You made your bed. I guess you will lay in it for the rest of your life. Wasting away here with no one to love, to share your life with, and nothing to do but pine away.”
“Dad, you never once asked me what happened. You let the elders determine my fate, letting everyone think I was the bad seed because I was half human. You were ashamed of me!”
“Mark Allen Ostrander, how dare you say that to your father. We were never ashamed of you. We love you and only want the best for our only child,” Martha said pleadingly.
“Well, just to let you know, I met someone online. I used to go to high school with her. I think I love her, but I can never have a life with her because of who and what I am. Are you happy? None of this is my fault.” Mark stood with his arms stretched out. “This is all I have. All I will ever have! Do you understand? No; you could not possibly. Now leave my home. There is nothing further to say.”
Albert grabbed Martha’s arm. Hurt and dejected, they readied to leave.
As they walked to the door, Martha turned to Mark with tears in her eyes. “Tell me, Mark. Who is she?”
With a dead look in his eyes and a sneer on his lips, he replied, “A HUMAN!”
Vegas Baby !
Her cell phone rang at 7:30 the next morning. Christie picked it up, hitting the reject button and slamming it back down on her nightstand. Squinting at the digital clock not far from the phone, she saw the time. Knowing she needed to get up, though not wanting to, she rose from the bed, stretching her arms to the sky. Slumping back down, she remembered the events of the previous night. Mark, her Mark … damn; what was she going to do to make this all up to him? She needed coffee. She needed to think
. Padding her way through the house to the kitchen, she started brewing the coffee.
Brrrring her phone rang. She ran back up the stairs to her bedroom, grabbed the phone, and looked at the caller ID. Lacey Kempf. Damn. She had forgotten to call her back. Clicking the little green button that said answer, she said, “Hello, Lacey. I am so sorry I never called you back. Mark was over, and we had dinner, then we got into a big fight and … oooh, Lacey … I made a big mess.”
“Ho. Hold on there, sister. It’s okay. I am just calling you to tell you that I am in Las Vegas! Woo hoo.”
Christie could hear slot machines going off; rings and dings and all kinds of noises. Lacey was giggling, and she could hear a man’s voice.
“Lacey, what the hell are you saying? Seriously? What are you doing in Vegas?”
“I am getting married!”
“No, no. You are NOT getting married without me. Please tell me you are not!”
“Actually, I am calling to tell you that a messenger will be at your door shortly to deliver you a roundtrip ticket to Las Vegas, baby! Yeah! Woo hoo!”
“Shit, Lacey. I can’t go to Vegas today!”
“Sure ya can. I am getting married, and you are gonna be here or I will never speak to you again. Capiche?”
“Damn you, woman. Why are you always so crazy? Can’t you ever do anything the proper way?”
“Now what fun would that be, Christie. Come on. Let’s have some fun! Besides, you said something about that slime ball Mark and a fight, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. About that. I need to tell you something.”
“Listen, girlfriend. I gotta go. Dave and I need to go sign up for the Wedding Package at the Resort over in Red Rock Canyon. We reserved you a room, and a limo will meet you at the airport. I am warning you, Christie. You better be here by 8:00 pm tonight. Ya feeling me, sister?”
“Yes, Lacey. I feel ya. You’re a crazy ass bitch. Love you, and congratulations. Oh … and thanks for the ticket and room. See ya soon.”
She clicked the call end button on the phone.
She whizzed around the house, preparing everything, unplugging cords, turning off lights, locking doors, and then running up the stairs to shower, pack, and have everything ready when she called a cab to come get her. A knock at the door stunned her at first then she remembered the messenger sent to bring her the airline tickets.
On the ride to the airport, her mind drifted to Mark. Would he ever contact her again? Should she contact him first and apologize? No. It was him who did not want to meet her friends. She would let him come to her first. If he didn’t, then what would she do? She loved him. Had loved him for years secretly. They were so good for each other. Or so she thought.
Wanting
Mark drowned hi s sorrows in beer for three days straight, working on putting the final touches on his cabin’s interior. The new cabinets were installed and the railing to the loft was done. He sat in his chair, looking up to the vaulted ceiling. This house was his, all his. He made it with his own two hands. It was more than a cabin. It was a three-bedroom, two-bathroom work of art. All of it wood, except for the stone flooring. He had picked out each and every river rock by hand. Cut them and laid them. It was definitely a labor of love, this house. It was sad that a family would never live here, never laugh, kids would never run around, the kitchen would never smell of fried fish, venison stew, or … Divinity. Man. That stuff was good. Just the thing for a hungry, sweet toothed bear.
Christie, a fiery witch who had stolen his heart. He wondered what she was doing. He missed her so much. She had the hottest body he had ever seen. But sex was only a small part. She was smart and funny, she could cook, and was everything he desired, wanted, or needed. Mark thought for sure she would write on her social media account. He had not seen her on lately. She must have really been pissed at him. Was he being stubborn, not wanting to meet people? Or was it fear of the unknown? He did not know how her friends would act around him. Then again, how would they know he was a werebear unless someone told them? He was not used to being around humans. He was a solitary bear, roaming the woods by himself. He didn’t want to be alone anymore. Maybe he should run over to her place and talk things over with her; make her realize what he was going through. So, he got himself cleaned up, put on his black jeans and striped black and red shirt, sprayed on some Stetson cologne, and headed out the door.
Arriving at Christie’s house, something was wrong. There were two unread newspapers laying at the door. The shades were all drawn, and it seemed really quiet. He called out to her. “Christie, are you home?”
No answer. Hmm … she must have been away somewhere. He tried to go near a window to peek inside, but something pushed back at him. He tried it again, and resistance met him one more time. Then it dawned on him. She had put a protection spell on the house. Yep. He looked at the ground and saw a line of salt circling around the house. Smart girl. He wished now that he did know a friend of hers, just so he would know she was okay. How long would she be gone? Was she sick or hurt? His mind took off in all different directions. Running back to his truck, he grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil.
Christie,
I came by to talk. Hope you are okay.
Give me a call or hit me up on Faceplace.
Love, Mark
‘til death do us part.
Christie arrived a t the airport on time. The limo driver held up a sign, saying Christie Miller. She followed him out to the car after picking up her bags from the luggage section. Riding in the limo to the hotel, she sensed something. Someone was near her house. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the person. Nothing. She was glad she had put a protection ring around her house before she left. No one would be able to get in. Something about the person was familiar, but she could not quite read the mind of this person. What if it was Mark? Could he have come back to apologize to her? Damn. And she was not there.
Jeez. Lacey would have to get married far away from home, just when my life was getting interesting.
Lacey and Dave met Christie at the hotel lounge.
Running up to her best friend, Lacey grabbed her up in a big bear hug.
“Glad you could make it, bestie. How you doin?”
“OMG, Lacey. I cannot believe you are getting married. In Vegas no less. What in the world were you thinking?”
“Hey. When it feels good, you just go with it.”
Little did anyone know, there was a bun in the oven.
“How do your parents feel about this?” Christie asked pessimistically.
“Oh. They were weirded out at first, but they are on their way here. Should arrive just in time to unpack and be ready to see their baby girl get married to the man of her dreams.” Lacey beamed with pride.
Dave kissed his bride on the cheek. “My parents are on their way also. It will be the seven of us.”
“Great. I am always the bridesmaid and never the bride.”
“Hey. What about Mr. Greasy hair? I thought for sure you would bring him along.”
“Stop calling Mark that, and we had a small falling out. He probably will never speak to me again.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing. Let’s not talk about me. This is not the time or place to talk about my love life. This is about you and Dave and your life together, starting today. So, what are the plans, lady?”
“First of all, Dave is going to go get a shave.” She grabbed his stubbly chin, kissing his lips. “Then he is getting a haircut and renting a tux. A black one with a WHITE SHIRT AND black tie, you HEAR ME handsome?”
“Girlfriend, you and I are going to the spa! I have my dress already. Bought it right before we left. Oh. I almost forgot. Will you look at this rock, Christie? Can you believe it?”
On the ring finger of her left hand was a 3-karat emerald cut diamond ring surrounded with aquamarines, set in white gold. It was the most spectacular ring Christie had ever seen. Wrapping her arm inside of Christie’s, Lacey led her away. Leaving Dave to lau
gh and shake his head.
Cucumber slices o n her eyes and a glass of Moscato in her hand, Christie was so relaxed she could have fallen asleep. Taking a sip of her wine, thoughts lingered back to Mark. Maybe it was him at her house looking for her. She hoped so. She missed him. She was half tempted to contact him. However, she did not have his phone number. But maybe he would answer her if she got on Faceplace? When she got back to her room, she would do that.
Getting back t o her room, she felt so relaxed that she knew she had to lay down for a bit. After her nap, she would try and get hold of Mark on the social media site.
The next thing she knew she heard a pounding at her door. Groggy and discombobulated, Christie got up to answer the door, stubbing her toe on the corner of the wall. “Ouch. Damn!”
Bam! Bam! “Christie, are you in there? Girl, you better open this door. What the hell are you doing?”
“Hold on!” Christie screamed.
She opened the door to find a frantic Lacey with electric curlers in her hair and wearing a white bath robe.
“What the hell, Lacey? What’s going on?”
“Were you sleeping, witch?”
“Yes. I needed a little nap. Jet lag and all, ya know.”
“We are going to be late. I need you to do my hair. Chop, chop, sister. Let’s get this done.”
“Lacey, stop freaking on me. Let me get the comb, brush, and hairspray.”
“Sit down in the chair. Now, take a calming breath. We are going to make it. You have another hour and a half.”
“Dave is not back yet, Christie. He was supposed to meet his parent’s downstairs in the lobby, and he never arrived. His parents called up to my room, and I told them he went to get his tux. That was two hours ago. My parents are here and resting. What do you think could be taking him so long? I am so worried. Do you think he got cold feet? Maybe he does not love me as much as I thought he would? Maybe I am too hyper, and he cannot handle me. Oh god, what do I do?”
Sinfully Delicious: Six Scintillating Stories of Sweets, Treats, and Happily Ever Afters Page 8