by J. J. Jones
“Um, we’re hungry?” he said. “You could try that one next time.”
I started laughing loudly until I realized he didn’t mean it as a joke.
“You’re serious?” I said.
“Yeah, why not tell them the truth?” he said. “Why can’t we tell them that we plan to eat all this food?”
“Because normal people don’t eat this much food, Logan. It would take normal people like two weeks to eat this much food.” I replied laughing.
“Well I know that, but…” the words seemed to fail him and he doesn’t finish his thought.
Suddenly I felt bad for laughing. He wanted to tell them the truth because he doesn’t want people to think that what he does is different or weird. He wants to be the same as everybody else. I got the impression he feels like a freak, I guess I would feel the same.
It never occurred to me that Logan would want to just be a normal guy. In that moment I felt sorry for him, sorry for him that he became this way, sorry for him that he is stuck being this way/
I ate a few things, but of course, Logan ravaged everything before we even made it to the hotel that Logan directed us to. We threw away the garbage outside the hotel in a dumpster and went inside.
As we pulled up, I realized this hotel is one of the nicest places I have ever been to. It had to be extremely expensive and one of those places that doesn’t display its prices, because if you have to ask, you can’t afford it. This was that kind of place. Our car was parked by a valet service only, which felt weird to me. This seemed very out of place considering the rest of our adventure so far.
As we walked into the lobby, I could see our appearances in one of the many mirrors. We looked terribly scruffy and out of place. The lobby was gorgeous and beautiful and we were dirty and unkempt – exactly what shouldn’t be in this lobby. I could feel dozens of eyes watching us as we walked in. Other guests and hotel staff were probably wondering how in the hell we thought we were going to welcome in their hotel.
And to be honest, I was wondering the same thing. But Logan, on the other hand, had all the confidence in the world. He walked upright holding himself as he always does and didn’t seem to mind all the unwanted stares from everyone. I loved his “I don't give a fuck” attitude.
“Hey,” he whispered into my ear, “it’s nice that we can both actually check into the hotel for a change isn’t it?”
“Oh, yeah I guess so,” I said laughing a little uncomfortably still feeling all the eyes looking at us.
Logan walked right up the front desk and starting talking with the desk clerk.
“Good afternoon,” he said pleasantly.
“Afternoon,” she replied a little impolitely, clearly looking down her nose at us.
Logan acted like he didn’t notice.
“I have a reservation under the name Richard Walker,” he handed the woman a credit card and passport, both of which have the name ‘Richard Walker’ printed on them, a name I have never heard of before. Yet I could see his face photographed on the passport.
Of course I was very suspicious about the new Richard Walker character Logan was now playing, but I couldn’t make a scene about it front of dozens of people, so I knew that I needed to wait until we were safely in our hotel room.
The expression on the hotel desk clerk immediately changed after she put in the name of Richard Walker into her computer. She looked up at Logan and then over at me.
“Mr. Walker, welcome to the LeGrand Hotel. We are thrilled that you have chosen to stay with us this evening,” she said.
“Thank you,” Logan replied.
“I am just waiting for the computer to finish with your credentials and then your card will be ready,” she continually kept glancing at the computer and then kept smiling back at Logan.
“There, finished,” she gathered a few things. “Here is a key to your room – a complimentary gift bag, there is a complimentary breakfast here in the lounge from 6-11 and checkout is at 11. Please call if you need anything. We are here 24 hours a day.”
“Thank you.” Logan reached out and took the things from her and we went to the elevators.
Once inside I pushed the button to the 21st floor and we waited patiently for the elevator to take us. There were other people waiting for the 21st floor as well. Our appearance threw them off, just like the guests in the lobby, and they seemed to stand as far as they could from us in the elevator. The chime told us that we had reached the 21st floor and as soon as the doors open, the other people darted from the elevator.
I started to make my way out of the doors when Logan grabbed my arm and kept me on the elevator. I turned around confused. He pulled me in for a short kiss that melted me into him and made me forget all about our hotel room number.
Logan laughed and pushed me away playfully as he inserted his hotel room key into a slot in the wall I hadn’t noticed before. I turned and looked at him with a questioning look, but he gave no readily explanation, so I stared up at the numbers to the floors as we rose higher and higher.
It took what felt likes minutes for the elevator to climb to our destination. The hotel had 48 floors and we were on the 21st. I watched as we went past the 30th, then the 35th and the 40th and finally the 48th. But we still did not stop. I turned to look at Logan as the chime sounded and the doors opened.
I turned around to see a beautiful penthouse suite. There were no walls, but only windows that over looked the entire city from the invisible 49th floor of the hotel. I stepped out from the elevator into the room and it was like stepping into an alternate universe. Everything was beautiful and luxurious. There was food waiting for us and champagne, too.
I could not help but walk around and look at the city and see the cars and people below. Everything was perfect. Logan walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around me and then everything really was perfect. I would not want to change a thing about this moment, not a thing. I felt like the queen of the world.
“Why did you do this?” I asked turning toward him.
“Because Tanisha,” Logan replied, “you and I have been through hell the past couple weeks. And the next few weeks might be worse; I don’t know, and so I thought, that for right now - for tonight - you deserved a little piece of heaven.”
Chapter7
We stood looking out over the city cradled in each other’s arms for some time. It was a nice moment. I began to forget about all the recent madness and I was now in the arms of a man I truly cared for. For a brief moment I felt like we were a real couple but finally somewhere off in a separate room, a clock chimed bringing us out of that moment.
“We should have some champagne,” Logan moved away from the window and back toward the table.
“Sure,” I walked with him still holding his hand.
He poured us each a tall elegant glass of champagne that I was sure was made of crystal. I was tempted for a moment to lick my finger and trace the ring around the top of glass to see if it would sing. I knew it was childish, but I wanted to know if it was real. My mother would have scolded me for even thinking about doing such a thing, but I couldn’t help it. I felt so out of place.
“So what is this place,” I forced my thoughts away from the glass and took a sip of probably the best tasting alcohol I had ever had in my life.
“It’s nice, eh?” Logan spun around the room smiling. I didn’t often see him smile. He had a nice smile; it made him look comfortable and approachable. Most of the time, Logan looked very serious and a little scary. I probably would have never told him that to his face, but it was true. At least at this point in his life, his smile didn’t come easy.
Not that I could blame him for that. After everything that we had been through together, and everything I knew his life had been through before we had met, I was sure I wouldn’t be smiling that often either. That being said, I felt lucky that I was able to see a smile now and then.
“Yeah, this place is really nice, a little nicer than I would have expected?” I raised my eyebrows h
oping for more of an explanation.
“It all comes with the job. We do a lot, ya know, put our lives on the line pretty much every day, so every once in awhile, we get a little treat from the big guys running the show.” Logan seemed very relaxed. He walked over to a sofa and sat down lounging with his legs up drinking his champagne.
“The big guys?” I asked.
He waved me off, “Never mind.”
I wanted to ask more questions, but felt like Logan wasn’t in the mood to talk. I walked over and sat across from him on a very comfortable armchair with my champagne. We both drank silently for a time.
Finally, I couldn’t help myself from asking more questions. “So Richard Walker? Who is he?”
“He’s no one, Tanisha,” Logan laughed. “He’s who ever you want him to be,” Logan continued laughing.
“What do you mean?” I pushed further confused.
“I need an identity when I check in to places,” Logan continued to explain between laughs. “I don’t think they would take too kindly to the name Logan Werebear on the registry.” He added with a thick accent full of sarcasm.
I threw a pillow from my arm chair across the space between us and hit him in the arm. “That’s not exactly what I was asking,” I stuck my tongue out. I was asking if that was your real name once.”
“Oh, of course not,” Logan replied becoming slightly more serious, but still laughing a little. “Let’s go eat something before the food gets cold.” He stood from the couch changing the subject.
I didn’t push the idea of his real name. I wasn’t sure if he would ever tell me his story, but I hoped that someday he would trust me enough to tell me about it. I knew that now was not the time, so I let the conversation go and moved over to the table.
We sat down at the table and like a gentleman, Logan allowed me to choose anything I wanted to eat first. I thought this also had something to do with the fact that he was going to eat everything on the table before I had a chance to clean one plate, so his gesture was to give a chance to get what I wanted before he ate everything.
I picked a few things to eat and then told him he could have the rest. It was obvious that whoever had given us the room had known all about Logan because they had ordered enough food to feed a small army, or a werebear.
“So have you been to this hotel before?” I asked trying to keep the conversation casual.
“Yes, a few times,” Logan replied in between bites of chicken thighs.
“Hmm,” I replied taking a bite of cheesecake drizzled in chocolate.
I focused on my food to pass the time wondering about when else Logan might have come to this hotel. And I couldn’t deny that part of me wondered if I was the first girl he had brought here. But I couldn’t ask that question, mostly because I didn’t want to know the answer. I wasn’t sure Logan would tell me the truth if I asked him either.
I looked over at Logan trying to think about what was going on in his mind. He wasn’t one to share many things about himself unless I asked. He was very private. I hoped that he trusted me, but I still wasn’t sure.
“So what happens next?” I asked. “What is our next move?”
Logan looked up at me, our eyes met. He set down the roll he was eating. “Before all of this started, I made your father, Lionel a promise. I promised him that I would keep you safe – that regardless of what happened to him or the rest of my kind, that I would keep you safe from everything that happened. It was the least I could do for him in return.” Logan sighed heavily.
“If my father had asked you to keep me safe, and you knew everything about me, why did you need to kidnap me back at the bar? You could have just told me everything back then? Rather than put a gun to my head and bribe me with money I desperately needed to go along with your plans,” I looked at him for explanations.
“Come on Tanisha. How would you have reacted if I had sat down at your table in the bar and introduced myself as Logan the Werebear sent by your estranged werebear father to protect you from the shit-storm that was about to happen. Would you really have just walked out of the bar with me without a second thought?” Logan smiled again laughing slightly.
I couldn’t help but laugh when he put it that way. “I guess not,” I replied. “I probably would have called the cops or at least the bar security.”
“See what I mean?” Logan asked. “Abduction was really my only option. Then I had to use my manly charm to win you over along the way.”
I laughed again, “Yes, your charm,” I mocked him.
We both laughed for a few minutes before things quieted down.
I became more serious. “Can you ever change back?”
“What?” he asked somewhat confused at my question.
“I mean is there a way you could change from being a shifter back to being…” I stumbled over the right choice of words, “well just being human, I guess.”
“Oh I see what you mean. There is a way, but it is risky and probably would not work and might even make things much worse. It is probably best I stay like this anyway.” He sighed like he was tired.
“Why?” I asked curious to know more.
“Because being a shifter gives me the ability to be a protector. There are people that I love, people like you, Tanisha. And if I am a shifter I can protect you from the things that are out there that could harm you. I feel empowered as a shifter that I wouldn’t feel as a regular human. I want to be able to protect you forever.” As he finished speaking, I felt the genuine nature with which he spoke.
“I understand,” I said trying to blink back the tears I felt. I didn’t want to appear weak.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,” Logan said, noticing my tears.
“I’m not upset, I’m touched, and embarrassed,” I admitted.
We both sat across from each other, neither saying anything. I tried to gain my composure, but the more I tried, the more I thought about what Logan was doing for me, and it made more grateful. I tried to focus on other things.
“Everything is going to be different now isn’t it,” I stood and walked away from the table. “My life will never be normal again, will it?” I asked the question already knowing the answer.
“Don’t think of it that way, Tanisha. It’s too difficult to think about all the things you are leaving behind. Think instead about all the things you have to look forward to,” Logan stood and moved to stand next to me, placing his arm around my waist and pulling me closer to him.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound pessimistic or depressing. It’s just a big change for me. It’s hard for me to realize that I will never have the kind of life that I imagined for myself – that’s all.” I turned to look at Logan.
“I can understand that but sometimes things happen that we just can not control.” the look on Logan’s face told me that he was thinking of his own past and the changes that he had endured over time.
I stood quietly letting Logan dwell nostalgically for a few moments before saying anything.
“So what do we do, then?” I asked.
“We leave,” Logan said still a little dreamlike. “I want to take you with me, and go. It’s time that we leave the country – for real this time,” he added the last part of the sentence with a small smirk on his face given the situation before where I thought he was leaving for Mexico.
I smiled in return feeling a great amount of protection and love from him as he spoke. I nodded, “Okay. We go.”
Chapter8
I felt a sense of resolve after we decided that we would leave the country. It was nice to feel that we finally had a plan and that our plan included some sense of a safe place. I started to fantasize about the two of us together somewhere safe and exotic. It was nice to think about and let myself daydream a little.
“I’m going to take shower,” I announced standing up from the table and walking across the room.
“Can I join you?” Logan smiled raising his eyebrows.
“Of course,” I lowered m
y shoulder playfully.
“Okay I’ll join you in a minute,” Logan said.
I walked into the bathroom and immediately noticed that it was bigger than my entire bedroom back home. The tile was almost solid black with silvery flakes and gray streaks. The counter tops were beautifully pearl granite with glass bowl sinks. The shower had two rainfall shower heads, one for Logan and one for me. I noticed there were also jets that lined the walls. I wasn’t even sure about operating them, but I thought they would probably feel amazing. Needless to say, it was the most beautiful and luxurious bathroom I had ever seen. It matched the rest of the suite.
I stripped my filthy clothes, desperate for a nice hot shower. I avoided looking at myself in the mirror, sure that I would be appalled at my appearance. I adjusted the temperature of the water and stepped under the stream of running water. It felt heavenly. Each droplet felt like it had healing ointments in them as the heat of the water running along my spine rejuvenated me.