“Is he a horse?” Dina murmured.
“Let’s find out!” He was indeed a horse – a large, pale golden animal, with a broad white stripe running down the center of his face. His mane was exactly the same color as his hair. “He looks interesting,” Lauren said.
“He looks like he’d be a lot of work to tame,” Dina said with a giggle. “Maybe I’ll leave him for later.” She swiped down to the next guy.
Every few seconds, a message alert popped up.
“Wow! All these guys want to speak to me?” Dina exclaimed.
“Of course they do!” Lauren said. “But how about we have a little fun seeing what’s out there first, before we find out who’s fighting for your attention?” She temporarily disabled the alerts and refilled their wine glasses, and they hunched over Dina’s phone, going from one guy to the next, to the next. The guys all had amazing bodies, with great muscle tone, and striking good looks, but beyond that, they couldn’t have been more different.
It quickly turned into a game of ‘guess the animal’. Most of the guys turned out to be wolf, bear, big cat, or stallion shifters, but there were also beavers, foxes, deer, and even seals and dolphins.
“This is so much fun,” Dina said. “I feel like a kid in a candy store!” Lauren looked at her friend with affection, thrilled that she was enjoying herself so much. She’d known she wouldn’t regret making Dina the one she shared the shifter secret with.
“What’s the deal with shifters that live in the water?” Dina said, shuddering as she flipped between a photo of a surfer with long, tangled blond hair, and a shark. “How does that work?” Lauren laughed.
“I guess you’ll have to move to whichever beach town they live in, so they always have easy access to water!” she said. Dina kept staring at the shark photo. “I just can’t see myself with a shark-guy,” she said.
“Don’t worry about it!” Lauren replied. “There are plenty of other options out there. What kind of shifters are you drawn to?” Dina flicked through a few more profiles while she was thinking.
“Well, the big cats are hot, but I get the feeling that they’re too independent. I’ve always been more of a dog person,” she broke off with a giggle. “Sorry, that was a terrible thing to say. The wolves are sexy, and I like the whole idea of being protected, but that hierarchy thing is probably a bit too much for me. But the bears – there’s something lovable about them.” She scrolled up to the last bear shifter she’d been. “They all seem to have these big, sturdy bodies, with meat on their bones. That’s what I really love in a man, to be honest.”
“Me too!” Lauren said. “When I first saw Connor, it was a no-brainer. I visualized those strong arms wrapping around me, pulling me against his hairy chest, and I just melted! Bear shifters are known for being reliable, protective and warm-hearted. They love the outdoors, and going hiking on weekends.”
“That sounds so perfect for me,” Dina said with a grin.
“Ok, if you like, we can change the options, so you only see bears?” Lauren offered.
“Yes, let’s!” Lauren took the phone, unticked several boxes and handed it back to Dina.
“You know, I think I really liked the very first bear-guy we saw, you know, the one with black hair and brown eyes. I felt an instant connection when I looked at his photo. How can we find him again?”
“Umm, we’ll have to search for him,” Lauren said regretfully. “The first three profiles the app showed you were just a teaser to get you interested, so his profile could be anywhere on the site.”
“Damnit! It’s going to be such a hard job scrolling though all these sexy bear shifters to look for him,” Dina said, with a glint in her eye. Lauren picked up the bottle of wine.
“Well it looks like we’re all out of wine, so how about I leave you to your search, while I go down to the store and get us another bottle?”
“Sounds like a great plan!” Dina said. “Let’s order pizza too!”
“Definitely, girl! You know what I like,” Lauren said, picking up her purse and skipping out of the apartment.
Dina ordered a meat feast supreme with extra jalapeños, and a quattro formaggio, and returned to scrolling. She was almost going cross-eyed from the parade of insanely hot guys being presented to her, one after another, and she was worried that she’d miss the one she was looking for, lost among so many other sexy man-bears. But, suddenly – there he was!
“My goodness!” she exclaimed. Her soft pink lips curled into a smile as she stared at his photo. There was no way she could’ve missed him. He had those deep brown eyes, like dark pools you could get lost in, and his goatee was so sexy. She had a real weakness for light beards; there was something so rugged and masculine about them. His body was something else. His chest was broad and deep, with well-developed pecs, and his arms were strong and meaty. He had nice abs, but he looked like a guy who really enjoyed his food, rather than a scrawny gym bunny. His skin was deeply tanned, and he had a sexy scattering of hair, beginning on his chest, and running all the way down to the top button of his faded blue jeans. His hip bones were just visible, and he had a red lumberjack shirt tied around his waist. Dina read his profile, her excitement growing by the second. It said he worked as a wood carver and volunteer firefighter; he lived out by the national park; he loved eating out, cooking at home, hiking, and playing with his two nephews. He’d love to meet a tall, voluptuous woman, with an adventurous spirit and a love of life. She could hardly restrain herself from getting up and bouncing around the room. He was just too perfect! At the bottom of his profile was a pink heart. What does this mean? She muttered, tapping it at the same time. As before, the graphic popped to reveal the message: Want to find out if we’re a match? Without hesitating for even a second, she tapped the happy face icon.
At that moment, Lauren hurtled back into the apartment with the wine.
“You’re not going to believe what’s happened!” Dina exclaimed. Lauren opened the wine in the kitchen and brought it through to the living room.
“What?” she said.
“The bear guy’s contacted me already!”
“Let me see!” Lauren snatched the phone out of her hand. “Oh my god, he messaged you within ten minutes of us completing your profile. Let’s see what he said:
Hi, there. This is the first time I’ve messaged anyone on the app, but when I saw you, I knew I couldn’t let you pass by. You’re so beautiful, and you seem so genuine and good-hearted. But it wasn’t just that: I felt such a strong connection when I looked at your profile, that I’m desperate to find out if we’re fated to be together.
Hoping to hear from you,
Logan.
“Wow!” Dina breathed.
“He felt the same connection with you! This is awesome,” Lauren said. “Shifters have destined mates, like, the one they’re supposed to meet, and they devote their lives to finding them. It sounds like you might be his!” Dina’s tummy tingled with excitement.
“But how is that possible?”
“No-one knows how. It’s just the way it happens,” Lauren said, but the end of her sentence was drowned out by the doorbell ringing. “I’ll get it,” she said, and headed downstairs again to pick up the pizza.
Dina stared at the guy’s photo, thinking of what she was going to say to him. This was all so crazy. He wasn’t playing it cool, like she expected guys to, and she felt like she owed him the same directness. While she was deliberating, she decided to see what he looked like as a bear again. She placed her thumb over his photo and swiped to the right.
“Huh?” she muttered. Instead of a photo of a bear, she was looking at the main list of profiles again. What have I done? I must have slipped off his profile somehow. She scrolled up and down, searching for it.
“These pizzas smell A-mazing!” Lauren yelled, coming through the door. She deposited them on the coffee table, opened both boxes, grabbed a piece, and immediately began eating. After a couple of seconds, she glanced at Dina.
“What’s
the matter, honey? Why aren’t you eating?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I lost the bear-guy’s profile somehow.”
“What? What did you do?” Lauren shuffled closer, still chewing.
“I just wanted to see him as a bear again, so I swiped his photo, and he disappeared.”
“You swiped that way?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s right, honey. That’s what you do when you don’t want to see someone’s profile again.” Dina’s mouth fell open.
“I did swipe right! My gosh! I’m such an idiot! What do I do to get him back? Tell me quick!”
“Oh, god!” Lauren said. She ate the final bite of the first slice of pizza and wiped her hands on a napkin.
“Go ahead and eat. I’ll try to figure it out,” she said, snatching the phone from Dina’s fingers.
“I can’t find him,” she said, ten minutes later. “That’s how this app works. Swipe right and they’re gone for good.”
“No! Me and my clumsy fingers! Dina said with a groan.” How could I have been so dumb?”
“Hey, stop,” Lauren said. “It’s an easy mistake to make, especially for someone who’s not used to using apps. I shouldn’t have let you loose on it without supervision.”
“I have to find him, Lauren! There has to be a way! I’m serious. This guy is so hot, and he’s interested in me, and we might even be destined to be together. Not that I’m sure that I believe in this whole destiny concept. And now he’s going to think that I don’t even like him!” Dina’s voice was becoming tight and panicky.
“Calm down, honey,” Lauren said, squeezing her shoulder. “There’ll be a way to find him. I’ll send Tamika a message, describing him, and hopefully she’ll know who he is, and then she’ll be able to put you in touch with him.”
“Really?” Dina said, eyes shining with hope. “Do you think that’ll work?”
“With a bit of luck,” Lauren said, licking her fingers. By now, they’d demolished both pizzas. She quickly typed out a message to Tamika on her phone, then flung herself back on the sofa with her glass of wine. “Now let’s chill, and check out some more of these sexy shifters.”
“I think I’ve made my choice already,” Dina said.
“But you don’t know for sure that you’re going to be compatible. And it would be a shame to limit yourself in the meantime,” Lauren said.
They looked through another 20 or 30 bear-shifter profiles. They were all gorgeous, but, for Dina, none of them matched up to the first guy. Then they went through her alerts. There were 15 different shifters wanting to find out if they could be a match for her.
“I don’t know about some of these guys,” Dina said. “But I have to admit, it’s doing plenty for my self-confidence!”
“That’s my girl,” Lauren said. Dina went through and said no thanks to the non-bear shifters. She had set her heart on a big, furry guy, and that was all she wanted right now. Two alerts remained– one from a blond guy who was a polar-bear shifter, and one from a grizzly-bear shifter.
“Click on the alerts and look at the messages they’ve sent you!” Lauren said excitedly. Dina’s finger hovered over them.
“I feel like I really want to wait and see if Tamika can find the first guy for me. I just have to know first,” she said. “Can I wait to reply to the alerts?”
“Of course,” Lauren said. If they think you might be their fated mate, they’ll wait for as long as it takes.”
Lauren was starting to yawn.
“Home-time for me,” she said. “I’ve got a sleepy bear waiting for me in bed. I’ll let you know what Tamika says as soon as I hear from her.”
“Thank you so much for tonight,” Dina said. “Goodnight, hun.” They hugged each other, and Dina waved Lauren goodbye at the door. She stood on the doorstep, watching Lauren’s retreating figure until she was out of sight. She was envious that her friend was going home to a big sexy man who’d take care of her. Normally her envy would have been a sharp, bitter pain deep in her stomach, a gnawing fear that she’d never find the right guy for herself. But tonight she had a sliver of hope that there could be someone out there for her. She brushed her teeth and climbed in between clean sheets, and fell asleep dreaming of a black-haired, muscular man with the most delicious deep brown eyes.
Chapter Two
Dina was on her way to work next morning when Lauren called.
“Good morning!” she trilled. Dina flinched at the volume of her voice.
“Good morning yourself,” she mumbled, barely awake yet. Morning was definitely not her favorite time of day.
“Hun, I have the best news for you! You’re going to be so excited!” Dina became marginally more awake.
“What is it?” she asked.
“So, I heard back from Tamika already. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know who the guy is. She says he sounds like half the bear shifters on the app. I told her he was way hotter and cooler, but it didn’t help. BUT! – this is the exciting part – it turns out she’s been thinking about organizing a summer garden party to celebrate the two-year anniversary of the app, and my message was the motivation she needed to go ahead with it. She’s going to invite everybody who has a profile on the app. So, with a little luck, your man will be there, and you can meet each other in the flesh!”
“That will be amazing!” Dina said. “So when’s the party?”
“Next Saturday night.”
“Wow, that’s not a lot of time to find a new dress. But I guess I can go shopping this weekend. You’ll come to the party too, right?”
“Of course, hun. You know I’m always there for you. I’ll help you sniff him out. And you know I love a good party!” Lauren said. Dina broke into a grin.
“Thanks, Lauren. I’d be so nervous going by myself!” she said.
On Saturday, Dina and Lauren went shopping with their two other best friends, Melissa and Kristin. Luckily, the Hope Valley annual summer ball was being held the week after the Shiftr ball, so they all needed to get dresses anyway. Dina was bursting to tell Melissa and Kristin about the dating app and the guy she’d found, but she understood that she was sworn to secrecy. They were both single girls, and she thought they’d be perfect for the site too. She hoped that she’d find herself a shifter, not only for her own happiness, but so she could let one of them into the secret as well.
“I can’t tell you how hard it was keeping my secret from you all that time,” Lauren told Dina, when they were walking a distance behind the other two. “Every time you told me that you were lonely, or that you thought you’d never find a man, I was bursting to show you the app. So when I got together with Connor, it was like a double celebration!” Dina grinned at her friend’s soft heart.
“I don’t want to jinx it by saying anything,” she whispered. “But I’m really hoping the same for Melissa and Kristin.”
The girls enjoyed a long day of shopping together, breaking often for coffee, then lunch, then more coffee, then happy-hour drinks. None of them enjoyed shopping for clothes, hating the discomfort of fitting rooms, and the way that dresses hardly ever fit them perfectly. But they managed to find a compromise by layering the shopping with lots of fun activities in between.
They’d collectively banned each other from wearing black, since it was a summer party, and had all picked out beautiful, flattering floral designs. Dina chose a chiffon dress in the palest mint green, with huge, cobalt-blue flowers on it. It had a tight waist, which showed off her hour-glass curves, a flowing ankle-length skirt, and a low, v-neckline that made the most of her bust. Lauren picked out a fuchsia-pink dress in raw silk, embossed with a lighter pink orchid design, cap sleeves and a raised, belted waist. Melissa chose a sleeveless, cotton knee-length-dress, which was white all over, except for a deep pink and yellow floral and butterfly pattern around the hem, while Kristin bought a sky-blue silk dress, cut high on the thigh to show off her height and great legs. Dina had watched the girls trying on one dress after another, all day long, and she thought the
y all looked amazing. At 5’1, Melissa was the shortest of the four of them, and the cut of the dress made the most of her curves, without swamping her. She had dark blonde hair, and cornflower blue eyes, and a slightly vacant expression that belied her fierce intelligence. Kristin was only an inch shorter than Dina, and she carried herself proudly. She used to play basketball at college, and she had an athlete’s elegance, but she struggled with her weight due to PCOS. Out of the four of them, she probably had the hardest time accepting her curves, but only her closest friends knew it. To everyone else, she looked like a fearless, sexy woman.
When they were done with shopping for the day, they went to Valentina’s, their favorite cocktail bar, for early evening drinks. The other three seemed happy with their purchases. Dina was a little nervous about her dress. She often picked bold colors, hence the red number that featured on her Shiftr profile, but tended to stick with classic, understated styles, so this was something new for her. When she’d seen the dress in the store, she’d had a fantasy of herself as a fairy princess, floating around the garden party, looking mysterious and ethereal. But now she wondered if it would just look stupid.
“Not at all,” the girls chorused when she voiced her doubts.
“You look so elegant, and delicate,” Melissa said. Dina snorted. She could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times someone had called her delicate, and that was all before she’d turned 12.
“That dress is attention-grabbing, in all the right ways,” Kristin assured her.
One cocktail turned into two, and then three, as the girls chatted excitedly about the upcoming party. Dina was joining in too, but her thoughts were all about next weekend’s Shiftr party. Lauren flashed her conspiratorial glances when the others weren’t looking, knowing exactly what was on her mind.
“Let’s hope there’ll be some hot guys there!” Lauren said. “They won’t know what’s hit them when you ladies walk in!”
Bear Home for Christmas: BBW Holiday Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (Christmas Bear Shifter Romance Book 1) Page 11