Page 2 of She's Mine

Bea

I came out of my room to find Kat getting ready to leave while her brother was still under the sink. All I can see is a pair of jean-covered legs and work boots and that is how I first met him.

“You sure you’re gonna be okay?”

“Yes, for the love of God woman, I will be fine.”

“Okay but if you need anything just yell for Bea. She’ll be here if you need her.”

She looks over at me and mouths the request silently. “Yeah, I’ll be here if you need anything.”

“Is that Bea?”

“Yeah.” I say the word again. “Nice to meet you…um,” I look to Kat who has only ever called him her brother.

“Bear. He’s Bear.”

“I would shake your hand Bea but currently it’s covered in gunk.”

“Oh yeah, no need to shake. I know you, you know me, call me if you need anything.” I go back into my room but leave the door open just in case Kat’s brother needs me.

I was really lucky that I met Kat and that we vibed as well as we did. I lost my mom when I was twelve and me and my dad never really got over it. He’s been distant for years so Kat is the only person I have. When something good happens to me, I run to tell Kat. We just really bonded the first semester we were both at college. I would have spent Christmas with her if I wasn’t so worried about my dad being all alone.

Still, I have to be honest and say that I am a little jealous over how close Kat’s family seems to be. I eventually come out to flop on the couch with a paperback to distract me. I keep my face trapped in a book until I hear someone clear their throat and remember I’m not alone in the apartment.

“Shit! Uh, can I use your bathroom to clean up? I’m…a hot mess.”

I giggle but don’t lower my book. Instead, I wave my hand towards my room, “Yeah, sure. Go for it. You kind of deserve it since you fixed shit for us.”

Another reason I need lit therapy is because of my recent luck in love. The guy I was crushing on went out on one date with me and told me he could never see himself with someone like me. But what made it even more soul-crushing was the fact he told everyone else the reason he wanted nothing to do with me. Apparently, I was too intense, too innocent, and too klutzy.

Now the girls I work with at the restaurant all make fun of me and call me Cherry. I should have never told Paul that I was a virgin or that I believed in true love. Guess those two things don’t bode well for first-date material but in my defense, I’ve known Paul for quite some time. It wasn’t like I was telling some fucking stranger. I just thought…

A knock at the door has me finally putting the book down and realizing it’s gotten kind of late. I answer the door only to find the one person I didn’t think would ever be at my door…Paul.

“Paul? What are you doing here?”

“I was wondering if you ever…”

He stops talking and looks behind me with a shocked look on his face.

“You don’t have a bigger towel do you because this thing is about the size of a postage stamp.”

Shit. Kat’s brother is still here. I turn to answer him and take my first real look at him. All of him. All six foot four feet of him. And he’s right…those towels are super tiny on someone his size. And is that I tattoo on his…

“Bea?”

“Oh, um…yeah, there might be something bigger, um, a bigger one in the other bathroom. You can take a look.”

“So…,” I turn back to Paul and see him looking at me in a new way. “You’re dating someone?”

What the hell is he talking about? I just went out with him like a couple of weeks ago. If I was seeing someone, I wouldn’t be out with him.

He sees my confused look and clarifies, “That guy?”

Oh my shit! He thinks…, “Yeah.”

I try to shrug off my lie and act all nonchalant like it’s no big deal. I realize that I am standing in front of Paul in nothing but my nightclothes which happens to be…oh shit! I stole this shirt from Kat…who stole it from…her big brother. I’m standing in his shirt right now. Paul must think…

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