Page 36 of Bria and the Tiger

He stood up, almost knocking his chair over, and strode jerkily to the window. His back was sweating, and he could feel heat rising up his neck. The nausea in his stomach surged upward and he swallowed down bile. It was almost five years since his brother had…he swallowed more bile. Almost five years and he still wanted to throw up whenever he thought about it.

He took a deep breath and leaned his forehead against the window. He wasn’t going to Bud’s tonight because of Bria. He was going to spend time with his friend. Bud’s would be crowded on a Friday night and he probably wouldn’t even see Bria.

* * *

“God, you are the tiniest tiger I’ve ever met.”

Bria forced a smile. Okay, so it was the first time Patrick the wolf shifter had lost points with her. Of course, it was only ten minutes into their date.

“How tall are you?”

“I’m 5’3”.”

“Shit.” Patrick whistled under his breath. “When you shift, are you normal size?”

She frowned at him. “Why does it matter?”

“It doesn’t. I was just curious.” Patrick took a swallow of beer. “It’s busy in here.”

Bria sipped at her wine. “Bud’s has gotten busier the last few months.”

“Yeah, because that new owner is a human loving idiot. He’s a disgrace to wolf shifters. It doesn’t even bother him that humans are stinkin’ the joint up. I guarantee you, poor old Bud is rolling in his grave right now.”

“Bud let humans in here.” Bria could feel her temper rising and she tamped it down with effort.

“He didn’t,” Patrick said. “Trust me. I knew Bud and -”

“Bria?”

Feeling a perverse sense of glee, she stood and hugged Porter. He grunted in surprise but returned her hug. “Hey, I just wanted to stop and say hi.”

“Hi.” She smiled at Patrick. “Patrick, this is Porter, the new owner of the bar and a good friend of mine. Porter, this is Patrick.”

“Nice to meet you.” Porter held out his hand and Patrick stood and shook his hand.

“Uh, good to meet you too. I like what you’ve done with the place.”

“Thanks, it’s getting there. Bria, good to see you again. I’ll send Tori over in five minutes to get your food order, okay?”

“Sounds good. Thanks, Porter.”

Porter kissed her cheek before returning to the bar. Bria sat down and smiled stiffly at Patrick. He gave her a sheepish look.

“So, uh, you know the new owner.”

“I do.”

“Sorry, Bria. I have a tendency to run off at the mouth sometimes. Can we start over?”

Bria studied him silently and he gave her small smile. “Just one more chance?”

“Sure,” she said.

“Great. So, what do you like to do in your spare time?”

* * *

“Jace! Hey, Jace!”

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