Page 48 of Renaissance Bear

"Pizza for Jon and Alis!" somebody inside the pizza truck window bellowed, with such perfect timing that Alis's nerves vanished in a burst of laughter.

"Apparently pizza is."

"Nah, pizza's just the topping on the…" Jon trailed off, looking perplexed. "…on the pizza? You wouldn't want pizza on your ice cream, and pizzahastoppings, so…"

"Mmm, ice cream. After the pizza, maybe." They got their pizzas and went to pull up a bit of curb, their feet in the street. Alis opened her pizza box, inhaling the scent of sauce, cheese and pepperoni with deep appreciation, then put it down so it could cool enough to eat as she watched people drift back and forth across the street. "Do the streets always roll up at 6pm here? Also, is thatShelly?"

She stood up indignantly, looking down the road toward where the woman who was supposed to play Princess Cecilia was leaving a Chinese take-out place with enough food to feed a family of four. "It is. Oh my God. She looksfine. And if she's going to eat that much she must not be sick from food poisoning anymore. I swear to God if she's not at the faire tomorrow…!" Alis sat back down, still indignant, and kicked a small rock into the street. "I can't believe she's out here getting…well, anyway. What was I saying?"

"You were asking if the streets always rolled up early. You know, I always thought that phrase meant everything closes at six, but…" Jon waved at the undeniably open-for-business town. "But yeah. It's part of the traffic laws they implemented that the resorts hate. During any kind of festival, vehicular traffic is banned from downtown after six. There's parking at the grocery stores and strip malls, so people can walk in from a few blocksout, but the town runs shuttle buses almost everywhere in a five mile radius during the faire so people don't have to drive."

"You must have the most forward-thinking people on the planet in your town council." Alis sent one more half-hearted glare in Shelly's direction as the woman disappeared in the distance. Then she tried her pizza, which was still too hot, and left it to sit again. "Seriously, how did you get everybody to agree to that?"

Jon tested his own pizza, then took a bite even though it was still steaming like crazy. Then he hissed and breathed through his teeth, trying to cool his mouth. Once he was done burning his tongue, he dropped his voice. "It started out as a way of controlling access to the town for the safety of the shifter population. It just happened that we started trying to put the laws in at the same time a bunch of hippies settled here, and the whole 'people first' thing was very strongly their vibe. So for the past sixty years or so Renaissance has been really…well, these days you'd call it green-oriented, I guess, but it's just trying to be safe for everybody and treat people like they're more important than cars."

"Can you elect a town for President? Because I'd vote for that," Alis said with a shake of her head. "That's really great. I could l—" She broke off sharply that time, because she'd been about to sayI could live in a place like this,and it was big enough that she had already dropped the L-word unexpectedly. She wasn't quite ready to say she'd think aboutmovingto Renaissance.

Although the truth was, Alis already knew in her heart that if one of them was going to move, it was going to be herself. Jon's family business was in Renaissance. Maybe even more importantly, access to the wilderness, which had to be important to a man who could turn into a giant grizzly bear, was here.

She still didn't quite want to say it aloud. Maybe because at the least, she wished there could someday be a discussion about it, instead of taking it for granted that Alis would move. Assuming this new, fragile, shining thing between them worked out at all.

Jon had stopped trying to eat his too-hot pizza and was watching her with a gentle expression. When she finally glanced at him, he said, very softly, "Your life is back East. I wouldn't ask you to just throw that all away because Renaissance ismyhome. My big brother's up in New York, but he's running a brewpub of his own, not out there selling and marketing Thunder Bear's product. If things go well with our expansion, I could go out East, Alis. I could take point on everything east of the Mississippi and leave Laurie the western half of the country." He smiled a little. "That's almost enough for him and his ego, anyway."

Alis blurted a little sobbing laugh and leaned in to kiss Jon fiercely. "Are you actually perfect?"

"God, no. I leave my socks all over the house. And I know we're not anything like there yet, but you looked like you needed to hear that I wasn't going to expect you to uproot your whole life for me, if things went that way."

"It was exactly what I needed to hear," Alis said through a tight throat and happy tears. "Does being a shifter come with telepathy, too, or something?"

"Oh mygodwouldn't that becool? But no, I just try not to be a total dick, you know?"

Alis laughed again, this time lower and more throatily. "I'd say you're zero percent dick but I amgratefullyaware that's not true."

Jon coughed. "I'd like to think I'm exactly the right percentage dick, yes. Maybe a little bit generously dick, actually."

"Definitely generous." Alis felt herself blushing and grabbed her pizza while Jon grinned into his. Her phone buzzed and she checked it while gnawing on a pizza bone.

A text from Jasmine saidare you ever coming home?

No, I'm running off to live in a cabin in the woods with Sword Boy. Why?

Just wanted to make sure you're still alive. It's been at least eleven minutes since we've communicated with each other and you know I get nervous when we're apart for more than that long.

Alis laughed, because they'd been born eleven minutes apart.Love you, baby sis.

Yeah, I love you too, old lady. Text if you're not coming home AGAIN.

I WIIIILLLLLL. Sorry for being out of touch.

Jasmine sentit's okayand the "I GUESS" guy meme, and Alis chuckled as she put her phone away again.

"Everything okay?"

"My sister checking up on me. Apparently she thinks I've joined a cult for some guy and we're forbidden communication with the outside world, or something. We text a lot," she added fondly. "Possibly enough to be weird, I don't know."

"Oh, no. You should see our family chats. Sometimes I'm not sure how people get all the gossip they share, since as far as I can tell it takes twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week just to keep up with it on the chat. I'd like to meet her someday. You said she's still back in Maryland?"

Alis had almost forgotten he didn't know Jasmine was in Renaissance with her to play the part of Lady Alessandra sometimes. Suddenly explaining that felt awkward, although it was going to get worse if she didn't mention it soon.

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