Page 21 of Landing Her Eagle
“Great to meet you too, Mallory,” I say. “Thanks for keeping my girl’s sanity intact.”
Laughing, we part ways with Mallory and head out to the parking lot. I open the passenger door to my Jeep so Daphne can get in. We drive to the park and sit on a bench near the gazebo with a view of the pond. Canada geese and mallards swim along, and a gentle breeze ruffles the multicolored leaves in the trees.
She opens the potato chips—red bag Herr’s, per her request—and sets the bag on the bench between us.
I hold out both bottles to her. “Water or Diet Pepsi?”
She decides on water then pulls our sandwiches from the bag. “Tastyklairs! You got dessert? No wonder I let you be my boyfriend.”
I gladly accept the kiss she offers and show restraint in keeping it light. She’ll have to return to the office, and there are other folks around who don’t need a peep show.
Pulling back, I unwrap my hoagie and take a bite. “Oh, how I have missed you.”
“You’re talking to your hoagie, aren’t you?”
I groan at the flavors hitting my tongue. I’ve been all around the world and had many delicious meals, but the perfect bread of a South Jersey sub is a thing of wonder. They say it’s the water, and maybe so, but whatever it is, it’s magical.
Daphne laughs at me. “Are you sure you came home for me? I’m pretty sure it was an excuse to get a sub.”
“No, it was all you, sweetheart,” I assure her. “But I won’t pass up the opportunity to have the good stuff!” I consider what I just said. “Yeah, good stuff, but you’re the best stuff.” Winking, I reach in the bag for a chip. This feels right. We’ve always teased each other, and we’re still doing that, but now we can be free with our affection too. Why did we wait so long to do this?
Daphne’s eyes keep darting to me, looking over my body. She’s chewing her bottom lip. She does that when she’s nervous. I hope she doesn’t hurt it. Those lips are for kissing me.
“Um…yesterday was the first time I saw you in eagle form, and I didn’t know it was you.”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“You did! It was a wonderful surprise. The best.” Now she’s started twisting her fingers. What is she so worried about? Doesn’t she know I’ll do anything in my power to make her happy?
She takes a deep breath. “Would you shift for me again sometime? I hope that’s not a tacky thing to ask for.”
That’s what she was so nervous about?
“Sure! I can shift now.” The park isn’t that busy. If we go on a trail in the woods, I can shift in privacy.
“You can? How? Don’t you have to take off your clothes so they don’t rip?”
My chuckle tickles as it travels up my throat. “Daph, I’m a shifter, not the Incredible Hulk. Our clothes shift with us. It’s some kind of magic. I just need to empty my pockets. I’m smaller shifted than I am as a man, so I’d be a bird wearing a shirt too big for me, looking ridiculous. It’s the wolf and bear shifters that would do the dramatic busting out of clothes thing if our clothes didn’t shift.”
We finish our sandwiches, throw out the trash, and Daphne carries the bag with our pies, leftover chips, and drinks as we take a trail into the woods. We enter a clearing and, after looking around to make sure we have privacy, I take off my sneakers and socks and drop my phone, wallet, and keys on them. Stepping back, I take a deep breath and shift. I’m lucky my shifts aren’t that dramatic. I’m able to do it smoothly without lots of cracking and contorting. When Mom or Andy shift, they go from being a biped to being on four legs, and their focus is closer to the ground. I’m still upright, and I have the advantage of having a wider field of vision.
“Wow,” Daphne says reverently. “You’re gorgeous.” She looks at me in awe.
In the past twenty-four hours, I’ve thought more about how I look in my eagle form than I ever have since I’ve started shifting as a kid. I’ve never shifted in front of someone I’m dating before. It’s a personal thing and not a party trick. The few shifter girls I’ve been with understand, and the human girls—the very few that even knew I was a shifter—didn’t care. Our dealings weren’t that personal. They were hookups. I preen a bit, extending my wings and flying to perch on a nearby fencepost so we’re closer to eye to eye.
Daphne has made me watch enoughAmerica’s Next Top Modelthat I know my angles and how to find my light, so I make sure the fall sun glints off my feathers, and I look like the regal eagle I am and not like an obese chicken.
Daphne approaches me cautiously. She reaches out a hand and then stops, looking me in my eyes. “Can I touch you?”
If I could speak, I’d tell her she can always touch me. I can’t, so I incline my head and extend my wing.
She runs a finger along it gently. “So silky. So many beautiful colors.”
I’d love nothing more than to spend the afternoon here with my girl showing off this side of me, but she has to go back to the office.
She must realize the same thing because she checks her phone and twists her lips in a funny face. “Time for you to take me back to the office, dude.”
I fly back to my shoes and socks and shift back to my man form, grab my phone, keys, and wallet, put them back in my pockets, and put on my shoes and socks.
