Page 11 of Bear with Me
I felt a little bolder. "Yes."
"Did you see something?"
I blinked. "Oh, yes." I couldn't unsee Ollie's magnificent ass.
He frowned. "In the cabin?"
"No. Er. I was, yes."
"You saw something outside the cabin." He grabbed two sugar packets from the porcelain dish beneath the windowsill and tapped them on the table. "Was it something scary?"
"I don't know."
He met my gaze for a moment before dropping his head and focusing on the sugar packets. "If you saw me outside, I'm not scary, I promise."
"You're a bear." I finally found the courage to say the words aloud. "A fucking bear!"
"I'm a bear shifter," he corrected, "and humans aren't supposed to know about us. If my mom knew you saw me shift, she'd never let me travel alone again."
My knee knocked against his beneath the table. "Can you … shift whenever you want to?" I was careful to use the same word he used for his transformation.
Ollie studied me with a blank expression. Finally, his head bobbed once. "Yes."
"That's awesome!"
He grinned, and it was like the sun came out on a cloudy day. "It is! We've always been told humans wouldn't accept us."
"I'm a little jealous, not gonna lie."
Ollie nodded. "I can understand that. Who wouldn't be jealous of a second voice in your head, constantly wanting you to eat, or hibernate, or?—"
He cut off so abruptly, I thought our server had arrived with our food.
"Or?"
He shook his head. "My mom always says, 'Food, sleep, and sex. That's all a bear wants.'"
"She sounds … delightful?" Twice already during our conversation, Ollie had mentioned his mom, and neither was particularly flattering.
"She'd want to know what you intend to do with this information."
I didn't understand. "Like … make a social media post, or a video, or something?" I shook my head. "I'm not that guy. I don't even like social media."
Ollie's shoulders returned to their normal slope. Since he'd said the words "bear shifter," they'd climbed up around his ears. "Good to know. I'll try not to … you know?—"
"You're a bear in the woods." It seemed obvious to me. "If you planned on spending your vacation exploring the wilderness, go for it! Don't let me stop you."
"Thank you."
He said it with such reverence. Did he really think he needed my permission to enjoy himself on his vacation? "We're trapped together in our cabin for the foreseeable future, but that doesn't make either of us responsible for the other."
"Okay." He said it like he didn't believe me.
"I mean it. This vacation is my time to get my act together. Since my parents died, things have not been going well for me,and I'm looking for a break. I wanted to do some soul searching over the next two weeks and figure out who I am. My parents were a big part of my life. I don't know where I should go from here."
Our server arrived with our plates, and I used the distraction to wipe away the tears gathered at the corners of my eyes. I couldn't even talk about them without crying. How was I supposed to heal from their loss in two weeks? It would have been hard enough to do it alone. Now that I had a roommate to entertain, it seemed almost impossible.
"Hey." Ollie's soft tone pulled my attention from the slab of butter half-smeared on my waffle. "I'll give you space. I came out here to avoid my family, and I'm doing that, regardless. I can spend some time in the woods with the other bears."
