Read Online Bearly Hanging On (A Werebear Shifter BBW Romance) (Laid Bear Book 3) by Marina Maddix - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Marina Maddix
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as an official college student, anyway.
Throughout the day, she would think of reason after reason why she couldn’t tell Chet what he wanted to hear, but the moment she saw him, she couldn’t remember a single one. Being with him felt so… right . Like when you’re falling asleep, that moment when your mind stops spinning and you’re aware that the soft warmth of slumber is about to take you. Like he was the missing puzzle piece to her soul. Like he made her whole.
But that couldn’t be…could it? It didn’t seem possible that she’d already found the man she was supposed to be with forever. She’d always imagined she’d do the career girl thing — what that career might be was still a mystery — before settling down with one guy, much less having kids.
The thing was, she ached for those things when she was with Chet. Little Chets running around pretending they were Crocket and Tubbs or little Crystals prancing around in tutus (black, of course). Her heart nearly filled to bursting at these silly school-girl daydreams. And was that so wrong?
She’d spent most of her youth fighting off the advances of her mother’s boyfriends and wondering why her dad didn’t come to her band concerts. Her life was a freakin’ after-school special, and she’d played her part perfectly: rebelling against authority, experimenting with sex and drugs, and hanging out with the ‘bad kids’. The realization struck as she was hosing out a tourist’s puke pile from the bottom of a whale watching boat, and it nearly caused her to add her own lunch to the smelly mess.
How could she, of all people, have become such a cliché?!
In that moment, the truth about life dawned on her. It is a bitch. And you die. So why spend so much of it trying to fix the past, which was totally impossible? It was time to fix her future !
Of course, she had no idea what that entailed but she knew what her heart wanted. Now her brain just needed to catch up. That meant spending more time with Chet — all of it, if she could. Aside from her grandparents, he was the only person in the world she could really trust. She knew in her heart that Chet would never hurt her. An inexplicable sense of safety washed over her when they were together, as if he would protect her from anything. Though what that might be in real life, she couldn’t imagine.
But his constant pestering about that ‘fated mate’ thing put too much pressure on her. Her stupid brain needed more time to get used to the idea, so when he brought it up tonight, as he undoubtedly would, she’d simply have to tell him to back off a little. That was easy to think about but the closer the moment came, the more nervous she got. She didn’t want to hurt him, and she most certainly didn’t want to end their relationship. All she really wanted was for him to shut up about it.
“M’lady.” Chet opened the passenger side door to his uncle’s massive brown Caddy and waved her in with a flourish, bending low as she climbed in. Her anxiety burst out of her in a stream of giggles. He gave her a funny look before closing the door and walking the mile and a half around the front of the car.
Climbing in next to her, he asked, “Where to?”
Of course he wouldn’t have any idea where to go, since he only drove between Pearce Forestry and her grandparents’ house. She still didn’t understand why it was such a terrible thing for him to hang out with her. Some weird class thing, no doubt.
“Well…the tide’s about to change. Go down Seymour Street and take a left,” she instructed.
The destination wasn’t very far but it still took a good twenty minutes of careful maneuvering to get the big boat of a car down the rutted forest service road to the overlook spot. It would be light till nine, or even later, so they should have a good show.
“What is this place?” Chet asked, clunking the gear shift into ‘park’.
Crystal hopped out and waved for him to follow, leading
Throughout the day, she would think of reason after reason why she couldn’t tell Chet what he wanted to hear, but the moment she saw him, she couldn’t remember a single one. Being with him felt so… right . Like when you’re falling asleep, that moment when your mind stops spinning and you’re aware that the soft warmth of slumber is about to take you. Like he was the missing puzzle piece to her soul. Like he made her whole.
But that couldn’t be…could it? It didn’t seem possible that she’d already found the man she was supposed to be with forever. She’d always imagined she’d do the career girl thing — what that career might be was still a mystery — before settling down with one guy, much less having kids.
The thing was, she ached for those things when she was with Chet. Little Chets running around pretending they were Crocket and Tubbs or little Crystals prancing around in tutus (black, of course). Her heart nearly filled to bursting at these silly school-girl daydreams. And was that so wrong?
She’d spent most of her youth fighting off the advances of her mother’s boyfriends and wondering why her dad didn’t come to her band concerts. Her life was a freakin’ after-school special, and she’d played her part perfectly: rebelling against authority, experimenting with sex and drugs, and hanging out with the ‘bad kids’. The realization struck as she was hosing out a tourist’s puke pile from the bottom of a whale watching boat, and it nearly caused her to add her own lunch to the smelly mess.
How could she, of all people, have become such a cliché?!
In that moment, the truth about life dawned on her. It is a bitch. And you die. So why spend so much of it trying to fix the past, which was totally impossible? It was time to fix her future !
Of course, she had no idea what that entailed but she knew what her heart wanted. Now her brain just needed to catch up. That meant spending more time with Chet — all of it, if she could. Aside from her grandparents, he was the only person in the world she could really trust. She knew in her heart that Chet would never hurt her. An inexplicable sense of safety washed over her when they were together, as if he would protect her from anything. Though what that might be in real life, she couldn’t imagine.
But his constant pestering about that ‘fated mate’ thing put too much pressure on her. Her stupid brain needed more time to get used to the idea, so when he brought it up tonight, as he undoubtedly would, she’d simply have to tell him to back off a little. That was easy to think about but the closer the moment came, the more nervous she got. She didn’t want to hurt him, and she most certainly didn’t want to end their relationship. All she really wanted was for him to shut up about it.
“M’lady.” Chet opened the passenger side door to his uncle’s massive brown Caddy and waved her in with a flourish, bending low as she climbed in. Her anxiety burst out of her in a stream of giggles. He gave her a funny look before closing the door and walking the mile and a half around the front of the car.
Climbing in next to her, he asked, “Where to?”
Of course he wouldn’t have any idea where to go, since he only drove between Pearce Forestry and her grandparents’ house. She still didn’t understand why it was such a terrible thing for him to hang out with her. Some weird class thing, no doubt.
“Well…the tide’s about to change. Go down Seymour Street and take a left,” she instructed.
The destination wasn’t very far but it still took a good twenty minutes of careful maneuvering to get the big boat of a car down the rutted forest service road to the overlook spot. It would be light till nine, or even later, so they should have a good show.
“What is this place?” Chet asked, clunking the gear shift into ‘park’.
Crystal hopped out and waved for him to follow, leading
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