Big Gator: A BBW shape shifter paranormal romance (11 page)

             
Rachel
considered mentioning the idea of couples therapy, which would
horrify her mother, if she ever found out.  Rachel's mother knew
how to catch and keep a man until he dropped dead and left her all
his money.  She had managed it three times.  Even as a much
older woman, Rachel's mother had better skills in and out of the
bedroom than her daughter.

             
What
the hell
was
this
obsession with one particular alligator?  So what if Shirley was
bigger than most. Truth be told, Rachel thought alligators were
creepy and sinister.  They were killing machines that served no
purpose other just
that
. 
Killing.  McEvans had told her they were ancient.  That
alligators were one of the few species whose lineage went straight
back to the Dinosaur Age.

             
Big
friggin’ woop.

             
A
handsome young waiter approached Rachel's table.  He was quite
aware that he saw a woman who had been stood up.  As gorgeous as
this young woman was, her facial expression and body language
indicated she was experiencing strong waves of insecurity.  The
waiter always was on the look out for this type female customer. 
It was a quiet night, so he could lend an ear.  He had all the
time in the world to listen to her problems.  With a little
luck, and a few drinks on-the-house, he might get to take her home.

             
Rachel
decided the waiter was a worthwhile distraction since she was in such
a foul mood.  So she let him get lucky.  This wasn't, after
all, the first time she had cheated on McEvans.

Chapter 12

             
Jake
McEvans felt tremendously guilty about ditching Rachel on their
anniversary, but Brandy had called him that morning and said she got
a lead on Shirley.  He didn't tell his new intern that he had
other plans – important plans – because he didn't want her to
think that he was a shit.

             
They
both knew they would have to wait until after dark. Shirley wasn't
stuck in a pool this time.  They were tracking her in her own
habitat.

             
Brandy
had been working as a paid intern at Animal Sphere for just a week
now.  Since she had persuaded McEvans to hire her on the promise
that she could get him Shirley, she had to come up with something to
keep him on the hook. 

             
Brandy
figured that if she lured him out to the swamp near her home late at
night, she could sneak off and shift – make an appearance as
'Shirley' – and then swim off before he could actually catch her.
That would be enough to convince him that Brandy could make good on
her promise. 

             
She
had to be careful, though, because she didn't want anyone else around
to know that celebrity Jake McEvans was tracking gators in the area. 
If Ray and Marianne found out, she would be in big trouble.

             
Brandy
and McEvans stayed late at Animal Sphere packing up the necessary
equipment for a nighttime swamp exploration and loading everything
into his truck.  They would take separate vehicles to the
designated spot, since Brandy would go right home after, while he had
about a 45-minute drive back.  In McEvan's mind, with any luck,
he would be bringing Shirley back tonight in the bed of his pickup
truck.

             
Once
they reached the swamp, they both parked and unloaded the truck. 
Flashlights in hand, both wearing waders, they headed slowly into the
swamp. 

             “
I
think we should split up,” Brandy told him.  “You wait here,
and I'm going to head a little further in.”

             “
Why?”
he asked.

             “
If
we split up, we can cover twice as much ground,” she said. “Don't
wander too far, though. You might get lost.”

             
As
she walked, McEvans noticed that she had a slight limp.  He had
noticed that her left ankle was bandaged when he hired her, but
hadn't asked anything about it. Now, he was a little concerned
because this might not be the best thing for Brandy, tromping around
reptile-infested swamps in the dark.

             “
What
happened to your ankle?”

             “
It's
nothing,” she said. “It's an old injury that sometimes flares
up.  No big deal.”

             
Brandy
disappeared into the darkness.

             
McEvans
stood there alone, pointing his flashlight around to see if he could
see any alligators anywhere.  He decided instead to ditch the
flashlight and put on an explorer helmet with a light attached, so he
could keep his hands free.

             
As
soon as she was sure she was clearly out of view, Brandy stripped
down to nothing. 

             
Just
before she shifted, she suddenly had that quasi-excited yet
vulnerable feeling that a woman has when she slips into some new
lingerie, then waits for her man to come home to surprise him. As
certain as it might be that he will like and be grateful for what he
sees in the vicinity of T and A and leather and lace, sometimes all
the woman can imagine is that he'll focus on her cellulite and
stretch marks.

             
Brandy
knew that McEvans would definitely like what he saw (reptile-wise)
but she still felt that quiver of nervousness.  There was no
time to indulge in that, however.  She shifted, feeling the her
skin crack into scales and her bones stretch lengthwise.  Her
jaw popped. It wasn't painful, although it was mildly uncomfortable
at the onset.  Brandy slipped into the water and swam back to
where McEvans was.  She kept a slow pace because she didn't want
to startle him.

             
McEvans
scanned the surface of the water.

             
As
she drew closer, light on his helmet caught her red eye-shine. 
He pulled out his flashlight again for backup and waved it a couple
of times to make sure that he indeed was in the presence of a gator
and not something else.  McEvans was standing right at the edge
of the water.  When he confirmed it was a gator, he gingerly
backed up.  Brandy/Shirley swam closer, floating as high as she
possible could so he could see her length.

             
McEvans
squinted.  He couldn't believe it. This was a gator of Shirley's
size alright, but could it really be this easy?  He had only
been out there for 15 minutes.

             
He
and Brandy both had walkie-talkies, so he tried calling her on it.

             “
Brandy
– are you there?  I think we've got her!”

             
Brandy
didn't answer.  There was only a little bit of static.  He
didn't want to keep talking and spook the alligator in front of him. 
He still wasn't quite sure if this was Shirley.

             
Brandy
swam away from him now and waddled up dry land about four yards away
from McEvans. She faced him directly and lay down.

             “
Shirley?”

             
He
wasn't sure.  He slowly walked forward.  When he got
closer, Brandy swung her tail around, but stayed put.  With his
flashlight on her now, he was 99 percent sure this was the right
gator.

             “
Why
the hell did you run away?” he asked her. “You were injured. 
I was trying to take care of you. How would you feel about coming
back?”

             
Well,
he
told himself,
Brandy
had said that Shirley was a unique species, and that he should try to
reason with her.
Now,
he was speaking with her as if he assumed Shirley understood English,
which was ridiculous. What was more likely was that she could read
body language and could assess someone by smell.  So, McEvans
figured that if he said what he really felt, maybe she would get some
broad idea that he was trying to befriend her again.

             
McEvans
had brought a pack of chicken legs so that if they saw her, he could
lure her with bait.  He pulled out the chicken legs, ripped open
the plastic, and tossed them to 'Shirley' one by one.

             
Not
a bad move,
Brandy
thought.  She snapped up the chicken. 

             “
I'm
in real trouble because of you,” he said. “I was supposed to be
celebrating my anniversary tonight.  My girlfriend and I have
been together for two years.”

             
Really? 
He blew off his girlfriend for me?
Brandy
thought.
 
Wow.

             
Brandy
knew she had to do something to confirm for McEvans that she was
indeed his favorite gator.  While performing at Animal Sphere,
she had perfected a timed snap, just far enough away from him so as
not to do any damage, but close enough to make him and the audience
jump. She would curl her self into the shape of a crescent moon, wag
her tale twice, then snap.  McEvans had begun to recognize when
she was planning to snap, because of her body language.

             
So
Brandy did just that.

             
First,
she curled her body into a crescent moon.

             
McEvans
didn't get it yet.  Lots of gators did this.

             
Then
she wagged her tale twice.  And then she froze.

             
McEvans
locked eyes with her.  A magnificent smile spread across his
face, with his teeth subtly gleaming white in the dark.

             
For
the grand finale she snapped at him.

             “
It
really is you!  I can't believe it!”

             
McEvans
tried to get Brandy on the walkie-talkie again with no luck.

             
With
a swish of her tail, Brandy/Shirley bolted for the water and swam
off.

             “
Shirley! 
Wait!” he called after her.  “Damn it.  DAMN IT!”

             
He
had been so close!  McEvans was frantic, but he tried to calm
himself down.  At least he knew where she was now.  He
could come back. And she seemed to recognize him, which was
promising.

             
After
a few minutes, Brandy reappeared.  Her hair was soaking wet.

             “
Where
were you?  I tried to contact you.  Why is your hair wet?”

             “
I
went for a swim.”

             “
In
there?  In the swamp in the dark?”

             “
Yeah,”
she said.  “I told you.  I've been swimming with gators
since I was a kid.  Did you think I was lying?”

             
McEvans
looked at her incredulously.

             “
Did
you see her?” Brandy asked.

             “
Uh
– yeah!  She was right here. But then she took off.”

             “
Yeah,
I got a read on her and then blocked her path so she had to head in
your direction.”