Grizzly - Bundle Parts 1-3 (5 page)

She sat down on her sofa, tucked her feet up under her and grabbed a throw to pull over her legs. I watched her, once again taking in her robust beauty. I wondered if she’d ever been properly appreciated.

“Sooooo, about being arrested tonight. What happened?” I asked softly.

“I’m an idiot.” She stated flatly.

“Why’s that?”

“I decked a guy at the gym. In the pool, while I was working out. I broke his nose.” She said, the words tumbling out of her mouth almost all at once. The look on her face was worth about a million dollars, it was such a combination of revelatory feelings that flitted across her face.

I decided that laughing wouldn’t be a good idea right about now, so I calmly asked her why she’d done it. To my surprise, she clammed up.

We sat there sipping at our beer. Suddenly, she began to down the entire thing. My eyebrows shot up in awe. Before I knew it, the glass was empty. It wasn’t a small glass, either.

“Alrighty then,” I said, a bit of a chortle of admiration escaping me.

She cleared her throat and then shared the remark he’d made and that for some reason, she just wasn’t in the mood to take anyone’s bullshit about her size. Tears had started to crest her lower eyelids and she looked away.

It was a tug of war. I wanted to be sensitive to her feelings and predicament, but I didn’t want it to be too heavy either. Somehow, there had to be a way to make it lighter. Maybe even funny.

“Good,” I said, “Serves him right. The guy’s an asshole. He deserved to be hit. I’m glad you broke his nose!” I said, as straight-faced as possible.

Her eyes got big and then the loveliest smile I’d ever seen blossomed across her face in pure amusement and relief.

“Right?!” She yelled out. “Such an asshole!! I mean, what the fuck? Are we in elementary school or what?!”

“Cass, may I call you Cass?”

“Yes, you may.”

“Cass, men like him have never been dealt with properly. He got what was coming his way. Who knows how many other people he’s bullied and made rude remarks about? If it hadn’t gotten you arrested, I would have clapped if I’d been there to see it.”

“Serious?!” She exclaimed.

“Serious.”

We sat there looking at one another and both devolved into a fit of laughter.

Suddenly, she stood up. “Do you want another beer?” She asked.

I glanced down at my glass, it was still half full, but I looked at hers with a knowing glance. “I’m good, but you can go fill yours up again if you like.” I winked at her.

She turned red, “Oops. Busted.” Then she turned around and was off to the kitchen.

I was pretty sure the evening had just taken a turn, so I was ready for whatever it might bring. Either way, I was determined to remain ever the gentleman. Besides, I had a feeling that I was about to be greatly entertained.

She came back, the head of froth already nearly gone from the top. She also held a canter of what I guessed to be whiskey or maybe even scotch. She had a couple of shot glasses too.

“Do you like hard liquor?” She asked.

“Yes, but I’m thinking one of us needs to be somewhat sober tonight.”

“Good point. I elect you. This girl was in jail today. Fair?”

I nodded, “Fair. You saw right through my evil plan. Get you drunk and take advantage of you.”

That stopped her, a look of pure surprise on her face. Then she erupted into a giggle fit while smacking her own ass. “Damn straight! Who wouldn’t want a piece of this?!”

Wow! Who was this woman?! And why did I like her so much…

She slammed down the shot glasses, filled both of them up with whatever it was that it was and before I knew it, they were both downed in less than a minute.

Wow…

I was beginning to wonder, what I’d gotten myself into? I mean, I’d just met her, this morning, for an editing job and not even twenty-four hours later, I’ve bailed her out of jail, am in her posh apartment, witnessing her get plastered in a matter of an hour.

Fuck it!

She needed an adult baby-sitter right now. I’d be the man to do it. Make sure she got to bed, didn’t die in her own vomit and somehow, I would hopefully still remain employed the following day. That was my plan and I was gonna stick to it.

Hard to do once she turned on her music and started dancing. She was pretty much having a party for one, dancing all by herself and having a great time. Watching her, she moved as good as the best of them.

“Come on, join me!” She taunted.

I shook my head firmly. This grizzly did
not
dance. Not ever. Never.

“Please!?” She begged, a loopy grin of glee on her face.

“I have my pride to consider.”

“Screw your pride, I’ll likely not remember a thing! Just dance with me… Please….”

I must admit, it was a bit hard to resist her. She made it look like so much fun and she had a point. The chances that she was going to remember
anything
tomorrow, at the rate she was going.

So, against my better judgment, I stood up. Before I knew it, she had swooped me up and was taking lead in some sort of mangled version of the tango. Despite my clumsy awkwardness, she managed to make it work. After a while, I stopped focusing on my crappy dancing skills, realizing she was too tipsy to care and started to appreciate being so close to her.

She was very feminine, her skin so soft, with a peaches-n-cream coloring that looked lovely all flushed. Her eyes were bright with playful delight and she smelled amazing. Her hair was a mess of long, curls, having tumbled out of the sloppy bun she’d had it up in.

I felt her body and all of her amazing curves, making its way to me. Her waist, then her hips, her cleavage…

Before I knew it, my inner bear was alive, awake and very aroused. I could already feel that need to mate, the instinct to get intimate coming alive in me. But I had to resist. Must resist. This was not the time.

Thankfully, she didn’t seem to notice, and as she continued to dance the night away, she got a bit more risqué and bolder with me. All the while, she was taking a shot here and a shot there.

At some point, when I knew that she would probably pass out sooner than later, her music mix came screaming to a stop from the groovy, body-bouncing tunes it had been shuffling through and turned into something quite a bit slower, more romantic and soft.

She didn’t miss a beat, and swooped me into her body, ever-so-close, for a slow dance. She rested her head on my shoulder and just like we were at prom, we swayed together, gently and calmly. Remaining like that, the man in me finally rose up and I took lead. Pulling her into me, closer and tighter, I didn’t resist taking pleasure in the handfuls of her ample body.

When the song was nearly over, she pulled her head off my shoulder where it had been resting, and looked at me with a sincere earnest gaze of desire and longing. Then, she leaned forward, standing on her tippy-toes and kissed me. Part of me was being the gentleman, truly not wanting to feel as if I was taking advantage of her.

Just a kiss!
I promised myself. Just a kiss…

And what a kiss it was. She was just as sweet as I imagined her tasting. Her full, pink lips were completely edible. Her breath smelled like the liquor, but not in a bad way. In a tasty way.

Everything in me wanted to lay claim to her right then and there. But I wouldn’t. I didn’t. Instead, it was determined for me. After one of the sexiest, most languorous, passionate kisses of my adult life, she passed out, right in my arms.

At first I just held her, chuckling in amused awe. Then, I picked her up, strode to her bedroom and got her into her bed. As any man who has had to put a woman to bed can attest to, you struggle with silly, basic questions.

Do I leave her fully clothed? Take of her clothes so she’s comfortable?

Nope. Not if you want to ever see her again.

Just tuck her in bed, lie her on her side and be a gentleman. Nothing more, nothing less.

I turned off her bedroom light, shut the door and made my way back to her sofa. I set the alarm on my cell and laid down. Staring at her apartment’s ceiling, I thought about how I hadn’t ever felt a connection this strong with a woman, ever.

All the more reason to do right by her. With a smile on my face, I soon fell to sleep.

Chapter Five

(( 5 ))

CASSIDY

I woke up the next day, somehow having made my way to the comfort of my bed. Lying there, I was rewinding the events of the previous evening in my mind. I sat up in my bed too suddenly and the world started to spin.

Whoops!

I rubbed at my head, swimming with the aftermath of a night of heavy drinking. Details came pouring in and at some point, what had started out as one of the more embarrassing days of my life, being arrested for having decked a man, while swimming, in the pool at my gym, started to come back to me.

This had really happened!? I hadn’t been writing about it… I’d lived it!

Smacking my forehead which was a bad move, I winced as the pain of a hangover blossomed inside my head.

Ouch!!

Had I really danced?! And him too?!

At some point, my recollection of the events go blurry. I wasn’t sure if I’d imagined Abe bringing me home from the police station, much less if he had an evening of drinking with me. I immediately turned to look at my clock. It was eleven a.m.

Goodness! I’d slept in…

Being this late in the morning, I wondered if he was an early riser and whether he would have left already, that was, if he’d stayed over. I went quiet, waiting and listening. Listening intently. Could I hear him? Had he gone home? Was he still asleep?

I crept out of bed and went to my bedroom door, which was shut. I never closed my bedroom door while sleeping. There was no point, really. I was the only person who lived there, so there wasn’t ever a need for privacy or quiet. That was my first clue that he might still be around.

Not wanting to chance it, I decided I’d get a shower in first, and at least I’d feel a bit more refreshed. Although I wanted coffee like water and some water too, I ignored my current need for both and stripped out of my clothes. I’d apparently fallen to sleep in my yoga pants and t-shirt.

I stepped into the shower and allowed the heat and steam to overtake me. Wake me up gently. I took my time, soaping myself up and cleaning off the previous day. Once done, I was feeling better and gloriously ready for coffee and water. Something to eat to start undoing the effects of too much liquor and beer.

Peering into my steamy bathroom mirror, some of the events deeper in the evening, before I’d passed out on my bed, started to percolate up. I was moisturizing my face and stopped mid-circle on my cheek, remembering him saying something about the asshole I’d decked at the gym needing to be put in his place.

Had he really said that?!

And would he remember it today?! I sure hoped so…

As I rewound and fast-forwarded events from the night prior, I realized and remembered that he’d only had a couple of stouts. Whereas I had drunk myself into oblivion. Oh dear…

So, that meant, that whatever he’d said and done, had been considerably more sober than anything I might have said and done.

I weighed my options. I could go out there and find him passed out on my sofa. Or, he could be gone, with no sign of him anywhere, him clearly having not stayed the night. Or, he could be somewhere in between, doing god only knows what.

I put on my game-face, my need for coffee giving me courage to open my bedroom door. When I did so, I was hit with the enticing scent of brewed coffee and someone cooking breakfast. I tippy-toed my way down the hallway and sure enough, Abe was in my kitchen. He was humming softly to himself and clearly was in chef mode.

My place smelled amazing!

On my dining table, I spied his
MacBook
and as I passed by on my way to the kitchen, I glanced at what he was using it for. My book!

Wow… that was amazing. Even after all the crazy of yesterday, he’d gone straight back to work. I’d found that admirable.

With the stove fan, going – I’d managed to sneak up on him unawares. So, he jumped a little when I said, “Good Morning.”

“Cassidy!” He said, leaping around to face me.

I giggled my apology, “Sorry, I’m not in my best form. A wee bit hung-over, methinks.”
      

I made my way to the coffee pot, which was blessedly full and poured myself a large cup. He hadn’t responded verbally yet, waiting I think until I’d had my first sip. Coffee is a form of sanity for those of us who are not natural morning people. Being a writer, I was definitely part of that camp. I was a complete night-owl.

Instead, he was observing me, somewhat intensely, assessing me. If I didn’t know better, his nose wiggled a bit, as if he were sniffing me.

“I hope you don’t mind that I stayed over. After a day like yesterday…” He said, a bit apprehensively.

I waved it off, “Totally fine. I’m just hoping that I didn’t manage to embarrass myself any more than I already have. I can’t believe I was, like, in jail!?” I said, shaking my head back and forth.

I made my way to the dining table and pulled out a chair to sit down at. He watched me, a funny look on his face. “How much do you remember? About yesterday and last night?”

For some reason, that made me wince, as if I knew he was getting at something important, but so much had happened, and the later part of the night was a blur. It was coming back to me, slowly. I could feel it, but couldn’t quite grasp my mind around it.

“It’s starting to come back…” I eeked out, unsure still of the entirety of the events.

He grinned, his gaze brushing my face with a sweet look… of
longing
? Then he turned back to the kitchen stove, taking a sip of his coffee, and finished turning the bacon he was frying up, along with eggs and pancakes.

Was that desire I’d just witnessed on his face?!

While he earnestly worked on the most amazing breakfast I’d ever had anyone prepare for me, I sipped at my coffee and let it do its magic, waking me up. At some point, I remembered, quite vividly, that I owed Abe for my bail money. I reached for my purse, which was conveniently lying on one of the dining chairs and pulled out my checkbook. I wrote out the check and then placed it on his
MacBook
’s keyboard. Soon, I’d be writing him another check, for editing my revised book.