Momma's Got a Brand New Jag: BBW Shifter Romance (Seaside Shifters Book 1) (4 page)

Rina shook her head. It was too much of a long shot. The local population here at the beach was at least half a million people and she couldn’t imagine being that lucky. If he’d been interested in her, he would have asked for her number or given her his, or…something. She wondered who he’d been speaking with on the phone.
It was probably his girlfriend
, she thought glumly. She guessed she’d just misread the situation on the plane, that maybe he’d just been polite when he called Jeremy an idiot. She scowled at the thought of Jeremy.

Cely saw her scowl and tried to lighten the mood. “So what did this hot guy look like?” she asked, hoping to distract Rina from thoughts of that loser.

“Tall, dark crewcut, muscles for days…” She trailed off, thinking about Joven. “His eyes were this really strange color, too. Like a reddish brown, but with a ring of gold around them.”

Cely sat up straight at this. “A ring of gold? Maybe he’s a therian.”

Kris turned her head from where she’d been looking out the window at a colorful candy store on the strip. “A therian?”

Cely nodded. “Yeah, all the ones I’ve met have either had eyes with some gold in them, if not just straight up golden eyes.”

Rina was intrigued by this. She’d never been with a therian before—hell, she’d never even met one. Cely was the only one who’d been with one, let alone seen one. Not that she was opposed to them or anything, just that she’d never had the opportunity before.

If they’re all like Joven
, she thought,
then I’ve definitely been missing out
.

The driver had pulled up in front of a hotel on the strip. He came around to get the door for them and they stood in front of the hotel as he retrieved their luggage from the trunk. They tipped him and they thanked him before heading inside.

Chapter Six

They checked in with a minimum of fuss. The hotel was on the busiest part of the oceanfront strip, but a boutique luxury hotel instead of a generic chain property, with a soothing and inviting interior. They were staying in the hotel’s largest suite, complete with a king-sized bed and queen-sized sleeper sofa. Definitely a step up from the last place they’d stayed on vacation, where they’d all had to share a queen-sized bed. There was a large welcome basket with a conch shell, bottled water and fresh fruit. Rina didn’t want to waste any time exploring the area. She invited the girls to go with her. Cely had wrinkled up her nose at the thought of going outside.

“Cely, c’mon,” Rina said. “We’re on vacation.”

Cely just laughed. “Girl, this
is
my idea of a vacation. Room service, massages, spa time…” She lay back on the bed, collapsing into a pile of fluffy aqua and dove grey pillows as she stretched out. She already had her sleep mask on her forehead and began tugging it down over her eyes. It was pink satin with ‘princesa’ printed in black cursive on the mask. Cely had said it was a gift from a distant cousin of hers and that she was guilted into using it by her parents, but Rina and Kris knew she just liked calling herself a princess.

Rina gave up on Cely. “Okay, fine.” She should have known better than to invite Cely along to something that didn’t involve people waiting on her hand and foot. She turned to Kris, who was sitting at the table in the dining area. “You coming?”

Kris had already pulled out her laptop and was entering in the wi-fi password for the hotel. She looked up at Rina with an apologetic grin. “Maybe we can hang out later tonight? I’ve got too much work to do…” She trailed off as she removed her glasses to polish the lenses with a small microfiber cloth. Rina and Cely had been able to take time off from work no problem, but Kris hadn’t been so fortunate. She worked as a chiropractic assistant and her boss had only agreed to let her go on vacation if she attended a seminar for a few days while they were in the area. Kris figured that a few days of vacation was better than zero days of vacation, so she’d agreed. It had to be frustrating to have the beach right outside her back door though and not be able to go though. Oh well, like she’d said, maybe later tonight. The beach would still be there when she was finally free.

Rina changed into a coral strapless maxi dress and gold braided sandals. She redid her ponytail before she left, touched up her makeup, and packed the essentials in a turquoise leather wristlet.

When she got outside to the boardwalk, she paused. She wasn’t sure which way to go when she saw a pier in the distance to her left. She decided she’d walk there and see how she felt when she got there. If she felt like exploring more she could probably find someone to ask for directions at the pier, and if she didn’t feel like walking around more then she’d just go back to the hotel room and check on the girls.

She’d expected it to be uncomfortably hot from everything she’d read prior to the trip, but it was a really nice day. She breathed deeply as she walked, enjoying the salty scent of the ocean air. The boardwalk was busy with other people ambling around but also people on bikes. More than once she saw pedicabs and she made a mental note to ask if the girls would want to do that with her later. It seemed like a convenient and fun way to get around while exploring the oceanfront.

Rina had reached the pier. It looked like there were a variety of shops located directly on the pier—a bait shop, an old-fashioned ice cream parlor, some souvenir shops…she walked over to one of the souvenir shops to get a closer look. The door read ‘Sunsations Souvenirs’. Just outside of the door was a giant cage filled with hermit crabs. She bent down to look at them.

She wondered what Joven was doing. She knew it was probably a little weird to still be thinking about him, but she couldn’t help it. His smile, the way he’d smelled, the way his body had felt next to hers…she sighed. Maybe she really did just need to get laid.

A voice interrupted her thoughts. “Can I help you with that?”

Rina nearly jumped out of her skin. “Uh…I’m sorry?” she asked. Once she recovered, she smiled at the association between her thoughts and the words.
Is it that obvious?
she thought to herself and blushed.

Standing next to her was a guy in a ‘Sunsations’ shirt who looked more suited for surfing than working at a souvenir shop. He pointed to the hermit crab cage. “Would you like to see one of the crabs in particular? They make great pets,” he said as he opened up the cage to pull one out. It crawled around on his palm.

She’d been staring at the crabs while she daydreamed about Joven. She must have been staring really intensely. No wonder this guy thought she was interested. She shook her head. “Thanks, but I’m just in town for a few days.” That, and she liked her pets to be furry and cuddly.

The guy put the crab back in the cage with the others and brushed off his hands on his khakis as he turned to face her. “Oh, just visiting, huh? What do you think of the beach so far?”

“It’s great,” Rina said enthusiastically. “I just didn’t expect it to be quite so busy.” She’d been more than a little dismayed at how busy it was. From the balcony in their hotel room suite she could barely pick out an empty stretch of sand where they could all lay out together.

The guy laughed. “Oh, this is nothing. It’ll be much more crowded in the summer once kids are out of school. But I see what you mean.” He extended his hand for her to shake. “I’m Dylan.”

“I’m Rina,” she said as she shook his hand. Dylan was pretty good-looking, if you liked the surfer type. But she definitely thought Joven was hotter. If only she’d given him her number…

Dylan smiled at her, then looked at his watch. “Hey,” he said, “I’ll be off work in about 15 minutes. A couple of friends and I are getting together tonight for a bonfire party at a local beach—no tourists. Would you wanna come with?”

Rina paused. Normally she wouldn’t do something like this, but she was on vacation and supposed to be letting loose, enjoying herself. Besides, if it wasn’t fun, she could always call a cab or something and bail. “Sure, that sounds like fun,” she said with a smile.

Dylan beamed. “Great! Why don’t you wait for me down there at Sundae Best?” He motioned further down the pier where she’d seen the ice cream parlor earlier. “My boy Brendan should be working the counter, and he makes a mean milkshake. Just tell him you’re friends with me and coming with us tonight and he’ll hook you up.”

“Sure, I’ll do that.” Rina started heading for the ice cream parlor.

“Great, I’ll see you in a few.” Dylan gave her a smile and a wave as they parted ways. He walked into the souvenir shop.

Rina pushed open the door for Sundae Best and heard a soft chime as she walked in. It was freezing inside and she rubbed her arms, trying to warm up as she took a seat on a barstool at the front counter. No one had been behind the counter as she walked in, but someone—she assumed Brendan, since he looked like a surfer like Dylan—came out of the back room almost immediately.

“Hey, what can I get you?” he said.

“Um, you’re Brendan, right? Dylan sent me and said to tell you I’m his friend and I’m coming with you tonight?” She hoped that wasn’t as awkward as it sounded.

“Oh, right on, right on. So what can I get you? On the house, of course.” Brendan had been polite enough when he’d first greeted her, but now he was smiling at her like they were old friends.

“Well, I hear you make a mean milkshake…” Rina preferred waffle cones to milkshakes, but a milkshake was less messy and awkward. She didn’t want to deal with a crumbly ice cream cone while they were hanging out.

He pointed to a chalkboard hanging above his head. “These are our flavors, and we’ve also got a couple of specials for today—banana pudding, s’mores, and cherry poppers.”

Rina laughed. “Wow, cherry poppers?”

Brendan just grinned and shrugged at her, saying, “Hey, don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it! It’s been surprisingly popular since I came up with it.”

Rina decided she’d go for it. “Okay, okay, you’re right. I think my life won’t be complete until I’ve had a cherry popper shake. Can I have one of those please?”

“Oh, you definitely haven’t lived until you’ve tried one, that’s for sure. Coming right up!” Brendan winked at her as he picked up a large silver cup and scooped some ice cream out of the case before walking into the back room again. She heard a loud whirring noise and a few minutes later Brendan came back with her milkshake. It was thick and creamy and unsurprisingly, tasted just like cherries. Brendan was watching her expectantly.

“So, what do you think?” he asked.

Rina took a big sip of her shake before answering him. “I’m sorry for ever doubting you. Clearly you’re a milkshake genius!” They laughed as Dylan walked in, flipping the open sign posted on the door around so that the ice cream parlor was now closed. He walked over to Rina and took a seat next to her at the bar. He leaned over, peering into her cup.

“Hey, cherry poppers! My personal favorite. Excellent choice,” he said as Brendan walked over to give him a fist bump. “What do you think?” he said to Rina.

“I think it’s good to be your friend,” she said as she took another sip of her shake. Brendan and Dylan just laughed at this. Rina and Dylan sat and made small talk as Brendan finished closing up. They walked together to a small private parking lot for pier shop employees and hopped into Dylan’s Jeep to head for the beach Dylan had mentioned earlier.

Chapter Seven

Joven knew he’d fucked up. He should have gotten Rina’s number, or given her his, or…something. But he’d been so focused on checking on his pride and making sure things had been going well in his absence. They hadn’t. His lieutenant Darren had picked him up from the airport, and immediately told him that one of the more outspoken and impetuous younger members of the patch, Brett, had been stirring up trouble, saying they needed new leadership. He let out a sigh.

Darren and been his best friend since they’d been cubs, and they drove in near silence back to Joven’s beach house. A lot of the local therian groups owned secluded beachfront properties. They liked the privacy it offered. Darren turned to look at him as they were stopped at a red light. “What is it?” he asked.

“I met a woman on the plane. Should have gotten her number or something. She’s the one, I know it.” Joven gritted his teeth. He didn’t like admitting he had made a mistake.

Darren shook his head. “If she’s the one for you, there’s no use fighting it. I’ll help you find her, but you need to handle this pride business first.”

Joven knew Darren was right. But that didn’t mean he had to like it.

Darren was pulling in to the driveway now. Joven got out and retrieved his duffel bag from the trunk then headed inside through the garage with Darren following close behind him.

Brett and two other patch members were waiting in the kitchen for them, sitting on barstools at his kitchen island. Brett was holding a knife and peeling an apple.

Joven dropped his duffel onto the floor and folded his arms across his chest. His patch rules said that he couldn’t be challenged for control by more than one person at a time, but after what he’d heard from Darren he didn’t put it past Brett to try something shady. He shook his head. Like being in his house uninvited wasn’t shady enough.

Brett had finished peeling his apple and was using the knife to cut it into slices. He stabbed one with his knife and held it out to Joven. When Joven didn’t move, he shrugged and starting eating it himself.

“I’m going to give you one minute to explain what you’re doing in my house,” Joven said. He wanted to avoid a fight if possible. Even with Darren by his side, it would still be two versus three and he didn’t like those odds. Not to mention the destruction it would cause if all five of them shifted into their jaguar forms inside his house. They wouldn’t be able to switch back until they lost consciousness, which would probably mean a fight to the death given the close confines of the house.

Brett just smiled like it was perfectly normal for him to be trespassing. He knew that Joven wouldn’t call the police or anything like that because patch business was always handled internally without interference from humans, so he had no fear of being arrested. But he wasn’t acting like he was afraid of Joven either, and that was worrisome.