Once Upon a Shifter (21 page)

“What’s the matter, honey? Why aren’t you eating?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I lost the bear-guy’s profile somehow.”

“What? What did you do?” Lauren shuffled closer, still chewing.

“I just wanted to see him as a bear again, so I swiped his photo, and he disappeared.”

“You swiped that way?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s
right
, honey. That’s what you do when you don’t want to see someone’s profile again.” Dina’s mouth fell open.

“I
did
swipe right! My gosh! I’m such an idiot! What do I do to get him back? Tell me quick!”

“Oh, god!” Lauren said. She ate the final bite of the first slice of pizza and wiped her hands on a napkin.

“Go ahead and eat. I’ll try to figure it out,” she said, snatching the phone from Dina’s fingers.

“I can’t find him,” she said, ten minutes later. “That’s how this app works. Swipe right and they’re gone for good.”

“No! Me and my clumsy fingers! Dina said with a groan.” How could I have been so dumb?”

“Hey, stop,” Lauren said. “It’s an easy mistake to make, especially for someone who’s not used to using apps. I shouldn’t have let you loose on it without supervision.”

“I have to find him, Lauren! There has to be a way! I’m serious. This guy is so hot, and he’s interested in me, and we might even be destined to be together. Not that I’m sure that I believe in this whole destiny concept. And now he’s going to think that I don’t even like him!” Dina’s voice was becoming tight and panicky.

“Calm down, honey,” Lauren said, squeezing her shoulder. “There’ll be a way to find him. I’ll send Tamika a message, describing him, and hopefully she’ll know who he is, and then she’ll be able to put you in touch with him.”

“Really?” Dina said, eyes shining with hope. “Do you think that’ll work?”

“With a bit of luck,” Lauren said, licking her fingers. By now, they’d demolished both pizzas. She quickly typed out a message to Tamika on her phone, then flung herself back on the sofa with her glass of wine. “Now let’s chill, and check out some more of these sexy shifters.”

“I think I’ve made my choice already,” Dina said.

“But you don’t know for sure that you’re going to be compatible. And it would be a shame to limit yourself in the meantime,” Lauren said.

They looked through another 20 or 30 bear-shifter profiles. They were all gorgeous, but, for Dina, none of them matched up to the first guy. Then they went through her alerts. There were 15 different shifters wanting to find out if they could be a match for her.

“I don’t know about some of these guys,” Dina said. “But I have to admit, it’s doing plenty for my self-confidence!”

“That’s my girl,” Lauren said. Dina went through and said no
thanks
to the non-bear shifters. She had set her heart on a big, furry guy, and that was all she wanted right now. Two alerts remained– one from a blond guy who was a polar-bear shifter, and one from a grizzly-bear shifter.

“Click on the alerts and look at the messages they’ve sent you!” Lauren said excitedly. Dina’s finger hovered over them.

“I feel like I really want to wait and see if Tamika can find the first guy for me. I just have to know first,” she said. “Can I wait to reply to the alerts?”

“Of course,” Lauren said. If they think you might be their fated mate, they’ll wait for as long as it takes.”

Lauren was starting to yawn.

“Home-time for me,” she said. “I’ve got a sleepy bear waiting for me in bed. I’ll let you know what Tamika says as soon as I hear from her.”

“Thank you so much for tonight,” Dina said. “Goodnight, hun.” They hugged each other, and Dina waved Lauren goodbye at the door. She stood on the doorstep, watching Lauren’s retreating figure until she was out of sight. She was envious that her friend was going home to a big sexy man who’d take care of her. Normally her envy would have been a sharp, bitter pain deep in her stomach, a gnawing fear that she’d never find the right guy for herself. But tonight she had a sliver of hope that there could be someone out there for her. She brushed her teeth and climbed in between clean sheets, and fell asleep dreaming of a black-haired, muscular man with the most delicious deep brown eyes.

Chapter Two

Dina was on her way to work next morning when Lauren called.

“Good morning!” she trilled. Dina flinched at the volume of her voice.

“Good morning yourself,” she mumbled, barely awake yet. Morning was definitely not her favorite time of day.

“Hun, I have the best news for you! You’re going to be so excited!” Dina became marginally more awake.

“What is it?” she asked.

“So, I heard back from Tamika already. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know who the guy is. She says he sounds like half the bear shifters on the app. I told her he was way hotter and cooler, but it didn’t help. BUT! – this is the exciting part – it turns out she’s been thinking about organizing a summer garden party to celebrate the two-year anniversary of the app, and my message was the motivation she needed to go ahead with it. She’s going to invite everybody who has a profile on the app. So, with a little luck, your man will be there, and you can meet each other in the flesh!”

“That will be amazing!” Dina said. “So when’s the party?”

“Next Saturday night.”

“Wow, that’s not a lot of time to find a new dress. But I guess I can go shopping this weekend. You’ll come to the party too, right?”

“Of course, hun. You know I’m always there for you. I’ll help you sniff him out. And you know I love a good party!” Lauren said. Dina broke into a grin.

“Thanks, Lauren. I’d be so nervous going by myself!” she said.

On Saturday, Dina and Lauren went shopping with their two other best friends, Melissa and Kristin. Luckily, the Hope Valley annual summer ball was being held the week after the Shiftr ball, so they all needed to get dresses anyway. Dina was bursting to tell Melissa and Kristin about the dating app and the guy she’d found, but she understood that she was sworn to secrecy. They were both single girls, and she thought they’d be perfect for the site too. She hoped that she’d find herself a shifter, not only for her own happiness, but so she could let one of them into the secret as well.

“I can’t tell you how hard it was keeping my secret from you all that time,” Lauren told Dina, when they were walking a distance behind the other two. “Every time you told me that you were lonely, or that you thought you’d never find a man, I was bursting to show you the app. So when I got together with Connor, it was like a double celebration!” Dina grinned at her friend’s soft heart.

“I don’t want to jinx it by saying anything,” she whispered. “But I’m really hoping the same for Melissa and Kristin.”

The girls enjoyed a long day of shopping together, breaking often for coffee, then lunch, then more coffee, then happy-hour drinks. None of them enjoyed shopping for clothes, hating the discomfort of fitting rooms, and the way that dresses hardly ever fit them perfectly. But they managed to find a compromise by layering the shopping with lots of fun activities in between.

They’d collectively banned each other from wearing black, since it was a summer party, and had all picked out beautiful, flattering floral designs. Dina chose a chiffon dress in the palest mint green, with huge, cobalt-blue flowers on it. It had a tight waist, which showed off her hour-glass curves, a flowing ankle-length skirt, and a low, v-neckline that made the most of her bust. Lauren picked out a fuchsia-pink dress in raw silk, embossed with a lighter pink orchid design, cap sleeves and a raised, belted waist. Melissa chose a sleeveless, cotton knee-length-dress, which was white all over, except for a deep pink and yellow floral and butterfly pattern around the hem, while Kristin bought a sky-blue silk dress, cut high on the thigh to show off her height and great legs. Dina had watched the girls trying on one dress after another, all day long, and she thought they all looked amazing. At 5’1, Melissa was the shortest of the four of them, and the cut of the dress made the most of her curves, without swamping her. She had dark blonde hair, and cornflower blue eyes, and a slightly vacant expression that belied her fierce intelligence. Kristin was only an inch shorter than Dina, and she carried herself proudly. She used to play basketball at college, and she had an athlete’s elegance, but she struggled with her weight due to PCOS. Out of the four of them, she probably had the hardest time accepting her curves, but only her closest friends knew it. To everyone else, she looked like a fearless, sexy woman.

When they were done with shopping for the day, they went to Valentina’s, their favorite cocktail bar, for early evening drinks. The other three seemed happy with their purchases. Dina was a little nervous about her dress. She often picked bold colors, hence the red number that featured on her Shiftr profile, but tended to stick with classic, understated styles, so this was something new for her. When she’d seen the dress in the store, she’d had a fantasy of herself as a fairy princess, floating around the garden party, looking mysterious and ethereal. But now she wondered if it would just look stupid.

“Not at all,” the girls chorused when she voiced her doubts.

“You look so elegant, and delicate,” Melissa said. Dina snorted. She could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times someone had called her delicate, and that was all before she’d turned 12.

“That dress is attention-grabbing, in all the right ways,” Kristin assured her.

One cocktail turned into two, and then three, as the girls chatted excitedly about the upcoming party. Dina was joining in too, but her thoughts were all about next weekend’s Shiftr party. Lauren flashed her conspiratorial glances when the others weren’t looking, knowing exactly what was on her mind.

“Let’s hope there’ll be some hot guys there!” Lauren said. “They won’t know what’s hit them when you ladies walk in!”

“Honey, there are
no
hot guys in Hope Valley. I think we’ve established that,” Kristin said drily.

“Hey, things change. People move to other towns.”

“Uh huh. And in Hope Valley, everyone knows there’s someone new in town before they’ve even had time to empty out their U-Haul. Trust me,
no
eligible bachelors have arrived in town in the past several months!” Kristin continued.

“Well, people also come to the summer party from towns all over the county,” Lauren said. “It’s become quite a big deal in recent years.”

“Lauren, you’re a sweetheart, and I know you’re trying hard for us because you’re all loved up with Connor, but I’m not expecting to meet anyone there,” Melissa said, patting Lauren’s hand. “I feel like my marriage was my one shot at lasting happiness. It didn’t work out, after our stillbirth broke us up. I think I’m destined to be alone now, and I’m ok with that.” Dina glanced at Lauren, who shot her a look of exasperation. Dina grinned, painfully aware that she’d be saying the same type of thing if she didn’t have the Shiftr party to be excited about.

“I just want someone decent, you know,” Kristin said, breaking through a pause in the conversation. “I’m about ready to settle now.”

“No!” Lauren almost shouted. “You deserve someone as amazing as you are!”

“Babe, the chances of me being able to have kids is very small. If I can find a guy who doesn’t mind being childless, and is not a total slob, and treats me decently, well, maybe that’s all I’ve got a right to expect.”

“Ladies! Where did this lack-of-self-esteem avalanche come from?” Lauren said, looking appalled. “I thought me finding Connor would give you all hope that there are great guys out there. Now, no-one is going to settle or be an eternal spinster. We’re going to go to the ball, all looking amazing, and we’re going to have fun, and chat to lots of men. And I’m certain that, within six months, you’re all going to be with someone incredible. And I don’t want to hear any more negativity from any of you!” With that, she stalked over to the bar to get another drink.

The following week passed in a blur for Dina. She snuck onto the app a couple of times, checking her alerts. Each day, there were at least three more guys wanting to know if she could be their perfect match, but she was determined to hold off on replying before she’d been to the garden party. The sexy bear shifter was on her mind more often than not. The thought of his hot, naked torso turned her mind to mush. While she was teaching her elementary school classes, her mind was far away, concocting all kinds of fantasies about the things they could get up to together. Her ex-boyfriend hadn’t been very adventurous in bed, which had been a constant frustration to her. She was a red-blooded woman, with strong appetites and urges, and the sex drought she’d suffered since Trey dumped her had driven her half-crazy. She loved the thought of being dominated in bed; of being overpowered by a really big, strong guy, who was capable of pinning both her wrists in one hand, while he pleasured every part of her body. When she lay in bed alone, she imagined the bear-guy doing exactly this to her – holding her down and taking her roughly, while he gazed at her with those dark, fathomless pools of eyes.

Although she’d only seen his photo for a moment, his image was burned into her brain. It was weird – she usually had to meet someone a few times before she could recall every feature of their face. But she remembered him as if she knew him intimately. And she had the strangest sense that those brown eyes were calling to her, across space and time. She pictured them as tender and insistent, telling her that she was the one. But as she tossed and turned, unable to sleep, the thought gnawed at her that he would have thought she’d rejected him, and already gone onto someone else.

“Relax, Little Miss Stresshead!” Lauren said, answering Dina’s early morning call after one of those anxiety-ridden nights. “Even if he has started dating someone else, if you’re the one, it won’t matter. You’ll be his destined mate.”

Saturday came, and Lauren came over to Dina’s place to get ready for the garden party. They ate a bowl of pasta each.