Shifter Romance: Werewolf Shifter Romance: Problem Child (Wolf Shifter Romance Baby Romance Shapeshifter Romance) (Alpha Romance Short Stories Romance Shifter Romance) (14 page)

Finally getting her last bag unpacked, Carrie looks around her temporary apartment. Granted, she could have afforded a hotel room for the whole month she planned on being here, but she would rather not worry about housekeepers coming in and out of her room. She didn’t have a lot of stuff and most of it wasn’t worth more than sentimental value, but she didn’t want to take the chance after the last time when someone had made off with her manuscript as well as her tablet. The tablet was replaceable, everything on it was saved in the cloud, but the manuscript had not been uploaded yet.

She plopped down in the cushioned chair that sat near an end table. Picking up the notebook she had laid there earlier, she looked over the list of ‘Things to do while in Aspen’ she had written. Before coming, she had researched the area so she knew what she would want to check out while she was here. While she planned on writing more than anything else, she also planned on enjoying herself, at least some.

The Wheeler Opera House was first on the list, but her tickets were for Thursday and it was only Tuesday. Skiing sounded good, but maybe later in the week. She finally decided to walk around town and check out the local shops before heading over to the Aspen Art Gallery. While walking, she might find somewhere nice to stop and grab a bite to eat.

After she put on the cute new winter coat and boots she had bought for the trip, she looked around the room. She had a weird feeling, almost like she was forgetting something, but she just couldn’t put her finger on what it was. Shrugging, she figured it must not be too important. She locked her door and headed out.

Walking along S. Monarch St., she took a turn on E. Hopkins Ave, hoping it was the right one. She as trying to find the art gallery but she had no clue where she was. After walking a couple of blocks, she saw Peach’s Corner Café and decided to stop there for something quick to eat and directions.

Right as she pulled the door open, something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. Glancing in that direction, she gasped. There was Damon, standing at his car, pumping gas at the store next door. Panicking, she walked into the café so fast it could have been a run and grabbed the first booth she came to. Tripping over her own feet, she almost went sprawling in the floor. When she steadied herself and managed to sit, she berated herself. Why did she panic? It was only her brother’s friend. Nothing more.

A moment later, a waitress walked up to her table with a weird smile on her face. Carrie, feeling a bit embarrassed, looked up at her. “Um, heh, sorry about that. I don’t know what came over me.”

The waitress shook her head. She was young, maybe late teens or early twenties. “I figured it had something to do with some gorgeous hunk you seen? Or maybe a spider? Only two things I can think of that would cause a girl to freak out like that.”

“Well, yeah, the first one. The last person in the world I expected to see here. Crap, what the hell is he doing here? Of all the places for me to escape to, he has to be in the same place?”

“Well, it could be fate. Or a stalker. Never know till it’s too late. Hope it’s the first. Anyway, would you like to order anything while you hide?”

Carrie looked at the waitress. Her name tag said Sammie. She figured it was short for Samantha, but one never knew anymore. “What kind of warm sandwiches do you have?”

She listened as Sam told her the items they had. After choosing an open face sandwich with a fruit salad, she pulled her manuscript from her bag and set it on the table in front of her.

Before she could even get it open, a familiar voice spoke up. “Well, fancy meeting you here. Did you really try to hide from me?”

Carrie’s breath caught in her chest. ‘Damn, what the hell?’ she thought. She looked up at Damon’s beautiful smiling face and wanted to fall through the floor. This man would be the death of her heart if she didn’t get away from him.

“Oh, hi. What do you mean, hide? I would never try to hide from you.” She chuckled nervously.

“Really? Because as soon as you saw me next door, you ducked in here awful fast. Looked like you might trip and fall as fast as you did it.”

Carrie bit her lip. ‘Why was he here, damn it.’ She did not want to have this conversation with him, at least not here or now. Maybe not ever. He was bad news. A player and he would never change. She knew all of this but couldn’t help but still love him. That was why she had left town when he came back to it.

She just stared at her manuscript, unsure of what to say that wouldn’t give away how she was feeling when he spoke up again. “Look, I don’t know what I did to make you mad at me, but can I join you? Please? I promise to be on my best behavior. I could really use a friend right now.”

She bites her lip harder and nods. Once he is seated, he looks at the menu laying on the table. He lays it down right when the waitress is bringing Carrie’s food. Once she has set it down, Damon tells her what he would like to order. The waitress seems a bit confused but takes the order. She keeps glancing at Carrie with a worried expression. Carrie manages a smile to let her know she is okay.

After the waitress left, Damon smirked. “Uh-oh, I think someone’s got an admirer. She’s cute too so that’s a plus.”

Carrie cocked her head to look at him. She was seriously confused. What in hell was he talking about?

Damon cocked his head back at her. “Don’t act like I don’t know. I’ve known longer than your brother that you were into girls. It’s okay. I think it’s hot. But if it’s still some big secret, I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

Carrie’s mouth fell open in shock. He thought she was a lesbian? Seriously? How the hell did that happen? Then it came to her; this would be the perfect guise to keep distance between them. She wasn’t up to being toyed with like all of the other girls he messed around with. If she let him think she was gay, maybe he wouldn’t try.

“Um, yeah, ok you got me. But I’m not interested in that right now. I came to Aspen to write. And to get away from everything and everybody.” She looked at him to see if he took the hint. But of course, he didn’t. He was a superstar and most people didn’t get that status without being completely cocky to the point of arrogant.

“Ah. Me too. Tired of the same old thing and people day in and day out. I figured since next season doesn’t start for a bit, I could take some time to enjoy myself. So, you gonna tell me why you’re mad at me? Or at least, why you were avoiding me?”

“Trying to get away from everybody… I said that.” She hesitated for a moment, ready to leave it at that. But something nagged at her, telling her to stop hiding.

“No. You know what. I will tell you the truth. I am trying to get away from you. I cannot stand to be in the same room as you anymore. I have been in love with you since we were kids and you have broken my heart, over and over. So I am trying to avoid you so I can get over it and be me for a change. So, I am done eating. I’m going to pay my bill and get going. Places to see and all. Bye.” With that said, she stood up and headed to the door.

Damon was so stunned that he just stared at her with his mouth hanging open.

Carrie was almost to the register when a hand caught her arm. “Hey hun, are you okay? That’s the guy you were trying to avoid, isn’t it?”

Carrie whirled around to see Sam looking at her with that same worried expression. She sighed. “Unfortunately, yes it is. He is an ass. He thought I was a lesbian.” She chuckled. “That is hilarious.”

Sam looked confused. “Why in the world would he think that?”

“Only thing I can figure is it’s because I’m not fawning over him like all of the other girls do. But I don’t care. I am not a toy and I don’t care how I feel about him. I will not become his plaything just to be near him. Look, here is the money for my tab. I’m leaving. Maybe I can get far enough away before he finishes. Thanks for the food. It was delicious.”

“No problem. I’m sorry about your… issue. I’ll see if I can delay him a little bit. Give you more of a head start.”

Carrie smiled at her. Maybe they could be friends. Another time.

*****

Carrie had not even noticed a whole week had gone by since she had last seen Damon until he popped in on her at her own apartment. She had just gotten out of the shower and barely dressed when she heard a knock on her door. She thought it must be one of the neighbors needing a cup of sugar or something, she went to look out the peephole. When she saw who it was, she hesitated. ‘How did Damon know where she was staying? She was positive she didn’t tell him and the better question… what the hell was he doing here?’

“What are you doing here,” she asked through the door. She was determined to not open it.

“I don’t know, exactly. I guess I had nowhere else to really go right now. I really could use some help if it’s not too much trouble.”

Hesitating a moment longer, she rubbed her forehead. She knew it was a very bad idea, but finally decided to let him in. She just couldn’t be that type of person to be mean, even though she really wanted to.

When the door opened, he was standing there with his back to her. “What do you want, Damon? I don’t have time for this. I am pretty sure I made myself clear earlier. And I am not interested in any games you might be playing.”

“Can I come in?” He was still facing away from her, his head hanging down.

Not in the mood for drama, she opened the door wide. “Here. You might as well since you’re here. Unannounced.”

Damon only half turned before walking through the door. He stopped when he was in enough for the door to close and looked around the room. He still had not turned enough for her to see his face. She pushed the door shut and just stood there, hands on hips. She was feeling like she had been tricked and it made her upset.

“Well, what is it? What is so bad you had to come here, even after I asked you to leave me alone? I do have other plans today.”

Slowly, Damon turned to face her. When she saw his face, she was shocked into silence. It looked like someone had taken a sledgehammer to a chunk of raw meat and after beating it to a pulp, had tried to form it into a face. There was blood all over the front of his shirt and the top of his pants. His jacket looked torn in a couple of places.

All of the anger instantly dissolved away from her. “Oh my god, Damon, what in the hell happened to you?” She walked to him and put her hands up as if to caress his face, hesitating.

He saw the care and concern on her face and felt bad for upsetting her. “Um, I believe the saying is that my mouth wrote checks my ass couldn’t cash.”

She realized he had a slur when he talked. Cursing herself under her breath for not realizing he was hurt sooner, she told him to have a seat while she got some stuff to take care of it. She went in the kitchen for ice and the first aid kit. When she returned, he had taken off his jacket but was still standing there holding it. He just looked at the ground like he was unsure of what to do. She thought he looked like a lost puppy.

“Um, would you like to take a shower? That’s a lot of blood to clean off otherwise. I have a couple of men’s shirts that I sleep in that should fit you, but I will have to wash your pants. I don’t keep extra men’s clothes around.”

He looked up at her and seemed so sad that she wanted to cry. “Yes, that would be great. Thanks. But don’t worry about the pants. They’re not that bad.”

She pointed down the hallway. “The bathroom is that way. The only door on the left.”

After he shut the bathroom door and she heard the water running, she headed back to the kitchen to put the ice back. If she had realized how bad it was, she wouldn’t have gotten it out to just melt while he bathed. She went back into the living room to wait with the first aid kit.

While she was sitting there, she started having vivid images of Damon in the shower. She imagined walking in there and getting in the shower with him. She took the washcloth from him and gently wiped the blood from his face, then his beautiful chest. When she looked up at his eyes, she could see the same hunger she felt. He grabbed her face and pulled it close to give her a deep, passionate kiss. She rubbed her hands down his back and around his abdomen. He pushed her against the wall and lifted her up so he could get between her legs, all while still deeply kissing her.

She realized the water had stopped running. Shocked at having such a wild dream about the man she was trying to avoid, she shook her head, hard.

“Hey, you said you had a shirt?” Damon walks in the living room where she is sitting. He’s put his pants back on and using a towel to dry his hair. She stares at his chest, the images of moments ago threatening to resurface.

Shocking herself back to reality, she nods her head. “Um, yeah. Uh, um.” She clears her throat as she stands. “Yeah, I’ll go grab it.”

She has to walk by him to go the bedroom where the clothes are. As she passes him, her body’s temperature rises to what feels like 120 degrees. When she gets to the bedroom, she looks wildly around. Her flight response is in overdrive, but she knows she can’t run away from this. She gets mad at herself for not being over him. He is such bad news, nothing but a heartache that she cannot handle right now.

Damon stood still as Carrie passes him. A weird feeling passes over him as she goes by, a feeling he doesn’t understand. He turns to watch her walk down the hallway and realizes she is walking pretty fast just to go a short distance, almost as if she is trying to run. But from him? Did she really mean what she had said at the restaurant? He has always cared for her, almost like a little sister that he never had, but this was different. Almost like… no. He was imaging things. Must have hit his head harder than he thought.

After a few moments, Carrie came back into the living room. She would not look at Damon while she handed him the shirt she found. Instead, she went to the table to grab the first aid kit.

“Have a seat and I will clean you up.” Her insides were still fluttering but she was determined to get a hold of herself.

Damon put the shirt on and sat down. She sat in front of him and started rummaging in the kit for antiseptic and q-tips. Finding what she needed, she looked at him finally and told him it would probably hurt, but he needed to sit still. He listened and sat perfectly still while she cleaned up his face.

It was too quiet, so she finally broke the silence. “Want to tell me what happened?”

Damon cleared his throat. He was obviously embarrassed. “Like I said, mouth wrote checks, ass couldn’t cash them.”

“I see. Is that the best you can do?”

“I thought I was a better skier than I am. I took a bet and lost. Let’s leave it at that.”

She looked him in the eye and smiled. “That sounds like it would have been hilarious. Except for the fact that your face looks like a beaten piece of raw meat.”

“Yea, well, it looks worse than it is.”

“Mm.” She finished cleaning his face and put the items back into the kit. She went to stand when he put his hand on her arm.

“Carrie, thank you.”

She stopped and looked at him. “For what? Taking care of my brother’s best friend? Nothing to it.”

“Ouch. Okay, I deserved that. I was a prick at your party and I apologize. I was in a pissy mood and shouldn’t have taken it out on you. But I am serious. Thank you for letting me in. I know you have been avoiding me and if it is because of that comment, I really am sorry.”

She didn’t know what to say so she was quiet for a moment. “Well, that’s part of it, I guess. The rest is what I said at the café. I can’t deal with it right now. I needed a break from you.”

He reached up and put his hands on both sides of her face. Looking deep into her eyes, Damon was suddenly sure of what that feeling was earlier. It was passion, passion for his best friends little sister, passion for the girl who had always been there, even when he was too much of a prick to see it.

He pulled her to him as he leaned in. Carrie let herself get pulled in. She couldn’t seem to resist. When their lips touched, fireworks exploded in her brain and ran through her whole body. She kissed him back, but only for a moment before she pulled away.

Breathing heavily, she stood up and backed away from him. He looked at her, confused.

“Why did you do that, Damon? Why?”

“Carrie, what’s wrong?”

“Damn it, Damon. I was doing good. I was over it and you. You had to ruin it. Now, I don’t know what to do. Just, just get out. Please. Just leave.”

Damon, unsure of how to react, got up to leave. He kept looking at her, but she refused to look him in the eyes. ‘I must have really pissed her off.’ He looked around the room, found his shoes. He grabbed them and headed to the door. He turned to look at her once more and realized there were tears running down her face. He wanted to go back to her and make it all better, but she raised her hand towards the door.

“Get out. Now, please.”

He shut the door behind him.

*****