ONE NIGHT WITH THE BEAR
Nicole had never been in more of a hurry then she was now. She just had gotten out of the doctor’s office, and with some very big news. As soon as she heard those two impactful words, all she wanted to do was tell Gregory.
Gregory was a man she had met online, specifically lovesick.com, the place where those who feel unloved find out they aren’t. Nicole had never been in a serious relationship before meeting Gregory. Every previous time, she had just gotten bad vibes from the others. This caused her to be extremely timid around them, which turned them off and terminated the relationship.
But Gregory had been different. She had started getting that vibe with him, but he was just so considerate and was nothing but supportive for her, so Nicole decided to stick it out with him. It was around the time she came really trust him that they had their first time. Sex with him was not only pleasurable, because boy was he an animal, but she felt a sense of calm and serenity when they did it.
And now, this…
Nicole drove down what felt like yet another copy of the same housing structures that she had seen the past few minutes. What was that address he said? 2356 Burmont Dr.? 2365 Brewmont Dr.? Was it a more rusty red house or a more vivid red one? It became dark so quick, how could she be able to tell anyways? Good God! She had been here before! Why couldn’t she remember this frigging place?!?!
‘Deeeeeep breath,’ she reminded herself.
Then she saw it; Burmont Dr. Nicole breathed a small sigh of relief and turned down there. She recognized the house Gregory lived in with his roommates as soon as she came up to it. She parked and hurried up the stairs, one hand holding the railing while the over was draped over her chest. She knocked lightly on the door and waited.
Lewis, one of Gregory’s roommates, opened the door. With the door wide open, the sounds of video games mixed with joking male voices could be heard in the back.
“Hey Nicole.” Lewis said, “What’s up-?”
“Where’s Gregory?”
“Well he’s out Nicole. You know he does this-“
“Where is he?!”
“I don’t know Nicole.” Lewis said, trying his best to not lose his friendly tone, “He doesn’t tell us. He just leaves every once in a while. I’ll let him know you stop by.”
Nicole rubbed her chin frantically, shifting her eyes back and forth.
“Are you ok Nicole? Did something happen?”
“I-I-I just really need to talk to him right now. I don’t know what to do and-and-“
Nicole held her stomach steady with both hands now. Lewis only had to glance down for a second before it hit him.
“Holy shit! You aren’t-…Oh man. Yeah, I will let him know as soon as he gets back that you need to see him. Oh my gosh Nicole.”
“Can I wait here till he gets back?”
“Uh, I dunno Nicole. You see, he probably wouldn’t-“
Nicole’s voice barely registered above a whisper, “Please Lewis.”
Lewis silently looked at her, caught between two hard places, “Yeah Nicole. You can take his room. We’ll probably be up when he gets back, so I’ll let him know.”
Nicole gave a forced smile and stepped inside. As she made her way to Gregory’s room, she could hear the whispering behind her.
***
A knock on the door woke Nicole up from her slumber. It took her a few seconds before she remembered how she got her, and the importance of her visit. She hurried to the door to open it, but it swung open before she reached it. There in the door stood Gregory, his big shoulders slumped to the sides. As she looked at the somber face of her boyfriend, Nicole recalled how his bearded face usually made him seem jolly. Now, he looked like a homeless man.
“Lewis told me you were in my room, and…” Gregory said, unable meet Nicole’s eyes.
“I just wanted to let you know as soon as I did.” Nicole said, “I just didn’t know what to do. I’m so scared.”
Gregory nodded and wrapped Nicole in his arms. He then led her to his bed.
“What were you planning to do with the child?”
“I don’t know. I just wanted to tell you. I-I think I just wanted to know how you felt about this since we’re together and all.”
Gregory sighed and rubbed the back of his head. He tried to make a grab for her hand, but Nicole backed away from him.
“Look, if you aren’t ready for this, I understand, but I was expecting a bit more sympathy from you-“
“Nicole, there’s something you need to know if we’re going to go forward with this.”
“Wha-what?”
Gregory sat back, took a deep breath, and then looked Nicole in the eyes more intently then he had all night.
“I’m a bear shifter.”
“A what?”
“It’s kinda like a werewolf, but I turn into a bear. It’s crazy, I know, but it’s the truth. I get these strong urges to change now and again and I have to go off into the middle of nowhere.”
“So the baby would…”
“It’s possible. I don’t know how I got it for myself. It’s still new for me. The guys are cool with it, kind of. Listen, I’ll understand if you want to, you know…”
“Abort.”
“That and possibly never want to see me again.”
Nicole was silent for a while.
“Were things ever going to work out between us? Were you going to walk away from me because of what you are?”
“I don’t want to Nicole. I really don’t want to.”
Gregory’s gaze weakened and he began to grip the sheets tightly as he looked away. He was surprised when he felt Nicole’s hand stroking his. He looked up to see those loving eyes that had kept him scared of ruining the relationship because of what he was.
“We’ll figure this thing out.” Nicole said, “The two of us.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“After all that I have told you?”
“Yes Gregory.”
Gregory was quiet for a few moments, but then he lunged forward and kissed Nicole passionately on the lips. His face pushed her into the pillows as his body slowly began to compress down upon her. With each successive kiss he gave her, Nicole could feel a combination of warmth and desire arising within her. He lifted his body up slightly and she could feel his fingers slipping underneath her shirt, dragging it off her body. Her fingers fumbled blindly for his pants as she began to get them off of him. After the pants came his shirt. Once that was off, she skimmed her fingers along his hairy upper body. Before, she had enjoyed this part of him because it made him seem rugged and almost primal. Now, having been told the truth, it gave awoken in her a beast of her own.
Gregory is part-bear. Oh God; he’s part-bear. How did this happen? How? How?!
This must be what Bella had felt; not that Nicole even liked that book series, but just the concept of discovering someone you cared for wasn’t…wasn’t fully human.
It was kinda exciting to be honest.
With all their clothes off, Gregory began kissing her shoulder blade, working his way up the neck. Nicole’s fingers dug into his back, enticing a guttural groan from his lips. She wrapped her legs around him as he began to thrust. Nicole cried out with passion, arching her body backwards and allowing her lover to enter deeper into her. As he kept going, Gregory began to smother Nicole’s neck with kisses some more. Her breaths were barely coming out in gasps now. Her eyes and mouth were wide open, unable to express recognizable emotion. She couldn’t even scream. She was caught up in the epicenter of it all. His touch felt even better than usual. It was ecstatic. It was heavenly. It-
It was right then that Gregory nibbled on her neck.
“Stop!” Nicole screamed, “Stop! Stop! Stop!”
Despite his large size, Gregory was off her in an instant.
“What?!”
Nicole couldn’t stop her body from shaking sporadically. When she looked at him, Gregory could see something in her eyes, something he didn’t want to see.
“Nicole, what’s wrong baby?”
“Why’d you bite me?”
“I’ve done it before. What’s the problem?”
“It’s just that you…uh.”
Gregory’s eyes narrowed.
“Because you know I’m part bear now, isn’t it?”
“I’m sorry.” Nicole said in a low whisper, “I’m not meaning to make you think that I care about that.”
Gregory looked at her, unable to speak. Nicole averted her gaze and began picking up her clothes. Gregory walked over and put his hand over hers.
“Let’s just call it a night. Clearly you need to process this some more, ok?”
“Ok.”
“You ok sleeping here tonight?”
Nicole nodded. Gregory lightly kissed her on the cheek and began to pull on his clothes. The two went off to bed and slept without another word being said.
***
Nicole rubbed the mark where Gregory had bitten for about the tenth time at work today, and she had only been there an hour. She felt conflicted about it all. Deep down, she really was ok with Gregory being who he was. It was weird, and didn’t seem all that possible, but this was who Gregory turned out to be.
Maybe he was one of those, what’s the word, furries. Maybe he had some furry bear costume in his closet that he walks around in when he gets those urges of his. I mean so long as he stayed his loving, loyal self, he could be into nearly any non-violent lifestyle he chooses.
But that bite, she thought as she rubbed it again, that was something else entirely. After being told he figured himself a half-bear, that bite just immediately conjured up some gory thoughts in her head. She had pictured him throttling her by her neck, blood flying everywhere. She shuddered at that thought, not wanting to think any more about that, or even how that ruined her feelings about Gregory. He was such a sweet guy, and it must have taken a lot of courage for him to reveal that about himself.
She looked down at her stomach and wondered, ‘What would a half-bear baby look like?’
“What are you looking at?”
Nicole turned to see her co-worker Abagail staring at her, a coffee mug in her hand. Nicole gave an embarrassed smile and straightened out her shirt.
“Oh, nothing.”
“Oh hey! How did that doctor’s appointment go? Did you get anymore news?”
“Well…”
Abagail gave a big, toothy smile.
“Oh my God!”
She wrapped Nicole in a big hug, shaking both her body and Nicole in a fit of excitement.
“You’re gonna be a mother! That’s so exciting!!”
A female customer passing by stopped and turned to the two customer service employees having their little moment. She gave a small laugh of amusement. Abagail saw this and slowly assumed a more professional stance.
“Sorry about that. My friend just found out she’s going to be a mom.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful. Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
The two watched the woman leave before having a hushed laugh. Abagail made her way behind a register before turning back to Nicole. She was about to say something when a customer approached her.
“So have you told Gregory yet?” she asked once she was free again.
“Yeah. I told him right after I found out.”
“And what’d he say?”
“He was…happy. A little concerned about whether I wanted his child.”
“Would I hope he should! The two of you are dating!”
“He’s just recently been diagnosed with some stuff and-“
“What?! What kind of stuff?!”
Nicole shushed her before continuing.
“Just private stuff. I don’t think he’d like me talking about it.”
“Well if it affects the kid, then he better get himself checked or fixed or something.”
“I’m sure everyone is going to turn out fine.”
“Listen Nicole, I have heard you talk about a lot of guys who you just couldn’t click with. You’ve waited this long for the right guy and if he isn’t it, then you need to find the courage to get out.”
“No Abby. He’s not like that. It’s just we had this big talk last night and I learned some new things about him that I just need to think on.”
“Are you sure that’s all it is?”
“Yes!”
“Ok. I wish you two the best then.”
Nicole smiled and turned to face the customer who had just approached her register.
***
During her lunch break, Nicole grabbed a coffee and a croissant from the Starbucks in the store. As she was sitting down to eat, her cell phone vibrated. It was a text message from Gregory asking if she was doing alright, considering everything that went on last night.
‘Yes. Everything is fine.’
‘Are we still fine?’
Nicole replied that they were, but Gregory wanted to see her to make sure.
‘Maybe. Sometime later when I’m not so busy.’
‘Ok then. When are you free?’
Before she could respond, a second text message appeared.
‘I really want to get things straightened out. I need to know if this can still work.’
Nicole bit her lip, and then took a sip of her coffee.
‘Tomorrow we’ll talk about it.’
Nicole put her phone away and tried to finish her lunch and not think too negatively about what talking to Gregory was going to be like.
They were going to get through this.
They would be just fine.
At least, that’s what she hoped.
***
Nicole got back to her apartment around six in the evening. She carried the groceries up the stairs, unlocked the door and pushed it open. After putting everything away, she started cooking some dinner. Normally she would be satisfied with a half-hour of cooking some spaghetti or meatloaf, but tonight it was going to be some microwavable corn dogs.
Nicole stood watching the food turning around when she remembered how the microwave could radiate some things to give her cancer, and jumped away. She covered up her belly with her arms almost instinctively, and then slowly let them fall to her side. She lifted her shirt and rubbed her belly. She knew that the child wasn’t far enough along that they’d start kicking back yet, but there was still something developing in there. A week ago, she didn’t realize how much her world was changing. Nicole recalled how stunned she had been when she had missed her period after a few months. She had scheduled a doctor’s appointment as quickly as she could. They did their tests, and then they came back and gave her the news.
But they never told her that the child she held was going to be half-human. She was already going to need to seek some advice for how to be a mother and she doubted they had self-help books on her current situation. What would it even look like when she gave birth to the child? Would it slide out like a baby, or maybe claw its way out with bear paws.
There may be a lot to this that she would have to ask Gregory when she saw him.
***
The drive the next day felt nerve-wracking. Never in her life did Nicole expect to have the discussion that she was about to have, and yet there were questions that were absolutely key to what her future was going to hold.
She knocked as confidently on the door as she could. Gregory opened it. There were evident bags under his eyes and his clothing seemed pretty ruffled. Despite this, he was smiling like everything was alright.
“Hey.” He said.
“Hey.”
“I appreciate you coming over as quickly as you did.”
“Of course. I know this is important to you, and it’s rather important to me considering…”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
“Would you like to come inside?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Gregory stood to the side as Nicole walked in. The two headed to Gregory’s room, which looked slightly better than Gregory did. The bed well-made and the carpet looked almost brand new as well.
Gregory headed over to the bed, Nicole following close behind.
“You can set your bags down by the nightstand.”
Nicole did as she was instructed, and then taking a spot on the bed opposite of Gregory after she was done.
“I’ll go first.” Said Gregory, “I feel that since I’ve told you about me being half-bear, that you’ve been very put-off with me. I get that this was big news and you can’t be expected to process this almost immediately, but this is more than just you and me. You’re pregnant and I don’t want you having to carry around this child if you don’t want to. So I need to know what you’re thinking about all of this. Please don’t be afraid to be honest to me, even if it’s not what I want to hear.”
“Gregory I…I just don’t know. I mean, half-bear? I don’t know if that makes you someone in serious need of psychiatric help, if this is just “who you are”, or if you’re some dangerous monster. I just, how do you expect this to work? Is this child going to be part bear?”
“I told you Nicole, I don’t know! I’m the only person I know who deals with this! I don’t know beyond what people tell me!”
“What people?!”
“My roommates. They came out a few nights and just watched me when I got the urge. I mean, they are very weirded out by this, but they aren’t going to rat me out. They say I’m harmless.”
“They have seen you turn into a bear?”
“Yeah.”
“So if I go out and talk to them, they’ll say they followed you somewhere-“
“To a park.”
“To a park, ok. They’ll say they saw you out there and that you turned from a man into a bear and back into a man?”
“Yes!”
“Do your friends bring any sort of drugs along when they experience this?”
“You don’t believe me!”
“Do you take drugs before you turn into this “bear”?”
Gregory got to his feet, “This is a pointless conversation if you are just going to deny everything being told to you.”
“Gregory, I don’t want to believe it.”
“So why did you come then, huh Nicole? You have no respect for me or who I am, so why bother even coming here?”
Tears began to form in Nicole’s eyes, “I mean I don’t want to believe that the love of my life can turn into this animal from time-to-time. I don’t want to believe that the child, the child that is supposed to be the light of our lives, is possibly going to go through the same things too. I don’t want to believe that out of all the faults that you could have, it is one that I can’t possibly hope to understand.”
Gregory seemed to look very unsure, watching as this supposed “accuser” was slowly making her way on her knees over to him.
“I want to understand Gregory. I want to know all that makes you tick and love every inch of you. I want to love your body. I want to love your soul. I want to love the features that this creation of ours will have from each of us, but I just can’t. I want to understand. I want…I want to see this.”
“See what?”
“Show me the transformation.”
“Why would you want to see it?”
“Because I will always be wondering about it if we find a way to stick together. Not knowing this side of you will haunt me always if I don’t see this. Gregory, I need to see this thing of yours.”
“Fine. If it will help with this whole thing.”
Nicole’s whole body seemed to ease itself up. She collapsed on the bed with a sigh of exhaustion. She scooted a little to the side as Gregory took a seat down. She curled up beside him, slipping her hand in his. He tightened his grip on her hand ever so slightly, stroking her fingers with his.
“I really do want this to work out Gregory. I really do.”
“I know Nicole.”
“So, when is the next time this urge of yours is supposed to happen?”
“I don’t. It comes at odd moments, but I know when it happens when right around the time that I get a really strong feeling.”
“A strong feeling?”
“Like if I’m really angry, sad or happy. You know, when I’m feeling an extreme emotion.”
“Extreme emotion huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Ok then.”
Nicole began to fiddling with Gregory’s zipper. Gregory, caught by surprise, struggled at first.
“What are you doing?”
“Just relax Gregory. I’ll get you ready.”
Gregory eased himself back as Nicole began stripping away his pants. She pulled his underpants around his ankles and wrapped her mouth over his cock. She began to suck on it, her tongue stroking it in unison. Gregory’s hands clenched his bedsheets tightly, his back arched back so his eyes were gazing upward. His breathing came in gasps for breath and pleasured moans. As he came into her mouth, Nicole raised her head, swallowed, and then went back for a second go at it. Gregory felt his cock growing harder again and began muttering the names of several Gods, Judeo-Christian and otherwise.
As Nicole raised her head again, He lunged forward and pushed Nicole onto the bed like a cat pouncing on a mouse. She gave a smile as he removed her clothing one by one, tossing them off the bed with hardly a thought. He thrust his cock into her and began moving back and forth on her. Nicole screamed with glee as the two of them hit their synchronized stride. She put her hands around his lower hips, teasing the ends of her fingers against his ass, while he put his hands on her breasts and began to lightly rub them with his fingertips. They locked eyes with each other, both grinning like crazy, young kids discovering love for the first time. The two of them continued to move as one, sweat dripping down their bodies and moans escaping their lips.
Suddenly, Gregory’s moan began turning into a very low growl. He began to stop, Nicole ceasing a moment after.
“Gregory?”
“It’s time.”
“The urge?”
“Yeah. We need to get me out of here. Fast”
The two of them sprang out of bed, pulling on clothes as fast as they can. They rushed out the door as they could, drawing the stares of the other roommates.
“Where you guys off to?” Lewis asked.
“Gregory’s got an urge. I have to see him turn.”
The roommates sprang up after them.
“We’ll take our car.” Lewis said, grabbing keys off the counter.
The five of them leapt out of the apartment and dove into the van waiting outside. They were speeding off before everyone had a chance to fully get their seatbelt.
***
“Why did you get him on his urge right now?” asked Lewis from the passenger seat.
“I wanted to see this so I could understand who he is, so we had sex and-“
“I do NOT need to know that. My point is that he changes pretty fricking quickly after he gets his urge.”
Nicole looked at Gregory, who looked as if he was trying to hold something in. His teeth were grit tightly. His eyeballs seeming to bulge out of the sockets. There was also a lot of hair on his hands, but Nicole could not recall if that amount had always been normal or if it was more than usual.
“How far away is the park?”
“A bit farther.”
Gregory let out an angry roar, causing the person driving to almost swerve the van into oncoming traffic.
“Hurry up you guys!”
“You know, it’s not our fault we’re in such a time crunch.”
***
They soon made it to the park. Nicole reached over and undid the seatbelt on Gregory. Lewis opened the door, to which Gregory came barreling out of the van and ran off into the trees in the center of the park. Within seconds, he disappeared from view. Nicole ran to chase after him, but Lewis grabbed her and held her back.
“He’ll be right back. Trust me, you aren’t missing too much with the transformation. It’s pretty nasty to watch, speaking from first-hand experience.”
Nicole looked off into the trees, trying to get a glimpse of anything at all. The only way she was able to tell that Gregory was somewhere in there was the sound of his roaring. It was becoming more and more primal, until it stopped. Then there was silence. The roommates began to walk forward, Nicole following close behind them. As they descended into the tree line, they began to turn on their flashlights and slowly shine them around. Nicole was handed a flashlight, which she darted the light around trying to find Gregory. Lewis steadied her hand.
“You wave your light around like that, you’ll spook him.”
Nicole wrestled her arm away from him and shone her light on the ground. They kept walking, out of the trees and onto the other side of the park.
And there was Gregory, or at least a giant grizzly bear. Nicole offered a short yelp, covering her mouth in an attempt to not spook him. She began raising her flashlight to get a better look
“Don’t shine it near his face. That scares him.”
Nicole angled her flashlight to go over the body of what was supposed to be her boyfriend. It looked like just a normal grizzly bear. No a thing indicated that this was Gregory. And yet, Nicole felt completely safe around this bear, not the slightest thought of being attacked.
“He just wanders around the park mostly. Most chilled bear I’ve ever seen.”
Nicole turned to see one of the roommates, Seth, looking out at the bear.
“It was so weird, the first time he transformed. We thought he was choking or something, what with all the growling and such. So we’re in the middle of giving him the Heimlich when he starts turning into the bear. We were freaking out, hiding behind couches and trying to not look at him. He just wandered through the house, chewing on anything he could get his teeth into. We had to replace almost everything, and we were so angry at him, but he had the most apologetic look in his eyes. We just forgave him and just went out to a movie.”
Nicole gave a small smile and laughed.
“Deep down though, I think he hates this about himself.”
Nicole’s smile died almost instantly.
“I mean, some people have acne, some people have an ugly family, but this guy turns into an animal every once in a while. I mean, he is so scared about telling people this because he’s afraid they will judge him. He really needs a support system.”
“So if you’re going to do something that splits the two of you apart,” Lewis said, turning to face Nicole, “You better get it over with so he doesn’t get led on.”
Nicole looked back to Gregory, a tight knot forming in her stomach. She took a step forward to him, then another one, and then another one.
“Nicole, no!”
Keeping her eye on Gregory in case he suddenly turned around, Nicole slowly walked over to her boyfriend. Her mind was screaming for her to stop and turn back now, but her heart pulled her forward, telling her to go to him.
She could hear the snap of a branch underneath her foot. She froze mid-step, looking at Gregory. He slowly turned his head and looked at her. Lewis and the other roommates prepared to run and grab Nicole away should things go south. They weren’t quite sure how Gregory reacted when he noticed other people around him. If he was anything like a normal Grizzly Bear when he turned, then they imagined they never wanted to see what happens.
Nicole and Gregory looked at each other eye-to-eye, neither one hesitating. When she looked into those eyes, Nicole swore they looked almost like his eyes. They seemed to be filled with such kindness and concern, not a primal curiosity like a normal bear.
Taking a deep breath, Nicole took a few steps more towards Gregory. He gave a mild roar in response. Lewis and the others made a move to help her, but Nicole waved them away. She turned back to face Gregory, taking a few more steps. He roared again, taking a few steps back.
“I’m not afraid of you!” Nicole said.
Gregory stopped, looking at her.
“I’m not afraid of you.”
She raised her hand as she kept moving forward.
“She’s crazy.” Seth said.
“Yes she is,” Lewis said, “but you’d have to be crazy to make this thing of theirs work.”
Nicole approached Gregory, who was watching her intently, her hand still upraised. Slowly, she lowered it until it was right under his nose. She held it there, looking back into her boyfriend’s eyes. A few seconds passed before she could feel his nose sniffing her finger. Once he stopped, Nicole slowly raised her hand and began petting him. She dug her hands into the fur as she rubbed them against Gregory’s sides. She could feel his tight, muscular shoulders rippling under the brown, scruffy fur. She massaged his sides, hearing a very satisfied growl omitting from Gregory’s lips. Nicole wrapper her arms around his big, muscular body, rubbing her body up and down his side. She could feel him rubbing up against her too, a low hum escaping his lips.
The roommates watched this scene with looks of uncertainty.
“Maybe we should go wait in the car.” Said Lewis.
“Yeah,” said Seth, “Not sure I want to see how this goes.”
The three quietly walked away, leaving the two lovers to, once again, express their love for each other.
***
An hour later, Nicole and Gregory, now back in human form, lay side-by-side in the grass, smiling and gazing into each other’s eyes.
“I love you” said Gregory.
“I love you too. That was…wonderful.”
“Was it?”
“It’s strange, I won’t lie, but I think that I will be able to live with that.”
“And what if the baby turns out being like me?”
Nicole turned away and looked up into the night sky.
“Well then that will have to be something that you have to teach him or her about. I mean, I only saw you once in that form. I have no idea how it all works.”
Gregory reached over and grabbed Nicole’s side, pulling her back to facing her.
“I can’t believe how accepting you are of this. I…I am so lucky I found you.”
“It…It’s nothing Gregory.”
“No Nicole, it’s not. This has been such a big secret for me. I mean, it took a lot of courage to tell you that.”
“Well, you probably wouldn’t have told me if I wasn’t pregnant with your child.”
It was Gregory’s turn to roll over and face the sky, “Yeah. I guess so.”
Nicole reached over and squeezed his shoulder, “I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, this baby was a blessing for us.”
“Was it?”
“Yes. It brought us together as a couple. We’re stronger because of it.”
“But what about the child?”
“What about it?”
Gregory turned to face her, “What happens during its first transformation? What if we aren’t there when it happens? They will be ostracized, if not taken away and experimented on by scientists. One slip up, and this child’s life will be ruined forever.”
“Well when did you change first?”
“I was twenty-one, already living on my own. I didn’t have any family around who could be ashamed of or worry about me.”
“And what about your family now? What do they think?”
“They haven’t heard from me in a while. It’s better that for the both of us if they don’t even know that I’m still alive.”
“But Gregory…”
Gregory stood up and turned to face her, extending his hand.
“Come on. Let’s get back to the car. I’m sure my roommates have been waiting for a bit too long now.”
Nicole took his hand and allowed herself to be helped up. The two began walking back to the car, Nicole casting glances at Gregory. He had on a look of hurt, one that she felt she would be seeing from time-to-time for the rest of her life if she chose to spend it with him.
“I’m not ashamed of you at all. “
“Thank you Nicole. That means a lot.”
The way he said that, it sounded like he imagined she would soon be gone just like everyone else he had ever come to care for and love. By the time they made it to the car, it seemed like the intentions of brining her and Gregory together had just done the complete opposite.
***
Nicole had them drop her off at her home. She kissed Gregory on the lips before walking up to the apartment. As soon as she closed the door behind her, she finally gave into the tears that were rimming her eyes. She was doing her best to try and show Gregory her devotion to the two of them since the announcement of the baby, but this event only seemed to be dragging them apart from each other. The longer this went on, the more Gregory seemed to be trying to separate himself from her and the baby. She just did not know what else she could to prove that she would love him despite any differences he possessed, no matter how strange it was.
Nicole loved Gregory, there was no doubt about it. Despite finding out he was half-bear, nothing had changed with how caring he was, how much of a good listener he was, and the length of which he seemed willing to go to make sure Nicole was happy. And she wanted to be able to show him how much his happiness meant to her, how she wanted to do everything she could to show him just that. The problem was, everything she had tried thus far had seemed to only show him that his difference prevented him from being happy. She had exhausted almost every idea she could think of to prove him he was wrong.
Well she thought, pulling out her cell phone and moving through the contacts, almost every one.
***
The ringing of his cell phone awoke Gregory from his rest. Turning into a bear sapped a lot of energy out of him then he ever would admit. Luckily for me, his urges usually arose when it was in the evening, so he would appear normal if he slept into the early afternoon. He turned to the clock, which read that it was eight thirty-seven in the morning. He turned to see who was calling. No surprise, it was Nicole. Gregory sighed and let the phone go to voice mail. When it did, it showed that she had tried to call him several times already. His phone lit up again, saying that Nicole was trying to call him. It must be important if she was willing to continue calling him over and over again.
“Hello?”
“Gregory! Thank goodness you picked up.”
“Yeah…I usually have to sleep after the transformation. It takes a lot of energy out of me.”
“Oh. Sorry about that. I just really needed to tell you something.”
“Tell me what?”
“You’re coming with me to dinner with my parents tonight.”
There were a few seconds of silence from Gregory’s side, “What did you say?”
“You’re coming with me to my parents for dinner-“
“Why?!”
“Gregory, I understand that you do not think that someone can love you in the world because of your thing, but I want you in my life. I want you to come with me and do things that couples do, like meeting the parents of your girlfriend.”
“But Nicole, what if I go into my urge-“
“We will work it out. I’m not asking you to divulge to my parents who you are. I just want to feel like you can belong and be with someone who you love. You do still love me, don’t you?”
Gregory gritted his teeth, “Of course I still love you. I just…I don’t know if I can do this.”
“Yes you can. I will be there right you, supporting you through all of this. You aren’t going to be alone in this. So, will you come?”
Gregory held the phone in between his hands, thinking about what he could possibly say to save both of them from this tragedy waiting to happen. Deep down, he knew she would not accept anything but him to say yes. She wasn’t the same timid woman he had met on that first date at the movie theater. She had found something to believe in, someone to believe in.
He brought the phone back up to his ear and took a deep breath.
“Gregory? Are you still there?”
“Yeah baby, I’m still here. I’ll come with you to your parents. I’ll pick you up from the apartment and we can head over to their place. How’s that sound?”
“That sounds lovely! Thank you so much! I’ll text you the details later. I love you. Bye.”
“I love you too.”
A small smile spread across his face as the phone clicked. She had sounded very happy that he was coming. Now, it was time to get back to bed so he’d be well-rested to meet the parents.
***
Gregory pulled up to the apartment around four –thirty in the afternoon. He looked down to inspect the purple dress shirt he had on, hoping that he was dressed appropriately for this. He got out of the car and walked up to the apartment. He knocked on the door and waited, thrusting his hands into his slacks and bouncing on the balls of his toes.
The door opened and there stood Nicole, dressed in a white cocktail dress with matching pumps. Gregory’s eyes widened as he looked her over.
“Wow.”
“Wow, yourself. You also shaved the stubble off.”
“Yeah, well,” Gregory said, averting his gaze when she stroked his chin, “This dinner means a lot to you, so I wanted to look my best.”
Nicole retracted her hand and kissed him on the lips, “Thank you.”
Gregory linked arms with hers and led her to the car. After helping her into her seat, he got in and they drove off. He could feel her hand rubbing his thigh seductively. He sensed a boner beginning to form as a result of that. One of Nicole’s fingers reached out and lightly brushed against it. Gregory tightened up slightly and looked at Nicole.
“You’re feeling very frisky aren’t you?”
“I just can’t wait to introduce you to my parents. We’re all really excited that I finally found a man I can be comfortable around.”
“Is this what you call comfortable?”
‘I’ll show you how comfortable I am when we have a moment alone.”
Gregory chuckled and turned his eyes back on the road. This was going to be an interesting trip to say the least.
***
Nicole’s parents lived in a cream colored two-story house with large, rectangular windows facing out of the front of the home. The lawn looked fresh and newly trimmed which, complete with the white picket fence, gave this place the look of someone who was quite well off.
Gregory looked at it all from the car, mouth agape. A tap on the window brought him to his sense. He looked to see Nicole waving at him from outside the window. He grinned and got out of the car. He followed her up the paved walkway up to the front door. As Gregory knocked on the door, Nicole planted long, passionate kiss on his face. They were caught in the moment as the door opened and a man with well-combed graying hair stood in the doorway.
He harrumphed, which brought the couple back to reality.
“Sorry daddy.”
“While I am very happy you found a man sweetie, there is such a thing as too much PDA.”
“It’s nice to finally meet you sir.” Gregory said, extending his hand, “I’m Gregory. “
The man shook his hand, “Carl. Now, there’s no sense for you to be kept waiting out here, please come in.”
Gregory and Nicole walked in, looking around at the scenery. There were a number of paintings, probably from the Renaissance period, up on the wall. What really caught the eye of Gregory though was the bear head hung up over the stone fireplace. He looked at Nicole, who saw it as well and turned white.
“I completely forgot about that.”
Carl appeared from down a hallway with a woman with light brown hair. Nicole ran to the woman, the two embracing tightly.
“Nicole. How nice to have you back. And with a man too. I hope he’s been treating you well.”
“Oh he is just a dream in every way possible.”
“Well, isn’t that nice?”
Gregory stepped forward and shook the hand of Nicole’s mother.
“I’m Nancy, Nicole’s mother. I’m afraid dinner is going to take a little bit longer than expected to be ready, so if you would like to tell us about ourselves.”
“Actually,” said Nicole, “Gregory needs to take some medication and I have to assist him with it.”
“I do?”
“He doesn’t want to admit it, but it’s really important he does. Do you mind if we excuse ourselves?”
Carl’s eyes narrowed, “Be quick about it.”
“Ok daddy. Come on baby.”
Nicole grabbed Gregory and dragged him away from her parents.
“Carl honey, What sort of medication do you think that boy needs to take?”
“I don’t know, and frankly I don’t care to know.” He said with a huff.
***
Nicole tossed Gregory into the bathroom before closing the door behind her.
“I need you to take me now.”
“What-?”
Nicole began kissing Gregory, biting his lips as she pushed him into the sink. She started to climb on him, bending him over. Gregory slipped off her dress straps and slid it to expose her breasts.
“You know that we can’t do too much or else I’ll be getting another urge.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Whatever. They’re expecting us back soon anyways. Now take me Gregory.”
Gregory dragged his hands down Nicole’s back, causing her to arch back and pant a little. She began to thrust herself on him over and over again. Gregory’s hands had made it down to her ass and he began to squeeze firmly. Nicole gave an abrupt cry, doing her best to be quiet as soon as she could. She giggled a bit.
“Do that again.”
Gregory complied and she screamed in pleasure through gritted teeth. She went back to kissing him, her tongue teasing his. Gregory gagged a little, but soon had his moved moving around with hers. Nicole pulled her mouth away from him and guided one of his hands into her panties. She tilted her head back and began to gasp for breath as his hand was inserted into her vagina.
After several seconds of this, she grew still.
“Ok. I’m good to go.”
The two of them began straightening their clothes out.
“Where did that come from Nicole?”
“I don’t know. I just feel incredibly aroused by you right now.”
“But what will your parents think of me now? I think they knew what we just left to do. They’ll think we’re sex addicts.”
“Well at least they think you’ll be normal then.”
Gregory stopped and looked Nicole in the eye, “What?”
“Well if they think I found a man who I love to have sex with, that will just mean I got caught up with a bad boy. That’s normal.”
“Is that why you did this?”
“How’s it feel being just another guy?”
“Nicole, that won’t change who I am.”
“Then don’t think about that part of you. Please Gregory, I’m ready to commit. You, me and this child are going to be just fine. I’m not going to let you be ashamed by yourself. We’re in this together.”
“Why?” Gregory asked, tears rimming his eyes, “Why would you do all this for me?”
“Because I found someone who I want to live the rest of my life with and I am not going to let one massively different thing about you change how well we get together. If we run into problems, we’ll figure it out together. You being half-bear is no different than being a different religion than I am; it’s just new customs and traditions to observe. So please, I need you to walk out of this bathroom with me and go have a nice, normal dinner with my parents.”
Gregory wrapped Nicole in for a hug, holding her close to him. Tears flowed down his face as whispered the words, “Thank you.”
“Come on you big teddy bear, let’s go get some food.”
***
Carl and Nancy were just about done setting the table when Gregory and Nicole walked in with big smiles on their faces.
“You’re both pretty happy for some people just taking some medication.” said Carl, giving Gregory the stink eye.
“Oh, Gregory just needed a little encouragement that his illness is nothing to get so worked up about.”
“You’re a wonderful woman Nicole.” Nancy said, bringing a big pot of spaghetti to the table, “Now sit down everyone and let’s dig in.”
The four of them sat down. Carl was the first one to start getting food.
“You know Gregory, my daughter isn’t around solely to help you “take your medication”.” Gregory said, “She needs to be more than just that in your life.”
“Oh yes sir. She reminds me of that every day.”
Gregory grabbed Nicole’s hand from under the table and gave it a squeeze. She gave a reassuring squeeze in response.
“Now, as I imagine my daughter has told you, a number of men have already broken your heart. Now my Nicole is just trying to find someone to share her life with; someone to start a family with. Are you willing to commit to that, through the good and bad of it all?”
“You have my word on that. Your daughter is never going to be feeling like she made a bad choice for choosing me.”
“You sure talk a nice game,” Nancy said, “I sure hope you aren’t just talk.”
“He’s not like that mom. He actually has a big heart. He’s been the only one I’ve met who actually took an interest in me and wanted to help me find strength in being in who I am. I have been trying to return that favor recently, around the time I found out about Gregory’s condition, and I just want him to see himself in a more positive light.”
“Your daughter sure knows how to show love. I guess she was just waiting for the right person to share it with.”
“Well let’s hope that she can keep you an honest man.”
Gregory smiled and nodded. As it came his turn to serve his food, he caught Nicole looking his way subtly. She had been right. This was the most normal he had felt in a long time. His smile seemed to only grow stronger as he started serving the food to Nicole. Their gazes met for just a second, neither of them having the slightest desire to back out of this situation now. The two of them knew what awaited them.
“Thank you.” Nicole said as Gregory finished serving her.
“No Nicole, thank you.”
THE END