Chapter Nine
Foster
The date went…meh.
So disappointing. Not because the food was bad or the company not interesting.
Rather, I’d been looking forward to our date in a way I hadn’t anticipated.
Although it wasn’t a formal decision, I’d avoided going out on dates because I had my hands full without relationship complications.
But the moment I set eyes on the bear, I wanted to know him better.
Then, the first time we had a chance to spend time together, I was too wound up to appreciate him.
What must he think of me? Clearly, until I finished school, I was in no shape to take on anything more.
It was all my fault, too. He didn’t ask me out.
I asked him. He had every right to expect my full attention.
But, instead, I’d been obsessed with my phone, watching for a very important call or text from one of my professors.
When I explained, he’d asked if I worked on Sundays.
Of course, I did.
But did my professor?
Until he’d pointed out the day, I hadn’t even made the connection. Prof Schmidt had promised to let me know as soon as he got the word from administration about a class I’d taken and whether it counted toward my degree.
Of course, I’d been advised that it did, or I’d never have taken the course in my freshman year.
But suddenly, on Friday, someone in the marketing department decided it did not meet the requirement.
And the actual course they wanted me to replace it with was full.
And not available the following semester at all.
I’d stayed with the same university program since I began both because I could do the degree entirely remotely and so nothing like this could happen. Often courses did not transfer well from one school or program to another.
But I never expected it to happen within one.
As it turned out, the prof did take Sunday off and did not contact me until early this morning to say things did not look good, but he was going to bat for me.
I thanked him, aware that if he failed, I wouldn’t graduate on time, and would likely lose the job I’d been trying so hard to hold onto.
After a day of struggling to focus on my clients, I finally broke free to take a walk around.
I considered a shift, but didn’t have the energy.
Planning a short stroll, my anxiety drove me on until I found myself on Main Street outside of Ebb and Flow.
Most of the lights were out, but Briar was still there, sitting at a table at the back of the room.
He held the tablet used for sign-ups, reading something on the screen.
So handsome, with gorgeous deep-brown eyes that seemed to look all the way into my soul.
I lifted a fist to tap on the door then let it drop. After our meal together, would he even want to see me? I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t. And I didn’t want to put him in a position where he felt compelled to pretend anything. I turned away, prepared to leave.
I should go home. He’d worked all day and shouldn’t have to deal with me. He hadn’t called—no doubt he’d recognized what a head case this alpha was.
Then, I heard, “Weren’t you coming in?”
“If you don’t mind?” I bit my lip, afraid he’d say he did mind.
“Of course not.” His hand landed on my shoulder and he guided me into the store and closed the door again. “I was just thinking of calling, but I didn’t want to bother you if you were busy. And I know how busy you are all the time.”
I winced, but it was true. He didn’t need me to affirm it. “I wish I could say you’re wrong. I have a problem with school.” I’d told him a bit about work and school and the pressure involved. “I might not graduate.”
“As hard as you work and as smart as you are? It can’t be your fault. Come sit and tell me all about it.”
I thought he’d take me to the table, but he grabbed two yoga mats from the holder and rolled them out onto the floor. “I don’t want to work out.”
He shrugged. “Lie back, and I will too, and we can relax while you share what’s on your mind. Okay? I find corpse pose very comfortable.”
He had me take off my shoes and stretch out, with him beside me. “It is peaceful in here,” I told him. “Did you know I thought I heard the waves and palms you were talking about last time? You can really create an image.”
“Oh that.” He chuckled. “It wasn’t me. I have a sound system for that.”
“Of course, you do.”
“I wasn’t trying to trick you.” He stood up and went over to the back wall. “Let’s have some nature sounds while we relax and talk.”
We lay side by side on the mats while the background of a tropical forest played from hidden speakers. No talking for a good ten minutes before Briar said, “Let’s do a little breath work.”
“It doesn’t work on me.”
“Humor me? It’s not a spiritual practice, or at least it doesn’t have to be. It can just be a way to help you destress. Think of it as medicine. Or a way to improve your productivity.”
“Really? It can do that?”
“Sure, a person who is running themselves ragged cannot be as productive as one in top shape.”
“Okay, go for it.” Just lying here in the low light with the soft sounds and the omega’s voice, his warmth next to me was making me feel better.
“I want you to breathe in to a slow count of five, through your nose. Hold it for five, and then release it to the same count. Wait five then start over. We can do it together.”
The first few breaths were hard, as if there wasn’t enough room in my chest for that much air, but Briar encouraged me, and after a little while, breathing in and out together felt incredible.
I got past the place where, in the class, I’d tuned it out and gone right back to stressing out.
Nothing in my life had changed except knowing this bear and breathing together.
Everything had changed.
After we finished, he propped himself up on an elbow and looked down at me. “And?”
I kissed him.