Chapter 6
Chapter Six
DOREN
Doren was experiencing an uncomfortable emotion they’d never felt before, and they didn’t like it.
They’d made their way to the coffee shop before heading out to surf, as they always did when they visited Linwood Falls, geared up for their peppermint latte. There was a bounce in their step as they anticipated the sweet combination of milk and chocolate and mint.
When they reached the storefront, however, a discomfiting sight greeted them there. The sweet man in red flannel—now wearing a green-and-yellow cable-knit sweater—stood at the counter, and Rex was speaking to him.
Rex was more than speaking to him. Rex was touching his hand.
Betrayed by the barista!
Doren couldn’t fault Rex. Jake was just as delectable as he had been three days earlier when they’d met.
Seeing him again without a kitten to worry about, Doren took Jake in more fully.
He had curves, yes, but they were covering a layer of muscle.
Maybe he’d played a sport in college? Football?
His shoulders and biceps were quite developed.
His short hair was the perfect deep chestnut. It stuck out every which way, the result of putting a winter hat over wet hair. Doren was glad that Jake couldn’t shapeshift. Doren always had perfectly coiffed hair when they transformed, but they lapped up Jake’s sexy imperfections.
After a minute, Rex made eye contact with Doren through the window. Shit. The barista had a possessive glint in his eye that sparked a fire of competitiveness in Doren’s gut.
If he were cruel, Rex could point out that Doren was spying on Jake. Before he’d have the chance, Doren darted around the corner to the other side of the building and monitored the front door of the coffee shop through the tall shrubbery.
Bushes. Doren was hiding in the bushes. How had they let themself get to this point?
Despite feeling somewhat ashamed, they didn’t leave their hiding place until they spotted Jake heading back to his house.
Doren needed a peppermint latte. And to talk to Rex. Slipping out from behind the bank of shrubs, they stepped into the coffee shop and made a beeline for the cashier to order their drink.
The coffee shop suddenly didn’t seem as cute as it usually did. The decorations had lost their holiday sparkle. Doren stared at Rex as the barista made their drink.
The man was handsome. His curly hair was perfect for Jake to run his fingers through. More of a twink than Doren ever had any chance of being in their human form, the slight barista was probably Jake’s preferred type. Didn’t every hot bear want a pocket gay?
Not only that, but Rex also wasn’t a shapeshifting alien with a true form straight out of a sailor’s nightmare. Rex probably had a normal family and a normal life.
When they’d flirted with Jake a few days ago, Doren hadn’t had time to assess the situation.
They’d just seen an adorable man running after an adorable kitten and went for it.
Now, though, Doren was distinctly aware of all their shortcomings.
All the things they couldn’t offer Jake because of belonging to an alien species.
Even if Doren had the luck of Jake being interested, he’d run away screaming when he found out the truth.
“Peppermint latte for Doren?” Rex placed the large sugar bomb on the shelf, and Doren grabbed it. Before taking a sip, though, they couldn’t resist asking about Jake.
“Thank you, Rex. Who was the gentleman you were just speaking to?”
“Gentleman?” A light pink blush washed over Rex’s face as he pumped flavor shots into the next drink. “Oh. That’s Jake. He’s new in town. He’s nice.”
Doren sipped from their cup, but frowned when they found it wasn’t as sweet and creamy as they remembered. “Are you planning on declaring your interest in him?”
Rex frowned and steamed some milk. “That’s a weird way to put it. And I don’t know. There aren’t many gay guys in Linwood Falls during the winter, and…but why would he date a barista who’s never traveled fifty miles from his hometown?”
Damn. Doren couldn’t even be angry at the barista. It would be easier to fume and storm out, but now they were in the position of being both jealous and empathetic.
Doren wished he were surfing. That always made everything better.
Time to do that now. “I’m certain you shall soon find a paramour amongst the citizens of this beloved village.”
Rex said nothing, instead staring at Doren with an inscrutable expression on his face. Was he confused?
Doren shrugged and headed out the door. They couldn’t spend their time worrying about a barista’s love life. They had to come up with a plan. Surfing. Surfing always made it easier to think.
Soon enough, Doren was out on the water, and they already felt better.
The water, shockingly cold to a human, was the perfect, bracing energizer for Doren.
Their mind went blank as the repetition took over.
Swim out. Catch the wave. Focus on each move as they drove back to the shore. Swim out once again.
One hour turned into three, and Doren still hadn’t solved the problem of how to approach Jake. They were vaguely aware that the man might be watching from his window—alright, more than vaguely aware—but the surfing calmed their thoughts and helped them let go of some of their worries.
Some of them. The next morning, Doren still didn’t approach the house. Instead, they repeated the same actions. Peppermint latte. Surf for hours. Don’t think about how to talk to Jake.
By the third day, it had become a routine, but more than that, Doren was acutely aware of Jake staring out the window at them. The day before, just a few moments here and there, Doren had caught sight of him standing there.
On day three, though, Jake had turned his chair to face the sea. He watched for hours at a time. Had Doren not been doing their favorite activity in the world, they might have been nervous.
When Doren finished their third day of surfing and returned their surfboard to its hiding place, they knew something had to change. Shifting back into their true form, Doren brooded as they swam home.
They’d have to make a move. But what should that be? Jake always seemed to be at home. Should they just walk up and knock on the front door?
No, they needed something more suave. Something that showed just how interested they were. That they wanted more than some fleeting moments of pleasure. That they wanted something real.
Wait. Did Doren want that? They’d met Jake barely a week before, and no matter what they built up in their head, they didn’t know the man at all. Why were they so obsessed? It couldn’t just be because of how attractive they found him.
Doren detoured from their path, needing more time to think. They made their way to the wreck of an old fishing boat. It had sunk maybe sixty years ago, and the rotting wooden skeleton it left behind was teeming with life.
As the sun set above, the algae bathed the wreck in an eerie green glow, the shimmering rays cutting through the water like paper-thin knives of light.
Fish swam in and out of the many holes in the wooden hull like a slow-motion whack-a-mole game, and one end of the structure had collapsed in on itself.
Some might have thought it melancholy, but Doren found it peaceful. Carving slow shapes into the water surrounding the wreck, they considered why they were acting this way. What about Jake was so important that they’d defied their parents?
If Jake were of the same species…well, he wasn’t. He was human. But if he were of Doren’s species, Doren might suspect the two of them were bondmates. When two of their species’ physiologies matched, they found themselves inexorably drawn together. Nature itself encouraged the pairing.
Bondmates formed strong partnerships and families. Doren’s own mother and father were bonded.
But Jake was human. Their physiologies didn’t match at all. Yes, Doren could take a human shape, but at its core, their biology was not of Earth. Still, Doren couldn’t deny the pull toward Jake. The man had been a constant presence in the back of their brain since the moment they’d met.
It didn’t matter. If Doren wanted something with Jake, they needed to make a move. Even if it might end in disaster. Even if Doren’s true form might disgust him. It was a risk they’d have to take.
Swimming up to the beach the next morning, Doren found Jake had taken the risk first.