Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love (5 page)

One Monday, the queasiness was worse than ever. She thought about calling in sick, but she knew Marlene would most likely fire her. Jobs were pretty scarce in Russellville, and there was always somebody waiting to fill your position.

She made it to work, and the fresh air made her feel better. By the time she walked into the salon, she was back to normal. But, half an hour later, she was putting a silver tint solution on a crabby old lady’s hair, when her stomach lurched hard. She dropped her utensils, ran out of the door and threw up in the street.

She stood up slowly, leaned against the wall, and wiped perspiration from her brow.
What the fuck was that?
she thought, and her stomach gave a vengeful gurgle. She looked across at the city. Far in the distance, some pylons from the local industrial plant were just visible, pumping gray smog into the atmosphere.
It’s this town. It’s making me sick
.

“Where the hell have you been?” her boss demanded when she walked back into the salon.

“I’m sorry. I got sick,” she said. Marlene grunted.

“Well get back to it.”

“Marlene, would you mind if I went home? I still feel sick, and I think the smells in the salon are making it worse.” Marlene whirled around, glaring at her in disgust.

“Raven, you get back to work right now, or you won’t have to worry about any bad smells in here!” she hissed. Raven stared at her, and something snapped. She hated Marlene and her mean, bullying ways. She hated the salon, and the cheap customers she had to deal with. And she hated her dull, repetitive job.

“Screw you, Marlene. You’re a nasty, bitter, mean-minded woman. I’ve worked hard for you here, doing long hours, and never complaining. You don’t deserve me. I’m going to quit right now, before I become as mean as you, and everyone else in this ass-end of a town. I’m done! You can mail my final check to my home address.” With that, she ripped off her apron, threw it to the ground and stomped out of the salon for the last time, leaving a roomful of open mouths behind her.

She walked fast until she’d turned the corner and the salon was out of sight. Then she slowed her pace and put her shoulders back. For the first time in a long time, she felt proud of herself. And, what was weirder, her nausea had disappeared. In fact, she felt great. She passed a tree on the sidewalk, where a flock of birds were jumping from branch to branch, chirping. A whisper of breeze lifted her hair, and the scent of summer days filled her nostrils.
This is what life is about.

Raven sung and whistled most of the way home. When she arrived at her front door, she was soaked in perspiration, having walked right in the heat of the day, but she didn’t care. She’d had an epiphany.

“Raven! What are you doing home?” her mom squawked from a sofa in the living room as she entered the hallway. “Have you lost your job again?” Raven came into the room and perched on the sofa arm.

“Mom, I quit.” She held up her hand to prevent her mother from saying anything. “I’ve come to a decision. I’m leaving Russellville and moving to Hope Valley.” Her mom heaved herself up in her seat and put her glasses on so she could see her more clearly.

“Raven, have you lost your mind? Your home is here.” Raven laughed bitterly.

“Mom, open your eyes! This town is a piece of shit. There’s not one decent store or restaurant here. It’s not a place to have a life.”

“There you go, being all uppity, like the life we’ve given you isn’t good enough. And what do you think this ‘Hope Valley’ is going to give you?”

“I visited it during Amber’s bachelorette weekend, and it’s a lovely place. People seem happy there, mom.” Her mom made a ‘pffft’ noise. Raven looked at her sadly. Her mom’s world consisted of being at home, watching daytime TV, bickering with her husband and having dinner at Arby’s for birthdays and anniversaries. 

“And what are you going to live on? I know you spent all your money at that party. Wasting it on who knows what.” Raven sighed. She hadn’t got as far as thinking about the money part yet.

“I’ll sell the car, and a few other things. And I’ll find a job when I get there.” Her mom snorted.

“Just like all the other jobs you’ve had here in Russellville.”

“Mom, this is a really small town, and there aren’t many jobs. And maybe instead of finding a job, I’ll find a career – something I feel passionate about.”

“This reminds me a lot of that time you had fancy notions of going to art school.” Raven pressed her lips together, trying to prevent the anger that was welling up inside her from bursting out. She couldn’t even allow herself to think about that time when she was about to graduate from high school, and her mom had talked her out of going to college.

“I’m sorry I won’t be around to contribute to the rent any more, mom. But I’ve got to lead my own life,” she said instead.

Her mom sighed and picked up the magazine she’d been reading.

“Do what you want, Raven. But when it all falls apart, don’t come back crying to me.”

Raven spun around. She couldn’t take it anymore. Closing the door firmly behind her, she went up to her room, and lay on her bed while she wrote text messages to Caitlyn and Jennifer.

Caitlyn replied immediately:

Wow!!! I’m sooo happy for you! Let’s meet at Rick’s tonight. 6pm? We’ve got so much to talk about! xoxo

Raven grinned. She just knew that Caitlyn would be excited for her. Jennifer replied a few minutes later:

That’s great news, Raven! I’m not surprised Hope Valley has worked its magic on you. I’ll hook you up with Lauren. She knows everyone in the valley. I’m sure she’ll be able to help you find a job and a place to live.

Raven’s stomach fizzed with excitement. It was really going to happen! She was going to leave her drab hometown behind and move to Hope Valley!

She started sorting through her stuff. There was nothing to hang around for, and she wanted to get going as quickly as possible.

After lunch, she got a text message from an unfamiliar number:

Hey Raven. This is Lauren, a good friend of Jennifer’s. She tells me you’ve decided to move to Hope Valley. That’s great news! I need a little more time, but I’m pretty sure I can find you a cabin where you can stay on the cheap, inside the national park, and I’ve got a friend who’s looking for someone to work in her boutique furnishings store. Let me know if that interests you? Lauren xx

Raven gave a squeal of excitement and dialed Lauren’s number right away. Lauren sounded warm and friendly, and she told Raven that she’d be happy to show her around and introduce her to her friends. Raven said the cabin and job sounded amazing, and she got the email address of the store owner so she could send her resumé over. 

Raven looked up the furnishings store on the Internet. It was arty and high-end, and her heart gave a little jump. She imagined herself helping to select the pieces and show them to prospective customers. She spent most the afternoon writing her resumé. There wasn’t much to put in it – just a succession of jobs she’d had no interest in doing – so she included a letter too, saying how much she loved art and design, and hoped that would equip her to work in a furnishings store.

By the time she was heading out to meet Caitlyn, Lauren had called her back and said that there was a cabin available for $200 per month. “I won’t lie – it’s a little basic,” she explained. “But it should be comfortable. And if you’re missing any furniture, I’m sure there are plenty of us who can help you out.” Raven thanked her profusely, thinking how much she was looking forward to meeting her.

Caitlyn was already waiting for her when she got to Rick’s. The sun was dropping toward the horizon behind the dingy bar, and in her good mood, Raven even thought that it looked a little romantic. Caitlyn bounded out of her seat as soon as she saw her and squeezed her until she thought her ribs were going to crack.

“I’ve got some great news!” she shrieked.

“What is it?” Raven said.

“I’m coming with you to Hope Valley!” Raven gasped.

“What? Are you serious?” Caitlyn nodded manically, her eyes shining with excitement.

“I can’t stand another day working in that damn hardware store. I really liked Hope Valley too. Right after I got your message, I thought, what the hell? I’m sure Raven wouldn’t mind a bit of company, so I quit!”

“I would love some company!” Raven said, throwing her arms around her friend, and the flickers of doubt that she’d been trying to suppress disappeared altogether. Moving to Hope Valley with Caitlyn would be so much less scary than going by herself. She wouldn’t be lonely, wouldn’t have to carry the burden of rent all by herself. They skipped over to the bar and ordered beers.

“So what’s your plan? You have to tell me everything,” Caitlyn demanded.

“Well, looks like we’ve got a cabin to stay in, for like $200 a month.”

“A cabin? Quirky. I like it.”

“Me too! I just feel like I want everything to be different from here. I don’t care what it is, as long as it’s different.”

“Same. I don’t think I’ll give this town a backward glance when I leave it.”

“Cheers to that.” They clinked glasses.

“When should we leave?” Caitlyn said.

“Is the day after tomorrow too soon?”

“Hell no. I’ll just pack a suitcase.”

“Me too.”

“I’ll drive us. As long as that heap of junk in my yard makes it that far.”

“Great!”

They chatted for hours, discussing their plans and hopes for the future, and it was late by the time they left.

“See you on Wednesday, hun!” Caitlyn said as they hugged each other goodbye, and Raven half skipped all the way home.

The tour was going well. Timo and the other bears performed their shows night after night in one small town after another, to rapturous reactions from their overwhelmingly female audience. If they weren’t too far from Hope Valley, they’d go back home after the show and do their jobs the following day. But if they were far away, they’d book into a hotel and sleep the night there. It helped that they were shifters and could all pile into the same hotel room and sleep anywhere in their bear form, which kept the costs down. But it was sometimes hard to sneak ten big, muscular men past the front desk clerks, when there were only supposed to be two people sleeping in the room. Creative solutions included shifting outside the hotel, and sneaking in through the bathroom window or over the balcony.

The bears’ routines were getting better and better. It was hard for the mated guys to be away from their mates so much, but the single guys were getting a lot of confidence from all the female attention – that was, all the single guys apart from Timo. Ever since he’d mated with Raven, he’d been moping around, unable to get her out of his head. She was so present in his thoughts – her hair, her eyes, her lips. That sweet, voluptuous body. The way she’d come so hard around his cock, and still needed more from him. Her cute, sassy personality. She was his mate, and he’d let her get away.

“Timo, what’s wrong? You’re like a bear with a sore head,” Dalton said at the end of a show in Gallina. All the bears were having a beer to celebrate doing their biggest ever show, but Timo was sitting by himself, looking at his phone.

“No, just the idiot who let his mate get away,” he said. Dalton frowned.

“Well, go get her back, doofus,” he said. Timo let out a long breath.

“She ran away from me. We mated. It was really hot – at least I thought so – but she left without even giving me her number.”

“Did you ask for it?”

“No. She was on a call as she left me, and then she ran for her taxi. She doesn’t live anywhere near here.”

“Well where does she live?” Dalton was talking to him like he was simple-minded, but he didn’t really blame him.

“I can’t remember the name of the town. When we spoke to each other, I was so overwhelmed by knowing that she was my mate that I forgot most of our conversation.”

“And the ladies think you’re a red-blooded bear,” Dalton chided. Timo let out a very uncharacteristic growl.

“I am red-blooded. I’m just too polite for my own good.” Dalton hmmphed.

“What are you looking at on your phone?” Dalton asked, peering over his shoulder.

“Just the map. I’m looking at all the towns in the surrounding states, trying to remember the one she mentioned.”

“Any idea what kind of an area we’re talking about?” Timo shook his head. Then a bolt of recollection hit him.

“Wait – she was having a bachelorette party. And she said it was a three-state tour.”

“Great! That narrows it down. So it has to be one of the states adjoining ours.” Dalton scratched his head. “Or one of the states adjoining one of those states.” Timo sighed.

“That leaves a lot of options.” 

“It sure does.” They kept looking at the map, saying the names of all the small towns that crisscrossed the landscape out loud.

“Will you even recognize the name if you see it?” Dalton said.

“I don’t know.” Dalton looked at Timo sideways and laughed.

“Dude.” He shook his head slowly.

“It’s got to be worth a try. What else can I do? – Oh – wait. I think this is it.” Dalton squinted at where Timo was pointing with a ragged fingernail.

“Russellville. That it?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m pretty sure. I remember her saying it now.” He tried the name out a couple more times.

“It’s pretty far from here.”

“Yup.” Timo sighed. “And there’s no way I can get over there any time soon. We’ve got shows for the next three nights, then I need to head back to Hope Valley to finish a homebuilding project.”

“But after that –” Dalton pulled a scrap of paper with their schedule scrawled on it out of his back pocket. “We’ve only got another ten days until we’re done. And it looks like our final show is over in that direction. So you could go over there when we’ve finished, and see if you can sniff her out.” Timo’s spirits lifted a little.

“Yes! I’ll do that,” he said. It still felt like a long shot, but it was better than nothing.

*

The next ten days dragged. The bears performed in some bigger towns, with huge audiences. Their fame was spreading and women were coming from far and wide to watch the Bear Heat boys go the ‘whole nine yards’ as their marketing material advertised. In some of the towns they weren’t allowed to do a full strip, and in the towns where they were, the women went crazy, and the venues had to employ bouncers to keep them from rushing the stage. The bears could never understand why them being naked was such a big deal, but it was kind of cool getting such an excited reaction. Timo kept taking a girl from the audience on stage every night, but he didn’t enjoy it. His mind was full of thoughts of Raven. When he tipped the girl backward and pretended to kiss her, he always kept well away from her mouth, and instead, he remembered how amazing it had been to kiss Raven’s soft lips on stage.

At last, the bears performed their final show in a mid-sized town called Stanford. The concert hall where it was being held was full to bursting, and a bunch of photographers crouched in front of the stage, taking photos for the local paper. There was a no-nudity law in Stanford, and the guys finished their show using their helmets to preserve their modesty. As they went back to the dressing room, Timo was full of elation. Tomorrow, he’d leave the rest of the bears as they went back to Hope Valley in their tour bus, and he’d take off in the direction of Russellville.

Early the following morning, as dawn was still breaking, he hugged his clan goodbye.

“Best of luck, bro. I have a good feeling that you’re going to find her,” Dalton said. Timo waved them off and boarded the first of the three buses that would take him to his final destination.

Five hours later, he stepped off the bus, dropped his duffel bag on the tarmac and scanned his surroundings. From first impressions, as the bus had taken him through the downtown area, Russellville wasn’t a pretty town. It looked like it had been constructed from plastic by a giant hand and deposited on the land, fully formed. The stores were the same ones that blighted the landscape all over the country. Timo gave a wry smile as he recalled that this was exactly why they’d been doing the strip shows – to save Hope Valley from a similar fate. He tried to imagine Raven living in the town, but couldn’t. She was too bright and beautiful for a place like this. He took a deep sniff of the air, adrenaline rushing through his veins. His initial plan was to try to pick up her scent. He’d walk every single strip of sidewalk if he needed to. And if that failed, he’d start asking around the local businesses to see if anyone knew her. He headed west, retracing the path of the bus, back to the downtown area.