He looked at her and smiled. “You looked so confident.”
“Sure, that’s to keep everyone guessing. But, I was really wobbly to begin with.”
“Oh, me too.” He turned the scallops over in the frying pan to brown them on the other side.
She turned off the saucepan and set it aside to let the noodles rest, then he pulled out plates and put the scallops on them. She quickly added the noodles.
“Do you want to sit on the deck or at the dining room table?”
“Let’s eat our dinner out on the deck.” She grabbed their drinks.
He carried their plates and silverware outside.
They sat down at the table on the deck and listened to the water lapping at the shore and the breeze rustling the branches. Off in the distance, they heard an owl hooting, and a few minutes later, another called back. A mated pair.
Kendra took a bite of one of her scallops. “I love the hooting of the owls. I wish we could see them.”
Even though they could see well at night, the owls were too far off. Their exceptional hearing made the owls sound much closer.
“Yeah, me too. But it’s wonderful listening to them.”
“The meal is delicious and so are the daiquiris.”
“I’ll have to fix fresh watermelon margaritas some other time.”
“I’m all for it. I love cocktails, but I rarely drink unless it’s with someone.”
“Same here.”
“We’ve got to have scallops again soon. They are so good.”
“I’m all for it!”
“The noodles are great too.”
“Yeah, they’re an easy fix to go with lots of different meats for a quick meal.”
Then they cleaned up after dinner and retired to his bedroom. He never expected to have a girlfriend staying with him at his place. He’d dated a number of bears over the years, but none of them had ever stayed at his home. He just hadn’t felt the connection with them, like he did with Kendra.
“Do you ever shift in the middle of the night accidentally?” Kendra asked as they entered the bedroom.
Smiling, he glanced at her. “On occasion. If I hear a noise in the house that I’m unfamiliar with, I’ll shift and check it out. But accidentally, every once in a while. Usually, I’m dreaming that I’m a bear running through the woods. You?”
They started to strip off their clothes in the bedroom. “If I hear an unusual sound in the house, I bring out my taser.”
He laughed and climbed into bed. “I should have known.”
“Well, if we have an intruder, you can be a grizzly, and I’ll be armed with my taser.”
“Just don’t shoot me.”
She joined him in bed and moved over while he did the same to snuggle with her. “Okay, so I’ve accidentally shifted when I’ve been dreaming also. I’ll be so surprised that when I go to turn on my lamp to grab a drink of water, I’ll knock everything off my bedside stand with a big furry foreleg.”
He laughed. “I’ve rolled off the bed and woken myself up, surprised to see that I’d shifted in the middle of the night. Usually, it happens when I’m overly tired.”
“What about sleepwalking?”
“Not that I know of. What about you?”
