Page 18 of Her Painter Bear Mate

"Ah yes, so much more classy."

They chose a spot that overlooked Crescent Lake and sat down on the plastic bag from the store instead of on the frozen grass. The bag wasn't all that big which meant Clarissa's thigh was pressed against Dee's in a way that felt very intimate. But strangely, not uncomfortable.

It made sense, even though it had been a long time ago, they used to spend a lot of time together. Not necessarily sitting this close but sharing the atelier at school or hanging out in the craft store. It was a lot of casual interaction that never amounted to anything until now, where apparently Clarissa was the only person she could trust with her painter's block.

Dee handed one of the alcopops across and twisted the metallic cap off of hers. The smell was sweeter than she remembered and it almost tasted like pure sugar, but it instantly brought back memories of her teenage years. She'd never been much of a drinker, not like some of her peers who would get wasted every chance they had, but she wasn't unfamiliar with the occasional party.

"Yum. I forgot how tasty these are," she said, taking another swig.

"And they're actually pretty low in alcohol," Clarissa remarked, showing off the colourful label. "Only 4%. That's less than a pint. I don't know how I ever got drunk off of these."

"Teenagers are lightweights," Dee said, glancing at the group of youngsters sitting further away. Although from the looks of it, they weren't drinking breezers but something harder instead, likely nicked from their parents' liquor cabinet.

Millie barked, clearly unimpressed that they were sitting down instead of walking or playing games.

"Shush," Dee told the springer, pretending to throw an invisible ball and chuckling when the dog chased after it.

Clarissa laughed too. "Sadly, Bork is too clever for that trick. He even knows how to open the fridge."

When he heard his name, Bork perked his head up. His ears were slightly floppy and moved as he tilted his head curiously, as if trying to work out what was going on.

"Millie is only smart when it suits her. Other than that, she's selectively deaf. Like this. Millie! Come! Time to go home!" Dee shouted at her family dog.

The springer spaniel clearly heard her, gave her a defiant look, and sat down instead. Going home was her least favourite thing.

"Food time!" Dee called.

Both the dogs reacted instantly and charged towards her, bridging the distance in no time. They almost collided and practically trampled Dee for the chance of food.

Clarissa's laughter filled the evening. "Oh my goodness. You brought that upon yourself."

"There's no food, you dodo," Dee exclaimed as she pushed Millie off her lap. She threw another invisible ball which only tricked one dog. Bork remained still, his big eyes wide and sad.

"You'll get food at home," Clarissa said, leaning over to kiss his head. She did it with such affection and care, it was sweet to watch.

Clarissa was sweet.

The sudden thought alarmed Dee and she pushed it away, not sure why she was suddenly seeing her in a different light. For all these years, she'd thought of Clarissa as her bitter rival, and the desire to be better than her had motivated her. She couldn't just change her opinion on the fly.

She blamed the alcohol, even if she barely had any. Her remedy was to have more since they bought plenty and they were making her feel nice and warm. Plus it wasn't like she was going to get drunk off of these.

About an hour later, and three alcopops each, they were giggling about something Dee couldn't remember. She was now comfortably leaning against Clarissa, no longer bothered by the proximity or the cold ground. Somewhere between the first drink and the third, she'd decided that she quite enjoyed Clarissa's company.

An excited shriek came from the group of teenagers drinking on the other side of Vomit Hill and one glance explained why. One of the teens had shifted into a grey wolf and was trying to stand on his hind legs. The other kids were cheering and encouraging them, all enjoying the spectacle.

"Hey!" Clarissa shouted across the field. "No shifting in public!"

Not that the teens listened or cared.

Dee laughed like it was the funniest thing she'd ever heard. It was not an uncommon sight in Crescent Valley at all, especially amongst impulsive teens. It was a shifter village after all and while it was a secret from the wide world, people weren't too worried about being found out. Nowadays, people didn't believe in this sort of thing anymore.

"Must be an early bloomer," Clarissa said, humming as she sipped from her drink.

"What age did you discover you were a shifter?"

"Sixteen."

Dee's eyebrows raised. "You never said anything."

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