Page 130 of Grin and Bear It

“Colleen’s my ride-or-die bitch,” I said, holding out a fist and sure enough, Coll gave it a bump, “whereas you’re the mother I’m thinking of writing an Am I the Arsehole? post on Reddit about, just so everyone can tell me to ‘go no contact’ with.”

“You wouldn’t—” she said in a much smaller voice.

“Watch me. After having an image of me having sex—no, making love to someone I care about—circulated on the internet, I’ve got no fucks left to give. Come back later when I have a few to spare.”

And with that, I walked in through my damn shitty (although now beautifully efficient) front door, letting it slam behind me and Coll.

“Oh my fucking god…” Coll threw herself down on the couch and started writhing around. “The schadenfreude hit is so damn good right now, I feel like I’m gonna pop.”

“That doesn’t explain what you’re doing home at this hour though,” I replied, putting a hand on my hip. “Did someone post a photo of you fucking Dale on the internet and you’ve got the sack as well?”

She immediately became serious.

“No, and the bear shifter grapevine is in full effect. I heard about it and told my boss I had explosive diarrhoea, so I could leave work and see how you are.” She rolled over onto her side, resting her head on her hand. “How the fuck are you, El?”

I drew in a breath to answer her. I needed to, didn’t I? But as I felt around for an answer, I didn’t get far. There were too many responses flooding my brain. Pain but relief. Anxiety but also anger. Need but also a feeling of security, that the guys would step up if I just told them how. There was also one curious feeling, of not knowing, not having a plan, obligations, anything and that was both terrifying and exhilarating.

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly and for some reason that didn’t seem so bad. “I really don’t know.”

Chapter65

“So, I just want to prepare you,” Coll told me as we stood out the front of a house that looked like a damn historic mansion.

“That these people have serious fucking money and are too fancy for the likes of us?” I asked, eyeing the facade of the building.

“Not that. All these fuckers bought their houses generations ago, when they were falling apart. It's the only way anyone buys a house like this in this market.” She waved a hand, dismissing the house. “It’s just the bear community… They’re… tight knit.”

“That’s a good thing,” I said, peering at her.

“Caring, enthusiastic and utterly committed to their kids.”

“Also good,” I said.

“And really, really intense. Especially the grandmothers, because, damn…”

But before I could ask for further explanation, she spun me around, frog marching me up to the front door and inside to an expansive, beautiful period piece foyer and that’s when I found out first-hand what she meant.

The place was packed with adults, and you could be forgiven for thinking this was some kind of afternoon party, people standing in groups and nursing drinks as they chatted.

But all that changed when we walked in.

Several older ladies caught sight of Colleen and I, and their eyes widened, while their drinks were placed on whatever surface was nearest before they rushed over.

“Oh my goodness, darling girl!”

The woman who said this had long dark hair that was streaked with grey, her clothes a wild mix of colours and textures that managed to look Bohemian and expensive all at the same time. I was smothered in a cloud of patchouli scent as her arms went around me, grabbing me in a fierce hug.

“We heard what happened,” a more sedate woman said, her expression a picture of remorse. “It’s just terrible. Those boys…” Then her brows drew down. “But that school! It’s not as if mistakes haven’t been made before this. Those boys that took the photos and circulated them were dealing drugs at the school, caught red handed, but still allowed to stay enrolled. That’s far worse than the illicit circulation of a painting that was never meant to be viewed by the general public.”

“Mark is a lawyer for the community,” another woman said when the first one released me. She reached over and squeezed my hand. “He thinks you have a case for unfair dismissal. This is akin to revenge porn and that carries with it quite a hefty fine or even jail sentence.”

“Ah…” I croaked out.

“Ladies,” Coll said, stepping between them and me, “can I make some introductions? This is Ellie Jennings, the Walker sleuth’s mate.”

“So you haven’t been scared off the boys yet?” the first woman asked. “Oh thank goodness. The transformation in Nash has been striking.”

“And Cole,” one of the others said. “The boy was almost civil when he came in here.”

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