Page 10 of Age Gap Bear's Enemies-to-Lovers Mate

I don’t have any words for her. No, that’s not true. I have a lot of words, but they’re just a jumble in my mind right now and I don’t think this is the time to try to get them sorted out. So, instead, I just pick her up like I might pick up a child and carry her to the couch.

I sit down with her and she leans into me. She’s not crying anymore, but I can feel that something has changed for her. Her entire body is relaxing against me, the tension and aggression, and intensity have evaporated. She feels soft now, delicate.

A deep sigh runs through her. “Clint, I ...” She starts and then, goes quiet again. I feel her shaking and I know that she’s crying again.

“Olivia, it’s okay.”

She starts to shake harder.

I don’t completely understand what is happening with her, but I know what I'm feeling. The bear in me wants to protect her. The bear in me is seeing her as his to protect.

It isn’t something I ever thought I would think in connection to Olivia Morley. What we were doing was like excising demons every time we met, but there always seemed to be new ones to take their place. Everything was angry and demanding.

Now, I’m holding her and yeah, I feel protective. I want to make it better. I feel a softness towards her.

And I am very fucking confused.

I slowly become aware that she’s not shaking and crying anymore. Her breathing is regular and she’s relaxed completely. I gently slide out from beside her and see that, like I guessed, she has fallen asleep. I lie her back down and go to get a blanket from my room.

I cover her with it. Then, I stand there and brush her hair back from her face. I can’t stop staring at her. What am I thinking? What am I doing with this girl? Are we just playing with each other? Some part of me knows that nothing about that thought is possible. This isn’t a game. We both wish it was or wished it was before but it isn’t a game.

I decide to pick up something to eat. I figure Chinese food is a safe bet. It was the one choice she was actually enthusiastic about before. I walk around and collect my jacket, wallet, and keys as quietly as possible, like she’s a baby I don’t want to disturb.

The drive definitely does me some good. About forty-five minutes later, I walk back in the door feeling a little less upended. I’m carrying a big bag of Chinese food from Wu’s Panda Garden.

“Hey.”

I almost jump out of my skin. “Oh hey.”

I look at her and it’s like I’m seeing a new person, and I smile like a fool.

Look, I know that I sound like some dippy romance novel guy right now. Lookie here! The girl has a breakdown and the hero has a major breakthrough and sees that she isn’t just some bitchy privileged brat or something, but that she’s really a gentle soul with too much on her shoulders and now he feels ready to help her carry whatever burden is causing her so much distress, and soooo...

So much bullshit. Utter bullshit.

“Um, I brought dinner back from Wu’s.”

She smiles. “Sounds awesome, thanks.”

I nod. I head to the kitchen and get us some plates and her a fork because she’s no good with chopsticks.I feel like the fact I know that means this isn’t playing a game, right?

I go back to the couch and set things out on the coffee table. It’s really just a giant wood slab that’s been varnished. I made it myself back in the days when I thought of pursuing a more creative life.

“So, I really have to apologize for going looney tunes just then. I’ve just been so in my head and, well, you know.”

I think I do. “It’s nothing to worry about. How’s the beef and broccoli?”

“It’s really good. You definitely know how to pick these places.”

“Why thank you. It’s good to know I have a career to fall back on. Food connoisseur.”

She laughs and it’s the first real laugh from her I think I’ve ever heard. Her whole face lights up and I can’t believe how beautiful she is.

We chat about things in a very lighthearted way. She brings up pets in her childhood and I talk about the worm I made my first pet when I was just three. “I saved it from my dad’s bait bucket when we went fishing. He didn’t know what to do with a kid that didn’t want to put it on the hook and get fishing, but it came back home with us and had a container garden all to itself.”

“So, what did you name it?”

“The one logical name. Wiggler.”