Free Laid Bear by Marina Maddix

broken when Kimmy stumbled into the kitchen wearing nothing but her panties, her mane of gorgeous thick, brown hair jumbled into a rat’s nest of tangles and her makeup smeared every which way. Normally the most stunning of the three women, she was most certainly not the prettiest one in the room at that moment.  
    Especially when she started projectile vomiting.

A fter Charlotte had helped her clean up Kimmy’s technicolor display, Bethany had called it a night, handing out blankets and pillows to everyone except Kimmy, who got a couple of towels and a prime sleeping spot in the bathtub. Thankfully, no one made a peep for the rest of the night, a fact she could verify since she didn’t sleep a wink. She couldn’t stop thinking about their conversation.  
    “Hey, B?” Charlotte was in the doorway of the bedroom early the next morning, keeping her voice low in case Bethany was sleeping…which she wasn’t.
    “Yeah?”
    “I’m gonna take these cretins home now, if I can wake them up long enough to get them to the car. You gonna be okay?”
    “Yeah, I’m good. Thanks for coming over. I’ve really missed you guys.”
    Char laughed. “After last night I’m not sure why.” Her tone grew serious. “Listen, I’m here if you ever need anything, okay?”
    “I know. Thanks.”
    Char nodded and left. Bethany could hear her dragging a mumbling Kimmy out to the living room where she and Paul struggled to dress her. Bethany just stayed snuggled under the comforter, not wanting to face the world. She heard their car drive off and then dozed off.
    The doorbell’s solitary bong woke her. Someone must have forgotten their keys , she thought as she shrugged on her robe and padded to the door.  
    The last person she expected to find standing on her front porch was Chet. “Oh! Um, what are you doing here?” she asked nervously, looking around for potential witnesses.  
    Chet’s expression was grim but he held up his hands in a gesture of peace. “I would just like to talk with you for a minute, if that’s okay. Can I come in?”
    Bethany gnawed on her lower lip, seriously considering slamming the door in his face, but found herself stepping back to let him in. Normally she would have offered a guest something to drink but she didn’t want to encourage him to linger so she crossed her arms and gave him a ‘Get on with it’ look.  
    “Sit, please,” he said as he took it upon himself to take a seat. She lowered her bottom to the very edge of the couch, tense and ready to spring if he threatened her.
    “What do you want?”
    He smirked. “I know you won’t believe me, but I do like you. I like your spunk.” He could see her wariness and nodded.
    “Okay, so you know about us now. You know what we are, yes?”
    She nodded.
    “And you’re desperately in love, I suppose?”
    She just looked at him. That was none of his business.
    “Fair enough. Here’s the thing. Max is young and idealistic. He thinks anything can be overcome with love. And as much as he doesn’t want to hear it, you need to know that he’s wrong. About a lot of things.”
    He stood quickly, startling Bethany into jumping back into the embrace of the couch. He ignored her and started moving around the apartment, absentmindedly picking up knick-knacks or flicking imaginary specks off the walls. “Max and a few younger bears think that we should mix with humans. They think that since most of their lives are spent in human form, it shouldn’t be a problem And it wouldn’t be, except when it comes to breeding.”
    Bethany’s nose squinched at the clinical term. She’d never thought of babies as ‘spawn’ or ‘offspring’. They were babies , not a medical condition. But she kept her thoughts to herself and let him continue.
    “You see, these young bears don’t fully understand the ramifications of diluting our bloodlines with impure stock, such as yourself. No offense.”
    She almost laughed at the last bit because the first bit was so