Free T.J. Klune - Bear, Otter, and the Kid 1 - Bear, Otter, and the Kid by TJ Klune Page A

being here.” “Sure, Bear.” His hand brushed mine.
I was almost asleep when, “Bear?”
“Yeah?”
“Happy birthday.”
Then I was gone, a smile starting to form on my face.
    I
DREAMT that night. I dreamt a lot. But the one that sticks out the most was where I was following someone I didnt know. I tried to catch up with him but every time I was close enough to grasp a piece of his clothing, he drifted away on an ocean current.
    I
WOKE near dawn. For a moment, I didnt know where I was. I opened my eyes and saw the bottom of a couch. My face was almost resting against it. I felt pressure from my back and remembered where I was. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to will it all away. Then the thing pressing against my back moved slightly, and I knew it was Otter. I heard him snoring softly, his wide back settled against mine. His body was pushing me into the couch where Ty still lay asleep. The dust from space near the floor tickled my nose. I shoved gently away from it, and turned over and huddled up next to Otter. He was warm. He was there. I fell back asleep.
    I
WOKE sometime later to a tapping on my forehead. I scowled, not wanting to open my eyes, the pillow I was lying on feeling too good to want to move. I squinted up, annoyed, and saw the Kid staring down at me from the coach, his eyes dancing.
    “Hey, Bear,” he said.
“Hey, yourself,” I groaned, closing my eyes again.
“Why you sleeping on Otter?” he whispered, clearly amused.
    I opened my eyes in a hurry. I turned my head slightly to the left and saw that the pillow I was laying on was Otters shoulder. His right arm was under my neck and wrapped around me on the other side, fingers splayed across my chest. One of my legs lay spread over his. He was still asleep. What the hell? I thought. I slowly extricated myself from him, never taking my eyes from his face. My heart was beating loudly in my ears, and I felt my skin buzzing. What the hell?
“Did we have a sleepover?” the Kid asked.
    “Uh, yeah,” I said. Otter mumbled something in his sleep and turned over on his side, away from me.
“Im hungry,” Ty said, stretching. “Do you think Anna still has Lucky Charms?”
“I dont know, Kid. Lets go look.” I picked him up from the couch and carried him toward the kitchen.
     
He pulled on my ear. “What?” I asked, suddenly way too awake. “Dont you want to wake up Otter so he can have some Lucky Charms with us?”
    “Otters dont eat Lucky Charms.”
He looked at me quizzically. “But Bears do, right?”
“Sure, Kid. Thats all Bears eat,” I said, taking one last look at Otter, splayed out on the floor. I trembled.
    I carried Ty into the kitchen and set him down at the table. I walked over to one of the cabinets and pulled down the box of cereal and grabbed a bowl from the dishwasher. I set them in front of him, and he immediately opened the box, pouring the cereal into the bowl. I took the milk from the fridge and set it next to him. As soon as he was old enough to, the Kid never allowed anyone to make his cereal for him. He always wanted to do it himself. I sat in the chair beside him, my mind racing from everything.
    “Arent you gonna have some, Bear?” he asked, smacking his lips over the spoon.
I leaned over and ruffled his hair. “I was just going to munch off of yours, if thats okay.”
    He looked down at the bowl then back up at me. “Okay,” he said slowly. “But you only get little bites. Not big ones.” He held the spoon in one hand and picked up two marshmallows and put them on the spoon. They were the green clovers. He knew those were my favorite. He held the spoon toward my mouth, and I chomped them off, making a noise that made him giggle. “Hey, Bear!” the Kid said.
    “Hey, yourself!” I said back.
“Its your birthday!”
“It sure is.”
“I made you something! Well, Anna helped, but I made most of it. Can I
    go get it?”
“Sure, Kid. Just make sure you be quiet, okay?”
He nodded and took another bite and then