The Maverick Pride Tales - Chapter 34: Chapter 34

Jessica arrived at her boutique just in time to field calls and prep online orders.
It had been a mad rush that morning for whatever reason. Though Jess figured it was due to a certain white haired Witch setting up dates left and right.
Kylie, a young female Tiger who helped manage the store while working on her own designs, was so glad to see her, the woman tackle-hugged Jess.
“It’s been insanity here all morning!”
“That’s good, right? I am sorry I’m late, I uh, had a meeting,” Jessica replied.
“OMG! You went to see him, didn’t you?”
“Who?”
“That matchmaking Witch everyone is talking about! Well,” the she-Tiger prompted.
“Who did he set you up with? Not Lance, right? That guy is so conceited!”
Jessica laughed and the two young college girls she’d hired part time walked in, not even looking up from their phones. She told them what needed doing and took Kylie’s arm, pulling the woman to the back of the store. She didn’t need everyone knowing her business.
“Oh, and by the way, I need more of those pink and white polka dot gift boxes. You said you would give me the email addy for your supplier? But first, spill,” Kylie added.
Jessica sucked in a deep breath. This was all so new, she wasn’t sure she wanted to tell anyone just yet. But Kylie wasn’t just her store’s manager and brilliant lingerie designer.
She was her friend. The blonde was a Shifter, and like Jess, she had curves on her curves while being a head shorter than most. Her designs were incredible. She made panties, bras, teddies, and all sorts of sexy gear and accessories that Jess sold in her shop.
She just loved her designs. Jessica knew good quality, and she had an excellent eye. She’d been toying with the idea of investing in Kisses by Kylie, which was the blonde she-Cat’s label, and now more than ever she was ready.
Jessica already found an excellent manufacturer who was keen to get their hands on some of Kylie’s prototypes. She was still deciding which to send first so they could be duplicated to sell in the store.
Right now, she had some basic panties and bras, and they were already some of her biggest sellers. The fact that Kylie was also a fluffier woman, like Jess, was a bonus.
All her designs came in real people sizes. They were comfortable, sexy, and wouldn’t break the bank. Perfect for the type of attire Jessica’s Closet was known for.
“First, thanks for working late today,” Jessica said.
She had been out later than expected. After receiving an impromptu lunch invitation from the Pride Beta, she lost track of time. Being out on a date with Brayden had been easier than she’d expected.
“No worries. It was slow in the morning, but that just meant I could work on designs. The afternoon traffic made up for it though, and we sold out of those stretchy velveteen dresses you ordered on a whim. Anyway, look what I made,” Kylie said and held up a silvery lace number that made Jessica’s eyes bulge out of her head.
“Holy shit, Ky. That is gorgeous,” she exclaimed.
“Thanks! I really appreciate you helping me and taking the chance on my work, Jess.”
“Are you kidding? These pieces are fabulous! I was going to wait to tell you as a Christmas bonus, but I am so investing in your Kisses By Kylie. I already put in a call to my lawyer and financial advisor. I should have a proposal for you Monday.”
“Oh my gods! Really? I mean, I have no idea how to start this. I only just moved here and don’t have a lawyer⁠—”
“Look, I would be dumb not to invest in you when you are so obviously a genius. And I already told Hunter to call the Pride lawyer on your behalf. His services are for everyone in the Pride. You can meet with him at your convenience, and he will help you with my offer and any counter offers you might make. Then he can draw up a contract, so we are both protected.”
“OMG! I am stunned, really!”
“Honestly, Ky, this is gonna be awesome. You are really gonna start building your brand, and I will just be lucky to get to sell you before you get bought up by some crazy big department stores,” Jess said and laughed as her friend tackled her again.
“I am so happy, Jess, thank you.”
Kylie jumped up and down in her excitement.
“Listen, I am so into this, but I don’t want to sell out to some big corporation. At least, not yet. I am thinking, I can start that affiliate program you talked about and other small boutique owners like you can sell Kisses by Kylie too.”
“Sounds amazing,” Jessica replied, excited for her friend.
“You think so?”
Kylie sounded so elated, and Jess was thrilled for her. It was a good move. Jessica was happy to help. She always thought money should work for the person who had it, and she hardly had to do anything here at all.
It would be work, of course, and she would make sure Kylie was not being taken advantage of. The woman was too kindhearted sometimes. But ever since she came to town, Jessica had a good feeling about her. She had a past, something about her old Pride, but she was safe in Maverick Point under the Neta’s protection.
The two females had hit it off immediately, and Jess even offered her a place to stay. Now, Kylie lived over the shop in the tiny attic apartment above Jessica’s. The three story building was just the thing she’d wanted when she’d returned from college. Lucky for her to have an inheritance that allowed her to buy the property without any issues.
“Of course, I think this is awesome,” Jessica replied, answering Kylie’s whispered question.
She ran her hands over the silver silk and lace confection the designer still held, wondering if a certain Bear would like something like that or if he were more a cotton panty sort of guy.
Not that she would be finding out anytime soon. Or would she?
Ugh.
Damn the man for confusing her so.
“Alright, what went down with you today? You seem up one minute and down the next. Come on. Spill!” Kylie demanded for the second time.
She was a pretty woman with her short blonde curls and big green eyes. She’d moved to Maverick Point after spotting their own little mountain in her rearview mirror. Jessica loved hearing that story.
The she-Tiger had left her old Pride and was driving across the country, looking for a place to start over after she’d finished her first design course at a community college back in South Carolina.
Jessica had found her just a half mile out of town with a flat tire and brought her to see Hunter immediately. Ever since then, they’d been friends, and the woman had never looked back. Which was fine with Jess. She could not picture life without her.
“Fine,” she said, knowing Kylie was like a Tiger with a bone when it came to wanting information.
“I went on a date.”
“Shut up!” she gasped aloud. “OMG. Tell me more, girl,” screeched Kylie.
Her cute little Southern twang made itself known in her excitement, and Jess grinned. Her excitement was positively contagious.
“It’s no big deal. I mean yeah, I visited Uncle Uzzi, you know the Witch who runs the matchmaking service. He was at the Pride House today as you know, and don’t think we won’t talk about why you skipped it, anyway, he sort of suggested Brayden ask me out,” she explained hastily.
Jessica felt Kylie’s eyes boring into her with curiosity. She looked down, pretending to study her cuticles, and felt her cheeks burning under her friend’s scrutiny.
“Wait? How did she know you had the hots for Brayden?”
“What do you mean? I don’t have the hots for Brayden,” Jessica replied, and the stink of her lie burned her own nose hairs.
Uh oh.
Okay, fine. Maybe she had the hots for a certain sexy Bear. Her inner Tiger chuffed, and she rolled her eyes. The silly feline had more than the hots for the big sexy Bear. She wanted to rub her scent all over him, roll over on all fours so he could mount her, and get started making cubs.
Eeeeek!
Prrrrrrr.
“Fine. Maybe I am sort of attracted to him,” She admitted under Kylie’s emerald stare.
“Look, I didn’t even realize it until today,” Jessica said and shrugged, new hurt winding its way through her veins.
“Not that it matters. He wants to be friends.”
“What? Oh that is some toro excretio,” Kylie replied, using the Latin for bullshit.
“I’ll be fine, Ky,” Jess started.
“No way. Let’s finish locking the doors, then we can head upstairs for some margs and snacks. I got just the tequila to make you start talking, girl, and you are gonna tell me everything,” Kylie said, nodding and squinting her eyes at Jess.
All those Southern no nonsense mannerisms she had made Jess smile despite the heartache. She was right. Jessica could use some girl time.
A little while later, both women were in Kylie’s apartment, since she wanted to show Jess more of her new samples. And she was the one with the tequila.
“Is this spiked?” Jessica asked.
“Just a little magibrew added. I don’t want us sauced, but let’s face it. We need to let our hair down,” Kylie said.
Jess had made a pit stop at her apartment, where she grabbed a little tray of cheese cubes, rosemary crackers, sliced salami, and slivers of fresh jalapeno peppers. A perfect snack to go with some classic margaritas and girl talk.
It had taken them an hour to close up the store and was now nearing six o’clock. Tequila, snacks, and some girl time were a perfect way to end what had been, in all honesty, a really confusing day.
“Okay, start at the beginning,” Kylie instructed, popping a loaded cracker in her mouth.
She was a good friend. Kind and honest. Much nicer than many of the other she-Cats who’d come running to the Pride House earlier that day to meet the famous matchmaker.
If only Jessica could have been a fly on the wall during those meetings. From what Elissa had told her, the women had not been thrilled with Uncle Uzzi’s advice. The old Witch had told the other females they’d needed to grow as people before they thought about getting mates.
The very idea made Jessica chuckle, and she made a mental note to send the elderly Witch a box of Elissa’s brownies as thanks.
“So, after that whole awkwardness, what then?” Kylie asked.
“Well, he took me to this really good sushi restaurant in Maccon City. It’s called Roll Over.”
“That’s like a two hour drive, isn’t it?” Kylie asked with a mouthful of cheese, so it sounded more like thatliketwoourdriveinnit.
Good thing Jessica spoke fluent girl-with-food-in-mouth.
“Yeah, and with traffic, it took longer.”
“So, what did you do on the way?”
“We talked.”
“You talked?”
“What else could we do while he was driving, you pervert?”
Jessica tossed a cracker at Kylie, but she just caught it and giggled as she shoved it in her mouth.
“It’s crazy, but I never really had a conversation with him before. Did you know male Black Bears in the wild weigh about five to six-hundred pounds and Shifters are almost double that? His Bear is over nine hundred pounds,” Jessica said.
“That’s really interesting and all, but did he, you know?”
Kylie waggled her eyebrows. The blonde knew all about Jessica’s obsession with the perfect kiss. They’d shared many a bottle of tequila with Jess describing her ideal mate in detail. Silly really, but a girl had to dream.
“No. That’s why I am so frustrated. He wanted to kiss me. I mean, I think he did. I could scent his desire, but he pulled back last minute.”
“Okay, hold up. You need to go over every move he made from the time you sat down to eat.”
Jessica sighed. She supposed Kylie was right. So, taking a huge gulp of her delicious classic marg in the stemless glass with black salt clinging to the rim, Jessica recanted her entire date.
“What do you feel like having?” Brayden asked.
“Want to share one of those big boats?”
She’d meant it innocently enough. They were Shifters, and they could eat, but the second she found the item on the menu, Jessica’s cheeks had heated furiously.
“You mean a ‘love boat’?”
“Um, yeah, I guess. Sorry. If you don’t want to-”
“No, it sounds good,” he insisted and placed their order.
“You ordered the LOVE BOAT!”
Kylie snickered, interrupting the story by belting out the old television show tune. Off key of course.
“That was a Freudian slip if I ever head one,” the Southern Cat added unhelpfully.
“Shyaddap,” Jessica retorted and playfully pushed her aside.
“Look, I forgot what it was called. Anyway, we got it and it was delicious. By the time we’d eaten everything, including some green tea ice cream for dessert, we’d been there over an hour.”
“Okay, then what happened?”
“Well…” Jessica began, falling back into her story.
Brayden held Jessica’s hand and walked her to the car.
“I really enjoyed going out with you, Jessica.”
“Thank you. I had a nice time, too.”
“Maybe we can do this again sometime?”
“I’d like that.”
Her stomach clenched as she smiled at him and waited. This was it. The moment she’d been dreaming about since she was a cub. Her purrfect kiss was imminent.
Brayden leaned in closer. So close, their breath mingled. Jessica tipped her head back, eyes half-closed as she watched the near descent of his lips.
“Seat belt,” he said, clearing his throat.
He’d spoken in a hushed tone, and it took a moment for her to understand the words. The sudden loud click of the buckle connecting separated them with a jolt, and she could have died from embarrassment.
Jessica smiled tightly, and Brayden moved to the driver’s side.
“That was it? That was the near kiss?”
“Yeah. The rest of the trip we talked about nothing, really. Christmas, sports, music. Nothing big.”
“Did he ask you out again?”
“Uh, no, actually,” she murmured, looking into her near empty marg glass.
“Well, that doesn’t mean anything,” Kylie said encouragingly.
But Jessica didn’t believe that. Lunch had been nice, but was it anything more than a pity date?
Ugh.
She wished she knew.
“Hey, let me show you the new nursing bra I was working on for the Nari.”
Just like that, Kylie changed the subject, for which Jessica was eternally grateful. She didn’t want to spend too much time thinking about what had happened or what had not happened between her and Brayden.
Her girly parts were screaming at her for not just taking the big man in hand, but she had never been that forward.
Could she even do something like that? Most Shifter’s owned their sexuality with a natural sort of sultriness that she did not seem to possess. Maybe she was doomed to a sexless life.
After all, if Brayden was her mate, he would have wanted her, right? Felt desire for her, at least. Isn’t that what all Shifters felt when they met their fated mates?
Maybe Brayden simply wasn’t hers.
Mine.
Her she-Tiger growled the thought, pushing it into her head with strength. The thought of trying to find anyone else made the feline positively furious.
But still. Jessica had her doubts. Maybe the infamous magical matchmaker Uzzi Stregovich had gotten it wrong.