*Just a quick side note, I'm a HUGE H.G Wells fan. One of my favorite books is "The Time Traveler"
Nate stood in the Lawson’s living room, taking in the sights (this being his first time in the house) while waiting for Eric to come back downstairs. Only half his mind was focused on wondering why their living room was full of boxes. He’d put off thinking about Kenya the entire night. And now he really needed to release some of the pent up emotion.
“Hey Nate,” Spencer waved a paw at him. Nate smiled and waved back, but inside felt extremely jealous of his brother and his girlfriend. They looked extremely happy together. Nate wished he could find someone that could make him that happy, and still be loyal.
“What’s with that pink thing?” Nate took a second to wonder when he noticed the bright pink band on Spencer’s finger. That could wait until later.
“Sorry to take him away. Hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.” Nate said.
“Eh, just the chess match of the century, but that’s okay. I don’t think it would have ended well anyways.” Spencer shrugged.
“Doubting my abilities?” Eric feinted a gasp.
“No. But the match wasn’t going anywhere. You two were just going back and forth at that point.” Spencer said.
“Mmm, good point. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Eric leaned up to kiss Spencer’s cheek. She met him halfway, and licked half of Eric’s face.
“Gee, thanks. I needed a bath.” Eric said, wiping the saliva from his cheek. Spencer smirked and went back upstairs, shouting to her father she wanted a turn to kiss his sorry hindquarters.
“What the heck were you guys doing?” Nate asked.
“Playing chess. But that’s not important right now. What exactly happened?” Eric gently closed the Lawson’s front door behind him. Nate waited until they were a ways away. Not because he was worried about the Lawsons overhearing, but because he needed a second or two to gather up the nerve to tell Eric the events of the afternoon.
Ben and Alex had dropped him off only a few blocks from the Lawson’s house. They went on ahead, back to Alex’s place since Frances and Samantha were still having their private weekend. Ben offered to let Nate come back with them so they could talk, but Nate declined. He didn’t want to be any more of a party pooper. And he seriously doubted either of them understood how he felt.
Eric was patient and quiet, waiting for his brother finish recounting his day. Eric felt a mix of emotions hearing his brother’s story. Sad that Nate and Kenya had a falling out, very similar to his own falling out with Julie. But even more disappointed that it looked like Kenya would be out of the running as a potential were partner.
“I don’t think I’d feel comfortable doing it with her now. It’d just be too weird.” Eric thought. Which effectively put him back at square one with Spencer. But that wasn’t important right now. Nate’s problem came first, then his own.
“Well?” Nate looked at his brother when he was finished. The two were sitting on a curb, much like Spencer and Eric had been after Eric caught Julie and her wereotter friend. Only this situation was more serious, given that Nate revealed that he and Kenya had been planning on one day getting married. Which threw Eric for a loop to say the least.
He knew Julie had had plans like that in her mind, but never thought much of them. Until now.
“Would she really have wanted to get married someday? Right after high school? I’m kind of glad things worked out because I don’t think I could have made that commitment. Although I pretty much told Spencer the same thing. But at least she’s on the same page as me.” Eric realized he basically proposed to Spencer by giving her that ring. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing, or if it made him seem a little crazy.
“Hello? Eric, are you in there?” Nate waved a hand frantically in front of his brother’s face.
“Oh, sorry just thinking.”
“Ya, that figures. But back to my problem, what the hell am I going to do?” Nate asked.
“I can’t tell you what to do Nate. This is between you and Kenya. But, my advice would be to think things over before you go and make this breakup official.” Eric echoed the same advice Spencer had given him two or so weeks ago.
“Why? I don’t think I can ever be with her again. Now that I know what she’s been doing behind my back.”
“What if this was a one time thing? I mean, like this is the first time she’s been with someone else. Maybe she had a lapse in judgement.” Eric offered an alternative explanation, but Nate didn’t buy it.
“She clearly knows this guy. Why else would he have proposed?” he said bitterly. Eric couldn’t explain that. From what Nate told him about Kenya’s, aka Kendra’s, other profession, she was quite popular with the gentlemen she serviced.
“Maybe one of those guys got the wrong idea.” Eric said.
“Then she would have said no right away. She kept the ring Eric. Kept an engagement ring from some other guy. And I don’t have a clue who this man is! What he’s like, if he’s got something I don’t, or…” Nate stopped himself before he got too worked up and started crying in front of Eric.
“Look, no one’s perfect. And ya Kenya really screwed up. But just talk to her once more. Maybe you guys will be able to patch things up, maybe not. It doesn’t hurt to talk.”
“You gave Julie a second chance?” Nate asked.
“Yes. We talked, and agreed to take a break from the relationship. Of course I found out she was still seeing that otter, so I ended it. She apologized, but I really doubt she was sincere about it. But Julie isn’t Kenya.”
“I get that. I just… I don’t think I can trust her again, you know?”
“Yes.” was all Eric needed to say. The two sat in silence for a long time. The brothers stared up and the clear night sky. Eric’s thoughts drifted from Julie to Spencer. How happy he’d been with Julie, and how he thought one day they might have a life together. Until he found out how manipulative and “loose” she really was.
“Spencer and I have so much more in common. And there’s mutual respect. I don’t think Julie ever saw me as something more than a piece of arm candy to drag around.” Eric thought. He did wonder what he would have looked like as a weremer.
Nate was wondering if Kenya felt the same way he did. They both jumped into the relationship headfirst, knowing little to nothing about each other. And even now, they barely knew each other.
“What’s her favorite color? What does she like doing for fun? The only things I know about Kenya are her preferences in the bed. I don’t even know what her parents names were, or her aunt’s or uncle’s. Maybe if I’d made more of an effort to get to know her this wouldn’t have happened. Spencer warned me, I should have taken the warning more seriously.” Nate thought.
“Did you think you and Julie would end up together?” Nate finally broke the silence between the two.
“Ya, I did.”
“Then how do you know Spencer’s the one? How does anyone know who the ONE is?”
Eric really couldn’t believe his older, more experienced brother was asking him these questions. Eric was hardly an expert when it came to relationships, let alone women. He still preferred to spend his days indoors with a book (though spending days inside curled up with Spencer sounded pretty nice too). Meanwhile Nate’s idea of a good time was going into the big city, and partying (like he had tonight).
“I can’t really explain it. Part of it’s just that we have so much more in common. But most is something I don’t really understand myself. I mean, I did run after her with a baseball bat when her crazy ex-boyfriend came to town.” Eric reminded Nate.
“I guess I’d do the same thing for Kenya. Or you, or Mom. Or Dad, Ben, Alex, Frances or Samantha. The list goes on and on. But… I CAN picture a life without her.”
“Then I think you just answered your own question.” Eric said.
“Ya. I guess so.” Nate sighed. Then, surprising Eric, Nate hugged his brother. There they were, sitting on the curb a block from their house and hugging. Eric patted Nate on the back, and then asked him to let go.
“Sorry, didn’t know how else to say thanks.” Nate said when they pulled apart.
“It’s okay. But a little warning would be nice next time.” Eric said, still amazed his brother hugged him. In his entire life, Nate only hugged him three other times. Once when they were little and wrestling, another for a family photo, and then once to embarrass Eric in front of a group of girls from his class.
“Sure. We should probably get home, it’s almost eleven. Bet Mom and Dad are waiting up for us.”
“Or enjoying the fact that they have the house to themselves.” Eric said, knowing full well that it was more likely their parents were rolling on top of each other. Both brother made sounds of disgust at the thought of their parents having sex. Again, even some things were taboo for weres.
“If I smell or hear anything suspicious, we’re sleeping in the backyard tonight.” Nate joked a they got up and went back to the house.
“Sounds like a plan.” Eric smiled, glad to see Nate was back to his old self again.