Not because I’d told him to. But because a blur of red tackled him to the ground.
A bear. A red grizzly stood over the biker—who immediately began to shift into a brown bear.
At least hestartedto. Just as his body began to expand and sprout fur, the red bear swiped at his face.
Once.
Twice.
And suddenly, the biker no longerhada face.
His shift stopped mid-transformation—an open gash where his eyes, nose, and sneering mouth used to be.
Dead.
The breath froze in my lungs. The biker who had grabbed me and refused to let go was now dead.
“Holy shit!” The lank blond shouted, as if to echo my own open-mouthed thoughts out loud.
He was already on his motorcycle. Apparently, he had no intention of suffering the same fate as his friend. He peeled out with a shriek of tires as the red bear let out a blood-curdling roar over the body of the burly biker.
Before swinging his massive head around to lock eyes with me.
no additional play partners
. . .
rysak
3summers ago
July 19, 5:18 a.m.
Mr. Good Time: Hey, sweetiebird, checking in on that list of boundaries you were supposed to send. Did you get mine? Still hoping we can connect when I’m in town on the 22nd.
July 20, 4:46 p.m.
sweetiebird: Yes, I got yours. It’s shorter than expected. Am I really not allowed to see your face? Ever?
Mr. Good Time: No. That’s a hard boundary for me. I thought you’d be the most upset about the kissing.
sweetiebird: I’m not. I don’t think I like kissing. It’s kind of gross, texture-wise.
Mr. Good Time: Okay, then maybe start your list off with “no kissing,” too. It’s fine if we have crossover.
July 21, 5:19 a.m.
Mr. Good Time: sweetiebird?
July 21, 2:13 p.m.
Mr. Good Time: One more day to the tentatively scheduled meetup. Should I cancel the reservation?
July 21, 2:34 p.m.
sweetiebird: I’m sorry. You’ve gone out of your way to put me at ease and make the conditions safe. But I’m still going back and forth with myself about meeting up—even if it’s just an initial discussion to see if we want to move forward.
Mr. Good Time: That’s understandable. You’ve never played within this dynamic.
