Brave This Storm

On the Reservation, May was the start of summer. And although it was neither warm or sunny, the start of summer meant the start of weekly barbecues, the first of which Mariana was going to today with Paul and Donovan. A couple of kids from Donovan’s pre-K were going too, so at least Donovan would have someone to play with other than Mariana and Paul’s friends. Under supervision, obviously.

“Are you sure you can’t make it, Amy?” Paul asked, picking the bag of food up.

“I’m sure. I’ve got a private meeting with just the Council members. I promise to make the next one,” Amelia smiled.

“If you’re sure. Call me if you need anything, okay?” Mariana said, taking Donovan’s hand.

Amelia chuckled and nodded, ushering Paul, Mariana and Donovan out of the house. The three of them got into Paul’s car, driving the short distance to the beach so they wouldn’t have to walk later when Donovan was tired.

“Are the rest of the Pack coming today?” Mariana asked quietly.

Paul smiled slightly at what she called his friends, but he nodded.

“Yeah. Leah and Seth are coming in a couple of hours, but everyone else should be here already,” Paul nodded.

Mariana smiled and leant up a little, pressing her lips to his in a gentle kiss before she helped Donovan out of the backseat. Paul grinned as she bent over in front of her and slapped her ass, making her scowl but playfully slap his arm in return. When Donovan was securely held in Mariana’s arms, Paul pressed another quick kiss to her lips before taking her free hand, the three of them walking down to the beach.

“Mommy! That’s Petey and Jericho from pre-K! Can I go and play?” Donovan asked excitedly.

“As long as you behave yourself and stay where I can see you,” Mariana nodded.

Donovan grinned and clapped his hands together jumping out of her arms to run towards his friends. Mariana waved at the two boys’ mothers in greeting, watching her son kick around a soccer ball with an affectionate smile. He really was growing up so fast.

“He’ll be fine, relax,” Paul murmured in her ear, squeezing her hips slightly.

Mariana smiled and nodded, knowing Paul was right.

“I’ll go get us some beers, okay? Don’t move an inch,” Paul grinned.

“I won’t,” Mariana giggled.

She giggled even more as Paul kissed her deeply, bending her backwards a little before letting her go, winking at her as he walked away. The smile didn’t leave her lips as she wrapped her arms around her body for warmth, happiness buzzing through her body. She still couldn’t believe how lucky she was to be with Paul. He had become the perfect gentleman for her and she couldn’t be more gratef…

“You really aren’t what I expected,”

Mariana turned around at the sound of a high-pitched nasal sneer, frowning when she realised the over-primped orange-coloured fake-blonde girl was talking to her, three identical girls standing at their ‘leader’s’ side.

“Excuse me?” Mariana frowned.

“You’re not his type,” the main girl said again.

Paul. Of course.

“You know nothing about Paul and I,” Mariana said coldly.

“We know you’re not good enough for him,” the second Barbie sneered.

“He’s only with you because of the sex,”

“Why would he ever date a girl with a kid?”

“Paul would never want that responsibility. He only wants sex,”

“You must be giving it up pretty easily for him to still be hanging around you,”

Mariana’s head swam with their words, but she quickly shook her head, desperate to ignore them. They were lying! What they were saying couldn’t possibly be true! Paul had imprinted on her! Wait…he imprinted on her. He wouldn’t be with her because of Donovan if it wasn’t for the imprint…no! She wasn’t going to let their words get to her…right?

“It’s isn’t like that,” Mariana choked.

The four girls smirked at each other.

“I think you’ll find it is,” the first girl said simply.

With that, they walked away, leaving Mariana frozen and frowning. No, she was better than this, better than their immature gossip. But…their words made so much sense. Their words hit the insecurities she’s kept hidden since she and Paul first started dating. Paul wouldn’t…he wouldn’t only be with her for sex, would he?

“Hey babe, sorry it took so long to get drinks, I got talking to Jared and you know what Jared’s like when he gets going,” Paul chuckled, kissing the side of her head as he appeared next to her.

“Don’t worry about it,” Mariana mumbled, accepting the bottle of beer.

“What’s wrong?” Paul frowned, not understanding her change in mood from when he left her.

“Nothing,” Mariana said.

“I don’t believe you. What’s wro…”

“Nothing, okay! Just drop it!” Mariana interrupted, finally looking at him, although she was glaring slightly.

“Okay, fine. Talk to me when you get the stick out of your ass,” Paul muttered.

Mariana rolled her eyes at his comment, folding her arms over her chest as she let her eyes rest of Donovan, preferring to watch him than think about what had just happened between her and Paul. Sure, she should probably have talked to him about it, but she just didn’t want to. It wasn’t anything she couldn’t deal with, right?