Johnithan Kellerman – Bad Love

When I tried to take it from her, she said, “I’ve got it,” and headed for the steps.

As I unlocked the front door, she said, “We could at least get an alarm.

Everyone else has one.”

“Never been a slave to fashion,” I said, but when she didn’t smile, I added, “Okay. I’ll call a company tomorrow.”

We walked in and almost tripped over the bulldog, who’d positioned himself on the welcome mat. He stared from Robin to me, then back to her, where he lingered with Churchillian dignity.

Robin said, “My God.”

“What?” I said.

“He invented cute, Alex. Come here, sweetie.” She bent down to his level with one hand extended, palm down.

He trotted forward without hesitation, jumped up, put his paws on her shoulders, and embarked on a lick-fest.

“Ooh!” She laughed. “What a handsome boy you are-what a cutie-look at those muscles!”

She stood, wiping her face, still laughing. The dog continued to nuzzle and paw her legs. His tongue was out and he was panting.

She placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me a grave look. “Sorry, Alex.

There is now another man in my life.” Bending, she rubbed him behind the ears.

“Crushed,” I said, placing a hand over my heart. “And you might reconsider-he doesn’t have gonads.”

“Them’s the breaks,” she said, smiling. “Look at that face!”

“Also, he snores.”

“So do you, once in a while.”

“You never told me.”

She shrugged. “I kick you and usually you stop-well, just look at you, you little hunk. Apathy’s not your problem, is it?”

She knelt back down and got her face rebathed. “What a doll!”

“Think of the ramifications on your social life,” I said. “Meatloaf and kibble by candlelight.”

She laughed again and roughed the dog’s fur.

As the two of them played, I picked up the suitcase and carried it into the bedroom, checking rooms as I passed, trying not to be obvious.

Everything looked fine. I took Robin’s clothes out and arranged them on the bed.

When I got back, she was on the leather couch, the dog’s head in her lap.

“I know this is heartless, Alex, but I hope his owner never calls. How long, legally, do you have to run the ad?”

“I’m not sure.”

“There’s got to be a limit, right? Some sort of statute of limitations?”

“Probably.”

Her smile disappeared. “With my luck someone’ll show up tomorrow and cart him off.”

She covered another yawn. The dog looked at her, fascinated.

“Tired?” I said.

“A little. Everything okay around here? I’m sure you looked.”

“Perfect.”

“I’ll get unpacked.”

“Did it,” I said. “Why don’t you run a bath? I’ll put your stuff away, then join you.”

“That’s sweet of you, thanks.” She looked at the dog. “See, he really is a nice guy, our Dr. D. How bout you-you like baths, too?”

“As a matter of fact, he hates the water. Won’t even get near it. So it’s just you and me, kid.”

“How Machiavellian of you-where does he sleep?”

“Last night he slept in the bed. Tonight he moves back into the kitchen.”

She pouted.

I shook my head. “Uh-uh, no way.”

“Oh, c’mon, Alex. It’s just temporary.”

“Do you want those eyes watching us?”

“Watching us do what?”

“The crossword puzzle.”

“He’ll be lonely out there, Alex.”

“All of a sudden we’re into voyeurism?”

“I’m sure he’s a gentleman. And as you so unkindly pointed out, he has no. ..”

“Balls or no balls, he’s a nudist, Robin. And he’s got the hots for you. The kitchen.”

She tried a bigger pout.

I said, “Put it out of your mind.”

“Cruel ” she said. “Heartless and cruel.”

“Sounds like a law firm. Heartless, Cruel, and Horny-think I’ll put em on retainer.”

The dog posted himself at the bathroom door as Robin stepped into the suds. She soaped up, and I picked him up and carried him, grumbling, to his towel bed. The moment I put him down, he tried to escape. I closed the kitchen doors and gave him a Milk-Bone and as he began chewing, I snuck out.

He fussed for a while attempting a sonorous rendition of the old-manchoking bit, but I applied sound behavior theory principles and ignored him, while trying to suppress my guilt. After a minute or so he calmed down and soon I heard him snoring in two-four time.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166

Leave a Reply 0

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *