He nods, and the wet dark brown curls in his hair bounce from side to side.
He really is quite…….
"Would I what?" he asks.
Oh…that’s right, I was talking, focus. "Would it be possible to borrow something to wear?" I ask timidly. "I'll pay for laundry or replace it with something new," I shrug. Poor bastard, I ask him to rescue me, give me a bed for the night and now supply me with clothing and food.
"Sure." Without hesitation, he marches into the house and I stand at the door and peer in after him. He goes into the bedroom and closes the door. What's he doing? I frown …do I follow him, or is he coming back?
I look back out into the rain as it comes pouring down. It's like a mini cyclone or something.
I see something in the darkness coming up toward the front steps and I squint my eyes to try and see what it is. It's black and mangy and it begins to come up the front steps toward me.
A wolf.
A wolf.
A fucking wolf.
"Ahhh," I scream as I hobble into the house. Oww, my ankle hurts.
How did I forget?
Before I can close the door, the wolf runs in behind me and jumps up and grabs me with his front legs. "Ahhh," I cry as it corners me in the kitchen. "Help!"
The wolf jumps up and goes up onto its back legs and I cover my face with my hands. "No," I scream. "Oh my God, there's a wolf in the house. We're all going to die."
"Rex," I hear Jack’s deep voice bark out.
I look up. "Huh?"
The dog begins to hump my leg with vigour and my mouth falls open in horror.
What the hell?
"Why you……get out of here," Jack snaps as he shoos him away. The dog runs toward the door but not before shaking himself off, with mud and water spraying everywhere.
"Out," Jack bellows with a loud clap.
The dog runs out and Jack slams the door behind him, his eyes come to me and then he shrugs. "He's a bit wild, that one. Goes crazy when it rains."
"You own that dog?" I gasp.
"Yep, that’s Rex." He puts his hands on his hips as he assesses the damage. There is mud is everywhere. "Never seen him hump anyone before, though …. I guess he doesn’t get to see pretty girls too often."
I roll my lips to hide my smile. "Well, I never got humped by a dog before either, so it was a first for both of us."
He smirks, amused by my answer. He pauses as if lost as to what to say next. "You can take a shower if you want. I have some clothes for you to put on."
"Thank you." I shrug. "Much appreciated, that'd be great."
He holds his hand out to guide me. "It's this way." He walks through the house and out the back door and I frown as I hobble along behind him.
He turns and looks down at my foot. "Is your ankle okay?"
I hobble along. "Yeah, I'm fine," I reply as I follow him. Oh dear God, it's an outside bathroom. Please, no more semi-wild animals that want to have carnal relations. There's an awning that joins the house and the bathroom. It's covered but rain is still blowing in a little.
"This isn’t fancy like New York," he says. He opens the bathroom door, turns the light on and I look around. A large metal bath sits in the middle and a shower hangs overhead. The tiles are white, it's clean and well kept. Not at all what I expected, and I smile. "It's perfect."
His eyes hold mine and for the first time I get a feeling that Jack isn’t as tough as he makes out to be. "I can't thank you enough for helping me tonight," I say.
He nods once, his lips pressed tightly together.
"Is there a towel?" I ask.
"Yeah." He opens a cabinet to reveal a stack of clean towels. They're all different and don’t match, but clean, nonetheless. "Just in here."
"Thanks."
He hesitates.
I glance toward the door. "Is the sex maniac dog going to come barging in here?"
"Possibly." He points to the lock. "Use this." He walks out and closes the door behind him, and I hear him walk away up the hall.
I look around at my surroundings and turn the hot water on. It comes out fast and hot and I breathe out a sigh of relief. I peel my wet clothes off and quickly wash the mud out of everything and squeeze them out. I put them in the sink to try and let them drain, before I climb under the hot water and let it stream down over my hair.
"Feels good." I feel myself begin to relax for the first time in hours. "What a nightmare of a day."