“You know you can’t just bribe me with animals anytime you want my attention.”
“No?” he asked, his smile saying he believed the exact opposite.
“Hey, Dezi,” I called when he turned to walk away.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you,” I said, the words a little thick because, for some unknown reason, I was feeling really freaking emotional.
Seeming to know it wasn’t the moment for words, he gave me a nod, then turned and walked off into the night.
Did I stand there and watch?
Yes, yes, I did.
But that was between Rosita and me.
“Alright, baby, what do I do with you?” I asked as I carefully set her back down on the floor, watching as she walked off and went to take a big drink.
With her distracted, I went into the kitchen to check out all the things that Dezi had picked up for her.
He’d even provided a mini pig care guide.
“Well, Rosita, it sounds like we have to be careful what we give you as a snack, or you will get so fat that it can fuck with your ability to even walk. So… veggie snacks it is,” I said, turning from the care guide to open the fridge.
And I shit you not, this pig knew what the fridge door opening meant, because she came rushing through the house, still letting out those little grunts of hers.
It was right then that I realized that Dezi hadn’t just gotten me all her care supplies, including an abundance of veg in the crisper drawers.
Oh, no.
He’d completely fucking stocked my fridge.
Like, there was no room for anything else.
I mean, yes, he’d stocked it with lazy bachelor food. Rotisserie chicken, pre-cooked meals that just needed reheating, packaged soups, deli meat, whole milk, and no less than four different kinds of soda.
But, well, I was a big fan of lazy bachelor food seeing as I’d never actually learned how to cook.
And because, it seemed, Dezi had quite a sweet tooth, the spot where butter was supposed to go on the door was completely packed with candy bars.
I reached for one with greedy fingers as I grabbed some of the loose salad greens for Rosita.
“Here you go, girl. Lettuce for you,” I said, sitting down on the kitchen floor, placing her pile in front of her. “And chocolate for me,” I added, pulling off the wrapper and taking a big bite.
The sound that came out of me right then would have made neighbors think I had a male visitor. Or a fully-charged vibrator.
And I swear to God, in that moment, I felt my eyes flood with tears.
Tears.
Me.
I never cried.
My life never would have allowed for that kind of softness, that level of vulnerability.
But sitting in my kitchen with my pig and a candy bar provided by an outlaw biker with seemingly nothing but good intentions, I couldn’t seem to blink them away, feeling them slide down my cheeks.
I couldn’t stop them, either.
So I just sat there, tears flowing, stuffing my mouth with chocolate while my pig nestled up next to me and fell asleep after her long day.
“Okay. Wow. Jesus Christ,” I said a few minutes later, scrubbing at my cheeks with my hands. “What the fuck was that about?” I asked, startling Rosita who jumped up, looked around for a moment, then made her way toward the bathroom.
Curious, I followed behind, finding her in a giant litterbox, doing her business.
“Alright then,” I said, nodding. “Good girl. I don’t know about you,” I told her, grabbing my toothbrush and paste. “But I am beat.”
With that, I finished with my teeth, got changed, and walked back out to the living room, coaxing Rosita onto her bed.
“Bed time,” I told her, feeling my heart sink as she just sat there, staring at me. Like she knew I was about to go a floor above her, and she wasn’t going to be able to follow. “I know,” I said, sitting down on the other side of her obnoxiously oversized dog bed. “I am irresponsible not having a wall of some kind up there, huh? Don’t worry, I’ll sit with you until you fall asleep,” I promised her, rubbing her as she settled down.
And, yeah, I passed the fuck out on the damn dog bed with her.
It was one of the best nights of my entire life.
All thanks to the walking red flag named Dezi.
CHAPTER NINE
Theo
Nothing like a little car crash to be the cherry on the pie of your day.
As if I hadn’t already been behind on everything.
The stack of paperwork my father wanted me to memorize, the errands I needed to run for him, and my fucking cell phone bill.
In fact, that was at the top of my mind when I pressed my foot to the brake pedal and felt it go right to the floor.
The fact that while my cell was safely within reach, I wasn’t sure if I even had service anymore to call emergency services.