"Aww, Sally's nice." Ryley rubs my arm. "But… for like my grandma."
"Up top, babe," Liam says appearing around the door for a high five.
"What's wrong with Sally?" I mutter defeated.
"Everything, Jack. Everything is wrong with Sally. She's not an old lady with her nightgown and crochet shit... she's a dog. A cute, little puppy, that deserves to be pampered and loved... not run over by a massive truck," Jenny growls the last part. I'm having a hard time telling if she's pissed that I named her or if she's just busting my balls.
"I did not intentionally run her over! Yes, she's a cute puppy right now but she'll grow to be a woman—"
"Woman!" Liam barks out laughter from the other room. "A woman dog!"
"Shut up!" I grumble. "She's a puppy, but she'll be full grown, we are not calling our dog Princess!"
"Just because a dog is full grown doesn't mean it stops being a princess! Did Princess Dianna stop being a princess when she turned eighteen? No! So I think Princess fits!"
The dog whimpers and squirms in her arms.
"Princess is a name for a little girl! Not a dog! Sally... well Sally—"
"Sucks!" Liam yells.
Able carefully grabs Sally from Jenny. "Come on, Firefly." And he leaves the room.
My eyes shoot to Ryley who's just grinning at us then I look at Jenny.
"Firefly?" She smiles and shrugs. "Works for me."
"Firefly it is. I'll have to keep Able around to name our first born." I chuckle then realize what I just said and I feel the color drain from my face.
"You try naming a child Sally or Bob and I'm sure the woman carrying that child will throat punch you." She shrugs the comment off, but she's not making eye contact with me anymore.
Shit.
"Listen, Ry and I have some shopping we wanna get done. I'll check in on her later, 'kay?" she says.
"Yep. K. Sounds good, sure thing. We'll just be here." I can feel sweat rolling from my temples.
I can't believe I said that and I can feel Ryley's eyes bugging out of her head while she stares at me, but I can't even look at her.
"Shop. Enjoy it. Shop away." I let out an uncomfortable laugh and Liam steps in the doorway pushing the girls out while closing the door.
On her way out, Jenny walks by me and pinches my ass enough to make me jump,
"Later Lumber-Jack," she whispers then follows Ryley out the door as Liam closes it tight behind them.
I hear giggling from the hallway and plop into my chair dropping me head.
"Lumber-Jack?" Liam blurts.
"Get out," I mumble.
"Name our first born! Our first born! Our dog! Something you're not sharing, man?"
"Get out," I repeat and look at him. "I have a lot of work to do, I've been taking Sally-Firefly out every ten minutes. Just get out."
Laughing, he exits my office and I close my eyes. I was going to ask her to dinner but she's not going to get dinner with me after that. Although... she did slap my ass and still use the cute nickname. Maybe I didn't scare her with my stupid blunder.
***
When she shows up a few hours later to take Firefly back to Ryley's, she's alone.
"Hey, how's it goin?" she asks kneeling down to pick up Firefly.
She starts cooing and coddling her and I'm not even sure if she remembers I'm in the same room right now.
"Good, good. She uh, just went to the bathroom. Ate about twenty minutes ago. Her leg's been bothering her so I gave her the pill from the vet. She's good to go and I can pick her up after work? I'll be off around eight."
At the mention of the vet I notice Jenny's composure change, but she doesn't say anything. Just nods her head, still petting the dog.
"Sounds fine," she answers. "Anything I need to bring back with me? Leash? Bowls?" She's searching around and I can't tell if she's trying to find those objects or if she's just trying to ignore me.
"Yeah. I, uh, packed this." I grab a small duffle bag from under my desk that has all Firefly's things in it.
"You packed a diaper bag... for a dog?" She's trying not to smile but I see the grin crack through. "A diaper bag. For a dog. Really?"
"It's not a diaper bag. It's her things. Her meds, and toys, and food, and a blanket.... I packed a diaper bag for a dog." I drop my head until I hear her snorting laughter then take a step toward her, putting my hand on her hip. "So tomorrow she needs to go to the vet again. My sister said we can bring her by any time." I'm not sure if she's threatened by the vet, who is my sister, or why every time the vet is brought up she seems to bring out the cattiness.
"Mmm... have fun with that, I guess," she shrugs and grabs the bag. "I bet you'll really enjoy being there." She starts to walk to the door.
I'm holding back my laugh because that's my confirmation. She was just giggling and doing that snorting laugh I love but the second I said vet again she stiffened and became impassive.
"Yeah, I will. I get to visit with my niece while the vet, my sister, checks out Firefly. The vet... my sister. So, you want to come along?"
"Uh... oh. Um, sure. Yes, sure. What time?" she stammers, her eyes wide with embarrassment.
"Five." I chuckle walking back toward her because she's not leaving this office until I get her mouth on mine. "So, we'll take Firefly over there and get the scoop on her leg, then maybe they can sit with her for a few and we can get some dinners at The Capital Grille?"
She smiles up at me and relaxes a bit. "Sounds good," she says, her voice lower than before.
I see her eyes flash to my mouth and I know she's thinking the same thing I am. She's still holding the damn dog, though, so I can't do everything I want to to her, but it's not going to stop me from getting something.
"Bye, Firefly." I scrub behind her ear and before Jenny can turn to open the door I grab her chin. "Bye, you." I lean in for the much needed contact that I've wanted from her for a few days.
I intended on something sweet and simple but her tongue pushes between my lips and not until Firefly whimpers because we're smashing her do we pull away.
"Bye, Lumber-Jack," she says breathlessly then turns and slowly leaves my office.
***
I pick up Jenny and Firefly from Ryley's at four thirty and Able's begging to go. I can't stand telling him no and almost give in and just bring him to dinner until Ryley coaxes him away with ice cream.
"How was she today? You could have brought her up to the office." I smile at Jenny when we settle into the front of the truck.
"Fine. Able enjoyed playing with her but this whole house training thing sucks. I feel bad that it's on Ryley's floors." She smiles back at me and laughs as Firefly tries climbing across the bench to me.
Grabbing her, she puts her back on her lap and starts petting her to calm her down.
"I don't know how I'd be able to take care of a dog like this with as much as I work," she sighs.
Quit your job and move here are the dumb words sitting on the tip of my tongue but I just smile and reach over to pet Firefly.
"We'll figure something out." I push her pink hair behind her ear and rub a little, realizing I'm petting her like I do the dog and quickly pull my hand away.
"So!" I blurt and pull out of the driveway. "Joanna said she doesn't mind keeping her a few hours."
"Joanna. Is that your sister?" she asks like she still doesn't believe I don't have any interest in the damn vet.
"Yep, my sister. The vet. My sister the vet. She's a vet. She became a vet a few years ago. She became my sister twenty-eight years ago when I was born." I uncomfortably laugh. "My sister," I mumble looking out my side window. "Uh, my niece is Able's age, they play a lot." This conversation is feeling stilted and as cute as it is she's jealous of other women, I don't want her to feel that way because she's the only woman I've been able to think about since she's come back into town.
"That's sweet. I'm sure she'll have a good time with Firefly then." Her smile is bright and I hope that she finally gets the fact tha
t she has nothing to be jealous about.
"We'll have to get her, Able, and Firefly all together." I smile at her. "Maybe this weekend at the lake?"
"Oh... I go home Sunday afternoon... but maybe Saturday," she says then shrugs and grins. "I don't wanna keep them all night, though. I have plans before I return to the real world... and those plans don't include children."
"Oh." I scrub my beard a little and feel my knuckles getting stiff because now I'm getting jealous and it's mixing with anger. "I can just take them to the lake. You go ahead and enjoy your plans."
"Are you uninviting me?" She tries to look shocked, but she's not that good at hiding her emotions. She looks over at me as I park the truck. "Do you wanna know what my plans are, Jack?" she whispers.
"Yeah, no. No thanks." I push open my door and get out, slamming it closed realizing I'm throwing a temper tantrum. A tantrum! Like my niece does, or like I've seen Able throw one too many times.
I chuckle and rub my face because she drives me crazy in every possible way. Before she can get out, I round to her side and grab Firefly.
Jenny leans into me on her tip toes, her mouth so close to my ear I can feel the heat from her breath and whispers, "I'm going to fuck you on every surface of your house, Jack. You'll be so tired by the time I'm done with you, you won't be able to get out of bed for days. I need to get my fill of you before I go home." She nips my ear then turns and heads for the front door, leaving me dumbfounded in my sister's driveway.
"Now? What? Now? When?" I blurt hurrying behind her.
"Saturday night, ya big goof!" She laughs and slaps my ass before opening the front door.
"Those are the plans," I whisper more to myself because I feel like an ass not realizing what she was saying before.
"Uncle Jack!" Jos yells running toward me but puts on the brakes. "Puppy!" she screams and lunges but puts on the brakes again and her eyes are locked on Jenny. "I like your hair!" She's rather hyper this evening!
"Oh, thank you," Jenny replies instinctively playing with it. She never seemed nervous around Able, but with Jos she looks almost intimidated by the tiny girl.
Does she not like kids?
"Jos, where's mom?"
"In her lab." She lets out a menacing laugh then leads us toward the in-home clinic.
"It's not a lab, honey, she's not a mad scientist." I chuckle.
"Can your dog walk yet?" Jos asks, not caring about my correction.
"Not yet, hopefully mom can fix her up." We push open the door and I take Jenny's hand with my free hand because my sister has a tendency to be... similar to my mom.
"Hey." She smiles then her eyebrows raise when her eyes land on Jenny.
"Jo, this is Jenny. Jenny, my sister Joanna." I smile at her.
"Nice to meet you," Jenny says quietly. "Your office… uh... home is very nice."
"Hmm, thanks." My sister walks toward us with her hand out to shake Jenny's in what is probably the most uncomfortable contact I've ever witnessed. "So. How's Sally?"
"Oh! We renamed her Firefly. Well, Able renamed her. Jack and I couldn't agree on a name and since Able was with us when we found her, he named her and it stuck. I think it fits perfectly, don't you, Jack?" Her hand is still clasped in mine and she's smiling up at me like she knows exactly the type of person my sister is.
Great.
"It does. Princess was cute too." I smile down at her. "But I think she likes Firefly." I have to let go of her hand to put Firefly on the table and when I look at my sister, she's just staring at us. "Jo? The dog." I nod toward the sleepy Rot.
"Princess? Thank god Able had enough sense not to name her Princess," Joanna mumbles and I don't think she realizes that was Jenny's choice. She'd never be that rude, but I'm humiliated right now.
"Glad that attitude doesn't run in the family," Jenny smirks and I tense up not knowing what's going to come out of her crazy, beautiful mouth next. "Your brother seems pretty fond of that name.…" she trails off then leans in to Joanna and all I want to do is pull her away before she does more damage. "In the bedroom. If you know what I mean," she whispers then smiles and backs away, leaving Joanna glaring in our direction.
"So! You think the splint can come off soon?" I blurt while I watch redness fill my sister's cheeks. "She's really active. Wants to get up and go, go, go. Like she never sleeps. She's a rambunctious one, always up and at 'em."
"Sounds like someone else, huh, big boy," Jenny quips from behind me and I lock eyes on the dog because I hear my sister gasp.
"Did she have meds today?" Joanna stammers out and I look to Jenny, wishing I would have gotten the run down so I can avoid them talking much.
"Oh shit, she's supposed to take meds? Like... Tylenol? Or aspirin?" Jenny's face is blank and I can physically feel the anger starting to roll from my sister.
"Animals aren't supposed to have those types of medicines," she practically growls.
"Oh... what would I know? I'm just a doctor. That only practices real medicine." She pulls a bottle out of her purse. "Here, she took this. Don't worry, I didn't OD her." She tosses the bottle over to my sister and the shock from Jenny's attitude change has me floored.
"Okay." I chuckle nervously and put my arm around Jenny's shoulders. "Um, we're going to head out. Do you need us here? For this part?" I look at Firefly and she looks like she's begging me to get her away from both these women.
I'm right there with ya, girl.
"No," Joanna snips out. "Enjoy your dinner." When Jo turns to Jenny I almost instinctively step in front of her. "It was nice to meet you." Her forced smile is disguised enough I don't think Jenny knows it's fake.
"Same," Jenny replies forcing the same fakeness that's oozing from my sister. "Let's hit it, big boy," Jenny says grabbing my hand and starting to pull me out of the room.
"Uncle Jack!" Jos calls running down the hall toward us. "Is that your girlfriend? Are you his girlfriend? You're pretty. Can I touch your hair? Do you live with Uncle Jack now?"
"Well thank you. No, I live in Tennessee. Far away, but I'm here to visit for a couple of days. And I guess you can touch my hair." She kneels down so Jos can brush through her hair with her tiny fingers.
"It's real hair." She giggles. "It's like my pony's hair."
My eyes go wide and I grab Jenny's hand pulling her to stand while I smile down at my niece.
"See you in a few." I kiss the top of her head and pull Jenny out the door praying she doesn't remember the incident in the bathroom when I said the same thing.
She's giggling on the way out to the truck and I'm afraid to ask what's so funny. By the time my seatbelt is on and we're on our way she's finally able to talk.
"Your family," she whispers. "Dear Lord are your parents that strange too? I mean... pony hair? Is it a family thing? Have you all never seen anyone with colored hair before? And your sister... don't get me started on her."
I glance over at her, my hands tight on the steering wheel, and shake my head. I'd hate to see the day that she meets my mom if she thinks my sister is bad.
"Jos is just a little girl. She thinks that pony hair is pretty. I'm just an idiot when your mouth is on me," I say trying to lighten the mood and smile at her. "And my sister doesn't mean any harm. She wasn't trying to insult you." I clear my throat and glance out the window wanting this topic long over because if she starts disrespecting my family, this whole night is shot.
"Just different worlds, I guess," she sighs and lays her head on the head rest. "Oh!" She pops her head up and looks at me excitedly. "Ryley told me the baby's name today!" She's smiling and happy, so she can't hate kids, right?
"And it is?" I inquire though I'm not entirely certain I remember what they're having.
"Allie!" she squeals. "It's Ry's mom's middle name. Isn't it so cute?!" She clasps her hands together and smiles at me like I'm supposed to be excited that they named a child.
"The cutest!" I boast matching her enthusiasm and she laughs at me shaking her head and rolling her eyes. "I
t's a nice name." I smirk and reach over to take her hand.
"It's better than Sally," she quips and I bark out a laugh.
"Sally was kind of bad, huh?" I grin pulling into the parking lot of The Capital Grille.
"The worst. But Firefly is a fantastic name for our dog." She smiles and leans over to kiss me.
I can expect this not to be sweet and simple and since I didn't get to do it when I picked her up, I unbuckle and lean in to her, sliding my fingers into her soft pony hair. I knew I wasn't crazy thinking that. I almost laugh but I don't want to break our kiss that's making her give me soft moans while her nails scratch over my beard.
When I pull back we stare at each other for a minute until she giggles and hops out. I almost want to say screw dinner and head back to my place, but I think that'll take a lot longer than dinner would. Taking her hand, I pull open the door and lead her into the restaurant.
"Two?" The hostess smiles.
"Two." I nod and smile, but at Jenny because even in a room full of people, she's all I see.
When we sit down, I smile across the table at her until my face drops because I spot my mother's gray bob and the man across the table from her on his cellphone is definitely my dad.
Shit. No.
I drop my head and lift the menu.
"What're you thinkin' about getting?" Jenny asks as she grazes over her menu completely oblivious to the two people behind her that could very easily ruin this night.
"Burger. I like their burgers here. You?" I want to look at her but I'm afraid my dad will spot me so I'm talking to the menu.
"Show me, I can't find the burgers on my menu and meat sounds absolutely delicious tonight. Though... I will be eating some later.…" she trails off and I can tell she's grinning at me but I can't look.
The way her foot starts to travel up my leg and rest between my thighs makes me jump a bit, but I still can't lower the menu.
"Third page, toward the bottom. Not a good selection, but any of them are great," I rush out hoping to get this dinner over with quickly.
"Hmm.…" she hums and slowly circles her foot over me until I'm sporting serious wood and can't even focus on the words in front of me. She's still humming and perusing the menu without a care in the world. "I don't know," she sighs and turns the page.
Bang: Challenge Accepted Page 9