Case of the Gold Retriever

by Erik Schubach

  I looked over at our fuzzy boy as we walked and pouted over the fact that he walked beside her whenever we were together. He looked to her as the Alpha of our little pack. Even worse, she thought she was the Alpha too, with her confidence, swagger, and commanding presence. But I knew the truth. Just like a man, she was ruled by her stomach, and I was the one who fed it. Game, set, match for Alpha-Fin! Cape flutters in the wind.

  She caught my smirk and cocked her head in question. I rolled my eyes at her as we reached our building. My smile bloomed at a familiar motorcycle parked right up front. I shook my head and asked, “How does she seem to be able to do that every time?”

  She supplied as she held the door open for Calvin and me and I ducked under her arm to scurry in, “It is her superpower. She can find a parking spot anywhere. Well, that and she can piss off every other driver on the road when she does it at their expense.”

  Calvin went dashing up the stairs ahead of us, and after snagging the mail from the positively antique brass mailboxes embedded in the corridor wall, we headed up too.

  I smiled at the sight of Calvin being a touch-slut and soaking in the attention of a red headed amazon who looked as if she had just stepped out of the pages of some biker chick magazine. She looked up from where she scratched the silly boy's ears and smiled her disarming smile at us.

  I always got a little bashful around Jane's ex, who was now one of our best friends. I smiled at the thought of me thinking in 'us' and 'our' terms now with Jane. I felt like I looked like a pre-pubescent boy around the two tall and gorgeous women, and I still couldn't believe that Jane had chosen me. I always felt inadequate when I compared myself to Jessie, but behind that badass image she liked to project, she was such a fragile sweetie, and I could see why Jane had loved her.

  I saw her as my best friend beside Jane now. The only problem was, that even though it was Jess who had precipitated their breakup, she liked to use me to tease Jane. It had become almost a game.

  She stood and said as we approached, “Hey ladies, was just in the neighborhood and wanted to see if you wanted to head next door for coffee?” Then she moved in front of me and gave a seductive look to make Jane jealous. “Hey, short stuff.”

  I shoved her shoulder playfully as I blushed profusely, saying, “Behave, Mable.” I couldn't help smiling.

  Jane's grin was all teeth as Jess grumbled. She hated her first name, and I had learned it by pure happenstance when she introduced me to her mother. It was great fun to tease her about it. It was the only ammunition I had to fend off her heated innuendo at Jane's expense.

  Then her eyes narrowed as she took me in. Her eyes fixed on my sundress. She asked in half anger half concern, “You ok Finnegan?”

  I glanced down, and my good mood dampened. Oh yeah, my dress... the stains were probably well set by then. I sighed and said, “I'm fine.” Then I brightened and chirped, “Got arrested again.”

  She blurted out a surprised explosion of laughter, truly amused as Jane corrected me, “You were not arrested.”

  I cocked an eyebrow in challenge. “And what if you didn't happen to be in the office.”

  She smirked and said as she dug out her keys to unlock the door. “Then you would have probably been arrested.”

  I nudged my thumb toward Jane as I looked at Jess and said, “Jerk cop.”

  The woman was truly amused and said in a melancholy tone, touched with a sad resignation which was softened by her nostalgic smile, “You two were made for each other,” as we all streamed into the apartment.

  I felt my cheeks burning as I placed all the leashes and harnesses on their labeled pegs by the door, and unharnessed Cal, and took off his working dog bib. Then I put my now grass and dirt stained white flats in their place below my leather jacket on its labeled peg. I said absently as I stared at my shoes, wanting so badly to go try to scrub them clean, but we had a guest.

  A touch on my shoulder got me moving again. It was like Jane always knew what I was thinking. I scurried to the kitchen to get the coffee started as I offered, “I have to pre-treat my dress and see if it isn't a total loss. I was about to start dinner if you want to join us. Or you two can go for coffee without me.”

  Jess smiled at me as she just headed toward the couch with Calvin in tow as he followed in tail swishing excitement. “Sure, I can use some home cooked food. I love how secure you are together to be so relaxed about offering to let your hot-assed girlfriend do things with her ex, Fin. I'd be jealous as hell and burning holes through the girl with my eyes.”

  I couldn't stop my smile as I looked back as I popped into my room to get out of my soiled dress, “Who says I'm not jealous?” She chuckled.

  Jane called out as I shut the door, mimicking one of my goto whines, “I'm right here you two. You can see me can't you?”

  I placed a hand on the closed door and smiled at it as I called out in a sing-song voice, “No, I can't see through solid doors.”

  I heard her amused, “Smartass.” Then I went about getting undressed and into the jeans that Jane loved to see me in. I really didn't feel comfortable in jeans, what can I say, I'm a girly girl and make no apologies for it. There's a reason my closet is filled with dresses and skirts.

  I put on the teeshirt I stole from Jane because it smelled of her lilac and leather. It was a navy blue with yellow letters spelling out 'Police Academy' on it. I tied it in a knot at my waist, or it would hang down almost to my knees. It is almost silly how much smaller I am than her.

  I went about pre-treating all the stains on my dress, scrubbing at them with the little applicator on the cap of the stain remover and then went into the passthrough door to the bathroom and opened the wood slatted folding doors that hid away the stacked washing machine and dryer in the linen closet.

  The addition of the washer and dryer to the bathroom happened right after I bought the apartment. After a year of hauling my, and my various roommates, clothes down to the basement to wash and back up again, I was done with that. We lost two-thirds of the linen closet to the stacked laundry machines, but the convenience made it all worthwhile.

  I swung out the little drying rack on the back of the slatted door and hung the dress over it. I'd let it sit a bit before washing it, let the stain remover soak in. The dress was white, so I'd also use some extra bleach when I washed it. I growled at myself, “Stop obsessing, Fin. The girls are out there knowing you are obsessing.” I hesitantly touched the dress then pried my eyes from it and headed back out to the living room.

  Jane asked without looking at me as she poured three cups of coffee. “What's the verdict doc? The patient going to live.”

  I just growled at her, which made Cal prop his head up on the couch to look over the back of it to see what was going on. Then I admitted, “Dunno yet.” My eyes drifted to my shoes by the door. That dive wasn't my most brilliant move, wearing white, but how was I supposed to know a Broken Leash would be called when I picked my outfit out this morning?

  Slipping under Jane's arm, I grabbed my coffee cup, the one which had, 'Walkers do it doggy style,' printed on it. Heaven help me if I didn't find it funnier than it was crass. It was a gift from Raife. I think he had a batch specially printed to give out to the walkers that signed on with Rafiel's Canine Walkers.

  I leaned back into her for a moment, just because I could now, enjoying the brief contact before slipping out to sip at the ambrosia as I started pulling vegetables from the refrigerator. I bit my tongue as I smiled at the heated look she gave me before moving off to join Jess with the coffee.

  I made a squeaking sound when Jess accepted her cup and almost put it on the coffee table. She looked back and rolled her eyes playfully before slipping a coaster under the cup with an exaggerated flourish. I said in a pleased tone to Calvin, “See? They can be trained, just like you boy.”

  I took a moment to marvel as I prepped the chili, watching the girls settle back into the couch to watch the evening news as they bantered, that we ha
d all slipped into a comfortable routine. The four of us were a dysfunctional little family which I seemed to be gathering around me, cementing New York, and this apartment, as my home.

  Jess looked back at me and asked with an innocent look on her face, “So who did you kill this time, Finnegan?”

  I whined out, “Hey! I didn't kill anyone!”

  Jane was chuckling and explained, “She stole a hundred grand. Apparently, she's the Broadway Cat.”

  The redhead beside her chuckled at my consternation as she offered up with a raised brow, “Nice trick Fin. Most of those robberies happened before you were born.”

  I parried, “You'd be amazed what you can do with a Delorian and a flux capacitor.”

  Jane nodded appreciatively and said, “Points for the pop reference, Finny.”

  I pointed the knife I was mincing onions with at her. “I watch more than romantic comedies woman.”

  There was a moment of silence before she deadpanned, “Your brother made you watch it?”

  I nodded and chopped loudly as I told the knife, “Garret made me watch it.” Then to the giggling women, “Be nice, I'm feeding you two skanks.”

  Jess chuckled out, “Ooo that was almost a rare Fin curse.”

  Me muttering, “Fuck you,” had them exploding into unrestrained laughter which got Calvin to bark once, joining in the fun. I smiled to myself as I worked. By the swishing tail and lolling tongue, they were fun, and they were mine.

  I had to suffer through Jane's embellished retelling of how I came into possession of the illicitly purloined cash. It would do me no good to correct her, she took great delight in the tale. As I dumped the beef I browned into the pot and set the chili to simmer for the next hour, she finished with, “The only negative was that I was too quick in retrieving her, so I don't have another set of mugshots for the bedside.”

  Taking a page out of Calvin's book, I flopped across the women, my legs over my girl and my head in Jessie's lap as the redhead asked incredulously, “No. You really don't have her mugshot on your bedside?”

  I growled out in affirmation, “Framed.” Which got the woman chuckling at us. I said, “If you two insist on abusing me like this, then pamper me.”

  Watching the news with them, Jane rubbed my legs, and Jess played with my loose natural curls which she says she is envious of. Note to self, apparently, all I need to do is just ask for it to get pampering. Filed for future use. I sighed and basked in it for a while before sitting up, wedging myself between the woman and snuggling into my sexy detective.

  I found myself swiping Jane's iPad from her hand and looking up old news stories on the Broadway Cat, in my curiosity. There were multiple tabs on the subject already open in her browser. I gave her a chastising look. She knew home time was home time, and work was work. I keep trying to get her to leave her cases at the Precinct, but it was in her blood. She was a cop and a darn good one.

  She looked a little sheepish, so I gave her a quick peck on the lips and pointed at the news on the TV. She gave me that smirk which infuriated me half the time and aroused me the other half, then turned to watch. Jess was overly amused at us, so I told Cal, who was curled in on her other side, “Calvin, attack.” He... didn't, the traitor.

  A little later, after I gave Calvin his last walk of the night, we broke my rule... which we broke constantly, and ate in the living room instead of at the little kitchen table. What good is a rule if nobody followed it? Was I the only one who felt like a rebel when we did this? I don't think the girls even cared about the rule.

  I gave a little frown when Jess mentioned as we ate, “I won't make girls night tomorrow. Got a date.” I knew Jane beside me had a similar look.

  Jessie caught my look and asked with a bit of frustration in her tone, “What, half pint? Spill it.”

  I shrugged but was emboldened, not liking my friend being so self-destructive as I grumped, “Call a spade a spade, woman. You're going to troll for a random hookup at some club.”

  For as cocky and confident as Jessie was, she was... lonely. Which made me feel guilty as hell. But they had already been broken up before I met Jane. And she was going about trying to assuage that loneliness by engaging in the behavior she had engaged in before she met Jane. The irony of the fact that Jane was one of those random hookups wasn't lost on me. Neither of them had planned on falling in love.

  I understood how the sudden absence of a relationship left a hole in you, leaving you feeling incomplete, and fighting the temptation to fill it any way you can. I had backslid a couple times after breaking up with Raife, finding myself back in his bed because of that loneliness. But once you fight past that to realize that you aren't incomplete without someone, that's when your self-confidence and self-worth reassert themselves.

  A boyfriend or girlfriend should just compliment you, make you something more than yourself. A relationship does not define you. I know it sounds easy, but it is actually one of the hardest lessons anyone can learn. And I still don't think I have it down fully yet myself.

  Jane placed a hand on her arm, and Jess looked at us, first perturbed, then lost as she shrugged. She apparently wasn't ready to talk or deal with it yet, so we let her have that. That's the problem with badass women like Jane and Jess I've learned. They never want to appear weak, so they just swallow their emotions. But that doesn't mean they don't feel them and that keeping them bottled up like that can eventually overflow and consume them.

  I stole the remote from my girl and grumped at them both, “Fine, then I'm picking the movie.” They both groaned when I selected a feel good chick flick, but I was wise to them. They may whine and complain about them, but both of them secretly liked them. I could tell by the smiles I caught whenever I won, and we got to watch one.

  I teased when I caught those smiles again as we settled in, “You two are such girls.” The chuckles from them made it all worthwhile.

  Chapter – 3 Jewels

  Friday, yesssss! I really enjoyed Friday as it was our standing date night, our girl's night where Jane didn't let me cook dinner, we ordered in. Even after all these months with her, it still felt odd to order in instead of cooking. As strange as it sounds, cooking had structure, and structure helps me center myself. It gives me something to focus on instead of the hundreds of borderline obsessive things I usually dwell upon.

  But I have come to love our girl's nights. Lately, Jess would join us and decompress in an atmosphere where nobody expected anything of her, and she could drop her tough girl act.

  And I secretly love pizza, which is Jane's drug of choice for Friday nights. Oh, shush, yes I'm human after all. Hardy har har.

  I basked in the warmth of Jane pressed up against me in my little spoon position, her arm wrapped possessively around my waist. My feet were on fire because Calvin always draped himself over our feet as we slept.

  She always knew when I was awake, and she kissed the top of my head then started tickling my ribs, eliciting a squeal from me. “Come on Finny, time to get up.”

  Calvin thought my giggly squirming to escape from her torture was great fun, and he bounded in a circle at the foot of the bed, his tail swishing back and forth.

  She stopped her onslaught long enough for me to look back into her impossibly deep brown eyes. I leaned in, and she gave me a whisper of a kiss that left me wanting. I whispered, “Will you ever let me...”

  I left the question hanging. I wanted the woman so badly that it physically hurt at times like this when I could see the depth of her emotions. I can't tell you what sexual frustration like that can do to a girl.

  She got that familiar smirk on her face as she rolled over on top of me, grasping my hands above my head as my heart threatened to burst from my chest as her scent enveloped me. By the canine gods, she was beautiful. She pressed the leg that wound up between mine, and I exploded in desire as my core ignited. She whispered as she looked into my eyes and answered my question, “Yes.” There was so much heat in that single
syllable that it almost pushed me over the edge when she gave me another one of those whispering kisses. And she was gone.

  I swallowed as I felt cold where my body missed her touch. I squeaked out a weak, “Hey!” When I realized she had used my distracted arousal to run to the shower first. I regained the ability to speak normally and whined out at the shut passthrough door to the bathroom, “That was wicked, woman! I call foul!”

  Her thoroughly amused voice was heavy with her own arousal as she called back, “You snooze, you lose, short stuff.”

  I had to grin at her antics as I hugged away the last of the arousal, by the sacred tug rope, I had been close to climax with just that much intimate contact. I never thought I'd ever utter these words, but damn... I needed to get laid, soon.

  As I started getting ready for the day, I looked up at the ceiling. I had a meeting with the building owner at four to discuss me buying the apartment directly above us. Mrs. Chen was moving out to a retirement community in Pennsylvania at the end of the month.

  I have always had my eye on buying one of the two apartments on my floor that could expand my space. The fourth apartment on this floor was kitty corner so it wouldn't work. But I found that nobody wanted to give up a rent-controlled apartment, so I'd never be able to have more space on this floor since in most cases people rented for life in Manhattan.

  The third floor had six studio apartments, and though they were small, barely four hundred and eighty square feet, that was more than big enough for a master suite. I was thinking we could demo the wall to the small bedroom in our apartment to open it up to the great room and use it as an office nook with a circular staircase leading up to the master suite.