“Probably not. You can’t seem to mix gross stories and food.” I responded.
“Good thing I’m not eating then.”
“Fine,” I sighed, feeling tired and hungry. “I was working for an animal rescue center during the summer when I was in high school. My job was to make sure the habitats were free of trash and stuff. I had someone else with me and was cleaning out the tiger enclosure. The person with me was supposed to watch the tiger, let me know if he was getting too interested in us, so we could leave. I found a dead bird, flipped it over to pick it up and found maggots on it. I kind of freaked out, forgot where I was and took off running. I ran right towards the tiger, which was on the other side of the habitat. My running got it very interested in me and my fear peaked it even further. The person with me was also slacking just a bit. Anyway, I got close and he pounced me. Grabbed my thigh with his jaws and yanked. Luckily for me, he just tore away the skin and some muscle instead of dragging me. It left a ragged, circle where he liberated a hunk of my leg. What I remember most is that it hurt like hell. What I remember the least is how I got out of the tiger cage.”
“That would…” Zeke thought for a moment, I knew he was groping for the right word. Everyone groped for a word to describe it. “Huh, I don’t know what to say to that.” He gave a small laugh. “What happened to the tiger?”
“Nothing, they wanted to put him down, but I did everything in my power to keep that from happening. In the end, a sign was hung up and a new enclosure built to ensure that the tiger was cordoned off when people were in his pen. I felt bad for the tiger, it wasn’t his fault.”
I ate my food quietly, when I finished, Anthony carried me up the stairs. I tucked myself into bed and closed my eyes. My limbs were still sore, but I was too tired to notice.
Chapter Six
From my position, the stairs might as well have been Mount Everest. I stared down at the bottom trying to figure out the best way down. Visions of falling and breaking something were very close to the surface of my mind. I figured that would really suck, I would rip stitches, bleed all over the place and feel stupid. Baldur let out a long sorrowful bark from below me.
“You’re up.” Zeke came into view at the bottom of the stairs. “Have you figured out how to navigate down the steps or do you want some help?”
I tilted my head sideways, realizing that the smart thing to do would be to accept his help. However, realizing it and doing it are two very different things. I tossed my crutches down the stairs. They clattered to a stop just beside Zeke’s feet. He shook his head as I firmly took hold of the railing. I hopped down the first step, the pain in my arm was immediate and I let go of the railing, over balanced and had to grab the rail again to keep from pitching head first down the stairs.
Zeke shook his head at me again, smiled and started up the steps. Before I could protest, he’d lifted me, turned around and was headed back down. We entered the living room, he placed me gently on the couch. I stuck out my tongue at him, didn’t feel satisfied and blew a raspberry instead.
“Good morning to you too.” Anthony came out of the kitchen. “We’re having garlic/olive oil pasta with Caesar salad and Italian bread for lunch. Is there anything else you’d like?”
“Yes, it’s football day, I’d like a big greasy pizza,” I sighed and relaxed into the couch. My body was sore and I knew it was going to hurt more after watching football. I wondered how long it would take before I tried jumping up from the couch. If there had been a pool going, I’d have put my money in the first six minutes of the game. “Has anyone seen my toothbrush?” I’d tried brushing my teeth this morning, but I couldn’t find it.
“We are going to take turns in the bedrooms upstairs. Heather and Thomas are supposed to return after the game. By then Zeke and I will both need to go to bed,” Anthony called out, looking at me through the bar. “Would you like something to drink?”
“A Coke. What does that have to do with my toothbrush?”
“Well, if Anthony and I both upstairs, then it will be hard for you to brush your teeth.”
“Ok, I don’t want to know about your crazy sexcapeds, I just want to know where my toothbrush is!” I smiled.
“That’s not what he meant. He meant if we are both upstairs, sleeping, then you can’t use the master bathroom. Besides, it’s hard for you to get up and down the stairs.”
“Where’s my damn toothbrush?”
“We moved it to this bathroom.” Zeke pointed to the bathroom door. “Along with your hairbrush, bandages, and anything else we thought you might need.”
I got up and brushed my teeth. When I returned to the living room, Anthony was on the phone and a Coke sat on the table. I waited for him to stop talking, he was ordering me a pizza. Guess it was to make up for moving my toothbrush.
Alex and Sebastian showed up a few minutes later. Both of them looked strangely tired. I knew they’d been up because of me, but they also looked disheveled and something else. I couldn’t put my finger on the something else. It was guaranteed that I was going to try though. They each took a seat in my living room. I watched them. Alex was moving kind of slow. I frowned. Surely this was not what I thought it was. I’d have to ask if I could get Alex alone for a minute.
I flipped on the TV and stared in disbelief as the picture came into view. Everyone did. We watched for several minutes, just sort of stunned.
“Ok, I haven’t had the TV on for over a month.” I cocked my head sideways. “Last show I watched was Mythbusters.”
“Uh huh,” Zeke smiled at me.
“No, I swear it was. The only people who have keys to my house are in this room.” I stood up from the couch, using my crutches to balance. “I don’t really want to know who was watching porn. I just want to know if I should clean my furniture?”
Everyone laughed at me, but no one confessed and no one answered my question. I stood standing, wondering what to do as the couple on TV took a completely different position.
“I don’t think people are supposed to bend that way.” Sebastian turned his head sideways, we all followed suit. I changed the channel. The football pre-game show swelled to life as Howie Long began analyzing the defense of the Bengals.
“I doubt they would masturbate sitting on the couch. My guess would be the floor.” Zeke pointed to a spot near the middle of the room. “Better lighting, good angle for the TV and there’s a mirror so they could watch.”
“You’ve given this some thought,” I frowned at him.
“Actually, Anthony and I were discussing how to set this up while you were sleeping.” He smiled at me. I shook my head and fell back onto the couch.
One minute, 34 seconds is how long I made it into the football game before I jumped up. I had been cheering on the Chiefs for scoring a touchdown, then I was just yelling in pain. Alex put a large pillow on my lap, Zeke leaned against it until the pizza arrived. We ate pizza, watched football. After the half, I jumped up again, causing me to yelp. Zeke went back to leaning on the pillow. I was trapped on the couch, watching football and Zeke would occasionally put his fingers in his ears to keep from going deaf as I yelled at the TV. If I’d been allowed to jump up and down, it would have been an excellent game. My team won 27-17, just what I needed after my really crappy night.
“Hey, Sebastian, I think the Raiders need you back.” Alex chided him.
The game was over, I pulled Alex next to me on the couch. She raised an eyebrow as I leaned into her. The adrenaline from the game was wearing off, I was becoming really tired.
“Did you and Sebastian…” I groped for a way to ask. “Did you, um…” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know all of the sudden.
“Did we what?” She asked, a smile spreading on her face.
“Oh my God, you did!” I nearly yelled. I could feel my eyes get very wide, but I couldn’t stop them.
She kind of shrugged. “I’ll tell you about it later.”
“No, that’s… you can’t… I don’t want to know!” I shrieked.
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“Know what?” Anthony asked coming back into the living room. The others followed him.
“Doesn’t matter. Oh my God.” I shook my head. “I need to go back to bed.”
“I’ll help you,” Zeke stood up.
“That’s just so wrong it hurts.” I smiled, shook my head and let Zeke help me up the stairs. Alex followed us.
“What’s so wrong it hurts?” Zeke asked, putting me down. Alex handed me my crutches and I hobbled to my bedroom. They both followed me.
“Doesn’t matter,” I mumbled, sitting down on my bed.
“I don’t believe you.” Zeke sat down next to me.
“What are you doing?” I asked him. Alex laughed, staring at us.
“Protecting his interests,” she took a seat on the bed as well. “He thinks he let you down by letting you get kidnapped. He was actually crying last night at the hospital.”
“You should be protecting your own interests right now, Alex.” Zeke’s voice didn’t sound entirely friendly.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” She leaned around me to see him.
“Sebastian told us, he’s worried Nadine’s going to shoot him.”
“I think I want my iPod.” I groaned, not wanting to hear any more of this conversation. “I want to listen to Hau Ruck. I don’t want to listen to this.”
“I’m not going to shoot him. I’m sure Alex had some say in it as well, but you can’t give me any details. I cannot think of him that way. I’m surprised you can think of him that way.” I did a full body shudder. Sebastian was a great guy, but he was a goof ball. He was rarely serious and seemed to take most of life for granted.
“I thought you said every woman fantasizes about the super sexy Navy S.E.A.L.?” Zeke smiled at me.
“I did, but he’s not a S.E.A.L., he’s a former football player. While I admit, he was an excellent Raider, he was still a football player.” It didn’t help that he was a former Raider player, but if he’d been a Bronco, then I probably would have shot him and her. Of course, there was no need to say that out loud. “Although, with Eric around, I can’t imagine why she would want Sebastian.”
“Eric is doing six months with Doctors Without Borders, so he’s not around. I’m allowed to play while he’s gone.” Alex smiled at me. “Besides, I was distraught last night, thinking you had died and then finding out you were ok. I needed the added comfort.”
“So my life gets jeopardized and you get the comfort? That doesn’t sound very fair.” I put my head on her shoulder, feeling so tired. “That’s fine dear, you can fuck anyone you want, but if you are going to do my employees, you can’t give me the details. I really need a nap.”
“Maybe if you didn’t devote all your time to work, you would get laid once in a while.” Alex stroked my hair as I adjusted myself, curling up on the bed.
“Maybe the problem isn’t how much time she dedicates to work.” Zeke spoke up from the end of the bed.
My eyes closed as the two of them began to argue. I really couldn’t say anything about who Alex did and didn’t like, I had a thing for a pirate. Their arguing faded away, as sleep over took me. My last thought was “huh, I must be tired, to sleep with them arguing.”
The room was dark, but someone was in it with me. I could hear the rhythmic breathing of someone who was asleep. I wondered what time it was. It had been early afternoon when I’d gone to sleep. I rolled over quietly to look at the mysterious visitor.
“Zeke is asleep in the guest room.” Anthony’s voice floated from the corner.
“Why are you sleeping in a chair in my room?” I asked.
“I didn’t want to wake you. Thomas and Heather are downstairs playing cards, if you want to go down.”
“You just want my bed,” I gave a small chuckle. He came over, taking his shoes off and curled up in my bed.
“Nah, now that you’ve woken up, I can climb in regardless of whether you are here are not. But you slept about six hours, I wasn’t sure you would want to go back to sleep.”
“Wow, six hours?” I frowned, that was a long time for a nap. “What time did Alex and Sebastian leave?”
“A couple of hours ago. It’s weird to have food in your house. I went to order something and Zeke reminded me we could just cook something. However, if it’s not to your liking, I’m sure you can order something. Don’t wake Zeke up to cook you something though. He’s had a rough 36 hours.”
“My disappearance was hard on him, huh?”
“We all take it personally when our charges disappear from under our noses. It looks bad.” Anthony took hold of my hand. “I must admit, I was really worried. You’re mom is coming over tomorrow. I think you should probably prepare yourself for that.”
“She probably had to get laid too.” I mumbled and pushed the thought from my head.
“So you know.” I heard him laugh. “Sebastian is convinced your just buying your time until you can kick his ass.”
“Alex is a big girl, she can do as she pleases. Besides, she’s very attractive and incredibly smart, most men don’t stand a chance with her. I can’t blame Sebastian for falling for her seduction.”
“You think she seduced him?”
“I think so, I think I remember her and Zeke talking about it while I was slipping into sleep.” I climbed slowly from the bed. “I think I’ll go downstairs. Where are my dogs?”
“In Zeke’s bed. I told him you’d hate it, but the dogs looked lost without somewhere to sleep and we decided it would be bad to let them in here. It was the less of two evils.”
“Ok,” I left the room quietly, pausing outside Zeke’s door. I wanted my dogs and I certainly didn’t want them to get used to sleeping with him. Silly, but I did hate the idea. Gently, I opened the door, poking my head in.
“I sleep nude.” Zeke’s voice drifted from the bed. It sounded thick and deep, the words had a slight slur to them. I hadn’t meant to wake him up. The dogs began moving around, I opened the door farther, letting them come out and sniff me. They didn’t get rough like normal, it was as if they knew I was fragile. I wanted to cry.
“Nadine?” Zeke’s voice wasn’t as deep, the word pronounced perfectly.
“Yeah, sorry, didn’t mean to wake you, I was just missing my dogs.” I felt the tear slide down my cheek.
“Are you all right?”
“Fine,” I choked out. Hard to believe something like this was going to make me cry. They were just dogs and it’s not like they had gone over to the dark side or anything. Zeke moved on the bed, I watched the covers being gathered.
“Liar,” Zeke was sitting up now.
“It’s just been a long day.”
“You slept most of it.”
“I was including last night with it.” I patted Loki’s head as he nuzzled into my uninjured thigh.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really.” I pulled the door shut and sat down against the wall. Marduk nuzzled my face, licking a line up the side. It was the most comforting thing that had happened in two days. Some days I don’t realize just how much the Danes mean to me, then they do something like this.
Softly the door opened. Sheets piled around the floor next to me. They were blue and silk. I loved silk sheets. It was a new set, bought especially for the guest room. I hadn’t realized he had put them on.
“Are you going to cry outside my door all night?” He asked, kneeling down.
“Possibly, I haven’t given much thought to my game plan for the night.” I replied, wiping my tears on one of the dog’s ears. He didn’t seem to mind, he licked me for it. I hugged him. The others were finding comfortable ways to lay on my good leg with their heads in my lap. This is more amazing than it sounds. Have you ever had six dogs all try to fit in your lap and avoid your legs?
“Let me put some clothes on.” He disappeared into his room, leaving the door open. I kept waiting for the light to go on, but I guess he knew the room well enough without it. “Is Anthony asleep in your room
?”
“Yeah.” I replied quietly. Zeke walked to my room and entered without knocking. The morning television surprise resurfaced in my mind. I hoped Anthony wasn’t in a compromising position… for several reasons. I heard them mumbling, but couldn’t make out the conversation.
Both of them reappeared after a few minutes. Anthony looked sleep deprived and slightly unhappy, but he walked into Zeke’s room without looking at me. Zeke held his hand out to me, helping me to my feet. I called the dogs to follow me.
“Your bed is bigger, easier to fit everything in it than mine. The seven of us were pretty crowded.”
“That’s why I have a grand king Queen Anne bed.” My voice was quiet. The tears had stopped and I could think of nothing more than crawling into bed and nuzzling in the warmth of the dogs. As strange as that sounds, they were great at giving me comfort when I didn’t feel good.
“Yes, I figured as much.” Zeke opened my bedroom door and let me in. The dogs followed. Sitting down on the bed, I patted the comforter. All six Danes climbed into it, taking their usual places. I snuggled down into them, letting them rearrange around me. Soon I was enveloped in their warmth. They made low sounds in their throats as I took turns petting each of them.
“Scoot over.” The door shut. “I still need to get some sleep and I’ve just given my bed to Anthony.” I did as told, making room for Zeke on the large bed. He took a spot next to Anubis and began scratching behind his ears. This was a treatment that all of them dearly loved. They rearranged again so that they could be petted as often as possible by someone. I giggled at their behavior, they really didn’t care who gave them attention, as long as it was being given out freely.
“Thanks Zeke.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know, giving me back my bed and my dogs. Sitting with me at the hospital. Keeping me from ripping stitches while watching the football game. Cooking dinner. I don’t know, there are lots of things I should probably thank you for.”
“Nadine, you don’t have to thank me...”
“If you say you’re just doing your job, I’ll probably toss you out of my room.” I had meant for it to be teasing, but I realized I was serious. The last thing I needed was to be told he was only doing it because I was paying him.
Dysfunctional Affair Page 6
