Page 8 of Tide
“Down,” I tell him, and he hits the ground on his stomach. Tide just watches the interactions I’m having with him before he smirks.
“You gonna get your dog to attack me?”
“Not unless I need to. My dogs don’t come cheap,” I tell him.
“I know. I’ve researched. Never said I couldn’t pay.”
“Why do you want one?”
“I have a lot of enemies. And honestly? I’m lonely. The dog would have to be good around other people and kids, though. The clubhouse is full of people.”
“I can handle that,” I tell him.
“I bet you can. What’s his name?” He asks, nodding toward Riley.
“Riley. He’s an American Pit Bull. A lot of people are afraid of them, but they’re smart and easily trained. They make great protection dogs.”
“Show me around?” He asks. I nod my head and call for the little dog I was working with and Riley to follow me. They both do as we walk back toward the building. I don’t keep my dogs in kennels all the time. I think it’s wrong, and they have no interaction with other animals. So when we step inside, the dogs are running freely.
“You train all these?”
“Yes. They aren’t mine. I home train most of them, and then after so long, they go home with their owners trained and ready to roll.”
“That one’s pretty,” Tide says, pointing out the German Shepherd I’ve been working with.
“He’s a handful. He’ll be a great dog once he learns a little more. He’ll be up for adoption soon,” I tell him.
“Is he an option?”
“If you want him to be.”
“Can I pet him?” Tide asks. I like that he’s asking and not just going over there. I nod my head and call Rebel over to me. He jogs over and sits at my feet as I nod to Tide to go ahead. He reaches down and runs his hand over his head, petting him. Rebel seems to love it. In fact, he seems to be taken with Tide. I can’t say that I blame him for that either. There’s just something about him that calls to you.
“He likes you,” I note.
“I think I like him, too. He needs to be groomed more frequently, right?” He asks. I’m surprised that he even knows this as I nod my head.
“He has a lot of fur, so brushing him every day is a must. You think you have time for that?”
“I do. What do we need to do so I can adopt him?”
“He isn’t quite ready yet. I still have some more work to do with him first. You aren’t in a hurry, are you?”
“No. I’ll let you do your thing first. Can I come visit him?”
“Of course. In fact, I would encourage you to. That way, he gets used to you being around. That’s important,” I tell him. He nods his head as I lead him out of the room and into the side office. That’s when things shift. He changes. He’s closer. Too close.
He steps into me and presses my body against the wall. His breath dances over my flesh as he breathes too close to me. His scent is making me crazy. He’s making me crazy.
“I do like a little challenge when it comes to my women, Mylah.”
“What do you mean?”
“This song and dance we’re doin’. The game of cat and mouse. I like a good chase.”
“I’m not playing any games, Tide.”
“I think you are. And I think you like it too. You like it when I have to chase you. You like it when I come to you. Just admit it,” he says as I swallow hard. Am I that transparent? How can he see straight through me? I do like it when he does this, but I shouldn’t. God, I know I shouldn’t.
