All characters engaged in sex acts are eighteen or older. The dog DOESN'T DIE.
"Hey, I think I have your dog. Cody?" The dog was right behind me on the tiled kitchen floor. A husky mix, maybe? He was gray and brown and thick furred. Also friendly as hell.
"Oh my God, really?" It was a girl's voice on the other end.
"This was the number on his collar. And his name."
"Oh, thank you thank you." Her voice cut out for a moment. "When can I come over to get him?"
"I'm not busy. You can head on over."
In that moment, I had no idea who I was bringing into my life and the series of events that it would precipitate. When I opened the door, there she was. She was a few inches shorter than me and thin and she had her long brown hair in a single braid. She had on an overall denim dress with a t-shirt underneath. Her eyes were already red and glistening with tears. She was thick lipped, freckled, and hazel eyed. Even in this emotional state her face was pretty.
When she saw Cody behind me, she dashed to him as if I weren't there. "Cody," her voice trembled and then she was shaking with sobs. The dog looked just as relieved and whined and showered her with licks. She muttered to the dog as she hugged him.
Though I was glad she had her dog back, it was awkward as hell. I wasn't used to kids, though I guess she wasn't quite a kid. But just young people in general. Back on the rig, there hadn't been many young people. I was one of the younger roughnecks on board. "Yeah, I saw him out in the field. I gave him some ham and he gobbled it up. Poor guy." I shuffled my feet, "I'm Rick, by the way."
She looked back at me, tears running down her face. I had to look away. I don't do crying. "Thank you Rick, I was so scared." She sniffled and gulped, "I'm Beth. Can I... can I give you a hug?"
Something felt off about this and I was about to say no when she crashed into me. Her arms tightened around my chest and her small breasts pressed into me. She started sobbing again and I gave her a stiff-armed pat on the back. It had been a long time since I had been with a woman, so no one could blame me for getting a little hard. I continued patting her back and trying to keep her away from my rapidly stiffening dick.
After a few moments she got a hold of herself and pulled away. She smiled, showing a crooked front tooth. She had dimples when she smiled and I noticed her wide and slightly upturned nose. "We took him out to the field on Sunday to run around. He loves it out there, even with the heat. He saw a jackrabbit and just took off like a bullet." She wiped her eyes. "It's been three days, we thought something had got him or he had run out into the highway. Thank you. Again. You don't know how much this means to me."
"I've had dogs, I think I have some idea."
She turned back to the dog and embraced him again. The dog panted and licked the side of her face. "Naughty dog. You scared the heck out of us. Why do you do things like that? Ugh." Looking back up at me, she said, "Sorry, this must be really awkward. If there's anything we can do for you, just say the word. He's my baby," she kissed the dog. "Even if he's naughty."
"No trouble. It was nice having him here. He's so friendly." I reached down and scratched the dog behind the ears. Cody panted and licked my hand. Animals I can handle, people not so much.
"I should bring him back. When mom gets home she's going to be so happy!" She clasped her hands in front of her. "We're three houses down across the street. The light blue one. My mom's name is Judith. Have you met her?" I shook my head.
For a moment we stood there and stared at each other. Her chest heaved, but she was calming down. I was trying to calm down too, but my hardon had other plans. I didn't want her to go, I couldn't remember the last time someone knocked on my door not trying to sell me something. "Have you had lunch?" I tried to tell myself that I just wanted to chat and wasn't horny for a girl half my age.
A look of confusion crossed her face. "No, why?"
"I was just about to. Let me fix you a sandwich, I could use some company anyway."
Beth agreed to come in, her dog in tow. I had two guests now, but both were pleasant enough. She sat down at the kitchen table, cooing and fussing over Cody the whole time. "You just moved in, right?" I asked.
"It's been a few weeks, but yeah. I'm from Minnesota."
"I could tell by your accent."
"I don't have an accent. What do you mean?"
"I can just tell. I worked with a guy on the rig who was from Wisconsin. He sounded like you." She folded her arms, but I could tell she wasn't actually mad. "You want a beer or something?" I asked.
"I can't, I'm only twenty." She gave a sheepish grin.
"I won't tell," I teased. But she still refused the beer. "Coffee, then?" I ended up rummaging for sugar in my cabinet for a cup of coffee. She put so much milk in that the coffee was nearly white. "You could just have a glass of milk, you know."
"You offered coffee." She shrugged, "Mom always tells me it's an acquired taste." I poured a cup for myself, black how I liked it.
"I've lived in Auburn all my life, though I'm only here part of the year now. I've been off the rig for a month." I put ham and cheese on bread and sliced it.
"Rig?" She sipped her coffee and tried to hide a grimace.
"Yeah I worked on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana. Gulf of Mexico. It pays well enough that I can take part of the year off." I brought the sandwiches to the table. "I guess you're home from college?"
"No," she shrugged, "Just working. I'm a waitress at Mabel's in town." I know the place. Not quite gourmet cuisine, but they had decent enough burgers. I made a mental note to look for Beth next time. She looked around the house. The kitchen was situated next to the living room, which opened to the bathroom and bedroom. You could see just about everything except the front door from the kitchen table. I had lived alone for a few years now, and I eventually downscaled to a nice little house just outside of town. It had been cleaner than it was now, much cleaner. I could tell she was unimpressed, but trying not to show it.
She looked towards the living room and her eyes widened. "You have a Nintendo?" She asked, eyeing the little game machine resting on top of my VCR.
I chuckled, "Oh yeah. Things get pretty boring on the rig I and decided to give it a chance. The guys laughed at me at first, but they came around."
"Wow. I didn't think you would have a Nintendo. Not a guy like you-"
"An