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“This is Frida,” Siana said, patting her head reassuringly. “She was hiding in the bathtub when she heard the shots. She’s…. she’s an anxious dog. Don’t be offended if she doesn’t like you,” she said as she patted her thigh, trying to make the dog walk with her into the common area. “It’s okay, baby,” she cooed at the dog as she made slow progress into the kitchen where I was still standing.
“So, is she your emotional support dog, or are you her emotional support human?” I asked, smirking at their slow progress toward me.
To that, Siana let out a little snorting laugh. “Depends on the day,” she admitted. “My mother gave me her as a gift. To… help my anxiety. But she… I think she has more issues than I do. We had a very bad day after she first witnessed a tandem bicycle.”
“Got a brother who does a lot of dog rescue shit. Some of ‘em were scared of the weirdest shit. But you can’t tell a dog that the robot vacuum cleaner isn’t trying to kill them, right?” I asked Frida as she came close enough to sniff me. “I’d probably be pretty fucking worked up if I woke up to a drone or some shit inmy room. That’s a good girl,” I said when her tongue flicked out to give my hand a quick kiss.
When she let me pet her head, it seemed like I was acceptable to her. She even went over to her bed, grabbed a Golden Retriever stuffed animal, and brought it over to show me.
“She likes you.”
“What is she?” I asked, playing gentle tug with the stuffed animal before she pulled it away, then brought it with her to her bed, letting out a loud huff after curling up on it.
“An English Setter. They’re usually very… outgoing and friendly. Everyone is supposed to be their best friend. She, uh, she didn’t get that DNA, though.”
Suddenly tense, Siana moved around the kitchen, putting water in a teapot, seeming to need something to do.
“How… ah… how did…”
“Gonna level with you,” I said, knowing what she wanted to ask. “I didn’t exactly find your address legally,” I told her. “And I never would have done shit like that if I didn’t think you were in some sort of trouble. I didn’t know if you lived alone, if you personally were getting shot up. Probably should have turned around and left when I realized you were in an apartment, and the gunshots were likely meant for someone else. But I couldn’t go home until I knew you were alright.”
“Oh,” she said, gaze skittering away. “That was… nice. You know… the checking. Not the… illegal stuff.”
“I’d never share your address with anyone,” I assured her. “Seems like you value your privacy.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “Subscribers can be…”
“Creepy as fuck?” I filled in.
“I was going to say ‘overly familiar,’ but sometimes… yeah.”
“Some women can overstep, so I can’t imagine how much worse it is when your audience is men.”
“I have a lot of… precautions in place. Clearly, not enough.”
“The only reason I got your address is because I knew your name from the meeting at the hotel.”
To that, she nodded as she reached for a colorful little box that housed a variety of teabags.
“Do you want tea?” she asked.
“No, thanks, baby,” I said, watching the way her cheeks colored at that.
I wondered how many times she blushed in our video calls when I talked to her. And if she blushed, did she also flush when she was turned on? Did her chest get all pink? I bet it did.
Fuck.
No.
I needed not to think about that.
This was not the time for my cock to be getting hard.
“Do the police have a suspect yet?” I asked. “Did your neighbor name them?”
“I don’t think Kylo was capable,” she admitted. “He was… unconscious when they wheeled him out. Kylo… had a bunch of people in and out of his apartment all the time.”
“What kind of people?” I asked, sensing something in her tone.
