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Sookie nuzzled my hand with her snout and licked my fingers. Her affection only made me feel worse.
I didn’t deserve it. I had just lied to her human.
“I wish I had a dog,” I whispered to her, focusing all of my attention on her, desperate to block out my thoughts. “One just like you,” I told her as I pulled my feet up on the bed and twisted my body to face her. “If I ever get a dog, it’ll be one that that looks just like you—’cause you’re so pretty. Yes, you are.”
She rewarded my attention by crawling onto my lap—or at least she tried to. She was a full-grown Labrador and I probably weighed less than her.
“What do you want?” I whispered, scratching her neck with both hands. “Huh?” Tickling her ears, I pressed a kiss to her nose. “You want me to give you love?”
Her tail wagged like crazy and she smothered me with wet dog kisses all over my face. It was a welcome distraction and I choked out a laugh at her enthusiasm.
“What a good girl,” I cooed, falling into a playful game of wrestling with her. “That’s right. You’re the best girl. You are.”
Encouraged by my response, Sookie clambered onto me, pushing her whole weight down on my chest and causing me to flop back on the pillows.
“What?” I giggled through my tears as I ruffled her ears. “You like me?”
She groaned deep in her throat, her approval obvious as she stretched out on top of me and nuzzled my face with her wet nose.
“Thank you,” I praised when she slapped her paw on my shoulder. “You’re such a mannerly girl, giving me the paw.”
“Your uniform’s still damp, but I brought it up anyway…”
Startled by Johnny’s voice, I tried to sit up, but I couldn’t because Sookie was still in full-force play mode.
“Sookie, down,” Johnny ordered in a tight tone of voice, eyes glued to mine.
Obedient, Sookie immediately climbed off me and clumsily jumped off the bed, her paws slip-sliding on the wooden floor.
“Out,” Johnny commanded as he held his door open, still watching me.
Sookie padded out of the room and he quickly shut the door, his expression thunderous.
God…
“I’m sorry,” I croaked out, pulling myself up on my elbows. “I was just, uh, playing with your dog.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Johnny replied in a tight voice as he walked over to the bed, dropped my uniform down, and then sank down on the edge.
Keeping his back to me, Johnny leaned forward, his muscles flexing beneath his golden skin, rested his elbows on his thighs, and inhaled what sounded like several calming breaths. And then he did something I knew I would lose countless years of sleep over. He turned back around to face me, grabbed both sides of my towel, and pushed them together.
To cover me, I realized. Because I had obviously been flashing him. Because let’s face it, that was exactly the kind of luck I had.
“I’m so sorry,” I choked out, mortified.
“It’s okay,” he told me in a gravelly tone of voice.
“Did I—did you see my…?”
He nodded.
Oh god!
“I am so sorry.”
“Stop saying sorry,” he replied, voice strained. “There’s nothing to be sorry for.”
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” I strangled out.
