Page 14 of Brighter than the Boss
"Jeez, Sunshine. How about letting a guy in and offering him some water?" I tried out a smile, but she just narrowed her eyes.
I'd have to work on that. My smiles usually melted hearts and removed panties. Not so much with this one.
She didn't even answer me, just backed up and let the door open a bit more. Before I could brush by her, a rabid dog escaped her apartment and launched itself at my feet. If he could have reached any higher I might have been worried, but as it was, he was alternately peeing on the ground and trying to nibble on the soles of my shoes. I was more afraid of urine getting on my shoes than a dog bite.
"Chili! No." Sunny bent down to grab the wiggling animal, hefting it under her arm and pushing the door wide open. "Well at least I don't need to take him out to pee."
"Freakin' ankle biter..." I grumbled under my breath. Wasting no time, I stepped into her apartment to see that it was light and bright, everything in its place. A few boxes were shoved in the corner of the living room, like she hadn't gotten quite moved in yet.
"How long you been living here?"
She put the ankle biter down and went through the archway to the kitchen. The damn dog nearly spun out on the wood floors trying to get back to me for round two. Its little nails clicked along the floor in a blur of brown and black hair as it went back to wrestling with my shoelace.
"Just a few weeks," she said over her shoulder. "I've still got to get settled in, but with my job starting and some family stuff going on, I just haven't had time."
She opened the refrigerator and took out two bottles of water. Coming back to me, she handed me one and cracked hers open. I was afraid to move, lest I kick her precious mutt and give her another reason to be pissed at me.
"What's the family stuff?" The question was out before I could reel it back in. It wasn't any of my damn business, but I felt the need to know anyway. If I wasn't careful with all these personal questions, I'd look like I actually cared about her.
She looked away and walked into the living room. "Um, you know, just some health stuff with my parents."
I turned to follow her, moving to step over the dog, but then the dog moved, having been startled by my big boot moving away from its jaws. So I ended up tripping, almost going down in her foyer area in an attempt not to squash the tiny dog. It yelped and I cursed, causing her to turn around, eyes wide, catching only the ending of the unplanned dance move.
"Careful! He's tiny." She rushed over to pick him up, like I was the asshole in the situation. I swear that little fucker smiled at me while she murmured to him and scratched behind his ears.
"I'm okay, thanks for asking." I gave her a dirty look, strode into the living room to plop down on her couch, and made myself comfortable. "So, who's got the health problem. Mom or Dad?"
She set the dog on her lap as she perched on the other side of the couch, having no other furniture in her tiny living room to perch on.
She finally made eye contact. "You really want to know?" Her nose was all crinkled up, like my giving a shit was the weirdest thing she'd heard all day. And she had a point. Why the hell did I care?
"Yes, that's why I asked the question."
She rolled her eyes, a trace of a smile on her lips. "Fine, Grumpy. It's my mom. She was diagnosed with breast cancer last week and has already started chemo."
The smile left as quickly as it had come, leaving a funny look in her eye. Then she perked up into a semblance of a smile, more like a toothy grimace, and kept going.
"But the good news is, the doctors think they caught it in time, and with chemotherapy, she should be just fine."
The smile was frozen in place and I couldn't bring myself to respond with enthusiasm when she was obviously faking it. I didn't like girls to fake it. Ever.
"You close to your mom?" The dog was panting at me while it stared me down from the other side of the couch.
The smile wobbled then straightened. "Yeah. She's probably my best friend. She and Dad were older when they finally had me, but it's like they were so happy to finally have a child, they showered me with time and attention. I was lucky."
"Ahh, I get it. You were a spoiled only child." I smirked, deciding to taunt her instead of examining why her words seemed to chafe and annoy me.
Her jaw dropped and the smile officially left her face. At least her scowl was real. "I was not! I was loved well. There's a difference, you know." She set the dog back on the floor and twisted towards me. Chili instantly launched himself on my shoes, never one to let an opportunity get by him.
I snorted. "No, I don't know."
"Why do you pick fights with me?" She drilled me with a question.
"It's just so easy, Sunshine. You're all 'on the bright side' and 'the good news' and 'my parents loved me to pieces.' It's a little sickening, all that syrupy sweetness. Just because you're named Sunny, doesn't mean you have to live up to your name, you know."
Her cheeks were blushing again, a sight I got a secret thrill out of. "Oh, is that so? I would never have guessed. Thanks for telling me. I guess I can drop the happy crap and be a miserable, grumpy person like you now."
Flashing eyes flipped that switch, the one inside me that liked to see her spirit, knowing I was the one to have riled her up. I was a sick bastard, I knew, but I couldn't seem to help myself. No one could be that damn happy and positive all the time. It was a relief to see some sarcasm. Didn't she know that she could be mad or sad or grumpy some of the time?
