Page 6 of Hide and Sneak
“I was, but you know they say that dogs take on the personality of their owners.”
She rolls her eyes and leads him out. I may not like her much, but I’ll admit her ass looks amazing in those jeans.
I’m up early to get some work done and judging by how hot it is already, it was a good call. The piece of land I bought two years ago and will soon be moving to sits on the edge of town. I acquired the lot for cheap because it contained a burned out shell of an old house and was auctioned off.
It was just what I was looking for, a large lot with lots of privacy thanks to the thin forest that winds between it and the neighbors. It gives me plenty of space without being so rural that I can’t get good internet. The house has been torn down and hauled away. My container home will go in the same spot, but there are lots of things that need to be done before it’s delivered and set up. One project will be the large but dilapidated shed that I’m determined to repair. It isn’t in any shape to store thingsat the moment and is stuffed to the rafters with junk. Luckily, my boss loaned me a cargo trailer to store my tools and supplies temporarily.
The dumpster won’t be delivered for a few days so the shed can wait. Instead, I get busy cutting the grass and clearing the perimeter where I’m going to build a fence. The heat and humidity are oppressive and by the time I’m done for the day, I’m a sweaty mess.
The driveway is empty when I return to the trailer. Since I have the place to myself, I turn on some music and crank it up before grabbing my clothes and a towel. Dusty trots out of Amos’s room, excited to see me. He follows me down the hall, almost tripping me twice.
“I’m going to shower and then I’ll play with you if you stop trying to knock me down,” I chuckle.
His response is a short bark as he dives at me. My quick step aside has so many unintended consequences. Dusty stumbles into Lila’s bedroom door and it pops open. It takes my brain a moment to catch up to what I’m seeing. I guess I’m not home alone after all.
Lila’s focused on taking a picture, and the longest five seconds in history passes as I take in the scene. She sits on the edge of her bed with her feet resting on a furry red rug. At least I’m assuming her feet are somewhere under the coating of white goo that covers them. A bright red cherry is perched on her big toe. An open jar of marshmallow fluff lies nearby, along with a container of cherries.
Under threat of imminent torture and death, I couldn’t have stopped the squeaking noise that slips out of me when I try to stifle a laugh. Miss Goody Goody is taking feet pics. Weird ones too. This is too damn good. At the sound, she looks up at me. Her jaw drops and her eyes widen in horror.
“What the hell are you doing?” she shouts.
“The dog…” It’s all I can get out before my snort interrupts my attempt to blame Dusty, and before I can finish, he darts over to her. Tail wagging like he’s discovered the greatest feast ever, he licks the marshmallow off the side of her foot.
“Dusty! No!” She tries to catch his collar and holds him back, but it only lasts for a second. Either the collar is too loose or he’s too determined. He pulls back, slips right out of the collar and dives back in.
A yelp leaps out of her as he bites down on her toe. “Ow! Damn it!” She shoves him back, and he decides the jar of fluff would be an easier treat.
“Get out of here!” Lila shouts at me, frantically scrubbing at her feet with a nearby towel. I’ve never personally tried to wipe melted marshmallow from my skin with a dry towel, but it doesn’t appear to be effective.
Any chance I had at suppressing my laughter fled when the pup tried to eat her toe like a doggy treat. It’s all I can do to take a breath as she abandons the towel and slams the door in my face.
I’m so glad I came home a little early.
CHAPTER 3
LILA
It hasn’t beentwenty-four hours and I’m already regretting this arrangement. I can still hear him laughing occasionally in the shower and the thought of the grin he had when he saw me makes my face burn. Which is ridiculous because I have nothing to be ashamed about in the first place. So I make some extra money selling pictures of my feet, along with my worn underwear. Lots of women do it. It’s more than extra money, actually. I made my yearly salary in only a few months.
My friend, Cara, is a cam girl and while I’m not comfortable having sex on camera or showing my face, I found some lucrative alternatives. It’s hard to believe men will pay to watch videos of my feet and buy underwear or socks without ever seeing my face but they do.
The little troublemaker who pushed my door open is curled up beside me on the couch when I hear the shower shut off. I press my cool hands against my cheeks, trying to kill the blush that won’t stop. Most of the requests I get for pictures and videos are normal. Washing my feet, putting on lotion, applying some pretty nail polish in their favorite color. Of all things for him to catch me doing, it had to be one of the odd ones.
When Sutton emerges from the bathroom, I ignore him and focus on the game I’m playing on my laptop. He walks past me into the kitchen, peeks into the fridge, opens and closes a few cabinets, then returns to sit on the opposite end of the couch. He doesn’t speak, but his gaze on me is palpable.
With a sigh, I finally look up. “What?”
His innocent look isn’t fooling anybody. “I didn’t say anything.”
“Stop staring at me.”
“We need groceries. How do you want to do things when it comes to food? Separate shelves in the fridge? Or are we buying for everyone?”
A little relief sets in that he isn’t going to make a big deal of what he saw. “Communal is fine with me. Just don’t ever take my last Dr. Pepper.”
“Understood. Same goes for my last beef jerky.”
Gross. “No worries there. I hate it.”
