Page 78 of Wanting More
Carefully both Hayden and Joel stepped back from her a little bit, standing on either side of her allowing her to see Vic and the dog.
"How do you know?" she asked, staring dubiously at the dog. "He doesn't have a tail or anything to let you know if he's happy."
Vic smiled, flashing his perfect white teeth. "Yeah, he does. It's just small. Rottweilers just look terrible with long tails, so his is short to match breed standards." He pointed to a small nub of fur at the dog's butt.
Sapphire frowned at this, and Joel bit back a smile at her expression. She thought of Vic's words and looked from Vic to Hayden. Hayden couldn't meet her gaze and turned to look at something beyond her. Realization immediately set in.
Horrified, she pointed at the nubby little tail, which was wiggling back and forth. "Tell me you didn't cut off his tail?!"
Joel snorted and turned away to hide his laugh as Vic gave her a regretful little smile and shrugged.
"Nooo," she said, looking feelingly at the dog's dopey face as he stared trustingly up at Vic. "That's awful." Looking at the dog, she watched him lick at Vic's hands as his little nub wagged at his ghost tail.
Vic grinned and waved at her to come down. "Come here, let Krrsantan show you he's different from that bastard dog who bit you."
Sapphire shook her head even as she inched closer on the truck's roof toward Hayden.
Hayden leaned back on the hood and smiled at her. "He won't bite you. I promise. He really will just lick you. A lot," he added.
After a few more minutes of coaxing between Hayden and Joel, Sapphire finally relented to at least let her legs dangle over the truck's edge. No sooner than she did, this Krrsantan was upon her. Ignoring her shriek of terror, Krrsantan jumped up and put his head in her lap.
In a state of shock and petrified fear, she stared back and forth from the beast to the laughing men. Seeing that she was getting no help from them and the giant beast wasn't actually biting her, Sapphire cautiously laid her hand on top of the dog's massive head. Very gently, she stroked its short fur.
"See there. I told you," Vic laughed as Krrsantan tried to nuzzle deeper into her lap for more pets.
For a moment, all three men talked. Joel and Hayden explained they had gone to all three barns in the back looking for him, and Vic explained he had been working on a tractor's engine.
While they talked, she stared at the beast's face and felt herself calm even more at the earnest look in the huge black eyes. It wasn't the look of pure murder as she assumed earlier. It really was the look of pure want. This giant beast really wanted to play with her. Looking over his back, Sapphire glanced at his nub and smiled as it wiggled furiously.
This time she used both hands and smoothed back the dog's ears as she petted him, his eyes closing in pleasure at the action. "How could they cut off your tail?" she said in a small voice to the contented beast in her lap. "Maybe if I would have seen your tail, I would have known you were happy?" she said, though she highly doubted it.
Just remembering the way the dog rounded the corner of the house made her shiver.
After a moment, Sapphire looked up from the dog's sweet eyes and looked at Vic. "Did you name him after the evil Wookie in Star Wars?"
For a moment, Vic just stared at her. Sapphire wasn't sure if it was disbelief or confusion. Finally, after a second, he answered.
"Yes," he said quietly.
Sapphire smiled and looked back at the dopey-eyed dog, who was currently licking a wet spot near the hem of her skirt. "At first, the name seemed appropriate since Krrsantan's character is evil and all. But now it just seems wrong."
Vic shifted in the gravel before stepping closer. "Are you into Star Wars?"
"Mmm," she shook her head and looked back up at him. "I wouldn't say that. Once you meet someone who is really into it, then you become hesitant to outwardly claim your interest," she laughed. "But I do enjoy the comics," she added.
Vic's eyes widened. "You read comics?" He asked with such doubt. Sapphire sat up straighter.
"Umm, yes," she said, crossing her arms. "What is that tone supposed to mean?"
He gave her an obvious once over before giving her a flat look. "It means you don’t look like a girl that reads comics."
Joel laughed as she blinked in shock, stunned by the audacity of his words. Hayden merely shook his head and crossed his arms over his big chest. Settling more comfortably against the hood of the truck, he simply waited for the inevitable.
Vic continued, unaware or unconcerned with her growing outrage, he nodded toward her shirt. "I thought the Batman shirt was just an attempt to be retro trendy."
Sapphire let out a clipped laugh. A laugh both Hayden and Joel knew well.
"He's fucked now," Joel said, nudging Hayden with a knowing smile.
