Page 14 of Things We Hide from the Light
“Got yourself good and stuck, don’t you?” I observed. There was a short length of rusty chain that appeared to be tangled around a gnarled branch.
The dog let out another whimper and held up its front paw.
“I’m just gonna reach for you real slow and gentle. Okay? You can crawl on over if you want. I’m a nice guy. Promise.” I got down on my belly in the grass and wedged my shoulders into the mouth of the pipe. It was uncomfortably tight and now pitch-black except for the beam of the flashlight.
The dog whined and inched backward.
“I get it. I don’t much like small spaces and darkness either. But you’ve gotta be brave and come this way.” I patted the muddy corrugated metal. “Come on. Come here, buddy.”
It was up on all fours now, well, three, still holding up that front paw.
“That’s a good smelly dog. Come this way and I’ll get you a hamburger,” I promised.
Its grotesquely long nails tapped out an excited beat as the dog pranced in place but still didn’t come any closer.
“How about some chicken nuggets? I’ll get you a whole box.”
The head cocked to the opposite side this time.
“Look, buddy. I really don’t want to drive into town, grab a hook, and come back here to scare the hell out of you. It’d be a lot easier if you’d just tiptoe your scruffy ass over here.”
The matted mess of fur stared back at me, nonplussed. Then it took a tentative step forward.
“That’s a good dog.”
“Nash!”
I heard my name a split second before something warm and solid barreled into my torso. The impact had me rearing up, smacking my head off the top of the pipe.
“Ow! Fuck!”
The dog, now thoroughly terrified, jumped backward to cower in its nest of filth.
I scrambled out of the pipe, my head and shoulder singing. Operating on instinct, I got a hand on my attacker and used my momentum to pin them to the ground.
Pinher.
Lina was warm and soft beneath me. Her eyes were wide with surprise, hands gripping my shirt in tight fists. She was sweating and wearing earbuds.
“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded, yanking one of her earbuds free.
“Me? What the hell are you doing lying on the side of the road?”
She shoved against me with her fists, her hips, but even with the weight I’d lost, she couldn’t dislodge me.
It was right about that moment when I realized the position I was in. We were chest to chest, stomach to stomach. My groin was settled solidly between her long, shapely legs. I could feel the heat of her core like I was facedown in a furnace.
My body reacted accordingly, and I went stone hard against her.
I was both relieved and horrified. Horrified for obvious respectful and legal reasons. The fact that my equipment seemed to be working was good news, seeing as how I hadn’t taken it for a test drive since the shooting. So many things about me were now broken, I hadn’t wanted to have to add my cock to the list.
Lina was panting under me and I could see the flutter of her pulse in that slim, graceful neck. The throb of my hard-on intensified. I hoped to God for a miracle that would prevent her from feeling it.
“I thought you were dead in a ditch!”
“I get that a lot,” I said through gritted teeth.
She smacked me in the chest. “Very funny, you ass.”
