Love's Taming(11)
Smiling indulgently, she answered, “Mr. Tochi, you know I don’t have time to date. I’m up to my elbows in dogs and cats.”
Shaking his head, he looked at her with sad eyes and said, “You listen to this wise old man. Don’t let life pass you by, doctor.”
Annie felt the smile slip from her face. Yeah, well, sometimes we let life in and it bites us in the butt!
Waving goodbye, she headed home. Her apartment on the second floor could be entered by going through the clinic where a staircase went from the back work area to the living room, or by the old metal stairs attached to the side of the building in the back alley and enter through her kitchen. Deciding to walk through the alley since it was daylight, she headed around the building. Balancing the bags with her purse, she managed to get up the stairs and through the door into her kitchen.
She never saw the eyes watching her. Eyes that couldn’t believe that a single woman would walk through an alley to go upstairs to her apartment. Alone. Without checking her surroundings. Completely oblivious to possible danger.
Stoney stayed in the background, his teeth on edge as he watched her. Wanting to go to her. Wanting to help her. Wanting to take care of her. Wanting to…damn! I fucked things up! But I gotta make sure there is no blow-back on her. He found himself wondering what could have happened if he had met her earlier. Before. Before the darkness. Before the secrets. Angry at his thoughts and his situation, he slipped back down the alley careful not to be seen.
* * *
Annie spent the rest of her afternoon in the clinic after cleaning her own apartment. Wandering among the rooms, she made sure that the surgery room was once again sterile. Certainly didn’t worry about that last night she thought, as her eyes moved over to the wall where Stoney had pushed her up against it.
To get those thoughts out of her mind, she flipped on the radio in the clinic letting the country music blast through the speakers. Scrubbing the surgical area she made sure to put everything back in its place, not wanting Leon or Suzanne to suspect that anything had happened.
When she was sure that everything was ready for Monday morning clients again she walked up the stairs to her apartment.
“Come on babies,” she called to her cats as she put food in their dishes. Rubbing their heads, she looked up as her cell phone rang. Glancing at the display she saw Mom.
“Hey mom, what’s up?” she answered.
“I just wanted to see how you’re doing.”
She loved her mother dearly, but knew that she was hoping Annie was going to have news of a great date for the evening. Her parents were proud of her being a vet but kept dropping the ‘when are you going to meet someone and give us grandbabies’ hints. Hints? More like demands.
“I’m fine, mom. How are you and dad?”
“We’re good. Just haven’t heard from you lately so I thought I would call and see if you had any plans for tonight.”
Sighing, Annie plopped down on her sofa allowing Boo to climb into her lap. “No, mom. No hot date tonight.”
“Well dear, why don’t you drive out to our place? Your dad is playing golf with a very nice young man from my office. We could have him stay for dinner and you could meet him. Who knows? You might hit it off.”
“Mom, stop trying to set me up. And honestly, I have no interest in meeting someone who works in your office.”
“What’s wrong with meeting a financial consultant?” her mom huffed.
Images of a muscular, tattooed man kissing her until her toes curled ran through her mind. Dangerous. Wild. Untamed.
“I don’t know, mom. It just isn’t the right time. Anyway, I’ll probably meet some friends later.”
“All right, dear. But the invitation stands open for any weekend.”
She could hear the disappointment in her mother’s voice as she hung up the phone. Looking down at the large cat in her lap, “Looks like another night of just us.” She wanted to forget Stoney. Be angry with him. But she couldn’t. Just for once, I wanted something wild and unpredictable. Grabbing her Kindle, she lay on the couch reading as the evening sun began to lower in the sky.
That night as she slept, black eyes haunted her dreams.
* * *
Annie rounded the corner, jogging back toward her apartment. Determined to get outdoors today, she decided to get back into running. Jesus, how out of shape am I? She pounded the pavement, breathing heavily. She had forgotten her iPod and without music her mind was racing with thoughts of Stoney and Friday night. You’ve never had a one-night stand. What were you thinking? What if he wasn’t trustworthy? She remembered him asking her if she was sure. He was trustworthy. I don’t know how I know that, but he was. But it was done and over. He left. He just left. She shook her head in anger, whether more at him or herself she wasn’t sure. Making it to her building she ran into the alley, slowing down as she approached the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, she came to a stop and began her stretching.