Pawsitively Improvised

Not a Date

Chapter 17

Once the underwear had been retrieved and thrown away, the evening should have calmed down. Unfortunately, Kira couldn’t get past the embarrassment. It hadn’t helped that Jude kept teasing her. Saying things like, ‘You didn’t have to throw your panties at me to get my attention’, and there was something about marking her territory too.

Her face was so heated that she probably rivaled a lobster. Jude was thoroughly enjoying that he could get under her skin. She was ready to be done with the pizza. Then she could send him home without being rude. He clearly wasn’t picking up her cues though. Or he was and he was ignoring her efforts to speed dinner along. She was beyond ready for the day to be over with and tomorrow to be here. At least then she could try and pretend that the events of the evening had never happened.

Looking at the clock she did nothing to hide that she was checking the time yet again. It wasn’t all for show though. It was getting close to eight o’clock and her grandfather wasn’t back from his date yet. He was usually in bed by six every night. Years of farming were ingrained in his continued routine. She was beginning to worry something had happened to him. At what point did she need to start calling the emergency rooms and police stations to search for him? The only thing stopping her was the knowledge that Crystal was due to pick up her pets at 8:30. If he still wasn’t back by then, she could at least consult her cousin on what they should do.

She couldn’t even call him. He had left his cell phone at the apartment. She had discovered that little nugget when she had tried calling at seven. The useless piece of junk sat on the kitchen table taunting her. When he got home, they were going to have a conversation. She could strangle him for making her worry. She didn’t know how parents did it. She couldn’t handle the antics of one little old man, let alone a child. She had to give Crystal and Anna props. They took on a lot of responsibility when they became mothers. One thing was for sure, if she had ever wanted children herself, her grandfather would have cured her. There was no way she wanted kids. At all!

“Are you trying to give me a hint?”

“What?”

“You keep looking at the time. Did you want me to leave or something?”

Jude’s tone had been joking but if she said yes, he would go. It was tempting to tell him that he should head home. She couldn’t do it. It wasn’t him being there that had her on edge. Well, it wasn’t now. She was getting more comfortable with him in her space. The earlier pizza delivery debacle notwithstanding.

“Grandpa isn’t back yet and I’m starting to worry.”

“Is he supposed to be?”

All she could do was shrug as a response. He hadn’t given her a set time before he left for his date. Perhaps he had been hoping to stay the night with his lady friend. That was a mental image she hadn’t needed. Regardless, she should have asked for a time or at the very least made sure he had taken his phone with him.

“What time is Crystal due back?”

“Eight-thirty.”

“Fairly soon then. Let’s get the pizza put away and when she picks up her pets, we can go look for him. I wouldn't be opposed to taking all the animals with us, but she might get upset if she arrives and they’re not here.”

“You really don’t have to.” She was giving him an out if he wanted it. It wasn’t his family member out and about after all.

“I know I don’t. Even if I wasn’t helping you look for him, I would still go search. I like your grandpa.”

“You do?”

“I do. I enjoy talking with him whenever he’s in town. Not to mention he’ll come to the pool when he’s in town to make sure the women behave themselves.”

That was a little hard to believe. She could see him going to the pool to hit on the ladies before she could imagine him playing bodyguard for Jude. The picture that conjured up was an entertaining one though.

“I think I would like to witness that.”

“You might rethink that when I tell you, he likes to wear a banana hammock to swim in instead of trunks.” She wasn’t even surprised. It sounded exactly like him.

“Figures.”

Her response had caused Jude to chuckle. Even the light humor didn’t detract him from his concern as he gently squeezed her shoulder in comfort. Realistically, if he hadn’t been there with her, she would have panicked. His presence there, while not exactly calming, was stabilizing. She appreciated him being there.

The door of the apartment opened in a riot of noise as Crystal and her family erupted into her little home. It saved her from having to examine anything having to do with Jude for now. That could wait for later revelations and after grandpa was found.

The kids raced past her and Jude on their way over to the animals. Chaos was likely to ensue at any moment. It was too bad as the peaceful atmosphere would be shattered. They had all been relatively well behaved since Jude had showed up. She needed to speak to her cousin before utter pandemonium broke out. Unfortunately, Crystal’s eyes had zeroed onto Jude.

“Well, this is an interesting development. I hadn’t foreseen this when Casey contacted you earlier.”

“I hadn’t originally planned on staying but I couldn’t leave Kira to deal with the mess the animals caused. Besides, I’m pretty sure Renaldo wanted me to stay.” This conversation was heading nowhere good. It was time to get things back on track.

“Grandpa’s not back yet, and he left his phone. I can’t reach him, and I don’t know where he’s at.”

“Breath Kira.” She hadn’t meant to hyperventilate but she was freaking out. Jude had her by the shoulders while he bent down to meet her eye to eye. He was over exaggerating his breaths to coax her into following his lead.

Crystal, for all her usual bluster, was chewing on her bottom lip as worry lines crinkled her brow. She had more experience in dealing with the wayward elderly man one on one than Kira did. She wanted to know what was going through her cousin’s head. Was she fretting over what could happen to him or was it more what he was possibly up to? There was no way for her to voice her questions until she got herself under control. With Jude’s guidance, she was closer to regaining composure.

Crystal’s ringtone added to the noise of the room around them. Without even looking at the number, she answered with distraction. She hadn’t recognized the tone that had played, but since it wasn’t her device she probably wouldn't. It could be Casey calling from out in the car worried it was taking too long for them to collect B.B. and Gismo. As a violent red color overtook Crystal’s face, she began to fear for whomever was on the other end.

“What do you mean you need bail money for two?!”