Biscuit Eating Bulldog
1411 Words
The rest of the shift goes pretty uneventful. Whatever spell Ben had cast on me was gone with Sean’s appearance. Not that I managed to concentrate well on my job anyway, but I got by. I kept thinking about what I had seen.
Did I really see Sean retract his vampire teeth? Or was it some trick? How the hell did that asshat do that? I’ve got so many questions buzzing through me. This is absolute walnuts! He can’t be a vampire? Can he? I’m a woman of science and I can’t think of anything scientifically explaining the existence of a vampire! Though there are endless numbers of myths about them all through the history of the earth. And not centered in one place, but all over earth.
No matter. I’m with Ben now and he is the one I want. I should stop thinking about Sean. Especially knowing what's waiting for me at home. The thought doesn’t excite me as much as it did a few hours ago. Sean really is a lint licking cockblocker! Now I’m just tired and sad. I wish I had never gone to masturbate!
I lock myself into the apartment owned by Ben. Leaving my purse by the front door I walk into the kitchen where I find Ben by the table lighting what must be a million candles. On the table is a big pot being kept warm by the candles underneath. My heart sighs and tears press on. I spent all those hours wondering about Sean only to come home to find Ben has done something that’s all about me!
“What’s wrong babe?” Ben asks and hugs me.
“Just a really long day at the library,” is all I feel like saying to him, but when he lifts my chin so he can look me into my eyes I feel compelled to tell him more. “My ex Sean showed up.”
“Did he hurt you?” The anger seething in Ben’s voice is enough to make me shiver. I’ve never seen him this angry before. He looks me over as if to see bruises.
“No, no. But he was acting all weird, and it scared me.” Ben seems to calm down some. He embraces me and I feel myself finally relax in his arms. This is what I’ve longed for ever since Sean showed up: Ben’s strong arms protecting me.
“Come let us eat,” Ben says and takes his hand to the small of my back to guide me to my chair. Sitting down the smell of the savory soup embraces my nostrils into another warm hug. Ben fills my soup bowl and I see a lot of my favorite root vegetables shaped as spheres together with egg and homemade noodles.
“You really did a lot of work on this meal didn’t you,” I smile at him and he beams.
“Anything for my girl.” The man is too sweet for sugar sometimes. I’m the luckiest person alive!
Having eaten my fill I start to clean up, but I'm distracted by my phone calling. “Wow! Who's calling this late?” I’m not an avid party-goer, so calls at night are not expected. Ben waves me to the living room, telling me he can clean up the rest. Looking at my phone I see it’s a hidden call.
“Hello?”
“Hello Lorena, I’m calling about your father’s debt,” says a dark voice, that’s a little bit raspy like a smoker. He’s never called me this late at night before. Am I late with the payment? I look at my watch to see what the date is.
“I will have the amount we talked about ready in two days.” I answer.
“That might not be enough.” My heart starts to sink. This man truly is a diabolical devil spawn. “Your father has not kept his promises about not gambling with other people's money. It’s only by my grace that no one has shot him by now.” Pickle my cucumbers! Oh, dad! Not again!
“I’m so sorry, but I cannot pay you more than what we already have agreed upon,” I tell him truthfully.
“Then maybe you should try to find another income,” he suggests. He has made those suggestion’s before. I know what they lead to and I’m not doing what he wants me to do.
“I’m already working two jobs. As soon as I’m done with my doctorate...” I start.
“Now, now, maybe you should stop your silly dreams about being a big independent girl? Either get another job, like the one we have talked about before, or maybe you should talk to that rich boyfriend of yours?”
“What?”
“Ben, isn’t it? Hasn’t he told you how much money he has? That apartment you live in isn’t cheap, you know. Why don’t you talk to him tonight and let's see what you have in two days?” the man hangs up on me. I’ve never met him in person and he has kept his name out of our conversations. The first time he called he Facetimed me showing my father beaten up in a cage telling me I was next if we didn’t start to pay his debt.
It’s no love lost between me and my father, that dickless diarrhea infusing drunkard gambled away my love for him long before I started my studies. I almost didn’t recognize him when his loan shark called me. The threat had been real tho and even if my father is estranged to me he doesn't deserve being beaten up by a loan shark. He doesn’t deserve to be killed either, but so far it hasn’t come to that.
I have kept my inherited money problems a secret from everyone because I don’t want to risk anyone getting into this mess with me. Not to mention the loan shark gave me a threat of what would happen if the police got involved. But now that the loan shark has researched my boyfriend's funds I might have to tell Ben. It looks like it’s already too late. He is in this mess no matter what I wanted. I feel like a biscuit eating bulldog for not telling him before. I sigh knowing I might not have any choice now.
I’ve never talked to Ben about money before. It’s not like we avoided the subject, it just never came up. I know he has some money behind him. He is after all paying for everyone in my class who wants to come to one of his dig sites this summer. Experience and a vacation to a foreign country between semesters. Who doesn’t want that? Especially with a renowned archaeologist.
The secret to Ben's fame is partly because he can fund his own dig sites and therefore also he’s most likely to be there when something big is found. It’s almost like he has a knack for knowing where stuff might be found. In class he said he has a gut feeling sometimes about places where someone lived. So other people might find it random, but “the loot checks out” as he says.
I’m still looking at my phone when Ben walks into the living room. I’m not sure how to bring this up after the romantic dinner he made me. I feel like such a cootie queen.
“What was that? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Is it your ex?” a flash of green shows up in Ben’s face, but he quickly glosses over it with a sympathetic smile and keeping the jealous gremling inside in check.
“No, not him,” I sigh with relief. “It was just my boss wanting me to work more shifts in summer.” I can’t tell him about the loan shark. I just have to figure something out and not give up without trying.
“You work too much Lorena,” Ben complains. We’ve been over this before so I leave it at that. I know he’s not after a fight. He’s just disappointed and has been ever since I’ve told him I couldn’t go to the dig site with him because I had to work.
“Someone has to pay for the underwear you keep ripping,” I tell him and wink.
- Writer
