I don’t know how long it was before I woke up, but when I did, Grizz and Grunt were standing at the foot of the bed talking.
“What the fuck do you mean she was awake? She wasn’t supposed to know anything. Damn it, Grunt!”
“She didn’t drink enough and wanted to go back to your room to go to sleep.”
“So she was awake and felt it. You hurt her?”
“Fuck, I don’t know, Grizz. She was starting to pass out. I don’t know what she’ll remember, if anything.”
I stirred then and realized I’d been covered. I could tell Grunt must have managed to get my underwear back on me. They must have sensed I was awake because they both stopped talking and looked at me at the same time.
“I hate you both,” is all I said.
As I got myself off the bed and reached for my jeans, I noticed Grunt wouldn’t make eye contact with me. Grizz had no problem, though. With an expression on his face that I couldn’t read, he said, “You’ll be okay,” and left the room.
I wouldn’t look at Grunt as I fidgeted with my jeans. I slipped my feet back into my sandals and said “thanks for the drink” with as much sarcasm as I could muster. I left the room. It was dark out. Exactly how long had I been in Grunt’s room? Well, it didn’t matter now. I’m certain that was one room I would never be seeing again.
I walked toward number four and found myself pausing just as I was ready to open the door. What if Grizz wanted me now? I wasn’t in pain, but I was sore. I closed my eyes, took a breath and opened the door.
He was on the phone when I went in. I saw Gwinny cuddled up in a corner of the couch. I went to check her litter box, and since it didn’t need cleaning, I went to the couch and picked her up.
Something occurred to me. What if I smelled like Grunt? He wore some kind of cologne. I thought he smelled good the few times I’d been around him. I needed to get a shower, but the last thing I wanted to do was take my clothes off anywhere near Grizz. I would just have to do it quickly.
I made a dash for the bedroom quickly shutting the door behind me. Once inside I stripped bare as fast as I could and went into the bathroom and started the shower. When it was warm enough I stepped in and started to wash myself. Just then the bathroom door opened and the shower curtain was pulled aside. I tried to cover myself with my hands. It was Grizz, and he just stared at me.
As far as I know, this was the first time he had seen me naked. What I saw in his eyes scared me to death. It wasn’t a violent look like I remember seeing on Johnny Tillman’s face. It was the look of a man that desired a woman. Grizz didn’t want to hurt me like Johnny, but it was obvious that he wanted me. I just stared back at him.
“You sore?”
“Yes, very. It hurt.”
“You remember then? You were awake?”
“I remember a little. I started falling asleep as it happened.”
That seemed to satisfy him because he didn’t say anything else and left the bathroom. I finished washing and dried off. I went out into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around me and got some clothes out of the dresser. I started to walk back toward the bathroom to change when he said, “You change in front of me from now on. No need to be hiding anything.”
He was letting me get dressed. So what if it was in front of him? I doubt he would be letting me get dressed if he intended to have sex with me.
I slipped my underwear up underneath the towel. Then I struggled to pull a nightshirt over my head while trying to keep the towel up. It wasn’t easy. I was shaky. I don’t know if it was nerves or the drug wearing off. Probably a combination of both. I reluctantly dropped the towel, put on the nightshirt as quickly as I could and went back into the bathroom to brush my teeth and comb my wet hair.
When I came out I noticed a small duffel bag on the bed. What was this? I could hear him talking outside the bedroom. I thought I heard Blue’s voice. Just then, Grizz came back into the bedroom and picked up the duffel bag.
“You have three days to get over being sore. I’ll be back on Wednesday. Blue is in charge. I told him Grunt could take you off the grounds. Same rules apply. You have any notions of getting away from him just know that I will find you, Kit. Have no doubt about that.”
I couldn’t believe it. I was getting a reprieve from sex with him and I was going to be allowed to leave the motel? This was the best thing to happen since he let me keep Gwinny.
“Where are you going?”
“Business.” he said as he walked to the bedroom door.
He stopped and turned around. He walked over to me and lifted my chin up to look in my eyes. He didn’t say anything right away, and I wasn’t sure if he was going to say something or maybe even kiss me.
“What I made Grunt do was for the best. You are never to tell anyone what he did to you. You hear me? And don’t forget Kit, you’re mine. Only mine. And I will have you when I get back.”
With that he kissed me lightly on the forehead, spun around and walked out the bedroom door. As he approached the front door, he yelled back to me, “Don’t forget to feed my dogs,” and then he was gone.