No Goldilocks. Just the three bears.
Joey turned back, poking his head back inside her room. “Can I just check: you’re not going to try and make me dress up like a baby again so you can look after me then?” There was a hint of disappointment in his voice, hopeful eyes aimed at Danica.
She pulled her lips back in a snarl, which only really served to remind her about a certain lack of fangs, but it was Joey, so it still had the desired effect. When he backed away again, she slumped down onto her bed, Onyx ambling over and sitting in front of her, dropping his head onto her knee and looking up at her with mournful eyes.
“I don’t hide,” she countered when the dog yawned and licked his chops. They sighed in unison.
***
“Oh, duuuude.” Joey was on his way to the kitchen to get Danica whatever she’d asked for when he met Frank coming out, icepack held to his face. His very, very bruised face….with a very strange mark right in the middle of his forehead. “What happened??”
Frank groaned, shuffling his way to the couch. Joey forgot about the food (since it wasn’t for him) and followed. He was starting to get the feeling he’d missed something these past few days.
“Before or after Asher threw the only one volume Proust book at my head?” Frank sat down gingerly.
Because before consisted of being rough-handed by a bouncer as he was thrown out of the strip club and after saw himself and a pool cue become far more acquainted than he really would have liked.
“Asher did this to you?” Joey asked, taken aback, pulling a face when Frank readjusted his hold on the icepack and he got a good look at it all.
“Nothing I didn’t deserve.” Except maybe the pool cue…
“I don’t…” Joey looked lost, dropping down onto the coffee table. Sure, he was a lot closer to Asher than he was Frank but still. Something freaky was happening if the atmosphere down in the basement was anything to go by. “Why?”
Frank was perceptive enough to know that Joey didn’t know the full Island story so his concern was misplaced. He held up his free hand. “I said some things I shouldn’t have.” Oh, the understatement of the century. It wasn’t even the stuff he’d said to Asher that he was most mortified about. It was facing Lennox again. Stephen, he couldn’t avoid, but even they’d yet to really say more than a few words to each other when they were in the same room.
“Man…” Asher must have been really angry to inflict that much damage, Joey thought. Frank’s temple looked like a mardi gras celebration was going on there, all different colours, none of them normal. “You wanna watch something? Take your mind off it?”
“Not really.”
“Cool. I’ll go choose something.”
An hour later Danica was glaring at them from where Yasmine Bleeth had been moments ago. Onyx sniffed at the boys’ propped up feet.
“Hey, woah, hey!” Joey waved his arms. “You’re blockin’ all the good bits!” Two good bits to be precise.
Danica didn’t have the fucking patience to remind Joey he’d had a job to do and the last thing she wanted was to call attention to herself right now anyway. So she stalked away to the kitchen, calling out dismissively for Onyx to attack. He started to bark but after Joey’s and Frank’s protests, one a lot more hysterical than the other, Onyx decided that in this case ‘attack’ meant lie on the couch and watch swimsuit women run along a beach.
When the credits started to roll, Frank made a move to get up to fetch a new non-melted ice-pack but Joey grabbed his elbow. “Dude, I found this, I thought it might be yours.”
A swollen eye made it hard to see something so small but Frank recognised it right away. A tiny torn piece of a photo, showing the upper-half of Josh. The very top of his head had been ripped off too but he was mostly there.
“I recognised it from when I went through your wallet one time.”
“…” Frank opened his mouth to ask what but Joey’s mind was on fire today and he caught up with his mouth pretty quick.
“I was looking for a condom!” Joey explained in a rush. “I found that on the floor over there and I thought you might’ve dropped it or something.”
A slow nod was all Frank’s neck could afford. He hadn’t looked up from the picture yet. “Yeah.” Just that little bit left. When he closed his eyes he could see the completed photo, wondered how long that would last. “Thanks, Joe.”
“S’okay, dude.” And Joey slapped him on the back as he got up.
Frank held it in as long as possible, eyes pricking with water as the pain flared, and then he doubled-over, head between his legs. “Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
[All three, yay! Tag Joey, Frank or Danica as you wish, but there will be separate threads for each pup. Two or all of my pups in the same thread?? Cannot brain have the dumb!! If anyone does have a pup who wants to talk to more than one of them, please to be putting a new top-level comment for each one :D ST/LT welcome as always.]