The Unexpected Love

43. The Conditions

"Dax! Come back!" The female voice now sounded clear and more familiar. 

"Dax, huh?" I dodged his tongue as it tried to lick more portions of my face. 

"DAX!" I could feel the source of the voice standing behind me. Fuck! 

The small hair at the back of my neck stood alerted as I managed to identify the voice. Same voice from last night. Same voice from my bedside 10 months ago. I was panting much like the dog had been a minute go. 

"Dax, you idiot! Come here this instant!" As soon as she snapped at the dog, he jumped off my lap and , presumably, ran towards her. "I'm sorry, sir. Though my dog's under training but still a bit of an idiot."

She was talking to me! Fuck! 

I opened my mouth to say something but my mind went blank. Of all the thousand things I wanted to say to her, nothing came to my mind. What should I say first? Should I ask her whether she missed me? Or demand to know about the baby? I tried to get up to face her, to see her beautiful smile, to fall into the depth of her expressive brown eyes but I stayed frozen on the spot, unable to move. 

"Sir? Are you alright?" She asked in concern.

Yes, now I am!

With two deep breaths, I tried to calm my havoc mind and get up, intentionally keeping my back towards her. "You know," I dusted off the dirt from my jogging pants and finally turned to face her, "Dackel is a very intelligent breed."

Her lips were parted in a slight O and her eyes were wide open in surprise as soon as  she registered who she was talking to. She looked just the same as 10 months ago- the same messy hair tied up in a bun, those light pink cheeks, her tender luscious lips.

Yet, she looked different. Her body was more lean than before. Her eyes that once held mischief was now more clouded with animosity, mostly directed towards me. For what felt like a decade that we stood there looking at each other, trying to drink in the differences between how we were before and how we are now, trying to digest the fact that here we stood merely inches apart yet neither of us had the courage to draw each other closer.

Breaking our eye contact, she abruptly crouched down to scoop Dax in her arms making a move to walk. But before she could turn away, I called out her name intending to stop her. She didn't. Instead she picked up her pace and walked towards the backside of the house. Well, I didn't intend on letting her go this time either. I strolled behind her, even through the back door leading to the kitchen, and kept calling her name along with the dog's incessant barking but never received her response. 

As soon as we entered, a strong smell of bacon left my mouth watering and stomach grumbling in hunger instantly. I saw two faces from the previous night staring up at me in surprise.

"You went out to fetch the dog and walked in with a handsome hunk behind you." The old woman was the first to speak, winking at Diana. She walked away silently to deposit Dax on the floor outside the kitchen. She leaned sideways against the wall but kept her back towards me. Never once showing her face or talking or even acknowledging my presence. 

That's what you get for being an insensitive ass towards her!

"Please surprise, Mister." Her dad stood stood in front of me with his arms crossed across his chest as his face remained passive. 

"Join us for breakfast dear!" Her mother interrupted, her smile never once faltering. 

"No, he isn't!" Before I could have my say, Diana had already decided for me. "Please tell him to leave my house right now!"