Chapter 9
Die Gesellschaft der Wölfe
The Company of Wolves
PART 3
Rosie was watching from a distance as Dempsey sat down at the bar. She thought that she would try to impress Dempsey by making him a few drinks that her sister showed her back when they worked at a club. They both interchanged places and worked as bartenders and singers.
Rosie went behind the bar and decided to give him the silent treatment to see if he would speak to her.
"Oh. Hey...."
As she finished mixing up a long island iced tea, she turned around to face him.
"Here 'ya go. Drink up."
"Thanks." Tank took a large gulp and set the cup down. "Mmmm, this is good."
"That's a long island iced tea."
"Well, whatever it is, you mixed it well."
"Thanks, Dempsey. I wasn't sure if you would even like it."
"I'm tense and stressed out right now, so I will swallow anything."
Surprised at the innuendo, Rosie spewed and spilled her ale she was drinking as the sweet apple aroma soaked into her tank top.
"Aaaawwww, son of a frickin'---ggrrrrr!!!" Rosie threw her empty ale cup and shattered it against the wall.
"Hey, you alright?" Tank asked.
"Yeah, I'm peachy keen. I just spilled my drink all over my favorite shirt."
"Oh, that's too bad...whoa..."
She was facing Tank when he started to stare.
"What's wrong?" Then she looked in the mirror. He could see right through her shirt. To say this was an awkward moment would be an understatement. "Oh, shit! I am so sorry 'bout this. Please excuse me."
Rosie scrambled out of the bar and ran upstairs to the barricaded bathroom area where she kept her stash of clothes. She took off her drenched shirt and bra as well as her soggy underwear and pants. She quickly threw on the first things she could see: underwear, sports bra, a towel, a dark red frock (dress) and a twin-tailed coat.
Suddenly, Rosie started to cry. Embarrassed over a stupid joke Tank made and making a complete mess of herself. What's worse is Tank saw through her wet t-shirt. As she made her way back to the saloon, she tried to force herself to stop crying just as Dempsey bumped into her.
"Hey, Tank."
"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Dempsey asked.
"Tank, I-I'm sorry." The waterworks came back with a vengeance.
"What for?"
"For spilling ale on me and making a ditz of myself. For being so clumsy."
"Oh, that? Heh, was actually pretty funny."
"What the fu--? Are you kidding me?! I nearly had a panic attack by the effing bathrooms! I was so embarrassed. I had to go change 'cause you could see right through my damn shirt and I didn't know what to think or what you were thinking of me...! I didn't want you to think I was just some ditzy, clumsy little--"
Her embarrassed rant was stopped in its tracks when Dempsey laid a hard, passionate kiss on her lips and snaked his arms around her waist.
Once he felt her body soften and loosen, he broke the kiss.
"Rosie, it's alright...'cause I think you're amazing."
"Really, you do?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"I knew it was him." Zelma hummed from the saloon as she saw them kissing at the top of the stairs. Her comment echoed just a bit too much for the lovebirds to hear.
"Sis, is that you?!" Rosie squealed.
"Mm-hmm."
"How much o' this did 'ya see and hear?" Tank asked.
"Mmm, only all of it...."
Zelma ascended the stairs and gave Tank a hug.
"You take good care of her, Corporal."
Dempsey saluted her. "Yes, ma'am."
Zelma simply walked away and went back to the theater to sit near the turret. She heard a soft patter of boot steps behind her.
"May I join you?" It was Edward Richtofen.
"Of course you may."
He nodded and sat close to her left side.
"I never did thank you for saving my life, Zelma."
"Oh? And how do you plan on thanking me?"
"I don't know, but I do not zhink zhis can be done vith vords."
"Take all the time you need, Edward."
Richtofen thought back to the kiss she gave him. It was long, passionate and full of...something. He didn't know what to make of how the kiss made him feel. Was it love? The concept of it was foreign to him. All he knew was that he cared for Zelma deeply despite the little span of time that they had spent together. She revived him and saved his life. He would do the same for her, more so than anyone else in the group. He wanted to be around Zelma for much longer than this. He wanted to be with her for as long as time would allow.
His thoughts were interrupted when she saw that Zelma had a large book in her hand. It looked to be a sketchbook. Some of her family, her husband, then dragons and other mythical creatures.
"Those you drew from life?" Edward asked.
"My family and husband, yes. But the others I draw as I go. Whatever comes to mind, I draw it."
"May I...'ave a look?" He asked a bit sheepishly.
Zelma closed it and handed it over to him.
Richtofen picked up where she had left off and began to look through pictures of couples. Random couples holding each other and kissing and sharing intimate moments. Edward got the same warm feeling again as he looked at every single sketch. "Vhat is it zhat jou felt vhile...drawing zhese people?"
"Well, I don't know any of them. I just drew what I felt."
"And what did jou feel when you drew zhem?"
"Well, these were right after my sister and I met you guys. I was missing my Axel, so I guess I felt...LOVE. Warm, passionate, deeply felt...love."
Edward closed the book and returned it to Zelma, but paused when her hand touched his. "May I ask you somezhing...?"
She nodded once.
"How do you know when you...love someone?"
"You've never felt it?"
"Nein. Not at all."
"Well, when you love someone, the rest of the world seems to melt away. That one person is your whole world. They mean everything to you. You want to spend every day, every hour, every minute and every second with that other person. Nothing else matters but them. You would kill for them, die for them, fight for them, do anything for them, all out of LOVE....But no one can tell you that you're in love, you'll just know it. You feel it. Through and through. From your head to toe. Balls to bones. It's...wunderbar."
Richtofen now knew what this new warm feeling was. It was love. He loved Zelma. But how could he show it? Maybe a kiss like the one she gave him?
Just do it, Edward...Kiss her...DO IT!
"Zelma...?" He called out to her. He needed a more secluded, off-to-the-side place to express his love for her, away from disapproving and gawking eyes.
He took her hand and held it tightly. "Kommen sie (come)."
He got down from the ledge of the stage and escorted her to the corner where the JuggerNog stood. He walked down the pathway past the mystery box, his eyes scanning for any of his comrades or her sister. Luckily, not a soul was found.
When he got close to the soda machine, he briskly picked up the pace and borderline forced her up against the left wall.
"Endlich, sind wir allein (finally, we're alone)...." He said under his breath.
"Edward...what are you doing?"
Without answering her, he crashed his lips into hers with force and held her tightly with one arm and resting his other arm against the wall near her head. Edward poured his heart into this most passionate kiss he was giving her.
She was reluctant at first; he heard her soft, nervous moans through her pursed lips. But she soon let out a longing sigh and opened her mouth for him. Once he felt her body stop resisting him, he wrapped his other arm around her shoulder and held her neck gently. After what seemed like an eternity, he let his partner come up for air.
"I think we have a problem, doctor." Zelma said in a mischievous tone.
"Oh, und vhat is zhat?"
"I think you've fallen in love with me."
And for once, a genuinely happy smile spread across the doctor's lips.
"I zhink I am in love with you, too...miss Zelma...but vhy on earth is zhis a problem?"
"Because I have fallen for you, too..."
Richtofen's smile grew wider still as he went in for another kiss, grabbed her thighs and hoisted her up to his torso, feeling her strong legs wrap around his waist. He moved up against the JuggerNog and sat down with Zelma in his arms....
Several Minutes Later....
(By the JuggerNog machine...)
"Liebling?" Edward said.
"Yes...?"
"May I confide in jou?" Edward averted his eyes.
"Please do so."
"To tell you zhe truth, when I first saw you crying for jour father und liebe, zhe virst vords I said vere traurig, aber schön."
"You thought I was sad, but beautiful."
"Ja...I zhought jou vere schön, süße und stark."
"Sweet and strong, huh? Wow...thank you, Edward." She chuckled and blushed at his compliment.
"Mein liebling...may I kiss you again?"
"You don't have to ask...just do it."
As they both proceeded to lean in, they felt their forearms burn and sear until a single, thick gash burned on their arms like hot coals. The zombies were back.
"Oh, no. Rosie. The guys. We need to find them, NOW!"
As Zelma rushed to the lobby, Edward cursed under his breath.
"Damn you, Samantha und Maxis!!!"