Talia's Torment

Chapter 4: Deny evade and deny.

Talia was walking into the cabin after a quick dip in the lake to remove any of that abhorrent sand that Tanner seamed to hate so much and a shower in her cabin to wash off the lake.  Redundant she knew but she would rather smell of soap and dryer sheets than seaweed and fish whatever fish did in the lake.  She didn’t want to really think about it too much, rather let sleeping dogs lay and all.  She was headed in the direction of the kitchen for their nightly dinner when she saw Tanner at the sink with the goofiest smile she had ever seen.  He kind of reminded her of that cartoon with the skunk that was convinced the cat was another skunk after it had been striped with white paint.  Yup dumbstruck was the only word that popped into her head seeing him like that.

                “Hey you know if you keep doing that to your face it might get stuck that way.” 

She was not going to pass up the chance to tease him for that look, no way, it was just too tempting.  The moment she spoke he froze like she had just told him that she was taking the steaks and leaving him with the broccoli.  Utterly stunned and it almost made her chuckle.  She reached past him grabbing the plates out of the cupboard to do her part of setting the table while he usually did the cooking.  Honestly it was better that way, trust me; her cooking was more like a science experiment into the limits of safe human consumption.  To say charcoal and dust were her best examples of cooking would be an understatement, I mean she had burned water.  Water, yup as in put it in the pan and boil it to cook other stuff, yep best not tell that story, it would give nightmares.

                Tanner looked to visibly shake himself back to reality and register her comment before turning to eye her suspiciously.  She could see the wheels turning in his head and the look in his eyes saying this conversation would possibly have them in fits of giggles before the end of the night.

Tanner smiled and then replied with a slightly less goofy grin. “What, maybe this will be my new look.”

“No I don’t think that is a good idea.” Talia deadpanned simply in reply waiting for him to take the bait for her next oncoming joke.

“Why, what’s wrong with this look.” Tanner spoke faking a hurt and injured expression, his hand to his throat as if he was stunned.

Talia chuckled to herself and simply replied, “Because, if you keep walking around with that look people are going to make me have your head examined.”

“It looks like at any moment you might start licking windows, or small puppies.” Talia managed to get it out before laughing whole heartedly when she looked up at Tanners face.  He looked like she had just smacked him upside his head with the frying pan.  It was all at once gut busting funny, she couldn’t help it and wished she had a camera to capture the perfect moment of astonishment.  She however was not prepared for his reply.

                “Maybe I like licking small puppies; you know they are so darn cute.”  Tanner stated with the most serious face he could muster.  He would be darned if he didn’t give just as well as he got.  He would meet her quips with his own each time.  Tanner admitted to himself that he didn’t believe he would ever have as interesting, if not slightly bizarre, of a conversation with someone as he always seemed to find with Talia.

“Okay, well puppies aside, what was the deal with the face?”  Talia was trying not to laugh at the puppy comment.  For someone who looked like he ate tanks for breakfast this man sure had a side she bet so few people knew about.  Kind of like tell anyone else and I’ll bury you in the back yard, but I’ll make you split your sides laughing the entire time kind of humor.  She had a feeling he didn’t let it out much and the fact that she was able to see it so regularly was part of his hold on her.

“I told you, puppies.”  Tanner just answered and then turned to putting the steaks and asparagus on the plates as if that was all the answer she needed to her question.  He was avoiding her stare like the plague and she felt a slight moment of odd tension between them.  In interest of saving the night and removing the awkward feeling in the pit of her stomach at his sudden aversion to direct eye contact she allowed the moment to drift away.

Tanner breathed a small sigh of relief as Talia let the conversation drop and began getting the rest of the place settings ready while he finished dishing out the food.  He had started this little nightly ritual for them after she had almost burned her cabin down one night while cooking.  Yup, she had stared a blaze having burned of all things water, yup enough said about the woman’s cooking capacity for you.  He didn’t even trust her with the microwave after the whole kaboom incident.  Yeah, to say that she had a serious animosity towards anything that could facilitate in the cooking or reheating of anything edible was stating it lightly.  He wasn’t sure how the woman had survived on her own for so long and not withered away to a husk before she met him.

Since then they had been doing this nightly ritual of her setting the table and him cooking the food, it was way safer this way.  It ensured that the other cabin stayed erected and he didn’t get poisoned by whatever travesty she was trying to call edible lately.  It also made plenty of time for them to have pleasant conversation, and another glimpse of the smiles she so rarely wore.  He felt warmth spread through his chest as she sent one his way right that moment and sat to dig into her steak.  He had narrowly missed having to explain the dumbfounded look he had been wearing on his face when she came in.  Narrowly, but somehow this had meant he had actually stated he liked licking small puppy faces.

 Man this woman could turn him into a blubbering i***t anytime she spoke to him lately and if he didn’t get a hole on himself soon she might just realize what really was going on inside that head of his.  To say that would end badly was mild, he had a feeling that this soon she would not just be upset with him but he could possibly lose her all together.  It was not a chance he was willing to take, so yeah puppies beware Tanner is here.