Saving Brownie

Chapter Eleven : Demanding The Answers

From the end of the street, I saw Clark outside his house. I bolted towards him in full speed and he spotted me [the bull version of me] from a distance since he too tried to run, to escape, to disappear, to vanish just like that after kissing me!

"Brownie, wait!" I ran after him and grabbed his arm before he could escape. He jerked his arm away and lumbered forward. I panted heavily and leaned on the nearby wall since I couldn't chase him anymore. I was exhausted. Clark quietly picked up a container filled with something which resembled the dog's food and went to the backyard.

My sweaty figure followed him slowly as I tried to regain my normal breathing rate. I had lost my strength of running and stamina tremendously. Finally after some time of meditating peacefully in one corner of the backyard, I approached Clark who was crouched in front of his pet, feeding the nasty beast.

I maintained a safe distance from the monstrous creature since I could feel it glaring at me. Neither of us were fond of each other. The feeling of hatred was mutual between the dog and me.

"Why did you kiss me? I want to know!" I shouted at Clark whose back was turned towards me. He did not reply, not that I expected him to.

"I want an answer Brownie. Why did you kiss me?" I repeated impatiently and he stopped caressing his pet. He let go of the dog, got up, turned around and glowered at me. I too stood up confidently and raised my chin high up defiantly. "You stole my first kiss."

I didn't really care about a kiss, first or not. It wasn't that important to me, but still, it was a nice way to accuse Clark and make him feel guilty of his actions.

"What made you kiss me? Was it my attractive figure or my totally kissable lips? Or are you secretly in love with me?" I teased him and wiggled my eyebrows. He rolled his eyes, striding into the house through the backdoor. I followed him like his pet and jibed at him all the way. I noticed his fingers twitched in annoyance and his jaw clenched as I smiled triumphantly to continue sneering and humiliating him in all possible ways.

"Do you have a fantasy to---"

"Will you shut up if I give you some cookies?" Clark snapped at me and I shook my head.

"No, you cannot always bribe me into chocolates, ice creams and delicious cookies to shut me up! I won't---"

"Then will this shut you up?"

"What are you---"

He cut me off by leaning forward in an attempt to kiss me again. I froze in my place not knowing what to do, my eyes widening in fear and something more as his nose brushed against mine. He stared at me for a while and I saw his lips twitch upwards lazily.

He smiled genuinely and that was when I felt a warm fuzzy feeling. He looked beyond handsome when he smiled. His simple gesture made me contended and satisfied that I was a part of his happiness. I grinned and he backed away at the realization that he was smiling earlier. I didn't comment anything since he already placed a massive tray filled with yummy cookies right in front of me.

* * *

I sauntered down the street humming my own created tune. I halted in my tracks when I saw Clark and Ian in the green field. The place was empty with only the two of them and Clark was throwing a ball towards Ian as Ian hit it with what looked like a stick from a distance.

"Brownie, Ian!" I called out and jogged towards them. "What are you both doing?"

"We're playing cricket," Ian replied and I stared at them as if he had swallowed a moth.

"Georgia doesn't know what's cricket? Tragic," Clark remarked sarcastically and I glared at him, but in the back of my mind, I couldn't stop thinking the way Clark pronounced my name. It was the first time he ever told my name in over these weeks considering he barely talked.

"Whatever and I'm called 'George,' not 'Georgia,'" I stated with emphasis and Ian smiled amusingly. Clark scoffed and suddenly, out of nowhere, I felt a soft, furry, hairy thing near my feet.

I looked down and shrieked. It was freaking Clark's dog again! I loathed that hairy beast right from the first day I encountered it. My instant reaction was to jump five feet high above and before I could kick it, Clark caught my arm. It was good that I didn't kick that beast because it would be animal abuse. However, the beast knew my intentions that I was going to kick it because I could see the burning anger in it's eyes as it growled at me and nearly pounced on me.

"Clark!" I cried out and leaped on Clark who was right beside me. I hugged him from behind and my legs wrapped around his waist involuntarily. He was startled, but soon stabilized himself because of so much force and weight from my side. From the corner of my eye, I saw that the beast was clinging to Clark's leg in an attempt to bite my ass.

"Ian, take this dog away! Quick!" I screeched like a madwoman and Ian pulled the beast away which was stuck stubbornly to Clark's leg. He dragged it and held it in his arms.

"Get down," Clark said in a low, irritated voice and I looked at him. Our faces were inches away and I felt something weird. We both stared at each other for a while until I broke into a wide grin. He had this blank expression plastered on his face which defined nothing as I unwrapped my legs and hopped down.

Ian left the dog on the street and stalked towards us. My eyebrows rose high up and I asked, "We got rid of that dog?"

"No, it'll go home on it's own. It's a clever dog and knows how to," Ian assured me. Clever dog my ass. Nevertheless, relief flooded through me and I sighed.

"Never expected Georgia to be scared of dogs," Clark whispered from behind earning a scowl from me. He was in a cheerful mood today and I couldn't miss the faintest smile on his face which was evident for a few seconds.

"Stop calling me Georgia. You make me feel girly because of this name and that beast. Ugh! By the way, why do you own that?"

"Greta suggested," he replied nonchalantly, took the ball from the ground and walked away.

* * *

"Cricket is basically like baseball, right?" I asked and Ian shook his head.

"No, that's a different sport. Come, I'll teach you," he offered and smiled. Nodding, I went towards him as he passed me the bat. I held it gingerly.

"Clark, be the bowler please," Ian requested and Clark picked up the ball. He was looking adorable wearing his nerdy glasses and soft looking beanie. Ian went behind me and held my hands which were wrapped around the bat. His warmth engulfed me and I pressed my back against his chest in an attempt to make myself comfortable. He was standing very close to me, but I didn't mind. He had always been so sweet and kind, the total opposite of Clark.

He taught me for a while and then I decided to start playing myself. I realized that I liked cricket and it would have been wonderful if I was introduced to this sport years ago. All these years, I only played soccer and tennis. Cricket was different and I liked that these two boys with British roots associated me with this game.

"What's the team?" I asked despite knowing the fact that there was only three of us. Both of them glanced at each other, but said nothing.

"Fine, then Ian and I are on one team and Clark, you'll be alone," I said smugly and grabbed Ian's arm. However, I noticed a flicker of hurt pass over Clark's face. He looked crestfallen. What was wrong with him?

"It's only the three of us, so there's no need for teams," Ian said softly and my forehead creased, but I didn't protest.