Him or Him

The Following week Gracie is at the blood drive to donate blood. Paxton is beside her donating as well. He finishes before her and sits waiting for her. Once she is done, she gets up too fast and faints as she walks in front of Paxton, he stands up and catches her. He looks at her displaying concern then lays her back down on the donation bed. She is assessed by the workers. The lack of blood made her faint, but her vital signs are good.” I’ll be back in about thirty minutes” he said. “Please keep an eye on her, and do not let her get up again.” Paxton went to get his tow dolly to put her jeep on so he can take her and the vehicle home. I think she needs to rest for the remainder of the day. He thinks to himself. After he returns, she is still laying on the donating bed, recovering from giving away her blood to needy people. “Gracie, I have your jeep on a dolly attached to my truck, I’m going to take you and your jeep home ok. I’ll stay with you the rest of the day,” Paxton picks Gracie up and carries her to his truck. While Gracie had only seen his silver mustang a few times, he also has a blue avalanche. He places her in the front seat and buckles her in. Since he just donated blood, he is not supposed to lift anything heavy for a few hours in efforts to allow his arm to recover. He is too concerned over Gracie that he disregarded the warning. He put more of her weight on his dominant arm which is not the arm he donated from.  Gracie is about one hundred and twenty pounds, which was easy for Paxton. He put her on the couch and gave her more fluids, then asked her what she wanted to eat. He also took Gunner out for a potty break and brought him back in to Gracie. Gunner looked at her, tilted his head to one side and whined as if knowing something was wrong. He lay on the floor beside her. Paxton sits on the other couch and turns the TV on.

“Did you decide on what you want to eat?” Paxton asked.

“I’ll have eggs with spinach, tomatoes, and steak with chocolate milk please, thank you!” Gracie smiles even though she is still weak. Paxton smiles at what she decided to eat. He looks through the fridge to find the ingredients she has chosen. She happens to have everything available. After making the meal for her, Paxton brought the weak lady her food as she sat up on the couch to eat.

“Thank you, Paxton you are so sweet,” she reached her lips up to his as he handed her the plate.

Gracie now sitting upright, happily eats the meal Paxton made for her. She then realizes she does not spend much time at home or even in the living room. The woman seems to come and go, other than sleeping. She looks around the room and soaks in the space. The couch is comfortable, Gunner is on the floor watching her, Paxton is on the other couch glancing at the TV here and there then watching Gracie enjoy her food. After, Gracie is done eating she sets her plate on the table. Paxton gets up, takes her plates to the kitchen, washes them off and puts them in the dishwasher. Once done, Gracie motions for the man to sit beside her instead of on the other couch. He sits down next to her, so she reclines the seat, the two watch TV and relax.

The woman turns to the man and says, “This is nice, I need to relax more often like this. You are also great company.”

Paxton looks at Gracie smiling with kindness in his eyes, “Are you feeling any better?”

“Yes, I still feel a little out of it, I have never donated blood before. I did not realize it would take so much out of me. You are so wonderful for being here and taking care of me.”

“Gracie, it is a pleasure to be here with you right now. I do not have too many rest days either, there is always somewhere to be, or something to do.” Paxton says as he reclines his seat back, elevating his feet like Gracie has already done. “I am also glad they made couches with reclining seats, and the people furnished it with one.”

Gracie giggles at Paxton’s remark. Soon Gunner is sitting next to them on the couch as well. All three lounging for a restful afternoon to evening. They camp out in the living room for the night. Gracie awakens to the sound of rain outside, smiles at the thought, then falls back asleep, snuggled up to Paxton with his arm around her. The man rests without awakening to the rain. Hours later it is morning, but the sunlight does not shine through windows. It is dark and gloomy. Paxton gets up and says he needs to get to work. The woman feels more rejuvenated then realizes, she may just spend the day indoors since it is raining. She lets Gunner out to go potty, as he gets wet and muddy, she decides to give him a bath. The dog is now fresh and clean to spend the day indoors with his owner. Gunner’s loving eyes pour into Gracie’s as she feels overjoyed by the dog, her heart filled yet aching with so much love. She gives Gunner a big hug and pets him. “I don’t know what I would do if I lost you, you are my best bud. We have had so many adventures the past six years, and have many more to come, don’t we buddy?” Gunner happily wags his tail then follows his owner into the living room. She prepares his food then freshens up. Gracie returns to the couch to relax with Gunner for the first time in a while. They lounge and watch TV for the rest of the day.  She receives a message from, Peter, “Hey beautiful, how are you doing, I’m thinking of you and missing you!”

“Aww, thank you, I just thought of you too. I have been lounging with Gunner all day since it has been raining. Want to join us?”

“Ok, I will be on the way soon!” responds Peter.

Soon there is a knock at the door, Gracie opens and lets Gunner out for a break. Peter wraps his arm around her waist and kisses her passionately. She looks at him with adoration and summons Gunner to come in. Gracie dries her handsome dog off as it is still pouring out, and he is drenched.  Gracie looks at Peter and asks what he wants for dinner. “Do you want to order Pizza? It may never get here!” Peter jokes. “He looks at her arm noticing the red mark. What happened did you have blood drawn?” 

“Oh, I donated blood yesterday, then I fainted so a friend brought me home. I will not be donating blood again.” Gracie laughs as she motions for Peter to join her in the living room.

“Your friend, is that a guy?” Peter curiously asks.

“Yea, someone else I’ve been seeing.” Gracie smiles.

“Ok, I see other people too. Are you sleeping with him?” asks Peter.

“Well, that’s a lot to ask me,” blushing Gracie looks at Peter, “I met him around the same time I met you, just a few weeks ago. Are you sleeping with other women?” Gracie decided to ask, awkwardly.

Peter looked at her, smiled and said, “Not right now. You still did not answer my question, though.” Peter was lying he was not seeing other women, in fact it has been a while since he has liked anyone. He has been busy with work, running his business.  When he saw Gracie for the first time, Peter felt a spark worth exploring. Something in his gut said to seek her out. She was breathtakingly gorgeous to him. Her sparkling green eyes, curly golden brown hair, just something about her got his wheels turning again. He’s looking at her thinking about how it has only been about a month since they met. They are still getting acquainted, she wants to leave in March so before he really gets emotions involved, he needs to see how deep her interest is in him or this other man.

“Oh, we are still getting acquainted. He plans to move to a warm climate soon, to a tropical island. I am not sure if he will be back after that. I will come back after six months to a year in Alaska.” Replies Gracie. “I do not sleep around. In fact, I have been single for a while since I have been traveling and seeing the world.”

“Ok, that makes me feel better. And you know I cannot go to Alaska with you. I might be able to visit a few times, if you want. If I really like you, I’ll wait for you to come back.”  Peter calmly and sincerely spoke.

Gracie’s warm smile reaches up to her eyes after hearing this, she took a breath in, to process the conversation, then slowly exhales.

A knock at the door, Gracie goes to open the door, It’s the pizza!

 “This pizza is so good, it definitely hits the spot.” Gracie takes a bite of the pizza tasting the warm crust, red tomato sauce, and the gooey cheese, along with the meat and veggies. Peter ordered the works. Canadian bacon, sausage, onions, green peppers, spinach, mushroom, black olives, and pineapples. The pizza restaurant also offers wheat crust, so Peter requested it, just for Gracie. The two chat, eat pizza, have hard cider ales, and laugh to each other. All the while Gunner looks at them, watching, and tilting his head, while giving adoring eyes. Soon he relaxes and lays down, then closes his eyes. Next, the two migrate over to the couch, watch a movie, and snuggle up after a few ales. The two have a little buzz, the warm fuzzy feeling of drinking alcohol but not fully intoxicated. They begin to kiss, Peter’s overbearing arousing energy awakens spilling into Gracie. He kisses her neck, then runs his hands through her hair. She takes a breath in feeling hot and bothered. She rubs his red beard. He takes a deep breath in, calming his energy. Holding Gracie in his arms, she falls asleep. He looks at her, picks her up and carries her to bed. She awakens to put pajamas on in her bathroom and brushes her teeth. She comes back out and snuggles up to Peter who has lost his clothes other than his boxers. They snuggle comfortably and fall asleep.