Take a shower

You pull yourself out of bed, stretch, and wonder if it was such a good idea to send Vanessa away. Now that you are waking up, you wouldn’t mind another go with her. Oh well... plenty of time for that later.

You head into adjoining bathroom between your room and Bryan’s, and you see a note taped to the mirror: “Aron, When you get up, please let the dog out.” It is signed by Candy. You rub your eyes; you don’t have a dog. You look at the note again and realize it says to “let Dogg out.”

That makes sense. You pull on your jeans and go across the hall to Candy’s room. The door is partially open, and when you listen, you hear the steady sound of breathing, mixed with occasional snoring. You turn in the light and see Dogg O’Leary asleep in Candy’s bed.

Dogg is a member of the high school football team, and this isn’t the first visit he has made to Candy’s bed. And he’s not the only member of the football team, for that matter. He is a year younger than you, but nearly twice your size.

You say his name and shake him until he wakes up.

Dogg sits up, looking around in confusion. Seeing you, he asks, “Where is your sister?”

“No idea,” you answer. “But she left me a note and said to wake you.”

Dogg looks at the clock. “Oh shit! I’m late to practice!”

With that, he throws off the covers and frantically hunts for his clothes. You retreat from the room to be spared the sight of this naked bohemoth.

You go to the kitchen to get a glass of juice while you wait for Dogg to vacate. You are surprised to have the house to yourself; as far as you knew, no one had any plans.

Once Dogg leaves, you head back to the bathroom. As you pass Candy’s room, you reach in to shut off the light, and that’s when you notice that she left her computer on.

You stand there, considering whether you should take advantage of this development.