Watching Baxter 1-4

1.

Valerie knocked on the door, absentmindedly comparing the view of the dimly lit street to the one from her porch, two doors down. She’d known the couple that lived here for over half her life, but she couldn’t remember ever lingering to admire the immaculately maintained front yard, the wraparound porch, or the picturesque windows on either side of the entry when she spent afternoons here as a child.

Distracted by her memories, her hand was still lingering against the door when it swung inward, Evelyn now standing in its place. She had her thick curls pulled back, a bright pink Hello Kitty shirt just visible peeking out of loose overalls that barely reached her upper thighs. The dirt smeared across one cheek meant she’d just come from working the garden. “Val honey, it’s so good to see you!” Evelyn exclaimed as she pulled the younger girl into a hug, crushing Val against her full chest. Val had forgotten how tight these hugs could be, and she caught her breath as she was enveloped by Evelyn’s soft body.

Evelyn let go and looked Val over. “How’s school been? Have you been back long? Would you like anything to drink?” She asked the last question while retreating into the house toward the kitchen, beckoning for Val to follow. Val could see her ass hanging out of the back of her overalls, clearly with no underwear in between.

Val stepped into the house after her, taking in how the place had changed since she’d last been here in her early teens. The living room was off to the left of the entry, full of new leather and mahogany furniture but otherwise decorated with the same photographs, marathon trophies, astrology books, and other trinkets that have seemingly always made up Evelyn and Morgan’s life together. The coffee table was scattered with magazines, remotes, and dog toys.

To the right was the kitchen, where Evelyn was standing at the fridge, holding a Blue Moon out for Val. “Just water is good for me, if you don’t mind,” Val said. Evelyn shrugged and returned the beer to the fridge, trading it for a glass to fill at the sink. They stood in the kitchen, making small talk about Val’s classes, her summer plans, social life, and where she’d be interning next fall as part of her dental hygienist program.

Val had just finished telling Evelyn about her recent breakup when Morgan and Baxter came in from the back yard and greeted them, covered in enough dirt to start a whole other garden. Morgan was a few years older than Evelyn’s 35 years, and much smaller. Whereas Evelyn liked to show off her thick curves, Morgan preferred the more practical long sleeves and sweats to cover her tall and slim runner’s build. Whereas Evelyn was an astrology nerd and her bubbly excitement never waned, Morgan was more quiet and driven, although still always kind to Val. Besides dirt, she was covered in sweat from the yardwork, and she took care not to brush any off on Evelyn while leaning in for a kiss.

While Morgan and Evelyn were talking, Val turned her attention to Baxter. A year old rottweiler, she’d been sent plenty of pictures while at school but this was her first time officially meeting him. He seemed bigger in person, his head almost to her waist. Did dogs normally get this big at only a year old? She crouched down to eye level and immediately received a wet tongue across her face, causing her face to scrunch up and the two women to laugh.

Baxter didn’t seem to notice the displeasure and moved on to more exciting things. More specifically, he turned to Evelyn and greeted her by sticking his snout up the loose leg of her overall shorts, nuzzling deep into her sex. From her position near the floor, Val could see Baxter’s mouth start to open and his tongue finding a patch of dark curls before Evelyn snapped her legs together, pushing him away. She let out a little laugh that Val noticed sounded suspiciously like a moan.

“Why don’t we leave Baxter outside while we do a walkthrough of the house? We can end with the garden and I can show you where the new shed is,” Morgan said, a little too quickly. Was Evelyn blushing? Val thought so, but she chalked the incident up to the hormones of a teenage dog and agreed, and the three women walked through the house. A two story craftsman style home, Val’s memories of the layout came back to her quickly, down to which stairs creaked and which window had the best view. She’d spent countless hours with Evelyn and Morgan as her babysitters, and it felt strange to come back as a babysitter herself, or in this case as a dogsitter.

They ended the tour back in the kitchen and went out to the yard. Morgan showed Val how to care for their vegetable garden and where to find the outdoor toys and leash for Baxter in the shed. “I think that’s everything! Like I said, phone numbers and instructions will be on the kitchen counter, and you can always text us if you have questions,” Morgan concluded.