Dirty Laundry

The next day i woke up to sunshine spilling into my room. Cerberus jumped from the bed and whined at my door. i opened it and he went running out, well someone has to go.

I went to the bathroom and grabbed my toothbrush. I paused as I remembered something, no toothpaste. I opened the medicine cabinet and there was a small unopened traveler’s sized tube next to a small first aid kit. A shelf above that there was a bottle of peroxide and some bandage wrap and small travelers sized shampoo and condition bottles. I grabbed the small tube of toothpaste and brushed my teeth. I unbraided my hair and ran my fingers through it braiding it again. I dressed and cleaned my glasses on my shirt then put them on.

Looking decent enough I walked out and went downstairs to the kitchen. I looked through the kitchen cupboards and found a cup and filled it with tap water. The back door was slightly open. I saw Cerberus outside and Smith standing in the grass tossing a ball to him. I guess I’ll make breakfast. Ignoring Smith and Cerberus I went to the fridge and frowned. Beer, bacon, yoghurt, and oranges. I opened the freezer and raised a brow. Steak, steak, and would you looky there more steak and a random ice cube tray with no ice. I closed the freezer and went to the pantry: ramen, bread, pop tarts two bottles of Jack Daniels, half a bottle of Gin, a bottle of Captain Morgan, a box of cinnamon toast crunch cereal, and a box of pasta. Wow what was it with single men and not having anything to eat at their houses. I sighed as flash backs of my dad's house in Florida came to mind. I guess I could make bacon with toast..Did he have butter?

I went back to the fridge and looked on the door. A few cokes and a stick of butter. ‘‘Good enough'' I shrugged taking the bacon and setting it on the counter then grabbing the bread from the pantry only to discover it had mold on it. ''You’re kidding me'' I sighed shaking my head as I threw it away. I walked to the back door and walked out to the edge of the deck.

‘‘What am I suppose to cook?'' I asked. He looked up at me and walked over to the steps. ''I’ve got to go grocery shopping..And to get you clothes'' he said quietly. His voice though quiet was filled with authority and deep. Very intimidating. ''Ok..'' ‘‘But I think there’s bread and bacon why not make that?'' ‘‘The bread is moldy..I guess I’ll just make the bacon'' ''don’t it’s not worth it I’m going to the store'' he walked past me into the house. Cerberus ran up to me and I walked back inside with Cerberus in tow. I walked in in time to see him leave he popped his head back in ''don’t touch anything'' ''wouldn’t dream of it'' I rolled my eyes. He left and I smiled down at Cerberus.

''I feel so sorry for you'' I giggled leaning over to kiss his head. I grabbed a broom and decided to sweep the floor. I wanted to mop but found that I couldn’t because there were no cleaning supplies. I ground my teeth at how frustrating this was so I grabbed a pencil and paper and wrote down everything I’d need. When he came home I sighed handing him the paper.

‘‘What’s this?'' he asked. ‘‘All the things I’m going to need..You don’t have any cleaning supplies'' I sighed. He read over the paper and nodded folding it ''I’ll get someone on it I’ve got to go to work'' ''that’s fine by me'' I walked away to get the groceries from the car. I put it all away and sighed, he forgot to get spices. How am I going to make food taste good if all I have is salt and pepper.

‘‘You didn’t get any spices and seasonings'' ''..I didn’t know what to get'' he shrugged.
''That’s fine..Add it to the list..Goya, soy sauce, basil, cilantro, garlic, Sason, lime,..'' I listed all the things I’d need. He wrote it down then took out his phone as he walked away. I took the groceries from the bag and put them away. Finally able to actually cook something I made bacon eggs and toast. He walked into the kitchen and sat at the island. I gave him a plate of four strips of bacon some eggs and two pieces of toast. He didn’t say anything to me as we ate in silence.

I kept him in my periphery still a bit iffy about him. He was too quiet. Two could play at that. Usually I was a loud, boisterous out spoken person but until I knew for sure that he wouldn’t kill me for the annoyance I’ll keep silent. The doorbell rang and he stood up ''I got it'' he walked away.

‘‘Why do you need all this shit?'' another man's voice asked. ''My girlfriend likes to cook'' I nearly choked on toast when I heard smith's voice say that. I coughed and drank some orange juice that I freshly squeezed.

''Girlfriend?'' ''Yeah she just moved in'' ''I didn’t know you were dating someone''
''you know I like to keep my life private'' ''I guess so..So where is she? I wanna meet her'' ''in the kitchen eating breakfast..Want some?'' ‘‘Sure'' they walked in and I gave a scathing glare to smith. He glared back in warning.

I smiled brightly at the new comer ''hello I’m Shanell'' I said cheerfully.
''Hello Shanell I’m Landon..Landon Mctiyrne'' he out stretched a friendly hand. I shook it firmly and stood up.

‘‘Would you like some breakfast? it’s not much just bacon eggs and toast''
''I haven’t eaten breakfast in years so why not..I brought you the spices and herbs''
''thank you..Smithy was working so I hope it wasn’t too much of a problem for you'' I smiled at Smith. He seemed amused but I wasn’t sure, his face held no trace of any emotion but his eyes said a wholly other story. I wonder what he looked like when he smiled. I went through the bag and put everything away. He sat with his plate and ate with smith. I took my seat and finished my breakfast.

‘‘So how long have you two known each other?''
''noneya damn business'' Smith growled.

I smirked, I could really play along with this.
''I’ve known him for a few months we met back in December but he wasn’t very talkative. I used to work at the Food Lion he'd come by every now and then and then one day he asked me to lunch, at first I wasn’t very keen on the idea but once I got to know him..He’s such a sweet heart..And then I got fired and he asked me to move in with him'' I shrugged. ‘‘And here I am'' I smiled. I lied through my teeth but I seemed to pull it off well. It also helped because the bags where smith bought the groceries were from Food Lion.

Smith looked at me wide eyed. ‘‘Isn’t that right baby?'' I smirked at him ''yeah'' was all he said. ‘‘Interesting. I’ve never seen the guy go gaga for any girl'' ''I know..'' I looked at him sternly ''this is his happy face'' I kept the same face ''this is his sad face'' I held the same expression again ''this is his scared face..He never changes but there are times'' I nodded. Landon chuckled raising his glass. ''I hear ya'' ''so what do you do?'' ‘‘What Smith does'' ''really?-'' ''baby you know I work at Langley'' ''I forgot..Of course you do..But what does he do specifically'' I smirked. ‘‘He’s a security guard..Like me'' ''oh really? interesting..Sweetie you never mentioned him..He seems like such a nice guy'' I smiled kindly at Landon. ‘‘So where you from?'' Landon asked.

I shrugged ‘‘San Antonio..I’m an air force kid so I’ve moved a lot more but I was born there'' ''then what do you call home? That seems better'' ''Fort Walton beach Florida'' ''Egland?'' ‘‘Yes..My father still lives there'' I sighed. ''what brings you to Yorktown?'' he asked. I smirked at the Intel he was giving me. ''I went to Tabb High and graduated there..I kind of just stayed'' I shrugged. Smith raised a brow at that. ''Tabb? My sister's son goes there who's your favorite teacher?'' ''Mr. Kunnil'' ''no shit..I met the man he's hysterical'' ''one history class with him and he made me laugh so hard I was on the floor with my friend'' I sighed at the memory. ''Do you know Mr. Brendons?'' ''No..Unfortunately he was my sister's teacher..I had Mr. Bayton though'' ''oh really? The ladies say he's the heart throb'' ''he is..I remember watching him walk down the aisles all class long..The man had an ass I’ll tell you that..Then in junior year this asshole in my Chinese class told him I liked him..Well more like yelled it so that every person down the hall would turn and look at me..Boy was my face red..But I don’t regret it because when I came back senior year he noticed me more..Too bad he's married'' I sighed.

Landon laughed nudging Smith who was in total shock. ''careful he might steal her from you'' ''oh ha-ha no it wouldn’t happen..Teen years I just wanted to fuck him and get it over with..it’s out of my system'' I laughed. ‘‘So what about you? Where you from?'' ''Well my father was in the army and I was born in North Carolina'' ''really? Fort Bragg?'' ''Been there a time or two'' ''interesting''

the food forgotten I exchanged a good conversation with Landon. Smith just sat there watching every word I said and changing a few things as I went. ''Well let me get the dishes'' I stood up after a while. They sat back as I washed the dishes. I head a chair move and the next thing I knew Smith was leaning on my back with his arms around my waist. ‘‘Where did you learn to lie?'' ‘‘My father'' I whispered. ‘‘Watch what you say-'' ''don’t tell me what to do, now if you don’t back off in ten seconds we're about to have a problem..Honey'' I mocked. He pulled away and went into the living room with Landon.

I couldn’t believe I was in this mess. Keeping up appearances was just a pain in the ass. Now I had to lie to this guy that seemed very nice? Great..Just friggin perfect! It’s a good thing I’m a damn good actress and a damn good liar or we'd be in some serious shit. At least now I knew where I was and lucky for me I used to live here. Yorktown VA. Wow I haven’t been here since I graduated.

After, I’d say, half an hour Landon was about to leave. ''Bye Shanell it was very nice meeting you'' he shook my hand ''it was nice meeting you too you should come over for dinner sometime'' ''she's a good cook'' Smith put his arm around my waist as we stood in the door way. When he was out of view I closed the door and sighed.

‘‘Why?'' I asked. ''Because if he knew that you knew what I am then he'd have to go to headquarters and I’d get suspended and you'd get targeted'' ''what? I’m not supposed to know you’re an assassin?'' ‘‘Exactly'' ''this is just fucking great! Thank you Smith..Now I have to lie through my teeth and you know he seemed like a very nice guy'' I glared at him.

‘‘News flash princess he's just like me..That 'nice guy' you saw wasn’t Landon
Mctiyrne. That was some asshole Landon Mctiyrne puts up so that no one knows he's an asshole like me'' ''who do you think your raising your voice to?'' I hissed. ''i wouldn’t be yelling if someone wasn’t so annoying'' ''annoying? HA! You’re the annoying one Mr. Brood and rude'' ''I don’t brood'' ''sure you don’t..Because brooding would mean you’re depressed..But you've got a fifty foot poll up your ass and a god complex that makes people think you think your better than them'' I snorted.

‘‘You don’t even know me'' ''Spare me the agony I can read you like an open book and baby what I see is exactly who you are..Hell you don’t even know how to hold a woman your too awkward..Too stiff'' I rolled my eyes. ‘‘I’ve been with many women don’t tell me I don’t know how to hold them'' he growled. ‘‘Oh yes because sex and actually caring for someone is the same thing'' I snorted sarcastically.

‘‘You’re so infuriating'' ''ditto buddy ditto and do me a favor give me a little warning before you tell someone I’m your girlfriend..you know I could have let you fried but I’m a nice person and I went along with it'' ''I’d have killed you if you didn’t'' ''well being dead would probably be better than being with a frigid asshole like you'' ''I’m not frigid'' ''would it kill you to smile or be polite'' ''I’ve been nothing but polite and respectful to you'' ''Yeah but what’s that without kindness? Hmm? Absolutely nothing..Whatever, I’m going to go mop the floors I’m sure you've got someone to kill anyway'' I waved him aside and walked away. ‘‘Don’t dismiss me'' he growled. ''I don’t want to get into this Smith because it’s going to lead to a fist fight..I’m a violent person and I don’t want to up step you'' ''last night you were saying you'd never be able to beat me'' ''yeah well if I’m determined enough then I could'' I rolled my eyes. He started again but I shook my head covering my ears.

''I don’t want to hear it'' I walked away. ''Very mature Shanell'' he snorted.
''Don’t you have someone to kill?'' I grumbled. For someone so handsome he was a friggin pain in the ass..I guess all guys who look good are. I’ve yet to meet one man who was good-looking and decent..A girl can still dream though right? I went about cleaning, sweeping and mopping. I did the laundry and cleaned the bathrooms. by the time I was done the house was spotless.