CHAPTER THREE
( RUN RUN RUDOLPH )
SHE WOKE UP to the feeling of something wet and slimy rubbing against her face. Quinn immediately gasped for air from her exhausted state and pushed away what was on her face. The sunlight drifting in her room blinded her for a few moments, she could only see the figure in her lap for a mere second but she instantly knows what - more like who - it was. "Rudolph, get out of here." She scolds the animal, pushing him off her chest. This only caused the golden retriever to get even more excited, which made him lick her face even more.
She groans as she lamely attempts to push him off once again only to fail. She finally pokes her head away just enough to look at her clock. Nine hundred. She immediately raises in a panic. She was supposed to meet up with The Joggernauts hours ago. She must've missed her alarm. She groans in frustration and she manages to get out from underneath Rudolph's weight.
She stands up on the balls of her feet and stretches her arms out from a moment as she starts counting the days in her head with trepidation. Comfort swarms over her as she becomes aware that today is Saturday - the first day of the weekend. She places herself back on the edge of the soft mattress, listening to the squeaks of the springs in the process.
She ruffles the soft, golden fur of Rudolph's head and he instantly rolls over on his back to reveal the lighter colored fur of his belly to her. She scratches it for a moment before yawning. She hadn't actually had a chance to sleep in in over a month and a half; she was dedicated to running with The Joggernauts but she didn't interpret what it could do to her sleep cycle. She needed the few extra hours of sleep. However; she deemed that she had slept enough and it was time to get ready for the day.
As she exited her room she noticed that Jo's door was open, yet there was no sound of her snoring nor was there any commotion coming from the living area or kitchen. She must've been at work. Rudolph's nail clicked against the wooden floor of the loft, coming to an abrupt stop as he sat and gazed up at Quinn with a goofy expression - his tongue rolling out of the side of his mouth as he panted.
Rudolph wasn't her dog, he belonged to Jo who had begged Quinn of letting her get a dog after a while. At first, Quinn wasn't too pleased with the mess the puppy created but over time she became more and more accustom to him being in their home. He gave her good company when Jo was off on dates or at work. She smiled down at the dog, listening to him whine, and then scoffing.
"She didn't feed you before she left, did she?" She questions the dog, who continued to whine, his tail thumping against the floor. She sighed in frustration, Jo wanted the dog but neglected on giving him the attention and necessities he needed; like walks or food and water. He solely depended on Quinn for that. Without hesitation, Quinn walked into the kitchen and grabbed the metallic food bowl sitting next to the patio door and mashed a can of wet dog food in it. Jo insisted on giving him wet dog food, mentioning something about it being healthier for him.
Quinn didn't complain, at least she bought him food and took him to the vet and groomer when he needed to go; which was often. As soon as she set it down Rudolph digs into it, she chuckles as he scarfs it down. "Give me a second to get ready. We're going for a walky," She announces in her baby voice, causing Rudolph to look up at her with perked up ears. He always gets excited for walks.
She takes a moment to scroll through her phone and glance at social media as she gets ready. She's greeted by a notification from Tinder stating she has twelve unread messages. She rolls her eyes as she pulls her t-shirt down around her torso. Jo had forced her to sign up about a year ago, it's where she usually frequents to get her plentiful stream of dates. Quinn has seen what it's done to Jo, she doesn't want to take part in it, however, Jo asks her how Tinder life is going for her from time to time and if she were to be completely honest, she didn't mind looking at the half nude photos of men along with their completely asinine pick up lines.
It brought her entertainment. She didn't have time for dating at the moment. Curiosity got the best of her, as she decides to go through her Tinder to see who's trying to flirt with her. She taps on the first message, a man named Damion with a picture of him shirtless with a baseball cap on. She associates him with someone Jo would take interest in. "Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, We're a match on Tinder, so I think we should screw." The text reads. Her brows raise at the beautiful poem that he sent her. There's no way she's ever responding to that, not in a million years.
She closes the app as soon as she hears the jingling of Rudolph's collar, she turns to see him enter her room with her tan leash in his mouth excitedly. She chuckles at the sight and pats the dog on his head, taking the leash from his mouth and hooking it around his collar (being sure to avoid the parts covered in his drool). "Alright, let's go," She hums to the dog as he begins leading her out of the room and towards the front door.
THERE ARE A FEW more people out and about now near the Washington Monument than around the time that she is usually here with The Joggernauts. The crowd around the Monument is starting to appear but it's not in a mass, just a few people here and there milling around. In a way, she's thankful for that. Rudolph is usually a good dog, but that doesn't mean he's not excitable. When he jumps - he jumps. It's enough to knock her down when does it.
She looks down at the dog who's just now starting to pant next to her on their jog. She slows down her pace so he can walk beside her as she jogs. Her lungs have yet to feel as if they're on fire but perhaps it's because she's been in and out of slightly jogging, to jogging, to walking, because she's distracted by Rudolph. How could she blame herself for not hitting her goal by looking at his face? His tongue was lolling out once again, his tail wagging from side to side as he panted it looked like he was smiling. Her heart clenched. It was too precious for her to handle.
"I would die for you, I want you to know that," She says slowing down to a walk beside the animal as she looks down at him; he returns her gaze. "I would die for you and you're not even my dog." The retriever slows down to a monotonous pace, gazing up at her still. She looks back down at him to see why he's slowing down and that's when he rears up on his hind legs and jumps up on her. She braces for his weight as his paws dig into her hands that she caught them on. He's a whole foot shorter than her on his hind legs, pretty tall for a dog.
She avoids getting his kisses on her face as best as she can. "All right, all right," She warns him as she sets his front paws back down on the pavement. She hears a familiar sound, the sound of thumping feet on the pavement. A runner and they're hauling as fast as they can go. She barely has time to look up at the person before she hears, "On your left." called out to her.
She instantly recognizes this to be Captain America once again. It must've been a short mission for him to be back already. Rudolph whines and yips in excitement at the running man. He tugs on his leash after him, lurching Quinn forward with him on the ground. She grips on to the leash tightly and pulls back on it, restraining the dog from going any further.
She attempts to place herself back on her feet when he surges forward again after Captain America; this time breaking free of her grasp. Quinn gasps in surprise as she hits the pavement, watching Rudolph run after the man. "Rudolph!" She shouts a strangled cry. She quickly picks herself up off the pavement and begins running after her dog, calling his name and telling him to "heel!" and "stop!".
Despite her protest, Rudolph continues to chase after him, even though he has long since gotten a good lead on him. Quinn's legs pump as fast as they can go but it's no match compared to the four-legged animal. She calls for him become desperate; until finally she sees him veer off to the left of the path off Captain America's trail.
She follows him with her eyes to see him run over to none other than Maddox who is clapping his hands to get the dogs attention. She watches as Rudolph straight up jumps on top of Maddox knocking him down into the soft grass. Relief fills her core as she slows down to where Rudolph landed on Maddox. Rudolph is licking Maddox's sweaty face, causing Maddox to laugh breathlessly. She takes the opportunity to clip onto Rudolph's leash before pulling him off Maddox.
"Bad!" She scolds the dog. "That is not how we behave! I trained you better." Rudolph sits down on the ground, ears pressed flat against his head, looking down at the ground. The dog knew he was in trouble, he lays down in the grass completely before rolling over to reveal his belly once again, tail between his legs, a sign of submission. She looks over to Maddox, who is recuperating from getting licked by Rudolph, wiping his face clear of the drool. "I'm so sorry, Maddox," she apologizes, offering a hand to help him up. He takes it while smirking up at her. "Thank you for catching him."
"'s not a problem. I'm a dog lover," he replies, looking down at the animal. He crouches back down and rubs Rudolph's belly, making the dog's foot scratch the air in glee. She looks at the small running group he was with, the numbers definitely start to decline after ten hundred. "I'm sorry if I interrupted your running too." She bites her bottom lip and turns away as she notices a couple of women glaring at her. He chuckles in response, turning his face up to look at her.
"We're just about done," he responds in a light-hearted tone. He raises up to his full height, towering over her, which makes her cheeks feel flush. She really didn't want to find him attractive but she did, at least she found his physical side to be attractive. The cocky, smart-ass that he was, not so much. "You would know that we're almost done if you showed up this morning." There it is. She rolls her eyes while crossing her arms, leash in hand.
"I slept through my alarm, bite me," her tone is as icy as her glare. "Don't tempt me," he retorts causing her to scoff. If he hadn't just saved her dog she would have walked off by now, but seeing as she did, and because she was raised with manners, she continued to stay. "I really appreciate you grabbing Rudolph, he's not even technically my dog, he's Jo's. I'd be in a lot of shit if it weren't for you-"
"You can get a coffee with me." he interrupts her.
Quinn's face scrunches up as if she was insulted. She was. Whatever happened to men being gratuitous and being chivalrous. She scoffs and rolls her eyes before letting out a low whistle to alert Rudolph to get up. "Anyways, thanks for grabbing my dog, I have to go," she declares, watching the cockiness in his fade away to reveal a bit of panic. "Wait. No, I'm sorry," he interjects, grabbing a hold of her wrist to stop her. "I got ahead of myself there. I don't want you to get me coffee. I want to get you coffee. If you'd like."
Quinn looks between the grip of his hand on her wrist up into the apologetic eyes of her running team's founder. It was a soft look in his eyes that made her heart clench. He looked like a sad puppy. She could feel his grip become clammy around her wrist, causing her to twist her lips up into a crooked smile. "Uh, yeah, sure," she bashfully accepts. "Jo actually works at a Starbucks not too far from here. I'm sure she'd like to see Rudolph. I'll meet you there?" she suggests leaving it open for him to possibly say a different coffee shop. Instead, he nods his head, a smile playing at his lips.
"I'll be there in twenty and I'll see you in forty," he jokes. She gives him a dry laugh as she rolls her eyes and bids him goodbye. A small pit of excitement makes itself known in her stomach as she walks away. It was like she was experiencing butterflies for the first time in years.
The walk from the park to the coffee shop is brief, it only takes ten minutes. The coffee shop is bustling with tourists and business people, possibly new politicians, Quinn didn't know nor did she care. All she cared about was Jo and the butterflies in her stomach. She looked inside the large glass window in the front of the Starbucks, skimming the area inside as Rudolph whines from below. She places a hand on his head for comfort as she gazes towards the cash bar area where people have clustered around to place their orders.
It doesn't take too long to find her roommate standing at the far end calling out names for orders. Quinn waves her hand for outside, hoping to catch her attention, thankfully her eyes meet with hers. Jo smiles in acknowledgment and puts her index finger up to her to indicate she'll be out momentarily. She nods and finds a circular black table outside to sit at, Rudolph makes himself comfortable underneath her chair. She gives him a small pet on the top of his head to calm him down. Being near large crowds of people always seemed to make him nervous yet excitable at the same time.
Her eyes grazed over the crowds of bustling people, people watching seemed to be her favorite thing to do in her downtime. She loved watching them scurrying from building to building, she could tell who was a tourist and who wasn't - who had a meeting to attend to or who was out and about trying to meet up with friends. It's the same in every major city she's visited or lived in. She loved people watching the most in New York when she visited her mother. Rudolph's tail brushed up against her calves, creating a small breeze around an ankle.
She turns just in time to see Jo step out of the Starbucks, green apron in hand along with a cup of water. She places the clear large cup in front of Rudolph not releasing it, watching him lap up what he could. "It's nice to get visitors," Jo chimes in as she peers up at Quinn. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Quinn shrugs her shoulders in turn. "We were in the neighborhood," she states as she pets Rudolph's head. "Actually I'm supposed to be meeting Maddox here."
She watches her roommate's eyes light up with curiosity and excitement. She rolls her eyes, she knew Jo would act this way. "As a date?" Quinn feverishly shakes her head from side to side. "As a courtesy, he rescued Rudolph for me." Jo perks her brow up at this in question, concern flooding her features. Quinn sucks in a deep breath as she recollects the events from this morning. "He chased Captain America," she states with a slight twinge of grudge in her voice. "Of course he was too fast for Rudolph but, he just kept chasing him,"
"Did he say anything?"
Quinn scoffs at the question, thinking back to her running and shouting Rudolph's name. "Captain America doesn't talk to people. He just runs," she explains with a shrug. Jo pats the top of Rudolph's head and asks him if he was naughty today, earning nothing but hot pants from the dog.
She doesn't remember Captain America looking back at them, it felt as if he was ignoring her calls for her dog to stop chasing him. Then again, if she was in his position he wouldn't stop either especially with what he does for a living. He must've been too caught up in the moment to even acknowledge the fact that someone was telling him their dog was chasing him. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like to trade places with him.
"So Maddox caught him and he's coming here?" Jo interrupted her thoughts, she blinked twice at her roommate before nodding her head at the statement. "I was going to offer to buy him a coffee but he beat me to it. Well, he was his usual smug self at first but then he actually asked me for coffee." she clarifies. Jo clasps her shoulder in excitement and lets out a quiet squeal of enthusiasm, she's practically bouncing in her seat. Quinn can't help but feel annoyed by her animated presence about the scenario. "It sounds like a date,"
"It's really not."
"What would you call it then?"
"Being nice. A friendly gesture as friends." Quinn shrugs which causes Jo to give her an unimpressed look, her whole bubbly persona fading away. "Don't suck the fun out of this, it's a beautiful day, and you're getting coffee with your hot jogging instructor because he caught my dog. This is something that you'd hear about in a romantic comedy. This is how it starts," Jo adamantly states.
"I don't think I want my life to be a romantic comedy. Nor do I think it is. In a romantic comedy the girl has like a job in the fashion industry or works in a book store. I'm an I.T. I will never go further than that. It's frustrating, quite frankly," she complains, a throbbing pain in her chest. Something about it didn't seem right. She knew she was meant for more than being a common I.T. person, she just didn't know how to break the cycle.
"Quinn," Jo's voice is low, as she grasps her roommate's hand in encouragement. Jo scans her eyes for hesitance but all she can find is a slight concern. They've been friends for years, she knew her better than herself. She hasn't always been the relationship type nor has she been the headstrong person she thought she could be. "I know this is hard for you, but I think you need to take a leap of faith. You'll find your place. It may not be right now, but it will come. And I'll be right there beside you."
Quinn felt the throbbing in her chest start to lighten as she took in the words her roommate poured on to her. Jo, as air-headed and as boy crazy she was, always gave her the right advice whenever she needed it. She's been her support system for the past few years, and she had been hers. She wouldn't know what to do without her, and frankly, she doubts Jo would be where she was in life without her.
She smiles as she squeezes Jo's hand, and whispers out a thank you. Jo holds her gaze for a moment before looking around her and inhaling sharply. "Hottie alert," she whispers out as she hurries to get up out of the metal chair. Quinn furrows her brows confused by her sudden alert stance. Jo keeps looking between her and the supposed "hottie" trying to gain her attention to make the connection.
Quinn looks back to see Maddox wave towards both them. He was dressed in his running outfit just as she was, simple black shorts and a black t-shirt. His copper hair was semi-styled but had gotten a tad messy due to the sweat from running. She feels the rhythmic pattern of her heartbeat start to raise as she watches his smile shine brightly between her and Jo. Jo is the first to officially greet him, she thanks him for saving her dog.
"It's really no biggie," he responds, petting Rudolph as he stretches from underneath the chair to greet him. "He gave me the right push. I'm actually here to get some coffee with Cruise here,"
"Oh yeah, she mentioned something like that was happening," Jo confesses trying to sound casual. There's an awkward silence between the three as Jo gives Maddox a flirtatious look, while he sheepishly looks back her. Quinn is left sitting and looking at the both of them awkwardly, patting Rudolph to ease the tension she was feeling. "I should get going back and leave you two to it, come inside and order whenever," Jo announces.
Maddox gives Quinn a warm smile before bidding Jo a goodbye. "Do you know what you want? I could run in and grab since you have Rudolph," he offers nervously. This was a side that she's never seen of him, acting nervous and fidgety. It was likable. "Just a hibiscus tea. Medium - or grande whatever," she replies.
She watches him with endearment as he crouches down to Rudolph's height once again to ruffle the fur on his neck. "And a puppacino for the puppy?" he wonders in a baby voice, as he scratches behind his ear. Quinn nods her head once, finding the light in his eyes spark up at the gesture. "I'll be right back."
As he leaves Quinn can feel the rhythm in her heartbeat intensify and she immediately regretted it. She couldn't let herself get too attached to him. She wasn't allowed to.