Itsy-bitsy Spider by Alexis Ke

AN ITSY-BITSY SPIDER TALE
ISSN 155-5488 VOL. 07-04ED

Slade placed a finger against his mouth to silence her. She nodded, swallowed and stepped up
behind him. He shook his head and she stopped. "Go back to my apartment." His voice was a
mere whisper.

He took another step toward the bathroom and jumped in while swinging the bat. He hit nothing
but air. Slade stopped, moved his gaze around the room and searched for the intruder.
Nothing.

He stepped out and walked across the hall to her bedroom. A quick glance under the bed and in
the closet and again he turned up empty. Turning, he walked back to his apartment. Stepping
into the front room he found Nicole exactly where he'd sent her. Standing perfectly still, almost in
shock in the middle of the floor. His eyes popped wide open when the realization she was naked
hit his consciousness. As naked as a brand new baby, but she was no baby. Her soft-bronzed
skin resembling hot milk chocolate glistened with the water still dripping down her skin. Her breast,
ample and perky with nipples the size of grapes, sent a twitch straight to his groin.
"I um … I um…" Slade swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to speak again after diverting his
gaze to the floor. "I didn't find anyone, Miss."

"It's got to be in there." Nicole sucked in a breath and it made her breast rise and fall.
Slade drew in a breath and let it out slow and tried to stave the heat rising in his body. "Who was
it? What did he look like?" He grabbed the phone off of the small side table. "I'm going to call the
police."

"Police?" She took a step toward him and he backed up. Geez, what is he, nuts. Who calls the
police for a spider? Nicole stared at him wondering what was wrong. He had to have seen the
spider. If it got away she would never be able to sleep in that apartment again. She'd have to
move. Break her lease, anything, but she'd have to find someplace else.

"The spider was huge." She shook her head when the memory of it chasing her came back to her
mind. "How could you not see it?" Nicole stared up into his eyes and for the first time realized how
gorgeous they were. They stared back at her like emeralds. Bright, yet dark and mystical all at
the same time. "It was as large as your head."

"Spider … spider?" Slade ran his hand through his hair and shook his head. "It was a spider?"
Nicole nodded her head.

"You want to show it to me?" Slade held his hand out for her to grab.

Nicole took a step back, her head shaking widely from side to side.

"Okay. Wait here."

He turned and walked back to her apartment wondering when she was going to notice she wore no
clothes. He'd wanted to point it out to her but figured it could wait until he found the notorious
spider. Probably a tiny garden-variety kind the size of a pin top. He stepped up to the bathroom
door and stood perfectly still. His gaze traveled across all of the surfaces, the walls. Nothing. He
took another step into the room. This time he looked behind the tub, the shower curtain and
where the toilet hid. Still nothing. Getting down on his knees he fanned his hand under the tub.
The swift tickle of something big and hairy running across his arm sent a shiver straight to his
stomach. His arm tensed.

The gigantic brown spider skidded across the floor and ran into the corner. Slade fell back onto
his butt and back walked to the far wall.

"Shit!" He yelped when his eyes focused on the scary beast. "Well, I'll be damned." He started
laughing at himself when as he pushed up from the floor. "Damn thing scared me too. No wonder
she panicked."

He tiptoed closer. The poor spider hovered in the corner perfectly still. It was probably more
afraid of them than they were of it. He kneeled down, swooped it up in one hand and cupped it
with the other. Once outside he tapped his door with his foot and waited for Nicole to open the
door.

"Was this the intruder?" The smile that curved his mouth tilted the corners just enough to mock
her.

Nicole's gaze slid down to his hands and when she realized what he hid in his grasp she screamed,
slammed the door and locked it.

"Hey. It's okay. They don't bite."

Slade heard Nicole's breathing through the door. Was she crying? Her respirations sounded
ragged. Her voice broke into fractured syllables when she spoke.

"Kill it! You've got to kill it or it will come back."

"They don't bite." He repeated.

"Don't care. I hate spiders. Kill it."

Slade laughed loudly and boisterously. He shook his head, peeked through his tightly cupped
fingers and stared at the spider. It hadn't moved since he picked it up. Probably scared to death.
He walked toward the parking lot and the wooded area to the side of their building.
He bent down and opened his hands. "All right little fella." He shooed it with his finger. "I wouldn't
advise you to come back. Can't guarantee your life next time." He straightened and returned to
the apartment.

His fist rapped on his door. He knew she was peeping out of the security hole.
"Where is it?"

He held up his hands and turned them in front of the little hole so she could see they were empty.
"It's gone. May I come in my apartment?"

The door slid open and Nicole stood there, a look of disbelief on her face. Her eyes jetted from
right to left looking for the spider. She let out a loud sigh and smiled. It reached all the way to her
eyes.

"I don't know how to repay you."

Slade stood in the door, not wanting to get too close to her and her nakedness. Damn she looked
good. The water had begun to dry. There were streaks where bubbles slid down her body toward
areas he'd like to taste first hand. His gaze slid from her face down the length of her body. He
sucked in a breath.

"Miss. Um … um." He again looked over her head to the far wall. If he didn't, he was going to
embarrass himself.

Nicole glanced over her shoulder and into the direction he was looking, wondering what he saw.
She hunched her shoulders and figured he was just shy or thought her sublimely stupid for being
afraid of spiders. A cool breeze brushed over her body and she looked down. Stark shock
covered her face.

"Oh!"

Slade settled his gaze on her face and smiled. He tried for comfort but knew that running to a
stranger totally naked would hardly make her feel better.

Nicole didn't know what to cover with her hands. Her face, her breast or her crotch. Heat rushed
to her face. Her chest constricted and she couldn't breath. The room began to spin around her
head. She thought she heard him curse right before her eyes rolled to the back of her head, the
room went dark and she passed out.