“You shouldn’t do that to yourself,” he blurted out. “You could fall and hurt yourself. I’ll tell you what I think, shall I? Are you listening to me?”
The poodle scrambled to his feet and then sat once more on the pile of clothes, his back straight and his dark eyes fixed on Lionel as if he were the only being in existence.Those eyes resemble the ones I remembered from last night.His lion agreed.
“These are just quick guesses, okay?” Lionel glanced over his shoulders, both ways, making sure there was no one walking down the footpath, before he continued in a low tone. “I’m going to assume that you’re the man who frightened the shit out of me last night at a ghost hunting event?” The poodle seemed to think for a moment and then nodded its head.
“All right then. My lion told me you were very concerned about me last night, and I thank you for that, even if I made the biggestfool of myself known to man at the time.” Lionel worked to control his embarrassment. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
The poodle was shaking his head from side to side as if saying, “No, that’s not what happened at all, you were amazing. I totally understand you had to check your stove in case of fire.” Lionel was making up the last bit, but the fact that the poodle didn’t think Lionel was a laughingstock gave him the confidence to say the other realization he’d had.
“Er… this car smells really amazing, and it’s not just Morty’s éclairs. I’ve never had this reaction to someone’s scent before, and I’m wondering if you’re thinking the same thing I’m thinking—that we’re mates? Is that why you tried to help me last night? Did you know that?”
There was that pause, where the poodle made a good impression of a statue, and it was as if Lionel could sense the backward and forward going on between the poodle and its human half. Then the poodle started nodding his head wildly, curls bouncing—he’s going to give himself a headache—before jumping up and down again, clearly excited.
“This is one incredible coincidence.” Lionel couldn’t stop grinning. He’d met his person. Well, he’d met the animal side of his person, and that was just as good. “Did you want to have an early dinner with me? I can offer éclairs and steak pies ordered from the best bakery in town.”
The poodle’s tail wagged even faster if that was possible, and he immediately got to his feet, sniffing around the edge of the driver’s seat away from the clothes, probably looking for a way to get down.
“Hmm, I think that might be a bit of a leap for you,” Lionel said cautiously. He didn’t want to dent the poodle’s pride. He also wasn’t sure he wanted a poodle lurking around his crotch area, which was going to happen if the poodle jumped downbefore Lionel stood up. “Do you think it would be a good idea for me to pick you up? I can carry you and our dinner inside.”
The nod and quick yap were clearly a yes, although the poodle was positively vibrating all over. “I’m going to be careful,” Lionel warned as he reached out with one hand. “I’ve never picked up a dog before, so warn me if I’m not carrying you properly.”
He needed only one hand, scooting it under the poodle’s belly and bringing the little bundle of wiry cuteness closer to his face. “You completely fit in one hand. That’s adorable.”
The poodle was too busy sniffing at the neck of his thin T-shirt to answer. It strained its neck at one point and licked Lionel under his chin, making him laugh. “No licking, at least not while you’re in this form. Maybe later, though.”
He straightened up, taking care to make sure the poodle wouldn’t fall. Opening the back door of the car, he grabbed the string Morty had thoughtfully wrapped the boxes in before using his butt to close both the back passenger door and the driver’s door.
“So, this is my garden, and this is my house,” Lionel said, feeling a bit self-conscious as he took the poodle and the food up the path. He’d never talked to a dog before. “I’m glad I left the door open, because I’m not sure I could manage the door handle, you, and the food.”
A swish of his hips and the front door closed as well. “Did you think you might like to shift when we get to the kitchen?” He took them through, popping the bakery boxes on the kitchen counter. Looking down at the cute face—the poodle was watching him closely—Lionel shook his head. “Yep, you’re very cute. Except, all I know about you is your first name. Shall I put you down so you can shift?”
He went to bend over so he could put the poodle on the floor, but the poodle immediately wiggled, pressing closer into him with a whimper.
“You don’t want to be put down yet?” Lionel perched himself on a barstool and then set the poodle on the kitchen counter. “It’s not exactly easy talking to you like this. It would be nice to be able to apologize to your human form, especially when I was such a scaredy-cat last night. I need to explain what happened.”
His cheeks heated just thinking about it. “If you knew we were mates last night, and I’m guessing you did, then I need to apologize twice because I ran off as well, and that’s a horrible thing for me to do. Did you want to shift now? No one else is here.”
The little poodle sat with its head tilted to one side. Lionel sighed. “I’m going to guess that’s a no.” Then he had a thought. “Are you shy about being naked when you shift back?” He slapped his head. “I should’ve thought of that. You don’t know me or anything about me. On my part, I don’t know what state your clothes are in, but how about I get you one of my T-shirts and a pair of pants?”
The head tilt went to the other side, and then the poodle gave one little yap. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Lionel got up, planning to go to the bedroom, but the moment he moved away from the counter, the poodle started barking again.
“What? What?” Lionel spun around quickly to see the poodle on the edge of the kitchen counter. “What’s the matter? What have I done this time? Oh, you can’t get down. I’m so sorry. Did you want to come with me? There’s no reason you can’t. Come on then.”
The poodle stopped wiggling the moment Lionel picked him up. “Do you have some fantasy about being carried around by alpha types?” Lionel chuckled as they went upstairs. He debated putting the poodle on the bed, but those little legs wouldn’t be able to get down from his high mattress, so he carried the poodle over to his dresser, pulling a T-shirt out from one drawer and a pair of sweatpants from another.
“Hmm,” he said, holding them up, looking between the clothes and the poodle. “I can’t remember how big you are exactly, but I’m going to guess these are going to be far too big for you. You could just wear the top if you’re comfortable enough doing that. Although the pants have a drawstring.”
Bending down, he put the poodle on the floor, giving him a quick pat on the head, before dropping the clothes beside him. “I’ll leave you to shift in privacy. I’m really keen on refreshing my memory of what you look like in person.” Winking, Lionel went over to the door. “I’ll put the kettle on, or shall I make coffee?” He laughed. “Forget I asked, as you can’t answer that. I’ll do both, and that way I’ve got the basics covered. Just come downstairs when you’re ready. If you need the bathroom, it’s just through there.” He pointed across the room before closing the door carefully behind him.
Going downstairs, Lionel didn’t hear any more yapping, so he assumed that his mate was actually going to shift.
My mate.
Back in the kitchen, Lionel sat with a thump on the barstool again. Before the Uber driver turned up, Lionel had actually been a bit annoyed with Morty. Now he remembered he was the one who was supposed to send the Uber driver to collect his delivery. He’d been thinking that Morty was deliberately withholding baked goods because Lionel hadn’t gone into the store. Now he realized that was not the case.
It was worth it in the end.My actual mate delivered my food.Hang on a minute, was the guy even an Uber driver? Is it possible…?Lionel’s eyes widened.
Is Brad the construction guy Morty was talking about?He recalled Hector had mentioned a ‘Brad’ several times when they’d spoken about the renovations.Ooh…Was Morty trying to set him up?
