Spencer stands up from the couch, and Frankie lifts her head to look at him but promptly lays back down in my lap again. "My sister said it was a great movie about a dog."
His sister is the devil. That was not a great movie about a dog. It was a super sad, unruly, horrible movie about a dog. "The dog dies at the end."
He shakes his head. "I know."
"New rule: don't watch movies with pictures of dogs on the covers."
Spencer chuckles, but it's forced. "This whole night was a fail. My dog laid on you during the whole movie. I didn't realize the dog dies at the end. It came highly recommended. I swear."
Yeah, by the devil."Well it's a memorable first date." My face crinkles up for just a brief moment. What if he doesn't consider it a date?
Spencer walks to my front door, and I stand as Frankie follows him, allowing me to get off the couch. “Do I get a second chance?"
Is he asking me out again? Spencer opens the front door but halts on the other side of the porch, one step down so our heads line up. Frankie weaves her way out, stopping over the threshold so she’s half in and half out. I lean up against the doorframe with a smile. "Sure."
The air draws silent between us until Frankie gets excited and bumps into the back of my leg with her massive body. I gasp and fall into Spencer. He wraps his arms around my waist to catch me as his lips connect against mine. What starts out as a clumsy tumble turns into a first kiss as he slowly opens his mouth, taking my lips with his.
One of his hands cups my cheek when my legs steady, and Spencer deepens the kiss. I grab onto his shirt and fist the material—not because I'm scared of falling. My stomach tightens as his tongue slips past and runs across the edge of my teeth. Frankie bumps into his leg and then takes off for the big black truck in my driveway.
Spencer pulls away and leaves me gasping for breath on the porch. "Frankie," he yells into the darkness. "Well…"
"Well…" The excitement of the kiss evaporates, and I'm left with a horrible case of nerves. I just kissed a cute guy. On my porch. I hope my neighbors didn’t see. I’d hate to be the subject of the phone tree so quickly.
Frankie barks in the distance and Spencer turns. "I need to get her in the truck. Can I call you tomorrow?"
"Uh-huh."Smooth, Joslin. Real smooth.
Spencer opens the door to his truck and Frankie jumps in. I wait on the porch until he’s out of the driveway and turned onto the road. My expression stays normal and level-headed until the door closes behind me. Then I lose it with a little scream into the empty room.
CHAPTER THREE
I’ve either fallen into a case of extremely bad luck or Spencer is the absolute worst at dating. Is there a test to determine if someone has bad luck? If I search the Internet long enough, I bet I’ll find something. You can find everything on the Internet.
"I really appreciate you coming along," he says from somewhere on his side of the truck.
I tilt my head back and forth to try and get a clear view of his face before I answer, but Frankie’s head fills the space, so it’s no use. “Of course.”
"This is probably not what you had in mind when I asked you for a date."
"Not exactly, no." I'm willing to bet money no girl in the history of the world would have imagined this scenario.
Frankie leans over and with her big, wet, prickly tongue, licks all the way up my cheek.
"Frankie."
I wipe her slobber away with the back my hands. "How could I say no?"
"We'll get Frankie’s shot taken care of, drop her off at home, and then you and I can have the entire night together. I just couldn’t miss this opportunity.”
“Uh-huh."
Spencer parks his truck in one of the open spaces at the vet’s office parking lot. "He came in on a Sunday." The lot is filled with fresh snow from last night’s mini storm. It won’t get really cold in this part of Maine until January, but it begins ramping up in December.
"Spencer, it's okay." We’re halfway out of town, between Pelican Bay proper and the new development area. If I had a problem with bringing Frankie to the vet on Sunday, I would've spoken up before we passed the welcome to Pelican Bay sign.
I lean up against the heavy door and open it with my back, a chime announcing our entrance. Spencer struggles with Frankie, who pulls on her leash, not wanting to go anywhere near the office. She obviously has experience here and remembers.
"You made it in!" An older gentleman, Dr. Pike, the only veterinarian in Pelican Bay, steps out from behind the receptionist desk.
