“Get him on the scales so we can see how much he weighs. He doesn’t have fleas, but you will need to flea and worm him soon.” He frowns at the state of his coat. “And give him a bath. I’ll give you some shampoo along with the flea and wormer.”
As Jerry and Pete try and coax the dog onto the scales with treats, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out and see Seb’s name on the screen.
Seb: Can you call me? It’s about Dan and your flat
“Problem?”
I glance up to see Pete watching me. “Not sure.” I hold my phone up. “I need to call Seb.”
He smiles, and it’s the same soft one he directed at the dog. “Go. I’ll finish up here and meet you outside.”
“Yeah, okay.” I catch Jerry glancing quickly between the two of us as I walk out. Bet he’ll start with the questions as soon as I’m out of earshot.
I call Seb as I step outside the vets.
He answers after the first ring. “Hey.”
“Hey. Is everything okay?” He must hear the edge of worry in my voice because he answers quickly.
“Yeah, sorry. Maybe more than okay.”
“What?”
“Dan’s place won’t be ready for another few days, maybe a week. He wanted me to ask you if he could stay at the flat a bit longer.”
“Fuck.” I run a hand through my hair. “I really don’t want to have to spend an hour sharing with Dan. Let alone a week. Can’t he find a hotel or something?” I feel myself scowling.
“Well, he could.Or...” I can hear the smile in his voice. “Maybe you could stay there for a few more days.”
Oh.
“I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because.”
Seb laughs. “Because what? You’ve not fallen out with Pete, have you? I thought you were finally hitting that.”
I ignore the last bit. “No, we haven’t fallen out, but...” But what?
“Don’t you want to stay?”
“Yeah,” I say quickly, because the past few days have been amazing. But that was with the knowledge that I was leaving on Saturday. There was an end date. Will Pete want me to stay?
I think I know the answer to that too. He’s asked me to stay the night more than once this week. It’s me who said no. I wanted to, fuck, I can’t imagine anything better than falling asleep curled around him. And that’s why I said no.
I like him.
If I share his bed, I’m going to like him a whole lot more. And I’ll still have to go home.
“Charlie?”
“Sorry, I’m still here.”
“What do I tell Dan?”
Tell him to fuck off.That’s my first thought. But then the door to the vets opens and Pete steps out with the dog, who’s now sporting a collar and lead. Pete smiles at me, and yeah... who the fuck am I kidding? “One sec, Seb.”
