Both of my hands clasp the glass, and I manage to pry my lips apart, drinking big gulps. Finally, I can open my eyes, and he’s sitting in front of me, watching me with a peculiar grin on his face, like he’s seeing me in a new way.
He’s never looked at me like this before, and I try to remember what happened last night.
Oh, yeah.Mushrooms.
“Feeling better?” he asks, and I nod. “I’ve got to get on the road, but I wanted to be sure you were okay before I left.”
“I’m okay. Are you?”
“Yeah.” He huffs a laugh. “A little shook up. I hope you weren’t barfing the whole time.”
“I wasn’t.” I lower the glass, looking at the delicious water. “I followed a dog around. I think it was the dog that made my mom go into labor.”
He chuckles deeply, and my stomach squeezes.
“How do you know?” His deep voice is so lovely, and I remember holding hands and dancing around the stars with him.
“It told me to come out now.” That makes him laugh more, and I squeeze my eyes together before breaking into laughter as well. “Can you believe that was my mushroom trip? Aren’t they supposed to be spiritual and help you find answers or whatever?”
“You’ll have to ask Heather. She’s the expert.”
“She was standing under rainbow lasers the last time I saw her.”
He reaches up and slides a loose piece of hair behind my ear, still looking at me like I’m something precious and delicate. It makes my skin prickly and my cheeks flush.
“What happened to you?” I ask softly, reaching for his large hand, and holding it in mine.
“I’ll tell you about it tomorrow on our date.” He lifts my hand, kissing the back of it. “I’ve got to go now. Mav’s waiting for me.”
I smile up at him. “Hit the ice and rock it.”
“Right.” He hesitates, then leans closer and kisses my lips before starting for the door.
My eyes slide from his broad shoulders to his perfectly tight ass, and I exhale a happy sigh before falling back on the bed again.
Staring up at the ceiling, I try to remember everything from last night, chasing the dog up and down the stairs and out into the yard.
The dog part was silly, but the part that warms me most was lying on the grass watching the stars align in patterns that symbolized love and family.
Holding hands with a man and a little girl, forming a circle around a beating heart. The only thing missing was two dogs who knew before we did what was coming.
If mind-altering drugs can be trusted at all, which it’s possible they can’t, that’s a really great dream.
Shaking my head, I climb off the bed and start collecting my things. Dreams or drugs, I have to get Maddie from my cousin’s house, and Haddy texted me about some important hockey business we need to discuss.
“How doyou feel aboutPucks for Pups?” Haddy holds up her hands, spreading them like she’s unrolling a banner in the air.
My brow furrows. “What is it?”
“The calendar was such a huge hit, we thought it would be fun to do a corresponding dog show!” She loops her arm through mine. “You were the inspiration for it actually.”
“In what way?”
“I saw you teaching Maddie how to walk with Ladybird, and I thought people would pay money to see the guys walking their dogs from the calendar. Maybe they could be shirtless or in tight jeans… Or they can just wear those suits, because…” My cousin’s nose crinkles, and she shivers.
“Who are you? Buck Laughlin?”
I’m referencing the inappropriate color commentator in the mockumentaryBest in Show, of course.
