“I’m sorry you had a shitty day.” She pauses. “I did too.”
Blindly, my hand finds hers and I give it a soft squeeze before pulling it back. “We’ll have a better one tomorrow.”
Just as quickly as sleep hits, I swear the morning comes just as fast. Except this time, it comes with another lick to the face.
“What the—” I grumble as Dottie licks me again then lays across my chest with a soft whine. “Alright, I’ll take you out, but be quiet.”
Sliding out of my bed, I look over to find Jensen still dead to the world. Her long black hair is splayed across the pillow while her tan, inked arms hold on to the comforter tightly.
Man, I’ve dreamed of having her in my bed countless times, but none of them went down like last night.
Walking into my living room, I grab my trail of clothes to throw them back on and spot Dottie’s leash hanging on one of the hooks by the door. She turns in circles as I pick it up.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m hurrying. Hold still.” Fighting her for the clip, I take her down the stairs and into the designated dog park area.
Pulling out my phone, I FaceTime Callie. If I have to be up, then so does she.
“Beck?” Callie mumbles. Her eyes can barely stay open as she rolls over on her pillow. “Why are you calling me at seven in the morning?”
“Oh, I thought since I’m taking Dottie out bright and fucking early, that I’d call to find out whyI’mtaking Jensen’s dog out at seven in the morning!”
“Dottie?” Callie mumbles again, then she sits straight up with a gasp. “Wait…nooooo. You’re home? What are you doing home?”
“Callie Bear, I love you like a sister so I will cuss you out.”
“The fuck you will,” Will snaps, then joins in on the call.
Great, I’ll cuss him out too.
“Why the hell did you not tell me Jensen’s staying at my apartment?”
Will looks at Callie, then back to me with a sigh. “Alright, cuss her out.”
Callie’s jaw drops. “Hey, I had a perfectly good reason not to tell you. It all happened yesterday! You said in your text that if it could wait then to call tomorrow. I didn’t think you were coming home early! You left out important details too. I have it in writing.”
When I roll my eyes, Callie snaps. “Oh, don’t do that. I may not know what happened, but I do know you. I was calling to make sure it was okay for Jensen to crash there, but then you sent that text. Filling you in on Jensen’s situation was something I truly thought could wait. I knew you’d let her stay knowing she would never agree to it if it wasn’t important.
“Deep in my gut, I know you wouldn’t have wanted to hear what was going on with Jensen yesterday. It seemed you both were having shit days and I,your friend, decided to let you have time to just be. I didn’t need you calling to check on her, and her, in return, biting your head off for being overbearing when she doesn’t know what’s going on with your family. I didn’t think you would come home early! That’s the first night she was there, I swear!”
Shit, I hate that I’m right. I knew Callie would have a valid reason for not telling me. “Cussing you out would have been more fun. Me coming home wasn’t exactly my choice.”
Callie folds her lips in a thin line, then frowns. “I’m sorry, you can still cuss me out if it’ll make you feel better.”
“It won’t.” I let out an aggravated sigh.
“Wanna talk about it? Will’s an excellent listener and you know I can talk,” Callie says while Will hums a laugh. “No commentary is needed. I know what I said.”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to talk, but can you tell me now why Jensen’s crashing at my place? Or were you waiting to tell me that she’s moving in?”
Will makes a cocky grin. “This was so worth the early wake-up call. Go on, Blaze, tell him.”
“You hush, go back to sleep.” Callie pushes him out of view. “She just needs a place to crash for a bit. She was going to stay here, but we have a no pet policy. I’m all for sneaking around…but from past experiences, we all know Will and I aren’t the best at that.”
That one gets me. God, this is why we’re such good friends. “Good point.” I look around the park and spot Dottie sniffing around some of the obstacle courses. “I guess I should get back inside and talk to my squatter?”
“You call her that and she’ll chop it right off.” Callie clicks her tongue then makes a slicing hand motion. “Just clean off.”
“Yeah, yeah, her threats make my dick hard.”
