The fried green tomatoes were just as good – still crunchy inside their coating of breadcrumb batter, the perfect accompaniment to her fantastic burger.
“Good choice, Fillmore,” Luna said again as she finished eating – saving a little morsel for Fillmore, making sure it was a bit that had no onion or ketchup on it. Though she made sure there was just alittlecheese, as a treat. “Here you go,” she said to him, leaning down, the tiny piece of meat balanced on the tips of her fingers.
But Fillmore – who was usually just as happy to eat as she was – was, strangely enough, a little less than interested in the proffered treat.
He barely even seemed to notice it, instead twitching his ears and wrinkling his nose, cocking his head first one way and then the other, as if he was trying to puzzle out some especially difficult math problem.
“I know, there’s a lot going on,” Luna cooed at him. He reallywasso adorable – she couldn’t understand why anyone would think he was anything less than perfect. “And we’ll go check it all out, just as soon as we’re done here. You want your treat in the meantime?”
But it seemed that Fillmore didnotwant his treat. He tugged at his leash, clearly eager to be off, and in the end Luna gave up, sighing and putting the bit of meat back on her plate.
“That’s very wasteful, Fillmore,” she told him as she threw her plate into the trashcan provided. “I could have eaten that.”
Fillmore just looked up at her, apparently not caring even a little bit about that. He seemed eager to be off, and for the first time, a little worry trickled into Luna’s chest. Fillmore was acting somewhat weirdly today – she knew he could be a bit impatient with others, but with her he always seemed content to wait, to try whatever she was trying, and to accompany her on every ridiculous assignment she’d ever been sent on.
Now, he seemed restless, his little body twitching and shaking as she held him, his ears and nose going double time.Maybe it’s just the excitement and the crowds?Luna thought, as she put him back down on the ground. Maybe he’d be happier if he felt a little more in control of where they were going.
Wait – whoa! Big mistake!
The moment Fillmore’s paws touched the sidewalk, he was off.
“Fillmore!!!”
Luna gasped as she took off after him at a run. Fillmore hadneverdone anything like this before – he’d bolted so quickly his leash had been torn from her hand with the momentum of his run! Usually Luna kept the leash securely looped around her wrist, but it had slipped off in the moment she’d put him down – something she hadn’t thought she’d needed to worry about,since Fillmore usually never showed any interest in leaving her side, especially in new, crowded places.
“Fillmore! Come back!”
That was the other thing about Fillmore – if she allowed him to wander off a little in a dog park or some other place where it was okay for dogs to move about freely, healwayscame back when he was called. He had great recall, and Luna had trained him well. Besides which, he’d never really seemed all thatinterestedin wandering much to begin with. He really didn’t like people other than her – he really didn’t even like other dogs that much!
Oh God, maybe he’s freaking out? Maybe this place istoocrowded and stimulating, and he’s trying to run away?!
The thought flew into Luna’s head as she ran, just barely keeping the end of Fillmore’s leash in sight as it brushed along the ground in his wake. She had to dodge around people, families, small kids as she went, and a few times she almost managed to catch up with Fillmore as he paused, nose raised, as if scenting something.
But even though it seemed like the most logical explanation, Fillmore didn’tseemfreaked out. He wasn’t just scampering along blindly. No – it definitely seemed almost as if he was following a scent – but to what?
That, Luna couldn’t say – all she could do was try to follow him to wherever he seemed so determined to go.
“Fillmore!”
Through a break in the crowd, Luna saw Fillmore scurrying full steam ahead across the street, seeming suddenly to be moving with greater purpose than before. Luna hurled herself after him.
But she still didn’t manage to catch him before he scuttled away – and then, to her horror, she heard the tell-tale gasp of onlookers reacting to Fillmore doing somethingtrulyshocking.Not that she could see exactly what it was, since her view was obscured by one of the most beat-up-looking old cars she’d ever seen in her life, but she knew it was bad by the looks of horror and shock on the faces of the people passing by on the sidewalk, and the slight shout of surprise from… someone, anyway. Lunareallycouldn’t see what was going on.
At least until shefinallymanaged to catch up, breathlessly dashing between the parked cars – only to be confronted with –
Oh. Ohno!
– Only to be confronted with the sight of Fillmore hurling himself into the arms of acompletestranger, acomplete strangerwhose box of cakes was now where no box of cakes ought to be – namely, smeared across his –Wow, okay, actually kind of… really broad, muscular-looking– chest.
“Oh my God!” Luna gasped as she finally managed to catch up, heaving for breath from her chase. “I’m so,sosorry – he’s never done anything like this before – he doesn’t evenlikepeople – or cakes – well, I don’tthinkhe does anyway, he’s never been allowed to have any –”
Luna washighlyaware that her dog’s predilection – or otherwise – for cake was probably not the most pressing issue for the complete stranger – who, now that she was getting a proper look at him, was not only broad, tall and muscular but also kind ofridiculouslygood-looking too, in a kind of rough-around-the-edges, masculine way that she personally found incredibly attractive.
That jawline… that stubble… that kind of messy, scruffy hair… gosh…Luna thought, even as she continued babbling like an idiot. And in any case, the hotness of the stranger wasnotthe most important thing! Right now, she had to find a way to apologize for what Fillmore had – inexplicably – done.
“I really can’t tell you how sorry I am,” Luna finished lamely – before realizing that in her distress, she’d forgotten to removeFillmore from his arms. “Oh – oh my goodness, please, let me just grab Fillmore… I’m so sorry, I really don’t know what got into him.” She reached out, trying to get Fillmore – who definitely wouldnotbe getting any more treats today – from the stranger’s hands.
“His… his name is Fillmore?” the stranger asked, blinking.
