“So your dog will just sit in there, watching me?”
“Duke,” he clarifies. “His name is Duke so please address him as such. He’s a human being, Kara.”
“My mistake, soDuke, the human dog, will be in there and staring at me?”
“It’s possible but I wouldn’t worry about it.” Ryan pushes off the sink to stand up straight. “Honestly, Duke wouldn’t wake up if a marching band came through to do their business after a hotter-than-normal curry dinner. You have nothing to fear.”
“Phenomenal.”
Well, it looks like a midnight trip to the bathroom with a heavy-breathing animal waiting for me in the dark is in my immediate future.
I head back into the living room and sit down on the couch. Duke follows and launches himself onto the cushions beside me, water trickling down from his mouth. I try to avoid eye contact, but he stares at me until I give in and start petting his beautiful coat. Ryan walks into the room and claps his hands together.
“Well, Duke’s room is all set up.”
“Great,” I say, getting up and turning around to face the couch. “This is where you’ll be sleeping. Lots of my friends have crashed on this little beauty and then asked to stay forever so you should be good.”
“My partner in crime seems to approve.” Duke sprawls out over my vacated spot, making himself even more comfortable. And then he farts. Loudly.
“Ugh!” I laugh as I cover my nose.
Ryan winces and turns his head away from the overpowering smell. “Come on, man, we talked about this!” He waves his hand to create some airflow but it’s pointless; the stench is way too powerful.
“I have some air freshener,” I offer through my hands, which are still serving as my gas mask.
“That’s all right. It’ll pass after an hour or two.”
“Oh, wonderful.” I reach over to the coffee table to pick up the blankets and pillows I have waiting. “These are for you. Sorry I don’t have a pullout couch, but I don’t have many overnight guests.”
“Oh, no?” Something about Ryan’s tone makes me think that he’s wondering about my overnight guests of the male variety. Good. He smiles when I don’t answer and goes on to say, “The couch is great.”
“Cool.” We look at each other and a lengthy silence ensues. I foist the blankets towards him. “So here you go.”
“Hey, do you mind if I take a quick shower before I turn in? The guy in the elevator with us was hacking up a lung and I’d hate to give you swine flu on my first night.”
“Sure,” I answer, crossing my arms. “You know, you really are as odd as I remember.”
“I’m usually not. I think you bring it out in me.”
“I get that a lot.”
“And speaking of me being odd, I have one more small request.”
“Oh, boy,” I say, “let’s have it.”
“Would you mind if I lowered the thermostat at night? I have trouble sleeping unless my room is super cold. Duke doesn’t do well in the heat either.”
“Okay,” I answer, walking over and checking the thermostat beside my bedroom door. “It’s already set to sixty-eight.”
“Yeah, I’m thinking more like sixty-two.”
My eyes go wide. “Damn, Elsa. That’s really cold. How do you live in North Carolina?”
“It’s not easy.” Ryan chuckles. “I have central air but my electric bill is out of control. When it’s hot at night I just feel like the whole room is stuffy and I toss and turn and I’m in a bad mood the next day... It’s just no good all around.”
“Can’t have that, then,” I say, adjusting the temperature. “Into the arctic we go.”
“Are you sure it’s not a problem?”
