“Yeah, I think it’ll be fine.”
Trey kisses my cheek. “Good. Now let’s go sit with them.”
“You’re pushing it,” I say with a laugh.
He laughs, grabbing my arm to pull me into the living room.
Trey
Six Months Later…
“This was a mistake,” Hudson says, shaking his head. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
I implore him with my eyes, dramatically trying to be as appealing as possible as I hug Rocket’s small, furry body tight.
“Come on, look at this face. How can you be mad at this face?”
Hudson looks at me, then to the eight-week-old menace whose tongue is hanging out of his mouth adorably. The slight tension in Hudson’s jaw is not missed, nor is the way his gaze drifts back to me. When his gaze finds mine, he smirks.
“I mean… you’d be singing a different tune if it wasyoursocks he was chewing on,” he says as he gingerly throws the slobbery sock he’d wrestled out of Rocket’s mouth into the trash.
I squish my face against Rocket’s oddly enormous head. He might still be a puppy, but of course he was the biggest in the litter. He’s going to be a big boy when he is fully grown, and I can’t wait. Rocket squirms and jumps out of my arms like a damn frog, slipping onto the living room floor and falling right against Hudson’s leg. Hudson sighs as he leans down to pick him up, and I swear it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
“He’s just a baby, Huds. He’ll learn.” I lean back into the couch as Hudson rubs Rocket’s ears, his eyebrows furrowing. Rocket puts his oversized paws on Hudson’s chest and licks his neck, his tail wagging with excitement.
“I know,” he says, craning his neck, trying to get away from Rocket’s sloppy tongue, but I don’t miss the smile on his face.
“I just wish he’d learnfaster,” he says as he sets Rocket back down. Rocket leaps like a damn rabbit as Hudson collapses on the couch next to me, leaning his head on my shoulder. I wrap my arm around him without a second thought, glancing down at him.
“Yeah…” I say with a grin. “But they’re so cute when they’re little and fuzzy.”
“Mhmmm.” Hudson rolls his eyes before he shifts next to me.
Rocket barks, and Hudson closes his eyes.
“And he’s loud,” he adds.
I kiss him swiftly before I get up. “I got him. You relax, you just got home.”
Hudson mutters something about never being able to relax ever again now, and I can’t help but grin as I sprint to the back door to let Rocket out to pee. Of course, he doesn’t just do his business, but has to check out everything in our backyard and investigate it thoroughly. But I don’t rush him. I’m just about ready to head inside when I see Hudson coming through the door, two beers in his hands as he steps onto the back porch.
“Everything okay?” I ask. Hudson watches me, his gaze drifting to Rocket, who is chasing his own tail.
I never had a pet growing up, since my mother was allergic, and I’d never considered getting one before because I knew I’d feel guilty with all the traveling I did, so it didn’t make sense, but now?
Now that I’ve moved in with Hudson, officially, and have a steady job where I’m in the same place most of the time… it just felt like the time was right. Thankfully, Hudson agreed. He told me he’d never had a pet growing up either, and even though the idea made him a little anxious because it was a big step—for the both of us—he agreed it felt like the right thing, too.
Though I’m sure he questions his choice multiple times a day.
“Yup,” he says as he takes a seat on the porch swing—which Alex built when he came to visit last month after the annual hockey expo. I’m still shocked it took him less than a day to build it, but apparently he does this sort of thing all the time, according to Jordan.
Hudson holds out one bottle to me, and I don’t hesitate. I take it from his hand and sit next to him, the swing moving gently as I do.
He twists the cap off as I do the same, and one glance shows Rocket running around the yard, chasing butterflies. I laugh.
“He’s so fucking cute.”
Hudson wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me closer, until I’m next to him, breathing in his familiar rainwater scent.
