While we are deep in our conversation, lost in the latest drama that happened in the salon yesterday right before we closed for the day, a sound interrupts us. We both turn toward the door where someone is knocking. I get up and walk there, curious about who it could be, but when I reach the door and open it, I freeze. There is no one at my door, but there is a brown box with a puppy inside. It’s a black Labrador puppy that looks identical to my childhood dog. A blue ribbon is around his neck, and a note is tucked between his fur and the ribbon.
“Is that a puppy?” Noah asks from behind me.
“That’s what it looks like,” I murmur as I read the note.
Good morning, little criminal,
I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up. I had to visit the few shelters that are open on Sundays to find this little fellow. His name is Ripley. I thought it was time you got a new man in your life that isn’t me. Ripley here is the only one I am willing to share you with.
See you soon,
Kai
“WHAT DOES THE NOTEsay?” Noah rips the note from my hand. He turns his back and walks inside, reading it carefully. I pick the puppy up. Ripley starts licking my face and wiggling his little tail, happy to be in my arms.
“Let’s go, little one.” I kick the door shut and walk back to the living room. Noah is still reading the note.
“Did he actually get you a dog?” His eyes find mine.
“Seems like it.” I hug Ripley tighter. His fur is soft against my skin.
“I might be wrong about him after all.” Noah reaches to pet the puppy with me, and I can see a warm smile form on his lips. It's one I recognize well. As much as he wants to be the protective best friend he is, right now he is falling as hard for the charming man with the blue hair as I am. In his little head, he has already planned our wedding and picked the names of our future children.Can you blame him?Romance readers are wired this way. We like to ship people with each other, fictional or not. When the person in question is as sweet as Kai while also being a little psychotic and unhinged,you can’t do anything but fall for him.
Kai
“Ithink I’m going to die,” Leo whines next to me as the first customers walk through the front door.
“You’ll be fine, buddy.” I pat his shoulder. “Drink your energy drink.”
“Why?” Leo whines louder, and a customer turns to look at him.
“So you can shut the fuck up and stop whining before I kill you.” I turn around and smile at the man who’s looking too concerned for being in a bar. “I’m sorry, sir. Leo had a hard night.” He nods as if he knows the kind of night Leo had. Because this man in a suit walking into a bar for happy hour at noon while actively skipping half of his workday definitely understands getting drunk while stalking your newest obsession and then trying to break into her house, only to end up in jail for six hours before she bails you out. Sadly, I do need his money, so... I smile back and ask him with my best impression of a good bartender, “What would you like to drink?”
“Bourbon.” He’s not very happy to be here. If I didn’t know better, I would bet I killed his dog this morning and he’s here for revenge with the way he looks at me.
I fill a skull glass I specifically chose for these drinks with ice and pour the delicious liquid over it, filling the drink a little more than usual as an apology for Leo’s behavior and, probably, his appearance. I wink at the man as I offer him the drink. “This one is on me.” He mutters a thank you under his breath and takes his drink to the other side of the bar. I turn to attend to another customer. “What can I get you?” The blonde woman wantssomething fruity, but she doesn’t know what. I gather every ingredient for a zombie cocktail. It’s not too fruity, but in my opinion, it works best for women who look like her. They usually don’t like the taste of alcohol, and fruity means exactly that, but a zombie has everything to balance the taste of hard liquor.
“No, we don’t have beer,” Leo holds his head like it will explode any minute now as he yells to a customer about not having beer.
“Leo, buddy, we’re in a bar,” I remind him. “I’ll get you that beer in a minute.” I reach for the beer and add a shot to go with it. If Leo continues this way, we are going to go out of business.
“How are you able to work?” he questions, and the look in his eyes tells me it’s a genuinely sincere question.
“A good nap, three cups of coffee, and an energy drink on my way to work.” I give him a toothy smile. The truth is that I feel like a walking corpse myself, but I also know we need the money, especially if I’m going to spend a stupid amount of money on things like security cameras and adopting a puppy on a random Sunday.
“I think I’m going to die. Your new hobby of stalking Rachel will actually kill me.” Leo presses his head against the bar’s counter as a new customer approaches him. They take a good look at him, then turn to me. I give them a nod and take their order, giving a few glances now and again to my friend, who indeed looks like he is going to die.Lightweight.
HOURS LATER, IT’S ALMOSTtime to close the bar, but none of us is willing to clean. We are sitting on the floor behind the counter. The doors are locked, and each of us has an energy drink in our hands. The hangover from the previous night is very much still present. I have the app with the cameras fromRachel’s house open on my phone, and we both watch the two adorable idiots we have been obsessing over for the past three days playing with the puppy. Even though she destroyed the ones I installed, she still decided to get a new security system. Probably to keep me out. However, she asked Noah about a recommendation for a security company. Noah asked Leo, and my friend gave him the number for the one I used to install the first set of cameras. It cost me a little, but I was able to convince them to hand over the code for her new feed.
“When did she get a puppy?” Leo asks, reaching for the bowl of chips between us.
“I might have gotten it for her this morning,” I say casually. This doesn’t sound creepy; it’s totally normal to get your girl a puppy after cuddling all night. There is, of course, that minor detail: she is not exactly my girlfriend, and we only really cuddled because I showed up trying to break into her house, but I will take the win. No matter how we got there.
“Sure, that sounds totally normal.” Glad you agree, buddy, not that I asked for your opinion. You are not one to judge.
“She had a picture of her holding a puppy that looked almost identical to this one next to her bed,” I explain. “She was just a kid, and when I asked about it, the story seemed to still have some pain behind it.” I don’t remember much from last night, but I do remember her face twitching in pain at the reminder of the puppy and her childhood. I know just getting her a dog won’t heal whatever she went through that made her face take that expression, but if I can heal a small fracture of her soul...I will take it.
“That’s a sweet gesture, Kai,” Leo admits. “You are a decent guy when you want.”
