“Greer… Why are you holding a dog?”
I held my puppy a bit higher, his tail wagging wildly now. Sometimes Ialmostunderstood why they cropped most of their tails. It was a weapon of its own. “This is Chorizo and he’s the reason I can’t go on this trip. I figured this would be more compelling for you to see him,” I said with a shrug.
Chorizo was panting like crazy now, trying to get at the man he had deemed as a new friend. I swear this dog made friends with everyone.
“You’re going,” he said as he walked over and gave Chorizo a little scratch on his head. An almost-smile flickered on his face before he looked at me, his serious mask back in place again. “It’s mandatory. Puppy or not.”
“Is it dog friendly?” I demanded. “You popped this on us last minute, the kennels are full.”
He sat down behind his desk, tapping away at his keyboard. It took a few minutes before he was looking back at me.
“Actually, it is. I guess you get to team bond with your dog in tow, Abbott. My guess is he will be a fantastic ice-breaker.” He flashed a smile that was genuinely satisfied.
“Great,” I said, completely deadpan. He sighed and sat back, crossing his arms.
“I’ve been fighting for you, Abbott. I’m not the enemy here. Jeremiah Kingsford agreed to us hiring a new Physical Therapist. You’re in the public eye, getting treated more than fairly… yet, you’re acting like spending time with your team is torture. I’m a bit confused.”
I sighed and sat down in the chair across from his, plopping Chorizo in my lap, fingers on his harness so he couldn’t wreck havoc on Coach’s desk. Even if I kind of wanted him to.
“I’m fine. I’ve shown up to everything, I’m just not a social butterfly like some of our other teammates,” I said flatly. We both knew who I was talking about. Kota Mori was my opposite in every infuriating way. “This is my last year, Coach, and I’m locked in. Why isn’t that enough?”
“Because teams that have some sort of connection, play better. It’s proven. You don’t have a single connection, Abbott.”
“I have a dog,” I said. Chorizo barked at him as if proving my point. “I’m broadening my horizons.”
“Well, lucky for you, they’re dog friendly, and they even have staff on site that I can request be available for doggy daycarefrom time to time. Your teammates are going to love this. In fact, go downstairs and grab him a jersey from the gift shop.”
Defeated, I nodded once and stood, knowing it was useless to argue.
Even though I’d told him I’d go to the team shop, I had every intention of walking straight past it. I should have known that luck wouldn’t be on my side.
It never was.
One of the perky workers wearing team gear stepped out, waving me down before I could walk out.
“Oh my god, is this Chorizo? What a cute name, by the way!” Her voice was over the top enthusiastic but for some reason I had a feeling it came naturally to her. She seemed like the bubbly type.
Fate knew better than to put my grumpy ass with omegas like this. Or any omegas at all.
“Thanks,” I muttered, internally fighting myself to not walk away. Coach honestly should’ve known not to put me in these kinds of situations.
“Come on in, let’s get that pup fitted for the best gear in the house. And don’t worry, Coach said you might be a little hesitant and he already said the team would cover whatever this costs.” She gave me a wink.
“Great,” I said, barely able to hide the sarcasm. How long had I been such a cynical dick? Even I could barely stand me.
To her credit, the girl seemed unfazed, fully focused on my pup who was eating up every bit of attention.
I finally just gave up and handed him over completely.
She hugged him like he was a giant teddy bear, letting out high-pitched squeals as other workers came over to join her. Chorizo ate up every bit of attention.
Today was going to be the death of me, and that was before several days of un-ending team bonding.
I really thought my dog was going to get me out of this one.
After an ear-splitting thirty minutes of torture later, I finally made my escape with a forced smile.
Coach had given us the day, and I had none of my summer-appropriate outfits ready, which meant I got to do my least favorite task.
