17. Braden
Chapter 17
Braden
I unlock the door to my apartment and hold it open so Bella can walk inside.
She’s cradling the shivering dog we found while stargazing in the middle of nowhere. It starts to whine again, but Bella gently shushes it and nuzzles the top of its head.
For a second, I just look at her. She’s still wearing my jacket, which is way too big for her. The bottom hits just above her knees. It looks like she’s wearing a blanket, and it’s fucking adorable.
My heart beats faster in my chest. I like seeing her wear my jacket. I like that my clothes are way too big on her. I like seeing her hold that puppy.
Bella kicks off her shoes and looks up at me. “We should probably try feeding this little cutie.”
I suddenly remember that I’m holding a bag of dog food, which I bought on the way home.
I’m supposed to be helping Bella rescue the dog we found, not staring at her while she stands in front of me.
“Food. Right.” I walk into my kitchen and grab a bowl from my cupboard. I open up the bag of kibble and pour some into the bowl, then set it on the ground.
Bella walks over and gently sets the dog down. It whines for a second before sniffing around and noticing the food. It immediately gobbles it up.
I grab another bowl, fill it with water, and set it down next to the food. I glance over at Bella, who’s smiling as she watches the dog.
“Wow. She’s pretty hungry.”
I quirk my eyebrow. “She?”
Bella smiles. “I checked her out while you were in the store grabbing dog food. No penis, so I’m pretty sure she’s a girl.”
I laugh. The dog moves to the water bowl and drinks. Bella kneels down and pets her. She has long floppy ears, stubby legs, and a sausage body. I bet she’s a basset hound mix. Maybe with a little dachshund.
“Poor thing is starving,” Bella says.
A second later, she looks up at me and flashes an easy, beautiful smile. “What a night this turned out to be, right?”
I chuckle and nod as I think about everything that’s happened—how I opened up to her about my dad.
That’s not something I do with just anyone. Yeah, my close friends and teammates know about the strained relationship I have with him. But I don’t talk about it. I don’t feel comfortable enough to do that.
But with Bella, it’s different. When other people find out that my dad is a college hockey coach, they think it’s cool. They assume it must have been awesome to be raised and coached by someone so accomplished.
It wasn’t. And when I’ve told them that, they always seem confused. Some people even get annoyed when I explain that it’s not all sunshine and roses to have a hyper- critical, unrelenting hardass as your dad. They think I’m being a brat or that I’m ungrateful.
Bella didn’t do that though. She let me talk about my experience growing up. She let me talk about how I felt. She didn’t second-guess me.
I think about how, when I told her about my dad saying I wasn’t good enough, she didn’t try to minimize it. She acknowledged how hurtful it was.
Her softly spoken words echo in my mind.
A dad should never, ever say that to his son.
It meant everything to hear her say that.
A wave of emotion washes over me, just like earlier when she spoke those words to me. It was almost overwhelming. No one’s ever made me feel like that. Like my feelings regarding my dad are valid—like my pain is valid.
And then she took my face in her hands and kissed my forehead.
She gave me something I didn’t even know I needed in that moment—comfort.
I was aching for it. And feeling her lips on my forehead kicked off something inside of me.
I wanted more. I wanted to pull her on top of me and kiss her breathless. And I would have if we hadn’t heard that crying sound and found this stray puppy.
I gaze down at Bella cuddling the puppy, whose face is wet from drinking water. I grab a paper towel and bend down to clean her up.
“Do you think we should call a vet?” Bella asks.
“Most offices are probably closed since it’s the middle of the night.”
“Right.” Bella stands up, grabs another small handful of dog food from the bag, and pours it into the dish. The dog chows down once again .
“Oh my gosh, look!” Bella squeals softly, pointing at the dog’s wagging tail. “That must mean she’s getting comfortable being around us.”
I smile. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”
I stand up and toss the paper towel in the trash. “In the morning, we can run her to the vet and see if she’s chipped. Then we can try and find her owner.”
Bella stands up and looks at her hands. “She’s pretty dirty.” She holds up her palms to me, which are covered in dirt. “We should give her a bath.”
“Well, shit,” I say to myself before I let out an exhausted laugh.
I look around my bathroom. The entire floor is covered in water.
I glance into the tub, where this adorable floppy-eared dog is sitting, aiming those big brown eyes up at me. She looks so innocent after the mess she made.
“Oh, don’t even try it with those puppy dog eyes.”
Her tongue hangs out of the side of her mouth as she gazes up at me, tail wagging and splashing around in the little bit of water left in the tub after draining it.
I sigh and smile, then lean down and pet her. “Okay. You’re forgiven.”
Bathing this dog was a disaster. I didn’t think it would be. She’s maybe twenty pounds.
But the second we dropped her into the tub full of water, she hopped out, a trail of water dragging behind her. She slid around the bathroom floor, splashing even more water around, before darting down the hall. I ran after her and scooped her up, then put her in the tub again .
She stayed put this time, long enough for Bella and me to soap her up. But when I turned around to grab a towel, she hopped out of the tub yet again, dumping even more water onto the floor.
So after getting her into the tub yet again, Bella held her while I rinsed her. At least the puppy is clean now, but my hallway bathroom is a mess. Every towel I own is on the floor, soaked through, just like the T-shirt I’m wearing. I glance down at myself. Even my jeans are wet.
Bella left to grab some towels from her place to help me clean up.
A minute later, Bella walks in. I notice the puppy wags her tail, clearly thrilled to see her new favorite person.
Bella chuckles before setting the stack of towels on the counter. She grabs one and scoops up the dog, sets her on the counter, then gently dries her.
I sit on the edge of the tub and let out a breath. “We should open up a dog grooming business together.”
She bursts out laughing. “We’d make a killing.”
I stand up and grab some towels and dry up the floor. When Bella finishes with the dog, she turns to me. “We should name her.”
“No way. That’s rule number one of finding a lost pet. Never name them. You’ll get attached. And it makes it harder to give them back when you find the owner.”
Bella sticks out her bottom lip in a pouty face. “Oh, come on. Just a temporary name. I don’t like calling her ‘the dog.’ It’s so impersonal.”
I huff out a breath. “Fine. What should her temporary name be?”
Bella scratches behind the dog’s ears. The dog slowly blinks, clearly relaxed. Bella kisses the top of her head. “Maizie. ”
I step over to pet her. “That’s pretty damn adorable.”
“It fits her perfectly, right?”
I chuckle. “It does.”
Bella kisses her head once more. “You’re all clean, Maizie. Don’t you feel better?”
Maizie yawns, which makes me yawn. I check the time.
“Damn. It’s almost two in the morning.”
Bella frowns. “Shoot. We should get to bed.”
She scoops up the dog and walks out of the bathroom but stops in the hallway and turns back to me. “Wait, who should she stay with tonight?”
I grin when I see the way Maizie has fallen asleep in Bella’s arms. “Definitely you. Look at how comfortable she is with you already.”
A giddy smile pulls at Bella’s lips. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
We walk down the hallway and to the front door and wait as Bella slips her sneakers back on.
For a few seconds, she lingers at the door. “Thanks for everything you did tonight,” she says. “It started out pretty sucky when I saw my ex at Spanky’s, but it ended up being a pretty great night because of you.”
A giddy feeling swoops through me. “It was my pleasure. And, um, thanks for being so kind when I vented about my dad.”
Warmth flashes in her eyes. “Of course.”
A quiet moment passes between us, and I wonder if I should bring up the kiss that almost happened.
I tug a hand through my hair and quietly talk myself out of it. Now’s not the time. It’s been a long night and we have a dog to take care of now.
I clear my throat. “So, um, have a good night,” I say.
She lets out a flustered laugh. “Yeah, you too.”
I open the door for her and let her out, then close it. I let out a breath. What a night.
I walk to my bedroom, stripping off my soaking wet shirt along the way. Before I make it to my room, there’s a knock at my door.
I jog back over to the door. When I open it, Bella is glancing down at Maizie as she sleeps in her arms.
“I forgot to grab her food in case she gets…” Bella trails off when she looks up at my bare chest.
Those doe eyes go wide as she stares at my torso.
I can’t help the smug grin that tugs at my lips. “See something you like, pretty girl?”
She shakes her head but then starts to nod after a moment. Her cheeks are fire engine red, and she’s looking at me like I’m a porterhouse steak.
My ego swells. Fuck, it feels good to have her look at me like this.
She starts to stammer and almost drops Maizie. I scoop the sleeping pup in one arm and gently grip Bella’s chin in my free hand, tilting her face up to me.
“You don’t have to just look, Bella.”
My voice is low and husky. I can’t help it. I fucking love that she can’t take her eyes off me.
I lean closer and hover my mouth over hers. “If you wanna do more than just look, all you have to do is say the word, pretty girl. I’m yours.”