Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Weight shifted on the mattress as Emma turned onto her side and opened her eyes. Dark brown eyes stared back at her. “Hey, good morning.”
“Good morning, beautiful.”
“Sleep well?”
Emma nodded, stretching as she smacked her lips. “Mmmhmm. How about you?”
“Do you know that you snore?” Sadie’s lips curved into a half smile as Emma’s eyes widened.
“Slander!” She was about to toss a pillow at Sadie when something scratched at the bedroom door. Emma sat up in a panic. “What the–”
High-pitched whining sounded on the other side of the door, and Sadie rested a hand on her arm. “It’s Coco. Your foster dog?”
Emma swung her legs off of the bed and rushed to throw on pants. Shit, shit, shit! “Oh my god, Coco! We didn’t even take her for a walk last night. That poor baby!” She ripped open the door and Coco zoomed into the room, running around both sides of the bed, slowing to sniff different pieces of furniture before sprinting out the door only to return and repeat her actions. “Look at all this energy,” Emma squealed. “Hi, Coco!”
Coco peered up at Emma, her tail in the air as she hunched playfully, looking ready to bolt as her wagging shook her entire backside. Sadie dressed and sat on her knees, allowing Coco to climb on her, scratching behind her ears and laughing as Coco stared up at her in awe.
“I have a feeling this dog likes you more than she likes me,” Emma muttered, running her hand along Coco’s back. She headed toward the living room calling behind her. “Coco, wanna go for a wa–” Her words were cut short as her bare foot landed in something squishy. “Oh nooooo,” she cried. “I just stepped in…”
“Oh shit,” Sadie came up behind her followed by Coco.
Emma turned, standing on one leg to avoid tracking any. “Exactly.”
“Just stay there a sec,” Sadie stepped around her and padded to the kitchen. “She peed, but at least she did it in the kitchen on the tile. Where are your cleaning products?”
“Now I’m understanding the pet rent more,” Emma deadpanned as Sadie doubled over with laughter. “There are sprays and wipes under the sink. I think there are some cleaning gloves if you want to use those.”
Sadie wiped tears from her eyes. “Nah, I’ve seen far worse. One tenant has a dog who likes to chew on doors, another has a couple of cats that use every available surface as their personal scratching posts. Your neighbor across the way had a sick puppy who ate something he shouldn’t have and retched all the way down the stairs,” Sadie laughed. “This is easily containable, and she wouldn’t have done it if we’d taken her out last night.”
“In our defense, she was sleeping. I didn’t want to disturb her,” Emma pouted. “Lesson learned.”
Sadie had wiped down the kitchen floor with a pet-safe cleaning solution and returned with wet and dry paper towels. She wiped everything down, dried Emma’s foot, and picked up Coco’s poop, tossing everything in one of the shopping bags from the pet store and tying it closed. “We can drop this off as we take her outside.”
“Do you think she still needs to go?” Emma knelt to scoop up Coco.
Sadie raised a brow. “Do you really want to take that chance?”
“You’re right, let’s go.”
They made their way outside, tossing the trash along the way, Coco excitedly bounding from plant to plant before circling a patch of dirt to do her business. Sadie and Emma leaned against one of the patio tables, giving Coco the full length of leash to explore. Sadie set down her phone and Emma’s keys as she peered up at the crisp blue sky, thin clouds slowly traversing far above.
“You didn’t tell me how you slept, by the way,” Emma bumped Sadie with her shoulder.
“I slept well. I woke up to you snoring,” Sadie teased, wrapping her arm around Emma’s waist.
“I don’t snore.” Sadie stared at her with a deadpan expression until she pursed her lips. “Well, Zora said I snored before, but it’s only when I’m really tired. And plus the pollen count has gotten higher…”
“Right,” Sadie shook her head slightly, her lips twitching with amusement.
Emma swept her braids up into a ponytail and tied them with a band around her wrist. “Listen, I just want to make sure we’re good.”
“What do you mean?” Sadie dropped her arm onto the table and turned to look at Emma.
A twinge of nervousness ran through her. “I don’t know… maybe the intrusive thoughts are winning, but am I putting a burden on you to try to be ‘the one?’ Just because I’m ready, I don’t want you to think–”
“The intrusive thoughts are definitely winning, babe.”
Babe. Emma’s heart pounded until she couldn’t hear her thoughts anymore. “You don’t feel any pressure or think I’m too extra?”
Sadie squeezed Emma’s shoulder. “Em, I knew that first day when you arrived all bubbly and bright that you were going to turn my world upside down. I tried to fight it, but you have a way of getting past all of my defenses, which scared me at first.
“I think I had been closed off for so long that I had a really hard time letting my guard down. But I want to try. I don’t want to chance losing you when everything in me tells me I’d regret that if it happened.” Sadie grabbed Emma’s waist and pulled her closer, pressing her lips against Emma’s softly. “Okay?”
Emma hummed, relief washing over her. “Okay,” she nodded. “Thank you.” Coco climbed up into a patio chair, standing on her hind legs and reaching with her front paws for access to the table.
“Of course. You promised to communicate, and I promise to do the same.”
Emma hooked an arm over Sadie’s shoulder, running her fingertips over the back of Sadie’s neck until she shivered. There was a tenderness in her eyes that stirred butterflies in Emma’s stomach. “Did you have any plans for today?”
“Well, after we take care of this situation, let’s go see the cherry blossoms,” Sadie nuzzled Emma’s neck. “While you were asleep, I checked and today is supposed to be peak bloom. We can bring Coco with us and make a day of it.”
“You really do know how to sweet talk me,” Emma grinned. “But I think we’re going to have to take a detour on our way over to the Tidal Basin.”
“Why’s that?”
“I need to call the vet. I think Coco just swallowed my keys.”
Sadie groaned, scooping up Coco and searching above and below the table. “Always the keys. You know what? It’s time to invest in smart locks for the building.”
“Good call, babe.”