Chapter 41
Rhys
How did the date go?
I’d sent a message in the group chat I shared with the fellas but got no response. That wasn’t that unusual. We were all so damn busy that we rarely had a chance to have an actual conversation.
“Maybe it went really well, Bronson.” I winked at the dog that was sitting in the passenger side seat next to me. Garrett lectured me about that, reciting car accident statistics, but when my boy scrambled into the front to ride shotgun, who was I to say no? “Maybe our girl’s waiting for us when we get home.”
Bronson barked at that because this was no dog. He was like some old soul wrapped in fur, and right now he grinned at me, as if he knew exactly how it all went down. I got my first clue when I walked in through the door.
Shoes were scattered in the hallway, which was unfortunately not uncommon, but unless the boys’ feet had shrunk drastically and they’d decided a pale blue pair of Nike’s were their jam, Katie was in the house. This was confirmed by Bronson, who made a beeline for the shoes, snuffling them furiously before barking and running deeper into the house.
Katie was sitting down and having a coffee with the guys. She was helping Garrett cook. Nope, no fragrant smell of good food cooking. She was outside and listening to Rhett discuss what he’d done to the garden.
She was in Garrett’s room.
The dog plonked his butt down in front of the door, then nudged at it with his muzzle, which had me grinning.
What kind of perv put his ear to the door to listen and see if they’d decided to try out naked yoga at home? This guy. Garrett needed a nut so fucking bad. It’d wipe away that little line that was always there between his brows, and Rhett…? Was he in his room? I walked down and stuck my head in the doorway and saw that apart from a rumpled bed, it was completely empty.
Huh.
He might be out on a run or was called back into work or…? I jumped into the locator app we were all signed into and saw that nope, both my housemates were on our property, which meant…
“Bronson.” I used a hushed voice, jerking my head and hoping he’d follow me. The dog let out a low whine and remained stubbornly where he was. “Bone, buddy?”
Apparently, his stomach spoke louder than his heart and he scrambled after me, wheeling around on his back legs as I retrieved a bone from the freezer. I took it out onto the back deck and got him to sit for me before handing it over and then scuttled inside, closing the door behind me. He was an amazing dog, but subtly wasn’t his strong point. I needed to open Garrett’s door quietly and see if I could work out what happened.
Heaven apparently.
The sun was starting to go down and it was turning the light in the room a faint, bluish grey. Every ray that filtered in past the curtains seemed to caress her body. Wedged between my two best friends was the girl that had featured in every dirty dream I’d had since the moment we collided outside the gym showers.
Get out, I thought, but my feet didn’t move. I had proof of life, so I needed to GTFO of a place I wasn’t invited to. So why didn’t I? My cock for one, he rose so damn hard and fast it hurt, making clear that he was exactly where he needed to be.
Almost.
Those lush hips, that soft belly, those thick thighs, I could see them spreading just for me. I’d go down on my knees and worship each one, starting at her cute little ankles. Then when I worked my way up, and I’d…
“Mm…”
She shifted on the bed and that was my warning to get out and shut the door behind me. I vaguely heard a dog barking in the distance, as if making clear what needed to happen. Instead, I stood there, watching her shift and then…
Open her eyes.
It felt like we’d come full circle. Katie collided with me and damn near stripped me naked before the whole gym, and now I caught the moment when her eyes met mine, widened, and then she made a small squeak of alarm, slapping around wildly in an attempt to cover herself.
Shit.
Not quite the come-hither stare I was hoping for, I bent down and found her t-shirt and tossed it to her. As she wrenched it on over her head, the others woke up. Heads jerked up blearily from the bed and then blinked as they took me in.
“Rhys…?” Garrett rasped.
“Looks like yoga was a success.”
“Fuck.” He grabbed a pillow and pegged it at me, but I caught it expertly. “Don’t remember you being invited. Out. Now.”
I went, but with a smile on my face. Hoping that Garrett would get his end in was one thing, but seeing all three of them together gave me hope. It wasn’t hard to change the array of bodies on that bed, forcing the others to make room so I could insert myself among them. We’d worship Katie, and?—
As I walked into the living room, the barking got louder and louder. The frenzied note had me racing over to the door to where a frantic Bronson was pawing at the door. Not to get to Katie. That wild look in his eyes made clear he was panicking, badly. I slid the door open, ready to make it up to him, but the dog went pelting down the hall, finding Garrett’s bedroom, ready to slide under his bed, I was sure.
And now I knew why.
Good fences make good neighbours, but while ours was made from a sturdy colour treated steel sheet, it didn’t stop the sound of another dog barking from coming through. Paws digging at the ground, then more barks made clear what was happening.
“Oi!”
The neighbour’s dog stopped then and the muffled sounds made clear it’d taken off, but the damage was done.
“What happened?” Shock and accusation made an ugly combination in Katie’s tone as she stumbled out onto the deck. Her hair was rumpled, her shirt hanging loose, making clear she hadn’t stopped to put a thing on, but her expression made clear that ogling was off the table. “Was that another dog?” A far off bark confirmed it for her. “Shit.”
She didn’t wait for an explanation, making a beeline for Garrett’s bedroom. We all followed hard on her heels, catching the moment she slid to her knees.
“Hey, buddy.” That was the high-pitched, comforting tone that the dog trainers talked about in the videos I watched. “Hey, it’s OK.”
I was half terrified Bronson wouldn’t respond, but with a heart breaking yodel, he clawed his way out from under the bed.
“What did you do?” Garrett jerked on a pair of shorts and then sat down beside them. “And what the hell were you doing in my room?”
“Rhys—” Rhett rumbled, but right as I looked from one of them to the other, feeling about ten inches tall, Katie answered for me.
“It’s the dog next door.” She helped the massive dog up onto her lap, and he panted hard as he pressed his head into her chest. “Half the reason why I chose you guys was because there were no dogs close by.”
“Must be the new neighbours,” Rhett said.
“Bronson was a bait dog,” she explained. “Used to rile up more aggressive dogs before a fight.”
“No…” I wasn’t trying to negate what she was saying. It was just that I didn’t want to go back there again. Every time I heard about our dog’s history, I saw it. The motherfucking cruelty of it all, to throw a dog like Bronson… I blinked and then crouched down beside him, reaching out slowly, but he didn’t spare me a second look. We’d gotten closer, but right now, he had his human, and that was all he needed. “I’m sorry.”
It felt like I was always saying that. To Garrett when I forgot to replace the milk when it ran out. To Rhett when I didn’t lock up the house right. To Drew when I neglected to inform a staff member of a change to the schedule. Right then, I sat back on my heels and sat with the sense of shame that flamed through me.
I had to stumble in and ruin shit. Everyone was taking a massive step forward in the relationship, in helping Bronson fit in, and I?—
Katie’s hand slid across the carpet and grabbed mine.
“You didn’t know. It’s not your damn dog next door that’s barking and carrying on.”
“Something I’ll be having a chat to them about,” Rhett growled as he got dressed. “Letting your dog bark over a certain period isn’t legal.”
“Not now.”
Katie hugged Bronson tightly, stroking his broad back over and over as he snuggled into her. This was our cue to do the same. Right then, I could see how it’d be, if we could just convince Katie that this could work.
Our girl and our dog were at the centre of the circle we formed around her. Each one of us mumbled those nonsense words you used with dogs, even Rhett. He looked distinctly uncomfortable, searching our faces for some sort of cue about what to say, but he found his own. Over and over we told Bronson what a good boy he was until he stopped shivering and then flopped down on the floor.
“So what do we do?” Garrett asked carefully, giving Bronson’s belly a scratch when the dog rolled over. “We can’t soundproof the backyard.”
“I’ll have to have a think about it,” Katie answered. When she smiled, it felt forced. “There are devices you can use that stop dogs barking, but they’ll affect Bronson as well as the neighbour’s new dog. Having a chat with them at some point would be smart, but they’ll need to engage in some kind of behaviour modification if their dog is so reactive now.”
Would they be prepared to put in the work? None of us vocalised that because we knew we wouldn’t like the answer.
“I should get home, make some calls, and check in with the shelter.” She blinked. “They knew I was taking a few weeks off, but it's time I went back. I can talk to Marg?—”
“You can talk to us.”
I never got jealous, ever. The reason why I’d suggested us forming a polycule was for that exact reason, so why did my heart sink as Garrett edged closer, pressing a kiss to the back of Katie’s neck? It wasn’t just that I wanted to be doing the same thing, but I wanted to have the right to. To possess the kind of familiarity that apparently came from one morning of yoga. Looks like I’d need to sign up for a class or two. She looked back over her shoulder almost shyly, and he smiled.
“We’ll work this out, Katie. Won’t we, bud?”
Bronson peered over our girl’s shoulder, his ears flat to his skull. The frantic beat of his tail made clear he wanted to do whatever it was we were asking from him, especially now his nervous system wasn’t being flooded with fight-or-flight hormones.
“You could stay for dinner.” The hopeful note in Garrett’s voice was clear. “I could cook you something nice, and we could talk about a plan for Bronson.”
“I can duck out and grab a nice bottle of wine.”
Katie snorted at Rhett’s offer.
“You hate wine.”
“But you don’t.”
Fuck, I watched the three of them get closer and closer and couldn’t help but pipe up.
“Me, I’ll stay here with Bronson, make sure he’s OK. Have dinner and work out a plan, then let me know what I need to do.”
Katie’s eyes met mine, and now they were a lot softer. She smiled and pulled away slowly, pressing a kiss to my lips. I could barely feel my face right then, my mouth tingling long after she pulled away.
“I can’t tonight,” she said. “Mandie and some of her friends have a thing on and I said I’d be there for it.”
“Tomorrow night.” I blurted that out, not knowing what the other’s schedule looked like. “We could take you out to dinner somewhere nice.” I looked down at Bronson. “Somewhere dog friendly. Is there a place that’s black tie and lets dogs into the venue?”
“Doesn’t need to be black tie,” she said with a giggle, then got to her feet after giving Bronson one last pat. “But yeah, that would be nice. Text me with the details.”
We all rose then, even Bronson. He pressed into her leg, her hand stroking his head as the others swooped in. Rhett turned her lips his way, claiming them real aggressively for a guy who’d just got his rocks off with the girl of his dreams. Garrett was much slower, more considered, and me? I just hovered there like an idiot.
“I’ll organise it,” I told Katie. “I’ll book a table, let you know when, and come and pick you up. I’ll?—”
“Rhys.” She didn’t know what it did to me to feel her arms go around my neck. My fingers flexed, then I wrapped them around her waist. “That would be amazing.” Our kiss was far sweeter, and I was more than OK with it. My eyes remained closed even as she pulled away, my mouth wanting more, more. Instead, she laughed and stepped away. “Just keep an eye on Bronson. He can be really easily overwhelmed. I wouldn’t leave him in the backyard unattended, not until we’ve worked out how things are going to go with the other dog. He’s made so much amazing progress, haven’t you, boy?” The dog wagged his tail furiously. “We don’t want him to take a step backwards.”
“You got it.” Bronson seemed to have forgiven me, following me out as Garrett walked her to his car. “We’ll work out a way to handle this, won’t we, boy?” I said as they drove off. He gave me a big doggie smile, right before eyeing the next door neighbour’s house.