13. Alex
13
Alex
T he walk of shame.
Never in a million years did I expect to do one…especially with a dog.
The ride back to Travis’s was fragrantly painful despite keeping all the windows down and the air conditioner on full blast. It’s a pretty chilly night and I can’t feel my fingers. Still, I have bigger things to worry about at the moment.
Gus appears no worse for wear despite the never-ending flatulence. I took him for a long walk around the condo, hoping he would clear out his system, but we had no such luck. I even called a twenty-four-hour emergency vet hotline to see if there was something I should do or if I needed to bring him in to get checked out. Since the furry guy is showing zero signs of distress, it looks like we’re in the clear.
“Might as well get this over with,” I say to Gus as I open the passenger side door to let him out. He happily hops down and looks up at me, anticipating my next move .
“Let’s go, Sir Smelly Butt.” I begin walking down the gravel path toward Travis’s house.
“Hey!” Travis opens the door as we make our way up the walkway. “You’re back earlier than I thought. Everything okay?”
“Umm…yeah.” I look down at Gus, who seems completely normal. Maybe I can get out of this without Travis knowing. After all, the vet said he’s fine. No harm, no foul. “The dinner Gabby made was…unexpected, and things ended early.”
“Really?” Travis crosses his arms and leans into the doorframe. “What happened?”
“Gabby decided to try out some new ingredients that didn’t go over very well. We ended up ordering pizza and had an early night.” I take a step backward, hoping Travis isn’t in a chatty mood. Gus happily hops up the two front steps and leans into his owner’s side.
“Did she say why she wanted to see you alone?”
Ugh. Why can’t this guy be like his best friend? Jax would’ve already ended the conversation and closed the door…probably right in my face. Still, he brings up a good point.
“You know, she didn’t.” I scratch my head. “I mean, it’s not unusual for us to do something without the rest of the group, but it did seem like she wanted me there for a particular reason.”
“Maybe your plan is working and she wanted some quality time with you.” Travis mindlessly pats the top of Gus’s head.
“Maybe…” My voice trails off. Something about Gabby was off tonight and I don’t think it had anything to do with what happened with Gus. She seemed nervous for some reason. Speaking of nervous, I look down at Gus, who’s happily wagging his tail next to Travis. I really should tell him about what happened, but the person who answered at the vet hotline said he’d be okay. “I better go.” I take another step backward .
“You sure you don’t want to come in for a beer or something?”
“Umm…no. I have to be at the station early tomorrow, so it’s probably for the best I turn in early.” Just a few more steps to freedom.
“All right then.” Travis shrugs. “If you ever need to borrow Gus again, let me know.”
“Thanks.” I pull my keys out of my pocket. “He didn’t quite pull off the part of wingman like I was hoping, but maybe we can give it another try.”
We say our goodbyes and I hustle back to my SUV, praying that Gus got everything out of his system while still with me. But then I hear Travis’s voice through the closed door.
“Come on, Gus, let’s go… What was that? What? Oh my God! The smell! What did you eat?!” The door swings back open. “Jones! What the hell did you do to my dog?”