2
We were hit with the noise of chatting humans and yipping puppies when we opened the door. In the reception area, a woman wearing an apron decorated with various enamel pins of dogs welcomed us and explained that the entrance fee included one drink as well as optional snacks for the dogs.
Leo and I decided to buy the basic dog treats package to feed the puppies. Leo put his card down before I could protest.
The employee passed us a packet of dog treats and then explained the rules, including that we weren’t allowed to pick up the dogs, but they could come to us and crawl into our laps if we wanted. She also told us to take our shoes off and put them into the cubby before going into the main room and that inside, there would be a counter for us to order our drinks.
“Leo,” I murmured as we took our shoes off. “You should’ve let me pay.”
“You paid at the cafe.”
“Yeah, but coming here was my idea,” I said.
He waved a hand. “I can’t let you keep spoiling me. Otherwise, I’ll feel like we’re on a date.” He turned and bent down to slide his sneakers into the shoe cubby.
I frowned at his back because, well, we were on a date. Weren’t we? Or maybe this was more of a casual ‘hang out’, which was more relaxed.
Once our shoes were off, we stepped into the main room, which was brightly lit with polished wooden floorboards and tables. There were only a few couples around, which made sense since it was mid-afternoon on a Monday. There were puppies everywhere. Some rested by people’s sides as they sat on the floor. Some trotted underneath tables. Some played with each other, and others disappeared through an opening in the wall to what I assumed was a bathroom or an area where they could rest away from people.
Immediately, a small Japanese spitz ran up to us, and I knelt down, letting her sniff my fist and approve of me before petting her soft coat. Leo did the same.
“Aw, she’s so friendly,” I said.
“How do you know she’s a girl?”
“I just guessed.” I reached over to look at the puppy’s collar. “Mochi,” I read aloud. “That sounds like a girl’s name.”
“What kind of name is Mochi?” Leo asked with a laugh. He caught the eye of something on the wall beside us, and I followed his gaze.
There was a large poster displaying a photo and the names and breeds of every puppy the cafe had. There were stickers next to the puppies that were “on shift” at the moment. Leo read out the names. “Sushi. Nacho. Teacup. Queen Elizabeth II. What kind of names are these?”
“I think they’re cute,” I said. “If you had a puppy, what would you name it?” I paused. “Do you have any pets?”
“Nah, I live in a tiny apartment.” He thought about it. “I like the name Fred.”
“Fred?” I echoed. “That’s a human name. That’s not allowed.”
“I think human names are nice. They’re not ridiculous like mochi. Who wants to name a pet after a food item? That’s like naming your pet pig bacon.”
“It is literally not the same at all,” I said.
“Besides,” Leo continued, “Queen Elizabeth II is a human name. And look! They have Anne Boleyn. And Alexander the Great. And Napoleon.”
I read the name under the picture of an adorable Pomeranian. “Actually,” I said, putting on my best know-it-all voice, “his full name is Emperor Napoleon I.”
Leo laughed. “Right, so every time they feed him, they have to be like, ‘Here’s your food, Emporer Napoleon I’, because otherwise, they’ll offend the poor puppy.”
Mochi started nosing at the paper packet of snacks I held. We decided to sit on some nearby cushions, feet crossed on the floor and split the snacks between us. I gave my first treat to Mochi, which seemed to please her because she sat down by my side.
We sat there for a while, feeding passing puppies, competing for their attention by shaking the food around and making beckoning noises. After all the dog treats disappeared, and our legs hurt from sitting, we moved to a table.
Since we had paid for a drink each, Leo went to the counter to order them. They had the most basic selection of cafe drinks, which didn’t include a matcha, so I opted for a hot chocolate. Leo went for another iced americano.
As we sipped our drinks, we entertained ourselves by taking photos of the puppies walking by and discussing which ones were our favourite. Leo said “Doge” as his favourite, gesturing at a Shiba Inu, which wasn’t actually called Doge but Buttercup. I chose seven puppies as my favourites.
“You know, in this context, favourite is supposed to refer to your number one favourite?” Leo asked.
“I can’t choose one,” I replied. “You know, the whole reason I want to be rich is so I can have a big house full of puppies,” I said, referencing my LULL post.
Leo laughed at that. “That’s a good reason. Screw financial security or driving a fancy car. Having puppies is where it’s at.”
“I intend to be the opposite of a cat lady. A puppy lord.”
“That sounds kind of weird.”
I thought about it. “You’re right, it does.”
“Like you’re a drug lord, but you deal puppies instead of drugs.”
I cringed. “Okay, how about…a puppy gentleman?”
“Still kind of weird, but better. I hope you fulfil your dream of becoming a puppy gentleman, Edwin.”
It was the most innocuous statement in the world, but I felt my cheeks warm.
“Thank you,” I said. “What about you? What’s your dream?”
He blinked a few times. “Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever been asked that.”
“Seriously?”
He shrugged. “I don’t think I have any lofty dreams like yours. I don’t know, to be honest.”
“Maybe something to do with architecture?” I asked.
“Yeah. Maybe.” He flashed a small smile, but it faded quickly. “I haven’t really thought about it, to be honest. I reckon I want an ordinary life with a family and a house and…” he trailed off. “It would be nice to visit the Sagrada Familia.”
“The what?”
“Sagrada Familia,” he repeated. “It’s a church in Barcelona.”
“Are you religious?”
“No, not at all,” he said. “My parents sent me to a Catholic boy's school, and that’s put me off for life.”
My parents paid for me to go to a private high school because, as they always said, education is the number one priority. It was mixed, but I wonder what going to a boys’ school would be like. In my imagination, it would be full of boyfriends and furtive kisses behind the science building.
I ran an eye over Leo. What did he get up to? Did he make out with a boy in the school chapel? Maybe he did stuff in the confession booth thingy—
“The Sagrada Familia is a famous church because of its architecture,” Leo continued. “It’s unfinished, actually, even though it was started in the nineteenth century.”
“And they haven’t even finished building it?” I asked.
“Well, there’s lots of reasons why,” Leo said, leaning forward. “There was the Spanish Civil War. The original plans were burned. Back when construction started, one of the architects was hit by a tram, and people thought he was a beggar, so they just left him there.”
“They left him there on the street?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he replied, eyes wide. “Eventually, he was taken to the hospital, but by the time he was recognised, it was too late for him, and he died soon after. He’s buried in the church, actually. Originally, they wanted to complete the building by the century anniversary of Gaudi’s — the architect’s — death, but it looks like it’ll be pushed back.”
“Why does it take so long to build one church?” I asked.
“If you look at it, you’ll see.” Leo quickly pulled out his phone and typed, then showed me the screen.
“Oh, I have seen this building before,” I said. “I didn’t realise it was a church, though.” I’d always assumed it was a strange building, reminding me of something made out of chocolate or biscuit that was starting to melt.
“These are the spires,” Leo said and moved his chair so he was beside rather than across from me, pointing at his screen. “There’s meant to be eighteen, but only eight have been completed so far.”
He told me about what each of the spires were meant to represent and pointed out other details in the photos, once again close enough for me to inhale his clean scent. Soon, he was showing me pictures of other places on his bucket list.
“So let me get this straight,” I asked after Leo had finished talking. At this point, a Pomeranian had come to sit by my feet, and I was stroking the back of its long ears. “You want to go to Istanbul, Petra and the Taj Mahal in India, and you say you don’t have dreams.”
He played with the straw of his drink. He’d drank all the coffee, so only the ice cubes were left. “They’re just ideas.”
“Still, all of those places sound so cool. I’ve never even heard of the — what was it? Sophia—”
“Hagia Sophia,” Leo said.
“Right. Anyway, there’s no harm in saying you want to visit those places. It can’t be more crazy than me saying I want to be a dog lord.”
“Dog gentleman,” he corrected.
I laughed. “Yes, dog gentleman. I almost forgot. That was the term we decided on.”
A slow smile spread across Leo’s lips, and I couldn’t help but mirror the action, feeling a strange sense of accomplishment.
By the time we left the puppy cafe, the sun was sinking into the horizon. The temperature had cooled, too, and I tugged the sleeves of my jumper down so they covered my hands.
Leo fished out his phone and checked the time. “It’s five thirty already.”
“Do you need to head off?”
He focused on returning his phone to his pocket rather than looking at me. “No. Not necessarily.” He met my eyes and winced. “Sorry, I’m just now realising how long I was talking your ear about places I wanted to visit.”
“Don’t be sorry. I was having a great time, especially with Napoleon Bonaparte at my feet.”
“Don’t you mean Emperor Napoleon I?” Leo said with a raised brow.
I grinned. “You’re right. How could I forget his proper title? Anyway, he was such a good boy.”
Leo glanced away and nodded. Silence stretched out between us, and I wondered whether I’d said something wrong. “Well,” I began before the silence became excruciatingly awkward. “If you’re not busy, do you want to get something to eat?”
“Like dinner?”
“Yeah.”
“Sure. I mean, if you want to.” Despite his hesitant words, he looked genuinely interested.
“I want to,” I said. “If you want to.”
He nodded, body straightening up. “What kind of food do you like? Oh, I know this new place has opened up in the city, and it’s meant to have really good pizza. You like pizza, right?”
“Who doesn’t?”
“I’ll get up the directions.” He tapped on his phone and led the way, and we agreed we’d rather walk towards the heart of the city than catch a tram. That way, by the time we arrived, it would be dinner time, and the exercise would help work up an appetite.
“Can I ask you something?” I said.
“…Yes?”
“You sound unsure.”
“I’m scared.”
“It’s nothing weird, I promise.”
“Okay, hit me.”
“But you have to promise to be honest.”
“I’m really scared now.”
I laughed as we arrived at a road, the pedestrian lights red. I touched Leo’s arm to get his attention, and he looked at me with a nervousness in his eyes.
“As an architecture expert, what are your feelings on the Sydney Opera House?” I asked.
His body crumpled in relief before he immediately perked up, expression serious. “I have a lot of thoughts. Personally, I like it, though I reckon a lot of my classmates think it's cool to hate on it, you know, the way people rag on things from their own country…”
As we walked into the city, the streets lined with oak trees replaced with tall silver buildings, noisy trams and the hustle and bustle of crowds, Leo defended the Sydney Opera House before we moved on to discussions of Melbourne vs Sydney (he’d grown up in Sydney, I argued for Melbourne), which Australian snacks were overrated (none, I’d argued, but he thought TimTams were too sweet, which made me slap his arm) and the different TV shows we’d watched as kids.
“This is it,” Leo said once we were in the heart of the city, gesturing at an unassuming door. I followed him upstairs. “Oh, wow,” I said as we arrived at a rooftop bar with a brilliant view of the surrounding skyscrapers. A waitress led us to a free table and handed us two menus. There were heat lamps scattered around the place, providing warmth against the autumn chill. Leo and I flipped through the menus and decided to order a large each, although the large sizes were trendy restaurants’ standards of large, which would be a medium compared to someplace like Dominos or Pizza Hut.
Our food arrived quickly, and after we started eating, Leo asked what got me into marketing.
“I guess it all started when I was in high school. It’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but…”
“I won’t judge you,” Leo promised, picking up another slice of his pepperoni pizza.
“I used to have a YouTube channel,” I said. “It was fun, but I quickly realised I was more interested in making things look pretty rather than sharing my thoughts. I was thirteen. It’s not like I had anything interesting or helpful to say. What I liked was creating the thumbnails and coming up with cool titles — grabbing people’s attention, you know what I mean?”
He nodded. “I used to have a YouTube channel too, but the thumbnails and titles were the worst part for me. I’d just slap something random on there. That’s probably why you’re the marketing major and not me.”
“You did?” I said, surprised. “What was your channel about?”
He shook his head quickly. “You first.”
I leaned back. “I didn’t really have a niche, to be honest. I did whatever I felt like. One-person skits, reviews, vlogs, tutorials about things I wasn’t qualified to talk about, like how to have a successful YouTube channel when I’m pretty sure the most subscribers I ever had was, like, eighty.”
Leo laughed. “Better than me. I think I had 14.”
“What were your videos about?”
He mumbled something.
I leaned in closer. “Pardon?”
“Minecraft,” he said.
I squinted at him. “Why are you embarrassed? That’s totally normal. Loads of kids uploaded their Minecraft videos.”
He covered his face with his hands and groaned. “I’m just cringing at the memory of them. I’d record a voiceover as I filmed. I’d be like, ‘Hi guys, LeoCastles47 here, today I’m going to show you how to build a moat,’” he said in a high-pitched voice. “Remember to subscribe and smash that like button.”
“LeoCastles47?”
He nodded. “The channel’s probably still up. I don’t think I ever deleted it.”
That led to me whipping out my phone and pulling up YouTube. Leo leaned in close and part of me expected him to stop me from searching it, but he helped me find it instead.
Soon, we were watching his videos, which filmed a screen while a younger Leo talked in a squeaky voice, so different from the deep voice he had now. Puberty really did a number on him.
“So you were a creative mode kid,” I said, watching as a castle was built out of thin air on the phone screen.
“It’s way more fun that way. Why, did you play survival?”
“Of course, it’s superior. It’s actually challenging.”
We spent the rest of our meal exchanging Minecraft stories. I’d never really thought much about the game after I’d outgrown it at around fourteen or fifteen years old, but suddenly, all of my memories and knowledge were unearthed.
“Damn,” I said after the waitress had taken our plates away. “I kinda want to play Minecraft now. I might have to go and download it when I get home.”
“I have it on my Xbox,” Leo admitted.
“You do? Do you still play sometimes?”
“I haven’t in a while, with uni and work and all that. I should, though. Hey, you know what? We should play together.”
“Yeah? Let’s do it. But we’re playing survival mode.”
“Nope, my house, my rules.” He tapped his phone screen, revealing the time was past seven. The sky was darkening around us. “I live pretty close to here, so it’s a short walk.”
“Do you mean tonight?” I asked.
“I’m free,” he said. “But if you’d rather another time, that’s cool too.” He gave me an easygoing smile.
I hesitated. I was on this date to meet a potential boyfriend, not to hook up. If I wanted that, I’d chat up some random on a dating app or go to a bar, like I had done all of last year. Sure, Leo’s offer was innocuous enough — come over, play Minecraft on my couch. It’ll be chill. But everyone with half a brain cell knew that when someone offered to take you home after a date, what they really wanted to do was fuck.
I looked at him. I looked at his grey eyes, lips, and how he rested one elbow on the table.
“I’m free,” I said before I could really think about it.
Leo grinned, the corners of his eyes crinkling. He had the type of face that got more attractive the more I looked at it. Photos wouldn’t have done him justice — most of his appeal came from the twitch of his lips, the raise of his brows, or the relaxed shift of his shoulders.
After we paid, Leo led me through the city, not holding hands but moving close enough for our shoulders to brush now and then. It was dusk now, the sky purple against glittering skyscrapers.
Fucking on the first date wasn’t a big deal. Yes, Leo was physically appealing, but we’d had great conversation. Even though I’d only met him today, I liked his personality. I hoped that he liked mine, even after he’d got me into his bed.
Honestly, the extent of his friendliness took me aback because in his emails, he was…not blunt, exactly, but direct. I’d expected someone, probably a science major, who was straightforward, organised, and maybe even a little awkward. But Leo wasn’t like that at all.