Chapter Puppies
Puppies
When I open the apartment door, I stop dead in my tracks.
Decker sits on the floor in front of the couch… holding a puppy. A wiggly golden retriever puppy.
“What’s this?” I ask, smiling despite myself.
“A puppy.”
I walk over and crouch down in front of them. The little furball waddles over, climbs onto my knees, and licks my chin. “I see that. Why do you have a puppy?”
“You said you always wanted a dog. My buddy’s re-homing his dog’s litter.”
“So you bought a dog?”
“I bought you a dog.”
“Decker, I don’t know—”
“If we have to, I can keep him. But I doubt you’re going to have an issue with an apartment that doesn’t accept dogs. As soon as I saw him, I knew he was perfect for you.”
I scoop the little guy into my arms, his fur so damn soft, and he rests his head on my shoulder and sighs. “You bought me a dog?”
“I figured, at the very least, he’s a dude magnet.”
The puppy lets out a soft whimper, then starts snoring. Yep, I’m keeping him. “I think he likes me.”
“I think so, too.”
“And the whole ‘picking people up with a dog’ thing works better for guys.”
“Maybe that’s what I’m aiming for right now.”
That damn smirk. Desire coils low in my belly, and I wish I could see the future to know if Decker really is serious. “Is that so?”
“I’m not a flowers guy. Any man can buy flowers. But knowing a woman well enough to get her something she’s always wanted? That’s me.”
I believe him. I believe it so much I almost moan. “Thank you, Decker.”
“Are you in a hurry to go somewhere?”
My body aches, and I just shake my head. I pray he asks me to strip down naked and let him take me right here, right now.
“Tell me about your last few dates. I know about your BDSM guy, but I know you’ve been on others. Mona said as much.”
“You want to hear about my dates?”
His smile lights up his entire face. “I hear they’re real doozies.”
“Vampire.”
“Pardon?”
“I went on a date with a man who legitimately thought he was a vampire,” I say, petting the puppy’s fur as he continues to sleep on my shoulder.
He covers his mouth as he laughs. “Do you avoid sunlight now? Does he sparkle? See, I’m a Buffy fan myself, and I’m not big into the sparkling vamps.”
Rolling my eyes, I shake my head. “Shut up.”
“He sparkled, didn’t he?”
“And smelled like vanilla and strawberry. It was stripper glitter. He wore plastic fangs, and he poured real blood into his drink.”
“Was it a Bloody Mary?”
“Shut up.”
His laughter stops, and his smile drops. “Wait, really? That’s actually really disgusting.”
“You didn’t have to watch him spice up his drink.”
“Yikes.”
“Then there was the Celebrity. He pretended to be Wade Boggs. Don’t even… It was stupid.”
He fights to hold back his laughter. “Too bad your brother’s a baseball freak.”
“Yep. Today was the final one. That was a wizard. He tried to tell me he was Harry Potter.”
“No way.”
“Oh! I forgot the creepiest one!” I say, startling the puppy who whimpers but falls right back to sleep. “Fated Mates.”
He frowns… “How?”
“You don’t want to know. I don’t want to know, but I was there. There was no option but to walk away when he asked if I wanted the blood ritual before, during, or after sex.” I pause. “Wait, how do you know what Fated Mates are?”
He shrugs and looks at the ground. “I know things.”
“No, you know guy things. This isn’t a guy thing.”
“I may have decided to catch up on some reading while I’m actively not picking up women in hopes that the woman I do want decides to pick me.”
My stomach flips. “You’ve been reading? Romance books?”
“I’ve read what’s popular.”
“You’re reading romance books?”
He flushes slightly. “Look, you downloaded an app in hopes of finding guys who fit those… tropes. I figured I’d check them out.”
“I can’t believe you’re reading romance novels.”
“I’ve got that subscription. Turns out, I have a lot of free time on my hands. And I’m kind of into the biker romances. At least there’s action with the sex.”
Laughing, I tilt my head. “You’ve been reading romance novels for me.”
“I need to be prepared. I want to know what you like. Bedroom skills I’ve got down, but the outside of sex stuff I know I need to work on. Mostly because I’ve never had to do that before.”
“You’re serious.”
“Dead serious.”
I can’t believe this. I just blink at him before finally saying, “You don’t need to change who you are to try and win me, Decker. To make me happy.”
“I’m changing who I am to make me happy. You’re part of what makes me happy.”
Wow. If I didn’t believe he was reading romance novels before, I certainly do now. That’s romantic as shit.
“I haven’t made up my mind just yet, but I’m getting closer.”
“As long as I’m still in the running. Now, I gotta run. We need puppy supplies. Name him and text me so I can get a custom collar.”
“What color are you getting?”
Decker winks at me like he’s got this in the bag. We’ll see.
“I’d get purple if the puppy was a girl because it’s your favorite color even though you refuse to admit it. But he’s a dude, and you hate red. Blue is overrated in your book, so I figured I’d go with green.”
I gape. “How do you know that?”
Leaning over, he kisses me gently and then taps his temple. “Holly, I know more about you than any man ever has. Every conversation we’ve ever had is right here.”
“Like what?”
“Like your first time was with your prom date senior year, and it was so bad you almost gave up sex altogether to become a nun until your college boyfriend showed you what it was supposed to be like. Or that you miss your parents even though you pretend you don’t—but you can’t forgive them for what they did.
You feel guilty that Will sided with you, but I know for a fact he has zero regrets. ”
No one knows about the rift with my parents. Except Decker, and he only knows because of Will.
My parents took out loans in my name—nearly half a million dollars—thinking I wouldn’t find out until they managed to pay them off.
When I applied to colleges, the truth came out.
Will helped me get an attorney, and I sued them.
The courts sided with me, and my parents called me selfish and ungrateful.
I invited them to my college graduation as a peace offering. They didn’t come. It was the last olive branch I extended.
But Will came. And so did Decker.
He winks and walks out the door, leaving me holding the puppy and a stomach full of knots. How could I forget? Decker’s the one that’s always been here. Even with Will gone, Decker’s still around.
And he just bought me a puppy.
I don’t care what anyone says—this blows flowers out of the water.