Twenty-One
Luke
M y eyes pop open as something cold touches my foot. Looking around, it takes me a minute to get my bearings once I realize I’m in Am’s room and not my own. I can’t feel my arm and have to pee, but I don’t want to wake up Am. I look down at her sprawled across my chest and smile as I move slightly to kiss her head.
At this exact moment, I know I’ll do anything to wake up with her every day for the rest of my life, even if it means I’ll never feel my arm again when I’m sleeping.
I go to move my leg, and Penny pops her head up and looks at me. The clock on the nightstand says that it’s eight a.m.
I look back over at Penny and whisper, “Are you looking at me because you have to go to the bathroom?”
She just cocks her head and gets up. Slowly, I extract myself from under Amelia and cover her back up. She moans and shoves her face into the pillow I was using.
I walk to the other side of the bed and grab my boxers. After pulling them on, I let Penny out the back door, then run to the bathroom to pee. I wash my hands and let Penny back in.
“You are such a good girl,” I say as we walk to the kitchen. “Now, where is all your foodstuff? Can you show me?”
Sure enough, she walks to the refrigerator and sits down, and I muffle my laugh with my hand. I open the fridge and see raw meat and other things in large bowls. I look at the bowl and then back at her. This has to be her breakfast because it’s the first one in a line of two.
She feeds her raw food?
I shrug and grab it. Tilting the bowl toward her, I ask, “Is this it?”
It must be because she walks over to a mat and sits down.
I swear if this dog gets sick because that’s not what I was supposed to feed her . . .
I put the bowl on her mat, but she just looks at me.
“Go ahead and eat your breakfast,” I say, but she just tilts her head. “Is this not your breakfast?”
Now I feel stupid because I’m taking directions from a dog and talking to her like she can answer me.
“Eat,” I say and point at it, but she keeps looking at me, her tail wagging faster.
I try to think of everything I’ve heard Am say to her in front of me, but nothing is coming to me.
I grab my phone from the counter and text Sam.
Luke: How come Penny won’t eat? Is there a word Am uses?
Sam: So you stayed the night at Amelia’s, huh?
Normally I would ask you if it was good, but I really don’t want to know.
Why don’t you ask her what to say?
Luke: She’s sleeping, and I don’t want to disturb her.
Do you know or not, asshole?
Sam: Want me to wake her up? I don’t care if she’s mad at me.
Actually, she’ll probably take it out on you.
Maybe I should . . .
Luke: Remind me why we’re friends.
I’ll figure it out
Sam: You’re so easy to rile up
Try break or okay—sometimes I hear her use both of those.
Luke: Thank you, fuck face
Are you going to tell me why Abby seemed so mad at you?
Sam: . . .
Luke: . . .
Sam: I have no idea what you’re talking about. Now fuck off because I’m going back to bed.
I look over at Penny, who’s still sitting in front of her food with a little drool coming out of her mouth.
“Break.”
And that’s the magic word because she gets up and starts eating.
I’ve never seen a dog just stare at food like that before, and I’m impressed. I look around to see if I can find Ginny’s food, but then I hear a soft click and food hitting a bowl. Looking into the living room, I see Ginny eating from a bowl.
Auto feeder . . . perfect.
I take a picture of Penny and send it to my parents because none of our dogs have ever been as well trained. After I send the photo, I feel a breeze hit my skin and turn to see a window open.
I pause. I know the AC is on. I felt it this morning.
I wonder if this was left open on purpose.
Making a mental note to ask her about it, I start the search for stuff to make coffee first, then I’ll figure out breakfast.
I pause.
Wait, does she drink coffee? When Pam got her something from the diner, she got her a latte.
I spot a coffee maker. Thank god. So I walk over to the cabinet above it and sigh in relief when I spot some coffee.
While my cup of coffee is brewing, I dig in her fridge again to see what she has. I grab the bacon and eggs and set them on the counter. Then I head to her pantry because pancakes also sound good, and if she doesn’t have a mix, I’ll have to dig around to find stuff to make them from scratch. Thankfully, I find the premade stuff.
With a smile on my face, I get to work finding all the utensils, pots, and pans I’ll need.
As I’m finishing the pancakes and bacon, movement and mumbling come from down the hall. I look over my shoulder, and all the blood from my head goes straight to my dick because Amelia comes around the corner wearing nothing but my shirt, and I swear nothing has ever looked sexier.
“Good morning, sweetness. Are you ready for breakfast?” I ask as I start the eggs.
She looks around the kitchen and back to me. “Did you feed my dog and make me breakfast?”
I pause. Shit, did I do something wrong? “Um, yeah, that’s okay, right? If you don’t want pancakes, bacon, and eggs, we can go out and get breakfast. I didn’t make you a cup of coffee because I didn’t know if you liked it or not. Either way, I don’t work today, so we can do whatever you want, sweetness,” I say quickly, hoping I didn’t overstep.
“No, no, this is perfect. I just don’t know what to say. No one has ever done anything like this for me before,” she says with a look of wonder in her eyes.
“Come here, sweetness,” I say, holding an arm out to her.
As she walks to me, I hungrily trail my eyes up her body. When she gets within arm’s reach, I grab her, pull her forward, and kiss her. She lets out one of the cutest squeaks before she melts into my kiss, then I rest my forehead on hers.
“I’m exactly where I want to be, doing exactly what I want to do. Now, do you want a coffee? If so, go sit down and give me a few to finish up the eggs, and I’ll bring everything to you.”
“I don’t like coffee,” she says, walking over to the fridge to open it and pull out a container.
“How do you not like coffee?” I ask honestly. “It probably runs through my veins more than blood does at this point.”
She giggles and shrugs. “Pam is the same way. I don’t know, I just never got the taste for it. I drink a chai latte in the mornings. So you don’t have to work today? Do you have any other plans?” she asks, placing her drink in the microwave.
“Nope, I took care of everything I needed to do yesterday before Noah came over and we started guys’ night. Do you like fried eggs or scrambled eggs?”
“Either is fine with me,” she says as she pulls her drink out and walks to one of the stools at the island to sit.
“Fried it is. Do you have any plans or meetings today?”
“No meetings, but I do have to go test the water again today.” She looks at her Alexa Echo hanging on the wall with her calendar showing.
“How often do you test it again?”
“Normally once a week, but the numbers have been all over the place recently, so I’m testing the water every day.”
“Is it normal for that to happen? Do you know what’s causing it?” I ask, putting eggs on her plate.
“No, it isn’t normal on a fully started system. It happens in the beginning or if fish get sick randomly. Which happens, but this kind of came out of nowhere, with no sick fish found. Thankfully, we have some extra tanks that are always kind of ready, other than the sick isolation tanks and breeding tanks.” She pauses, and her eyes go wide. “Sorry, I’m rambling. I’m sure you don’t care about the nitty-gritty details.”
I stop fixing my plate and turn to look at her. “I’m just happy you’re talking to me this morning,” I say with a wink.
“As long as I wake up on my own without an alarm and have my latte, I’m not as grumpy. Any other time, you better watch out.” She laughs.
“But seriously, I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t interested, sweetness. You’re smart and successful. We might have just met, but I’m interested in anything you say. I don’t know everything about aquaponics, but if you need a soundboard, I’m always here for you. Do you get me? ” I say honestly, and she just nods at me, her eyes stirring with emotion.
She quickly looks away and starts to fiddle with her silverware.
I’m annoyed that she thinks I don’t want to hear about her work, and I get mad when I realize someone has put that in her head. I quickly put it together that her ex probably did that.
Walking over to her, I set our plates down, push hers toward her, and frame her face with my hands. “Sweetness, I want you to look at me and listen. I have no idea what anyone has said to you to make you think that your career isn’t as important as mine, but I’m telling you right now. It is. I will repeat myself until you believe me. You are smart, beautiful, and successful. I’m lucky to be in your presence, and I promise you will know it every day. I might not be perfect, but I’ll do my best to make sure you always know how I feel about you.”
She just looks at me with her mouth open in shock, and I chuckle. “Close your mouth, baby, or I’m going to put something in it that isn’t food.”
She snaps her jaw shut and pokes at me. “Are you real?”
“Last time I checked. Now, let me finish eating breakfast so we can plan the rest of the day,” I say and dig into my food.
After we finish eating, she insists that she has to do the dishes since I cooked.
After the dishes are done, I walk back to the bedroom and pull my pants on. “If you don’t mind swinging by the rental so I can change really quick, then I can help you at the farm,” I say, joining her at the sink to grab the toothpaste and the new toothbrush I grabbed on my way to her bedroom from the spare bathroom.
“It might be boring, but I won’t turn down company while I’m working,” she says after she finishes brushing her teeth.
If you had told me three months ago that I would be in a new state and loving a morning like this full of domestic bliss, I would have laughed in your face. But here we are, and I have the biggest smile on my face that won’t seem to go away.
In the kitchen, as she gathers everything she needs for her, Penny, and Ginny, I remember the window. “Sweetness, do you want to leave the front window open?”
Her face scrunches with confusion. “The window is open? I don’t remember opening it since my allergies have been bad this spring.”
“You didn’t open the window?” I ask as I close it.
“No, maybe Pam opened it one night and just forgot to close it.” She shrugs as we walk out the door.
I don’t know why this makes me feel uneasy, but I have to remind myself we aren’t in the big city anymore. People leave their windows open all the time here.
After she locks the door, I hold my hand out to her. “Keys, please.”
“I can drive, you drove last night,” she says.
“I know, but Pam and Sam told me how much you don’t like driving, and I don’t mind.”
She hands me the keys, and we walk to the Jeep. I’m sure we’re a sight because she’s putting the seat belt through Penny’s harness, and I have a cat sitting on my shoulder, trying to put it in the carrier.
Once everyone is situated, I back out of the driveway and head to my rental so I can change and take my girl to work.