Chapter 33 Travis
Travis
The quiet reminder I give myself lands like a sting.
It shouldn’t feel like that. This is exactly the setup we agreed on. And even though we both admitted that we care about each other, we’re still not official. We’re not a couple.
And at some point, this will end. She’ll go to medical school at Stanford, and we’ll stop seeing each other…
That sting deepens, morphing into something raw and biting as it drags through my gut.
I try to ignore it. I try not to think about how much this will hurt when it’s all over.
She leans closer to me and cups my cheek with her free hand. Her mouth curves up in a gorgeous smile, and I forget all those bad feelings. I forget what day it is, what year it is, my own name.
She presses a soft kiss to my lips. “You charmer,” she rasps against my mouth.
We walk the dogs back to the shelter, give them treats, then grab three more dogs and walk them. We grab the last two dogs—two energetic and friendly lab mixes—and walk them along the same route.
We end up at the park again. I give Anna my leash so I can stop by the restroom, which is next to the field where the dogs are playing.
When I walk out and head back toward her, I see a guy a few years older than us, talking with her.
I’m too far away to hear what they’re saying, but I can tell this guy’s flirting with her. The way he’s looking at her is a dead giveaway.
His gaze keeps falling to her chest. A protective feeling flickers inside of me.
It’s different from how I felt when I saw Colin put his hands on her and corner her. And the way I felt when I confronted that creepy rideshare driver in Las Vegas.
That was sheer rage. I was seconds away from ripping their faces off their skulls for threatening her and making her feel unsafe.
This is different. This guy isn’t touching her. He’s standing a couple of feet away from her.
And I can tell from her expression and body language that she’s not scared. Her smile is polite, but she’s looking down at the dogs more than she’s looking at him. Clear sign that she’s not into him.
But this dude can’t seem to take a hint. He just keeps talking, not seeming to register the half-interested expression on her face.
Irritation spikes up inside of me as I make my way over to them. Take a hint, dude.
“…but yeah, I mean, if you want, I can give you a ride over to that other dog park,” he says. “My Audi is parked just over there.”
“It’s okay,” Anna says. “I’d rather stay here.”
His cocky smile doesn’t budge. “Playing hard to get, huh? Can I at least get your number…”
He trails off when he sees me walk up to Anna. I grab one of the leashes and lean down to pet the dogs, who are busy sniffing the grass.
I stand up and slide my arm around her waist, pulling her against me.
She bites back an amused smile as she looks at me. That protective feeling inside of me morphs into something sharper and darker, more possessive.
Mine.
I want this guy to think that he doesn’t have an iceberg’s chance in hell of getting her number. Because she’s with me.
Yeah, this is some caveman shit, putting my hands on her so he gets the message loud and clear that she’s off limits. I don’t care though.
In this moment, she’s mine.
I glare at the guy. “What’s up?”
His smile is long gone. He’s frowning now as he looks at me. He glances back at Anna. “Sorry, I, uh, didn’t realize you were spoken for.” He starts to back away. “You two have a good day.”
He turns around and walks off. Anna gazes up at me, a teasing flicker in her eyes.
“That’s a little possessive,” she says.
I tuck a chunk of her hair behind her ear. “I could tell you were sick of talking to him, so I figured this was the best way to get him to leave you alone.”
She smiles. “You’re right about that.”
We start walking back toward the animal shelter. I grab her hand in mine. She looks at me, her expression amused.
“In case that guy is looking at us,” I say. “We need to sell that we’re a couple.”
She chuckles. “You’re really taking this fake boyfriend act to heart.”
I shrug. “I don’t want him pulling up to you in his car and begging for your number. He seems like he’d shoot his shot again if he got the chance.”
But also because I like this. I like holding Anna’s hand. I like pretending she’s mine.
“Thanks for getting rid of that guy,” she says. “Sometimes being polite isn’t enough. Some guys just don’t get the hint.”
“That must be annoying as fuck. I’m sorry you have to deal with that. Any time you need me to get rid of a guy, just say the word.”
She looks like she’s about to say something, but she stays quiet. By the time we’re back at the shelter, the dogs are thirsty, so we give them water and treats before putting them back in their spots. We refill all the food and water dishes for the dogs in the kennel too.
As we’re hanging up the leashes on the far wall, a man and a woman in their thirties walk into the kennel. They step over to Cookie’s kennel and crouch down, smiling at the dog.
“This one is so cute,” the woman says.
“She is,” Anna says. “She’s really friendly and sweet. Great with other dogs and kids.”
The woman glances up at Anna. “Oh, that’s perfect. Does she need to go on a lot of walks?”
Anna shakes her head. “She’s good with one walk a day. We took her out for fifteen minutes, and she was happy. She can go for longer if you feel like it too. She’s also happy running around in a yard, playing fetch.”
The couple opens up the kennel and sits down on the floor to play with her.
We walk out of the kennel. I notice Anna looking back at the couple with Cookie.
“I hope they adopt her,” she says. “Cookie deserves a good home. They all do.”
“Yeah, they do,” I say.
She sighs. “I want a dog, but I’ve always been too busy with school and studying.”
“If I weren’t so busy with hockey, I’d get a dog in a heartbeat.”
“Do you think you’ll get one after college when you start playing pro?”
“I’d like to. That would be awesome. But I want to make sure I have enough time to spend with the dog. Part of me is worried I’ll be so busy traveling and training with the team that I won’t be a good dog owner.”
Anna nods. “I want to adopt a dog after I graduate, but I’m scared I’ll be so busy with medical school that the poor dog won’t get attention.”
For some reason, my brain pulls up an image of Anna and me holding hands while walking a dog together. Like we’re a couple. And then I picture the two of us in an apartment together, cuddling on the couch, watching Grey’s Anatomy reruns, a cute dog sitting at our feet.
What was that?
I’ve never done that before. I’ve never…pictured a future together with someone before. I’ve never been interested in that.
But with Anna, it’s different.
I refocus, feeling silly for getting carried away. I bet she’s not imagining strangely intimate scenarios of us together in the future.
I shove aside that embarrassed feeling as we walk out of the shelter and walk back to her car.
Before I buckle my seatbelt, my phone buzzes with a text. I pull it from my pocket and look at the screen.
When I read the message, I freeze.