18. Youre a Sucker
Chapter eighteen
You're a Sucker
Sawyer
A date with Neil. I was so ready for this.
Princess Fluffybutt had hidden under the couch the moment I let her out of the carrier. I let her be. I was slightly worried about her with the dog Neil was bringing over. Her info card said she’d used to live with a dog, but who knew how Neil’s dog would react.
In any case, I didn’t want the dog roaming the house. I’d found a couple of ancient baby gates in the attic while looking for cat supplies. Had my parents kept it from when I was a baby? Amazing. Anyway, one of those could cordon off the bathroom and keep the dog contained.
I didn’t want to upset the cat, so I didn’t vacuum, but I did go on a cleaning spree. The old house had needed it, anyway. Hector called while I was in the middle of cleaning the bathroom. I answered on the earbud I’d been listening to music on so I could keep cleaning.
“How did it go?” Hector asked.
Just to mess with him, I pretended I didn’t know what he was talking about. “My volunteer shift? I adopted a cat. Named her Princess Fluffybutt,” I deadpanned.
“Hilarious. No, with Neil.”
“But I really did adopt a cat,” I teased.
Hector huffed.
“You are too easy,” I said with a laugh. “I asked him out. We have a date tomorrow night.”
“That’s great! So you quit your volunteer job?”
“Yeah, um, no.” I wiped down the mirror in the bathroom.
“What does that mean?” Hector demanded.
“I told Neil this isn’t a date.” Now I felt crappy for not just asking him outright. “I asked him to come over so I can try to pet a dog.”
“You are such a sucker.” Hector laughed into my ear.
“Shut up,” I muttered. He was right. I was okay with that.
“Where are you going on your second, let me add, not -date?”
“I’m making him dinner, and shit, I just realized I forgot to ask him if there’s anything he can’t eat.”
“I’m sure if he were allergic to anything, he would have told you,” Hector assured me.
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
“So he’s coming over to your house? That’s pretty intimate.”
“It’s not a date, but yeah, I know.” I finished scrubbing down the toilet and flushed it.
“Dude, are you—”
“I’m not talking to you on the john, man; I’m cleaning the bathroom. For my date.” I paused. “Not-date. But I still want to impress him.”
“Wow, you’re cleaning the bathroom for him? You really do like him.” Hector whooped into my ear. I cringed at how loud it was.
“You think you’re funny.” I paused. “And you are.”
“Still, inviting him over… Good. You need to get laid. It’s been too long.”
“It’s not that kind of date. Or it wasn’t when we set it up. He’s coming over because I wanted a safe place to… meet his dog.”
“ What? ” Hector screeched. “Are you sure about this?”
“No.” I suppressed a full-body shiver. “But I’m ready for Neil. And since he comes with a dog…”
“What kind of dog does he have?”
“A big, fluffy sheepdog. It’s pretty cute. It looks a lot like my cat but gigantic.”
“Damn. You must really be nuts for this guy. Well, good luck, and call me if it goes balls up and you need a shoulder to cry on.”
I hung up on Hector and flopped on the couch.
I was so not ready for this—neither this date with Neil nor for petting the dog. I shuddered. Why did I tell him I was actually ready to touch a dog? Hector was right; I was nuts for this guy.