Thirty-Nine
Alex
May
“Are you sure about this?” Nate asks as he parks his car outside Paw-loved Adoption Center.
“Yeah, he’s going to love it.”
I’m pretty certain Blaine’s going to love the surprise I’m planning.
He hasn’t stopped talking about how much he loves Boomer since they got him five months ago, and I know it bums him out that he can’t bring him home.
But as I moved in with him last month and Blaine signed an eight-year deal to stay with Thunder, I knew this is the right time for him to finally get the dog he always wanted growing up.
With Ethan’s help, we’ve managed to hire two new assistants to help run the shop, allowing me to do a bit more graphic design work and giving Jacob more time to have a life again.
The door beeps as we push it open, alerting the assistants to our arrival. I’ve already gone through the thorough background checks a week ago and notified Brent—who was handling it all—that it’s a surprise for Blaine and about his occupation.
It turns out Brent is the one who helped Thunder choose Boomer, so he fully understood our situation.
“Hey, Alex!” Brent greets me with a warm smile. “How are you? Excited to take him home?”
“I’m so excited; it’s been really hard keeping it a secret from Blaine. I’m pretty sure he suspects something is going on.”
I’ve already chosen the dog for Blaine and me.
I just hope Blaine loves him, too.
Brent laughs. “Let's hope he isn’t too mad. He gets home tonight, right?”
I nod.
Thunder made it to the playoffs, and their flight lands tonight. Luckily, it’s only from Calgary, so he’ll be home before midnight.
Brent swipes his key card over the door and leads Nate and me through the corridor to the kennels. The sound of dogs barking fills my ears, and my heart crumples at the sound of sad howls.
I wish I could take them all; maybe I can convince Blaine to get a house in the country with loads of land so we can rescue all of the dogs.
Maybe one day when he’s retired.
The dog—nicknamed Puppy Dog as he’s currently nameless—I’ve chosen is a golden retriever-german shepherd mix, and when I heard the story of how he ended up in the shelter, I cried. My heart broke for the poor, sweet puppy, and I knew he was meant to be ours.
“How has he been?” I ask.
“Good, really good. He’s gained a few pounds since you saw him last,” he replies with another bright smile as he approaches his kennel. He’s tossing the toy I bought him last week up in the air, pouncing on it when it lands before throwing it up again.
My eyes fill with happy tears.
“Hey, puppy dog, it’s time for you to go to your forever home!” Brent says cheerfully.
The puppy bounds up to the gate; his tail wags in happy swishes and jumps up my legs the second I step into his kennel.
“Oh, Alex. He’s fucking adorable.” Nate coos, scratching the excited puppy’s head.
“I know. I think Blaine’s going to love him.”
* * *
“Hey gorgeous, you better be naked and ready for me because I am desperate to get my hands on you!”
Blaine’s voice echoes through the hallway as the front door slams shut. The puppy’s head jerks up at the sound. I quickly grab hold of his collar, scooping him up in my arms to stop him from running through the house and ruining the surprise.
My heartbeat increases as I hear the thunk of Blaine’s bag being dropped to the floor and his footsteps getting louder as he gets closer.
“Close your eyes!” I say nervously.
His footsteps falter.
“Um, why?”
“I’ve got a surprise for you!” I grin at the wiggling puppy in my arms. “A special surprise.”
“Oh yeah, baby! I’m so excited to be reunited with your fine ass.”
Blaine appears with his eyes closed, as instructed. His navy tailored suit pants hug those thick thighs I love so much, and his white dress shirt is creased from his flight, his tie and jacket long discarded.
“Are you ready to meet your other daddy?” I whisper into the puppy’s ear as I walk over to Blaine, and once I’m in front of him, I say, “Open your eyes.”
Blaine opens his eyes slowly, and I watch his face change from confusion to surprise to absolute awe. “Oh my god, you got me a puppy?” His voice falters, getting higher with each word, his eyes filling with tears.
“Yes, he doesn’t have a name at the moment, but I’ve been calling him Puppy Dog for now.” I chuckle, the puppy wriggling wanting to get to Blaine.
He scoops him up in his arms, holding him up above his head, wearing the widest smile I’ve ever seen.
“I know how much you wanted to keep Boomer, so I thought now was the time for us to have our own.” I chew on my bottom lip with worry.
Blaine’s busy talking to the puppy like a baby, cradling him in his arms and allowing his face to be licked to an inch of its life. When he looks up at me, his eyes are filled with so much love and joy that my heart squeezes.
“How? What? When… when did you do all this?”
“I’ve been researching for a while, finding suitable adoption centers and what dog would be right for us, then I reached out to Colleen to find out where you found Boomer, and she pointed me in the direction of Paw-loved.
Brent was the one who helped us, and when he introduced me to this little guy, his story broke my heart. ”
Blaine freezes, worry etched into his brow. “What happened to him?”
“He was abandoned when he was fourteen weeks old because it turns out the owners couldn’t afford the vet bills. He had an infection, which has now been treated, but they just left him in a box on the side of the road.”
“Assholes,” Blaine curses under his breath, then his expression softens as he looks at the puppy going wild in his arms. “But we’ve got you now; you’re going to be so fucking loved. I promise.”
“And don’t forget spoiled.” I wrap my arms around the two of them, leaning in to steal a kiss from Blaine, but the puppy manages to slip his tongue between us.
“Are you going to be a cockblocker?” Blaine raises a brow at the puppy.
We burst into laughter.
“So now you’ve gotta think of something to name this little guy,” I say, scratching the pup’s head.
“I think I have the perfect name.”
I raise my head. “Oh, yeah?”
Blaine nods.
He then looks down at the puppy, then he melts my heart, and I fall even deeper in love with him as he says, “This is Ernie.”
I open my mouth, but I’m speechless. He wants to name him after my grandfather?
Blaine puts the puppy on the floor, and he instantly starts attacking the laces on his shoes.
His hands cup my face, and it’s only when his thumb wipes under my eyes that I realize I’m crying.
“Is that okay? That we name him Ernie?”
“Y-yeah.” I give a shaky nod. “He’d be honored to have our first fur baby named after him.” And then I crash my lips against his.
I fucking love this man with every atom in my body.
He loves me like there’s no tomorrow. He cares for me in ways I didn’t know I needed.
He thinks about me and includes me in everything he does, and despite the trouble I’m still receiving on social media, I have never once doubted his love for me.
And that’s all I need.
All we need.
Because we have each other.