Puppy Love, Volumes 1 to 13

by C. Coal

She knew in that moment that, finally, she'd found the man she'd been waiting for.

  Puppy Love Blind Date

  Claire took one final glance in the mirror. Was she ready for this? A puppy play date with BikeLover202?

  Well, she better be, because he was expecting her and her chocolate lab, Rocky, in less than ten minutes. She'd tried to dress casual but practical—a cute pair of fitted jeans, not too tight but still flattering, and a simple V-neck blouse that was long enough to keep things covered if she had to bend over to pick up after Rocky. Her long brown hair was up in a perky ponytail and she'd put on some simple lip gloss.

  This was an activity date after all. Something nice and casual that would give her a chance to see if BikeLover202, also known as Alex, was actually as good as his profile. He was gorgeous—piercing blue eyes, dark wavy hair, a killer smile. And a lawyer who'd traveled a ton and gone to good schools. To top it all off, he had an adorable six-month-old husky puppy named Billy that was about the same age and size as her Rocky.

  It might sound silly to some, but it mattered to her that Rocky be happy with whoever she ended up with, and that included that he get along with whatever dog the guy had. The perfect man for her had to be perfect for Rocky, too, so best to get the pups together as soon as possible.

  Rocky lay in the doorway watching her, his head resting on his paws, patiently waiting for her to finish. He'd been ready half an hour ago. "Ready to meet Mr. Right?" she asked.

  Rocky didn't move, his big brown eyes still fixed on her face.

  She laughed. "Well, I am, so let's go."

  Rocky leapt to his feet and followed after her, his tail wagging with excitement.

  * * *

  As they pulled into the parking lot next to the lake where they were meeting Alex, Claire glanced around. Was that him? In the black BMW? How did he expect a full-grown husky to fit in a two-seater car like that? It might be fine now when his dog was a puppy, but later?

  She shook her head at a man's impracticality (or vanity) as she walked around to the back of her SUV and let Rocky out. The entire back of the vehicle was devoted to him; he had more room than she did.

  Well, she couldn't expect everyone to treat their dog with the same level of devotion she did. She knew she was a bit over the top when it came to Rocky and had to remind herself of that constantly.

  At least Alex was as good-looking as his photo. Actually more so. He was taller than she'd imagined and had this aura to him that was very, very compelling. She tried not to stammer as she introduced herself; his smile made her want to melt into a puddle at his feet.

  Maybe this online dating thing wasn't that bad after all. Her friends were always complaining that the men they met were boring or ugly or weird or just after sex, but Alex seemed perfect.

  It was a beautiful day—sunny but not too sunny, geese swimming in the middle of the lake while children played along the shore, the path shaded by tall trees with fat green leaves that provided just the right amount of shelter.

  They walked along, their puppies sniffing at anything and everything, as the conversation flowed. It was so easy, so simple, to talk to Alex.

  Sure, he talked a lot about himself. But he was an interesting guy. He'd been so many places and done so many things. Who wanted to talk about her weekly lunch with her grandma when they could talk about Alex's latest motorcycle trip through Guatemala?

  Claire hung on every single word he said, wondering how she could be so lucky to have found someone so perfect. He was so beautiful, his skin flawless and tanned, his body that nice balance of muscular but slender that she liked so much.

  She just hoped Alex liked her as much as she liked him.

  After the walk, they paused awkwardly next to Claire's vehicle. Alex smiled down at her, his eyes moving from her lips to her eyes and back to her lips. Was he going to kiss her?

  She'd just met him.

  Oh, sure, he was gorgeous and charming and funny and perfect in every way she could think of. But, really, he was still a stranger.

  He leaned towards her and she took a half-step back.

  Alex startled and his eyebrows drew down into a frown. "Sorry. I didn't mean to be forward."

  "Oh, you weren't." She rested her hand on his arm, regretting already how she'd reacted. "It's just…I only met you today and, well, I'm not the kind of girl to kiss a guy the first day I meet him."

  He laughed slightly. "But we've been exchanging e-mails for a few weeks now."

  "I know. But it's just not the same as meeting someone in person, you know? And, well, I always like to walk away from a situation and think about it a bit before I make a move like that."

  "A move like what? Kissing someone?" He raised an eyebrow at her and she blushed.

  "I…yeah. Kissing matters to me."

  She could see him trying not to laugh at her and frowned. It did matter. Kissing wasn't just something to do. At least not the way she did it.

  "Next time then?" He flashed her that picture-perfect smile, but she knew she'd blown her only chance with him by the way he hugged her—it was like he was hugging a smelly old woman, his body all distant and stiff, his head turned to the side.

  "Yeah. Next time."

  As he walked away, Claire mentally kicked herself. She should've just gone with it.

  * * *

  For the next four days, Claire beat herself up for not just letting him kiss her. It was just a kiss, right? What did she care if she'd just met him? He was attractive and funny and charming. Why hadn't she just let the moment happen?

  This was why she could never find a guy. Because she was too much of a prude.

  She should've just gone with it.

  But she wasn't that girl. And as much as she wanted to be, she never would be.

  So when he called her on that fourth day, she didn't really know what to think.

  She answered the phone, but wasn't too excited about it. "Alex. I didn't expect to hear from you."

  "No? Oh come on. It hasn't been that long has it? Plus, you still owe me a kiss." His voice was soft and sexy as he teased her.

  Claire laughed nervously. "So, uh, how've you been?"

  "Good, good. Um, gosh, this is a bit awkward."

  "What is?"

  On the television two people were dancing to some sort of waltz. With the sound muted it looked downright bizarre to see them prance across the stage, smiles plastered on their faces as they tried to remember the steps. She loved to watch dancing shows even though she danced like she had two right feet herself.

  Alex said, "Well, uh, um. I was wondering…"

  Why did he sound so awkward all of a sudden? What was he going to do? Ask her to a wedding?

  "Yes?"

  He continued in a rush. "You really got along well with Billy. I mean you were just great with him. And he and Rocky really seemed to hit it off, too."

  "Umhm."

  The couple on the screen finished their dance with a final twirl and a bow to the judges. She was dying to hear what the judges had to say about the performance but knew she was going to miss it if Alex didn't get to the point soon.

  "And. See, uh…I have to go out of town this weekend. And I was going to have a friend watch Billy, but that fell through. And I could board him, but he just hates to be boarded. Do you think? Could I possibly ask you to watch him? I know it's last minute and horrible of me to ask it of you, but I could really use your help."

  Claire sighed. She'd known he wasn't calling to ask her out again. The show switched over to a commercial and she gave a small sigh of relief. Good, she wasn't going to miss the judges' comments.

  "Maybe, uh, maybe we could have dinner or something when I pick him up?" he added, but it was clearly an afterthought that he'd tacked on when she hadn't immediately jumped at the opportunity to watch Billy.

  Billy was a great pup and he did get along with Rocky and she didn't have any plans for the weekend, but…it was weird to have Alex asking her to watch his puppy when they'd only gone out
once. He didn't know her, not enough to trust her with his puppy like that.

  "Claire? Please. I'd really appreciate it."

  Her gut told her to say no, but she never seemed to listen to it.

  "Um, sure. Okay. I should be home by five. You can drop him off any time after that."

  "Great! You're the best, Claire." He hung up.

  Claire stared at her phone. What was she thinking? Well, it was just one weekend, right? She hit the unmute button on her remote as the show started again.

  * * *

  Claire rushed home early on Friday. She wanted to freshen up before Alex arrived. True, he hadn't asked her out again (not really), but maybe if he saw her looking really attractive he'd reconsider.

  She took a quick shower, blow dried her hair, threw on a dress and a touched up her makeup. To hell with simple and casual, she needed to take things up a notch to snag a man like that.

  The doorbell rang just as she was putting on a pair of dangling silver earrings that chimed gently when she laughed.

  "Coming." She raced to the door and flung it open, smiling her best smile.

  A man stood there, but it wasn't Alex. This guy was a bit taller and more solidly built. He had kind brown eyes and a short enough haircut that it was hard to tell what his actual hair color was. Dark brown maybe? Or black? Or maybe even a dark blonde? A prominent almost beak-like nose dominated his face, but he smiled easily and she could tell he was the type to be relaxed and happy most of the time.

  Billy sat at his feet.

  She stared. "Who are you?"

  "Tom. Are you Claire?"

  His smile was so kind, but what the hell? Where was Alex?

  "Yes…"

  "I'm a friend of Alex's. He asked me to bring Billy by, said you'd be watching him for the weekend. You are watching him right?" He looked her up and down quickly, probably wondering why a woman who was staying in with a dog was dressed to kill.

  She crossed her arms, suddenly realizing how ridiculous she must look. "Yeah. Where's Alex?"

  Tom shrugged. "Who knows? He dumped Billy on me on Wednesday. Said he had to go out of town. An opportunity he couldn't pass up."

  "Wednesday? That's when he called me about watching Billy."

  Tom grimaced. "Yeah. I told him I couldn't watch Billy this weekend because I had a fishing trip planned already and didn't think the pup was up to it. I usually don't have any problems watching him for a weekend."

  She stared between Billy and Tom, both watching her with their gentle eyes. "Just how often do you watch Billy for Alex?"

  He shrugged, looking away uncomfortably. "At least a few times a week."

  "A few times a week?" Claire stared at him. "For an hour here or there?"

  Tom shook his head slightly. "Overnight usually."

  "Overnight. A few times a week?" Claire narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

  Tom opened his mouth and closed it again, grimacing. "You know."

  Claire thought she did. But she wasn't going to take that out on a cute little pup like Billy or a kind man like Tom. "Well, come in. Let's get him settled shall we?"

  * * *

  Claire had a great weekend with Billy and Rocky romping around in the yard. They loved to tussle and play until they both collapsed in separate heaps of exhausted puppy and slept so sound nothing could wake them. It was nice to see Rocky with a puppy his age to play with.

  But that didn't mean Claire had forgotten how she'd been played by Alex.

  It was almost eight at night when he finally showed up for Billy. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate this." He kissed her on the cheek and stepped into her house as if he owned it. He didn't even greet Billy and Billy didn't move from where he lay in the living room.

  Alex smiled down at her with his perfect smile. "So where do you want to go for dinner?" He stepped closer. "Or should we just stay in?"

  "Stay in?" Claire's eyebrows rose at that one.

  "Well, you did promise me a kiss last time. I thought it might be fun to see where that could lead." He reached to run his hand through her hair; she stepped away from him.

  "I don't think so."

  "What? Why?" He leaned towards her, still supremely confident in himself.

  "You're not my type."

  He laughed.

  When she didn't laugh with him, the smile fell from his face. "Wait? You're serious?"

  "Yes."

  He frowned as if he'd never had a woman tell him she wasn't interested before and he didn't really understand it. "What did Tom say to you?"

  She gathered up Billy's things and handed them to Alex. "He didn't need to say anything. I know your type. The type that dates around and uses people."

  "I don't do that."

  "No? So where were you this weekend? Or last weekend?"

  Alex flashed her his picture-perfect smile again. "Oh, that? It was a trip I'd planned a while back. She's just an old friend."

  Claire rolled her eyes. Like she'd never heard that one before. "Well, Billy had a great time this weekend. Come on, Billy, time to go."

  Billy looked at her and at Alex and then lowered his head back to the floor.

  "Come on, Billy. Time to go," she said again.

  He didn't move.

  Alex walked over to him. "Up. Now."

  Billy slowly rose to his feet and followed Alex towards the door, head hung low.

  Alex paused in the doorway. "Thanks for watching him for me."

  "You're welcome." Claire crossed her arms tight across her chest and waited for him to leave.

  "So, uh, I guess that's it then?"

  "Guess so." Claire bent down and ruffled Billy's hair and gave him a kiss. "Take care, Billy. I'll miss you."

  She would not, however, miss Alex.

  * * *

  Two weeks later, Alex called her again. "Hi, Claire, how've you been?" he asked as if they were the best of friends.

  "Uh, fine. How are you?"

  "Good, good. Uh, look, um…."

  Claire rolled her eyes. "Let me guess. You need someone to watch Billy again?"

  "Yeah…Can you?"

  Claire let out a deep sigh. "For how long?"

  "A few days at most. Tom can take him after that."

  Claire shook her head, but she knew he couldn't see it. "Why do you have a puppy if you're never there with it?"

  Alex ignored the question. "Can you do it or not?"

  Claire chewed on the inside of her cheek.

  "Claire?"

  "Yeah, fine, whatever."

  "Thank you!"

  Claire hung up. She was such a sucker. She knew Alex was using her, but she let him do it anyway. Because if she didn't what would he do with Billy? Drop him off for weeks at a time at some kennel? Or worse, give him away to a shelter?

  * * *

  Alex was in such a rush when he dropped Billy off that he didn't even try to charm her. He just rang the doorbell, handed her Billy's leash, and left without another word.

  Claire tried not to think about it and focus instead on the fact that Rocky had a friend to play with for the weekend.

  The pups did have a great time together. They were both at that gangly stage where they tripped and stumbled over each other and themselves. It was adorable to watch.

  And Billy was such a sweet dog. Claire marveled that he was so well-behaved when he had such a neglectful parent.

  She mentioned it to Tom when he showed up for Billy on Sunday afternoon.

  "Oh, that's me." He blushed slightly as he said it.

  "You?"

  "Yeah. Billy was staying with me so much for a while there that I decided to take him to obedience classes myself."

  Claire laughed. "You're as much of a pushover as I am!"

  Tom blushed a deeper shade of red. "It's…" He frowned. "Alex's been my friend since we were in first grade. And…well, I'm used to picking up after him, you know? He decided he wanted a puppy because 'chicks dig 'em' and I knew what was going to happen. So, when he went and bought the pupp
y, I bought all the stuff the pup would actually need and resigned myself to having to take care of him a lot of the time."

  Claire shook her head. "Did he really get Billy just so he could attract women?"

  Tom nodded. "Worked with you didn't it?"

  She frowned. It had.

  Tom scratched Billy's ears. "Problem is, Billy draws the women in but then Alex wants alone time with them so he has to get the pup out of the way. Can't spend a lazy Sunday morning in bed when you have a puppy begging to be let outside, now can you?"

  "Is that where he is now? Lounging in bed with some woman while we take care of his responsibility?"

  Tom shrugged.

  "Why don't you just refuse?"

  "What would happen to Billy then?"

  Billy chose that moment to let out a contented sigh as he leaned happily against Tom's leg.

  Claire frowned. This wasn't right. Not at all.

  * * *

  Another two weeks later, Alex called again. Claire didn't even wait for him to speak. "Let me guess, you need someone to watch Billy?"

  "Hi, Claire. How are you?"

  "Don't sweet-talk me, Alex. Is that why you called?"

  "Yeah. Can you…?"

  "No."

  "But…"

  "No. Goodbye Alex."

  She hung up.

  It took all her willpower not to call him back and offer to watch Billy. Where would the pup end up? She knew Alex wouldn't change his plans just because he couldn't find someone to watch Billy, but she told herself it wasn't her problem.

  That didn’t keep her from spending the entire weekend worrying about him, though.

  * * *

  A week later, Claire's phone rang again. She didn't recognize the number, but she answered it anyway.

  "Hey, Claire?" a man's voice asked.

  "Yes?"

  "Um, it's Tom. Look, I know you said you didn't want to watch Billy anymore and I get it, but, um, I could really use your help. I got him snipped yesterday and I think he's fine, but I'd rather not leave him alone and I have to go into the office for a few hours. Can you please come over and watch him?"