"We've got it covered, Jenna. He won't be needing any of your help."
Well, that was one more distraction out of the way. It was probably for the best. Jenna had made life hell for Tabby when she first moved here. The realization was a giant kick to the balls. The girl that I'd been salivating over? She was my sister's archenemy, Noah's ex-girlfriend, and all-around mean girl. And that meant she was completely off-limits.
But the question on my mind was how was I supposed to stay away from her when she lived across the hall?
***
Jenna
"So what've we got?" I asked Gloria when I arrived at the shelter. I almost didn't want to hear the bad news, but it was a welcome distraction from this morning.
Is it crazy that I thought it was a little fun? Being on the receiving end of a flirty boy's attention, and then sparring with Tabby. It reminded me of my old life, when I dated Noah and bickered with Jules. Although in the case with Jules, it was all in good fun. We were best friends, after all, which was the complete opposite of my relationship with both her and Tabby these days.
In my head, I knew my pain and loneliness wasn't Tabby's fault. It's not as if she swooped in and deliberately stole my life-I did a pretty good job messing it up before Tabby was even in the picture. Still, sometimes, it did feel like she'd taken my place, and my heart didn't understand.
Truth was, I had no interest in Noah anymore. I hadn't for some time. It was just that he was the only person who seemed to understand me and he let me lash out and be a total bitch after my brother Ben died. I knew he felt guilty because he thought he should've been there, driving instead Ben that night. Foster thought the same and Jules thought there was more she could've done, too. But that burden wasn't on any of them. After visits with enough shrinks, I knew it wasn't completely on me as well-despite what my parents believed.
"We've got two new residents, thanks to a drop-off overnight, two pit bull puppies." Gloria pulled me back out of my head. She was good at that. "Thankfully, they're mixed with a beagle, so that might be their only saving grace."
More than sixty percent of our residents-as Gloria preferred to call them-were some breed of pit bull, which made them difficult to adopt out. Pit Bull Terriers were the red-headed stepchild in the doggie adoption business because of all the bad press. Every time we had a new one show up, my heart squeezed because I knew they'd be with us for a while.
"Two more that might be with us for a while," I repeated my thoughts to Gloria. "Which means we need to get some of these guys adopted today." Okay, it was time to focus.
"That's right, but I do have some good news."
I raised a brow and waved my hand telling her to give it to me.
"We have two families coming for a second visit. And a new couple looking for an older dog."
Sadly, that rarely happened. It was the puppies and young dogs who got the most action. But every once in a while you'd see someone come in who wanted to give a dog a good home for the last few years of its life. I called them the angels.
"Okay, then." I smiled at Gloria, summoning my positive attitude. "Let's find some forever homes today."
"You have such a good heart, Jenna dear."
She really had no idea.
I started with tidying up the front reception area. Saturdays were typically the busiest and Gloria had obviously been swamped, but if it looked like a pigsty then it'd definitely have an impact on our visitors. Gloria didn't understand "the experience" piece to the game that I did. I think she figured that dog lovers would look beyond everything if they fell in love with a pet. I saw the world a little differently. People weren't as loving and forgiving as we made them out to be.
Once the place was more presentable, I joined one of the young families looking at our two-year-old Basset Hound. The two kids looked to be about four and six and they were petting Clyde non-stop. The little one even took to driving his matchbox cars up and down his back. Clyde couldn't have cared less. He was sweet that way.
Keep it up, buddy. You've almost got them.
The parents were nice enough, though the mom reminded me of mine. Perfect. Uptight. Proper. It had me worrying about my friend Clyde, who, unbeknownst to them, had quite the flatulence problem.
Just keep it together a little longer.
Really, once they got him home, they might just chalk his digestion issues up to the move. And by the time they figured out he had the gas of an entire sixth grade class of boys, he'd already have made his mark on the family and they would've claimed him as their own. Or … we'd have poor Clyde back in a week's time. Either way, it was worth a shot.
But then, as little Ethan spun out the matchbox car on Clyde's back, he went and did it.
The loudest passing of gas you'd ever heard.
Well, it was a nice run, buddy.
As expected, the mom's mouth dropped and her eyes looked like they were ready to pop out of her head. I knew it wasn't just the sound of his little explosion, it was the dang smell.
But then, she did something I did not expect.
The mom's face completely crinkled up before she broke down in a fit of laughter-which only made the kids laugh harder.
"He sounds like Dad," the younger one exclaimed.
And to that, her face turned bright red.
"What do you think, family?" The mom asked once they all recovered. "Do we need a Clyde in our lives?"
Yes, yes you do.
They had a little family conference and I crossed my fingers.
"He definitely seems to be comfortable around us," the mom said before turning to me with a grin. "Could we start the paperwork? We'd love to adopt Clyde."
I warmed from the inside out. This part of the job never got old. "Of course," I told her, "right this way."
Then I gave Clyde a thumbs-up. It seemed people could surprise you after all.
The rest of the morning went by in a blur of introductions, near misses, and cleanup of every variety. Gloria worked on the couple with the senior dog and closed the deal beautifully. That was the part where she excelled. So we were back within our limits for occupancy at the shelter. Gloria was able to submit the proper paperwork to the city and they gave us the all clear.
Suck it, Sullivan.
A little later, a cute-ish younger guy came in and it had me thinking about Michael all over again. His eyes … and who was I kidding? That body. The guy was built in that long and lean way that looked good both shirtless and under a suit. The evil part of me had to laugh a little bit at the situation, and how Tabby burned up when she saw my face. I could tell she was absolutely convinced I was going to corrupt her precious brother.
Boy did I want to.
"So what are you here for?" I asked the cute guy before chanting my mantra dogs before dudes. I'd spent far too much time at work reliving every moment with Michael, and imagining what he looked like naked. I know. Seriously, I had issues.
"A dog, of course." He smiled.
"And you filled out the questionnaire already?" I took the paper from his hand. "Color me impressed."
"When I'm serious about something, I do it right."
From his lips, I mused. It was so refreshing to talk to animal lovers. They were my people. I looked over the questionnaire and liked him more and more with each answer I read. He was looking for a dog to love. Boy or girl? He checked either, but preferred a girl if possible. Young or old? He'd be up for both, but had the time to train a puppy. Breed? Any breed that was active and social because he was looking for a partner who could keep up with him. Aw
He was describing Ruby.
"Hmmm," I eyed him up closely. "I think I have just the dog for you."
I wasn't in the habit of giving out my home address, but hey, we were desperate. Plus, Ruby was worth it. And this guy was harmless. So we set up an introductory meeting at my place for next week.
"Great," he said with a handshake that lasted a beat too long. "I'm looking forward to it."
Why did I get the feeling he was talking about more than just meeting Ruby?
Chapter Five
Michael
The next few days go something like this: I wake up to barking dogs and try not to think about Jenna. I see her on my way to the station walking the mutts-the big one always eyes me up, but the human girl pretends she doesn't see me. And I go to bed to the sound of twelve paws skittering around the apartment across the hall, once again trying not to think of their owner.
Occasionally, I'd see her out running. Sometimes twice a day. She was so focused. Intense. The more I noticed her, the more I noticed about her. She was not an easy girl to figure out, and that made me want to all the more. What was it about forbidden fruit that made the cravings intolerable?
Tabby was irate when she realized who my neighbor was-she went so far as to insist I move back in with her until I found a new place. I managed to talk her down, promising that I'd stay away from her rival.
But each and every time I ran into the girl, or hell, even when I caught her scent in the hallway, my body had an, er, very physical reaction. It made me feel like such an asshole, like I was betraying Tab, even though I'd seen nothing from Jenna that remotely resembled the exchanges that Tab had told me about. Except, of course, when they had their confrontation outside my door.