Pawsitively in Love (16 page)

“I believe that’s a yes,” Evan said.

“But I thought….”

“Me too. I thought I didn’t want anything like this with anyone. I was wrong.” Evan didn’t know how to explain himself. “I mean, I’m not perfect, far from it. I can be distant and awkward, and I don’t really know how to do… whatever this is.”

“But you’d like to?” Austin looked like he didn’t know how to finish that question, what word to use. Evan honestly didn’t know either. But he did know one thing.

“I’d like to date you. If it’s not too late for that to be okay.”

Austin’s grin was like the sun rising. “Definitely not too late. Definitely.”

Evan figured the best way to seal their conversation was with a kiss. So that’s exactly what he did.

“ARE YOU
sure you want to do this?” Austin asked with a laugh. He and Evan had been glued to each other’s sides for an entire day and a half—kissing, talking, and laughing at how idiotic they’d both been—but an afternoon in an overbooked dog salon didn’t seem like anyone’s cup of tea. Especially Evan, who really liked everything to be clean and pretty.

“I don’t have to cut any of their fur right?”

“No,” Austin made a horrified face. “You’re not trained to do that. All you’ll really be doing is watching. Maybe running a bit of interference.”

“Interference?”

Austin snorted. “Unless I’m wrong, Annabelle’s on our schedule today.”

“Who is Annabelle?”

“Let’s just say she could give Usain Bolt a run for the money.”

“Has she gotten out before?” Evan asked.

“No. But there have been a few close calls. One being the day you and I met. She was the client right before Dexter.”

Evan laughed. “No wonder you were in a mood that day.”

“Can we please not talk about that again?” Austin winced.

“I think we can manage.”

THEY PARKED
behind the shop in the small lot that mostly only fit employee cars and one or two customers. He’d had trouble with people from the sushi place down the road taking his spots. Austin had put off dealing with that like he did most unpleasant things, but luckily it wasn’t an issue that day. Evan picked up Dexter, and Austin let Maggie jump out. Then they trailed into the back door of Pawsitively Purrfect.

“So Maggie and Dex don’t mind hanging in your office?” Evan asked.

“Nah, they’re cool in there. I try to take Maggie out as often as I can during the day. She really likes having Dexter in there with her.”

“We’ve created the dream team.”

They were a funny squad, the goofy lanky golden retriever with the undersized pug puppy—both good-natured and well behaved but utterly incorrigible when they were together. Austin kind of loved them as a little crew of two. All they needed was an aloof cat and they might as well be the cast of a movie.

It didn’t take long for Austin and Evan to get caught up in the bustle of a very busy day at the salon. Evan put on Austin’s spare company polo so he blended right in with the other three employees. They quickly discovered he was gold at the front desk. More than one customer waltzed in with their pet only to find him standing there. Efficient women on errands turned suddenly into giggling flirt machines. It was almost amazing to watch how charming Evan was as he fended off their interest, yet somehow made them feel welcome. The dogs and cats came and left, customers paid, and the day went… rather well.

There was only one near-disaster with their favorite client, Miss Annabelle. Evan had nearly laughed out loud when he first saw the little menace.

“But she’s so
cute,
” he’d said when Austin warned him not to let her out of his sight.

“She’s adorable until she’s sprinting around the shop. Can you just hold on to her around her middle for a second while I shampoo her chest? She doesn’t like that area very much. That’s usually when she tries to make a run for it.”

Annabelle had of course slipped out of Evan’s hands because he didn’t take Austin’s warning seriously. And they’d spent a hilarious five minutes wrangling her back into the washing tub.

“Jesus,” Evan breathed when he finally sat in Austin’s office chair to eat his lunch. “I can see why you’re tired when you get home from work.”

Dexter and Maggie gazed at him lovingly. “You two want a walk, don’t you?” Evan sighed.

“They’ll let us eat our sandwiches first if you give them each one of these.” Austin produced a packet of treats from his office desk. They both trotted over so quickly that it was very obvious they knew exactly what they were. “Do the pretty girl and handsome boy want a treat?” Austin asked. Dexter got up on his little hind legs, and Maggie sat like Austin had taught her. Austin gave them both a treat.

“That’ll keep them distracted for about thirty seconds. You want your sandwich?”

Evan nodded gratefully.

“SO. CAN
I take you out to dinner?” Evan asked later that evening as they were locking up the shop. He made a face. “God, that sounded corny. I don’t know how to do this. I want to, but I don’t have much experience for when it counts.”

“It’s easy,” Austin said. He kissed Evan because he couldn’t not kiss Evan. Because they’d been kissing for nearly two days, and he hadn’t gotten nearly enough of it to take a break. Not yet at least. “We’re us. We’ll just be us at a restaurant.”

“No big deal, right?”

“No big deal.”

Ironically, Evan was
good
at the early stages of dating, usually. The ones where everyone was polite and there was light chatter and nothing was deep or scary or overwhelming. Usually that was where he excelled. It was only later, when guys expected more from him that he’d fail, and they’d end up hating him for not opening up. But he was already open to Austin. Scary open. And that was why the prospect of dinner, which they’d done before no less, was weird as hell.

“Why don’t I go home and shower, and you do the same, since we both smell like dog, and we’ll meet at your place in an hour. I’ll bring Mags over to hang out with Dexter, and we’ll find somewhere to eat.”

“Do you like East West Café?” Evan asked. He’d only been there a few times, but they made a great variety of both Thai and Vietnamese dishes.

“Love that place. See how easy this is already?”

Evan snorted. “You don’t have to sell me on it. I want this. I’m just nervous, I guess.”

“Nah, don’t be.”

EASIER SAID
than done. Evan’s stomach butterflies grew the whole time he was showering and getting dressed. By the time he met Austin and Maggie at the front door of his house, his hands were nearly trembling. But then Austin kissed him, and Evan was back to that heady floating feeling that he couldn’t seem to get rid of for the last few days. The one he didn’t
want
to get rid of. He’d never felt it before, and it was addictive.

“Let’s walk. It’s a nice night,” Austin said when he drew back from the kiss. He let Maggie into the house so she could greet Dexter. They watched the pair for a moment before Evan shut and locked his door.

“They’ll be okay, right?” Evan asked. It was just dinner, and Dexter had a full bowl of water, a companion, and free range of the backyard.

“Of course they’ll be fine. You want to walk?” Austin asked again.

“Yeah. I was planning on getting coconut sticky rice, so it’ll be good to walk it off anyway.”

“Oh God. That stuff is so good.”

“Maybe we’ll have to get two orders.”

Dinner was exactly like Evan’s usual dates. Sort of. There was pleasant chatter, sharing of dishes, laughter, flirting. That part was familiar, and he recognized it. The rest of it? That was like another world. When he gave Austin a bite, he felt the bite in the bottom of his belly. When Austin laughed, he felt pleased that he could make him laugh like that.

“Do you still want to get coconut rice, or do you want to walk down to Ice Cream Social for a cone?”

Austin grinned at him. “Can we do both?”

“Really?” Evan wasn’t all that full from his dinner, but he’d never even thought of having two desserts. It just wasn’t… something he’d do in his orderly life where he’d typically planned his meals around servings of vegetables and protein.

“Sure, why not? We’ll share the sticky rice, and then the walk will give us enough time to digest our dinners.”

He had to admit he liked the idea of it. They shared their coconut rice, Evan paid the bill despite Austin’s protests, and they strolled back to Evan’s house, where they picked up the dogs and then set off on the short walk to the ice cream shop. Evan loved watching Maggie and Dexter trotting ahead of them, and even more, he loved it when Austin reached over and casually took his hand.

“Nice night,” he said. He hoped Austin didn’t notice the squeak in his voice.

There was a pretty long line, as usual in the summer, but Evan really liked standing there with his arm around Austin. Maggie and Dexter got a ton of attention from the rest of the customers and even a few treats that had been smuggled out of the ice cream shop’s treat jar by kids. It was, for lack of a better word, nice.

“You aren’t really getting vanilla are you?” Austin asked once they’d ordered from the small counter.

“Maybe?” Evan had always liked vanilla. Simple. Classic. He looked at Austin’s tower of peanut butter stracciatella and spumoni. “I’m guessing you never get vanilla.”

“Only on top of pie.”

Evan let Austin pay for their ice creams, and they walked back to his place, eating them. Austin looked a little nervous when they got back to Evan’s front porch. Maybe because he didn’t know what to expect next. Evan didn’t know either, but he figured since it was his date, it’d be up to him. He wanted nothing more than to invite Austin in and into his bed—he’d never been one for taking it slow physically, and he’d never been more attracted to someone than he was to Austin. But he decided not to. Instead, he opened the door and unclipped Dexter, who ran inside. He closed the door again until it was only opened a crack and turned back to Austin.

“I had a really great time tonight,” he said. He reached up and wound his fingers through Austin’s hair. It was silky and warmed through from the summer night. Evan leaned over and gave Austin a kiss. It wasn’t their first kiss, but it felt like a first, soft and tingly and full of hope. He felt Austin smile against his mouth.

“What?” Evan whispered.

Austin wound his arms tighter around Evan’s waist. “I guess I just didn’t think this would happen,” he said.

“I didn’t either. But I wanted it to happen all along, I think. Even when I was being stubborn about it.”

“Can you kiss me again?”

Evan nodded and leaned in for another kiss. Their kiss was interrupted by an excited yip that came from the window. They both looked over to see Dexter, perched precariously on the back of the armchair that was right next to Evan’s window.

Austin laughed. “I didn’t know he could get up there.”

“He couldn’t a few days ago. Probably wants to say good-bye to you, to be honest.”

Evan pushed the door open again. Dexter was in the doorway in a flash, his entire backside wriggling with happiness.

“Hey, sweetie,” Evan said. He picked up his dog and nuzzled him. “You want to say bye to Austin?”

Austin reached his arms out and pulled Dexter into a cuddle. Maggie woofed patiently from where she was sitting on the porch.

“I’m getting a little jealous over here,” Evan said. He gave Austin a wry smile.

“Dexter and I are just talking about how much we both like you.”

“He only likes me because I give him treats.”

Austin leaned closer and pretended to whisper with the little dog. “He says, no, he likes sleeping on your bed too. And he says you give the best belly rubs.”

Evan laughed out loud and held out his arms so Austin could return his dog. It wasn’t easy to kiss with his arms full of wriggling pug, but they managed one more giggling happy kiss. Evan felt positively giddy.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Austin said.

“Tomorrow it is.”

POKER NIGHT.
Just like the last one, right? Of course, at the last one, Evan and Austin had still been dancing around each other and at least half of them hadn’t admitted how he felt about the other half just yet. Austin hadn’t told a single soul about the two dates he and Evan had been on that week. Or how they’d had movie night and cuddled on his couch with their dogs. Or how he thought about Evan constantly and kissed him whenever he could. Yeah. They were all going to figure it out in about ten seconds.

“Hi guys,” Cole said when he opened the door. In just that little bit of time, he managed to give Austin a quizzical look. Austin simply smiled and followed Evan into the condo. They hadn’t even done anything yet, no handholding, no kissing of course. Not even any coupley cutesy conversations, and already Cole knew there was something different.

The poker table was set up, snacks were out, and everyone was ready to go. They’d been the last two there.

“Oh look, the lovebirds are here,” Colleen announced. If it had been a week ago, Austin would’ve been annoyed and embarrassed. Instead, he figured it was the perfect time to tangle his fingers with Evan’s and pull him toward the table. Mary Beth screeched. Or was it Cole? Austin honestly didn’t know.

“
Ohmygod
, really?” Mary Beth finally asked.

Austin and Evan exchanged a look. “Um, yeah. Really,” Evan said. His smile was bigger than any Austin had ever seen on him.

Mary Beth bounded out of her chair and thwacked Austin on the arm. “I can’t believe you! How long?”

“About a week,” he said. He expected another smack for that. He wasn’t proven wrong.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. You suck so much,” Mary Beth said. But then she launched herself at Evan and Austin and gave them a tight hug. “I’m happy for you guys.”

“Me too,” Cole echoed.

“Finally,” Colleen said.

Peter just smiled. As usual.

“Okay, guys, are we going to play poker or torture me and Ev for the rest of the night.”