Chapter 2
Reese
I opened the back door to my office and walked inside, smiling as a small puppy trotted forward to greet me. I bent down, laughing as he tripped over one of his big ears and stumbled into my foot. I reached over and patted his head, wrapping my hand around him and picking him up into my arms.
“Now where did you come from little guy?”
I owned an animal care center that mostly focused on boarding, cleaning, grooming, and minor care that didn’t require a vet’s attention. We held spay and neuter clinics once a month, took in strays that the pound didn’t have room for, and most importantly, got to hang out with all of the furry and feathery friends that came by to visit. I walked over to the pen that housed the new puppies that we had taken in and set the pup down with the others, pulling the gate closed. I put my bags down on the grooming table and walked into the boarding area where I was greeted with a chorus of barking. Every single one of those dogs was in my care in one form or another, whether their family was on a trip, they needed a new home, or they were there because they had grown old and needed someone to look after them. The older dogs were the hardest on me. Not because of their care, but because I fell in love with every dog that came through, and these guys were usually only there for a short while as their lives had come to the final few years. Either way, I always treated every single one of them like family.
“Well, good morning, my friends,” I said, running my hand down the cages. “It’s finally Friday. Hope you guys made plans already!”
I walked through and greeted each dog. Then, I moved to the next room and did the same with the cats. We didn’t have any other animals in there at that time, so I skipped the rabbit, guinea pig, and reptile room completely. When I got back to the grooming station, Lenna was walking in the door looking more tired than usual. She was my best friend, and we had started this business together right after high school, both of us knowing we had no college ambitions at that point. I had to admit it was pretty awesome working with my closest friend. She and I had never had a fight over anything, and I couldn’t imagine a more perfect business partner. We both loved animals, we both worked really hard to keep the place going, and we complemented each other. Where I was weak, she was strong, and vice versa. She was also the vet tech and could give shots and such when it was needed.
“Mister Floppy got out again,” I said, laughing. “He greeted me at the door, so be careful where you step. I haven’t looked for poop bombs yet.”
“Oh, joy,” Leena said through a yawn. “It is much too early for this.”
“Start your weekend early?”
“Sure did,” she said with a sleepy smile. “And I met a really hot guy who I have a date with again Saturday night.”
“Look at you, always on the go.” I laughed.
“What did you do last night?”
“Took a bath, watched a movie, and crashed.” I smiled.
“Wow,” she said in a monotone voice. “Thrilling. How about this weekend? You have any awesome plans?”
“Do I ever?”
“No, but I will keep asking every week in the hopes that one day you will shock me with something outrageous, like, oh, I don’t know, a date or something,” she said, hip-checking me as she walked past.
I was perfectly content with continuing to work on the business, focus on growing and learning, and all the while, keeping my eyes open for that guy. That guy that makes everything fall into place, the one that every girl dreams of meeting one day. Leena however, thinks that I am insane for having that fairy tale and is more than willing to get me out, get me laid, and move me on a different path. I wasn’t a virgin because I was waiting for Mr. Right. I just hadn’t found any Mr. Right now that could actually fit the bill. In fact, there hadn’t been any mister anything’s for quite a while, and I was okay with that, even if it seemed to bother everyone else around me.
“I do have that wedding this upcoming weekend,” I said, pulling out my supplies and lining them up on the table.
“Oh, yeah,” she said. “Who is getting married again?”
“Caroline Haynes,” I said. “She was a girl I hung out with when we were kids.”
“Oh, yeah, at the club that your dad was a member of,” she replied. “I still think it’s so weird that you came from a family of money.”
“Why?”
“You just seem so normal.” She laughed.
“I guess, if you consider a twenty-three-year-old virgin, college dropout normal,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“You do remember that you own a really successful business that you built from the ground up, right?”
“Yeah, and I am proud of that, but my dad is another story,” I said with a sigh. “He didn’t come around to the idea of this business until we bought the building.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you run your life, not your dad,” she said, patting me on the shoulder. “Besides, your mom loves this place. I’m pretty sure it’s past the time she usually comes and visits all the doggies.”
“It’s the end of summer events at the club,” I reminded her. “She has like, three days left to buddy up to the other women before the weather gets cold and all the rich people hide away in suburbia.”
“Are they coming to the wedding?”
“No, thank God,” I said with a nervous laugh. “They are going to be gone for the weekend visiting my brother in New York.”
“Well, there you go,” she said, turning toward me. “Then you can totally count the wedding as weekend plans. I thought you were going to be dragged around by your parents and shown off like a little doll, the way they like to do so much.”
“No.” I laughed. “And you know what? It does mean I have plans this weekend. I’m going to drink champagne, dance, and stare at the beautiful, happy couple, wondering how many weddings I will go to before I ever have my own.”
“So, you could totally take a date to this shindig, right?”
“If I knew anyone that could be a date, yes,” I said. “But you know just as well as I do that I haven’t met any men lately. Hell, I haven’t met anyone without fur and four legs in a really long time.”
“Wow, what kind of bars are you going to?”
“Very funny,” I replied, laughing.
“You should start coming out with me and meet some men,” she said, starting up on her normal nagging. “You never know who you could meet out there.”
“Ugh, yeah right,” I scoffed. “I’ve seen the guys at the bars our age. They’re just looking for a piece of ass to take home, not someone they are genuinely interested in.”
“Honey, all men are looking for a piece of ass,” she replied. “The interest comes with your sparkling personality, which I am seeing may need some work.”
“I really am happy on my own,” I said, walking over to the puppy area and lifting one into my arms. “I don’t have to answer to anyone, I don’t have to worry about someone cheating on me, the drama of relationships, and everything else that goes along with dating. Trust me, I have a Facebook page. I see the drama that all the girls I grew up with go through. It just doesn’t seem worth it to me.”
“I get that,” she said. “But what I don’t get is why you have to stay a virgin to stay the course. If you are going to choose to be alone, then you might as well get some in the meantime.”
“I’m not choosing to be alone,” I said. “I just can’t find the right guy.”
“And sitting at your apartment is going to help you with that?” She laughed.
“Well, it sure isn’t going to help going out to some stupid bar,” I grumbled. “Besides, I know exactly the kind of man that I am looking for, and I am sure he is out there.”
“Hot bod, gorgeous eyes, rich, and ready to spoil you rotten, right?”
“No.” I laughed. “I want someone that has dreams for the future. A man that is a little awkward and shy, just like me. A man that loves animals like I do so we can have like a farm or something, but instead of selling the animals, we play with them and give them love.”
“You know you sound like an eight-year-old,” she said, laughing. “Like I’m sure there are plenty of males out there like that, but they are either hiding in their mom’s basement, or they are attending primary school.”
“Oh, come on.” I laughed. “There has to be a guy out there for me, someone who fits the bill perfectly and enjoys all the things that I do, just on a manly level.”
“How do you love a puppy in a manly way?”
I rolled my eyes at her and shook my head, kissing the puppy on the nose and setting him back in the cage. Was it truly that impossible to think that there was a man out there like that? Was it insane to dream of someone caring and loving that wasn’t a show boat or extremely narcissistic? If it was, then I was doomed to live alone, the crazy cat lady, for the rest of my eternity. Except I didn’t have any cats at home.
“I’m going to go let the dogs out in the yard to play,” I said, calling to Leena as I walked away.
“Watch out for Mr. Awkwardly Right while you are out there,” she yelled back.
I let all the dogs out of the cage and opened the door to the fenced-in yard, laughing as they shot out in the grass, rolling around in the sunshine. I wrapped my hands around my shoulders, realizing it was already starting to get cool outside. I loved my pups and kittens, and they kept me completely content. Although I knew the connection between me and a man was something that I wanted deep down, I couldn’t help but be okay as long as I had my animals to love me. Maybe I was starting to lose it, surrounding myself with the four-legged kind of love instead of just getting out there and meeting someone.
I sighed and walked through the lawn, petting the different pups that ran up to me, wagging their tails. I leaned down and got a big wet doggie kiss right across my cheek, and I giggled, feeling better already. Who needed the complication of a relationship when you had so much furry adorableness around you at one time?