Chapter Two
Scott looked around the library furtively, checking to make sure no one was watching what he was about to do.
Once he was sure the coast was clear, he took his water bottle and the powdered puppy formula out of his laptop bag and poured the formula into the bottle, shaking it as quietly as he could to mix it together. He didn’t really need the whole batch right now, but it’d keep okay and he didn’t have anything else to mix it in.
He couldn’t exactly ask the librarian for a cup or anything. Not if he had to explain why he needed it.
Just as he was about to get out the tiny feeding syringe he intended to use, someone came around the corner.
Scott looked up to see the librarian—or at least the man he assumed was the librarian—come around the corner with a cart full of books.
To his horror, the other man started shelving them, apparently not in any particular hurry.
The puppy Scott had hidden inside his coat whimpered.
The librarian paused and glanced over.
Scott looked intently at his laptop, ignoring the sound.
The puppy whimpered again.
Scott could feel his face going red, the knowledge that he was about to get caught making his pulse pound in his ears.
He shushed the puppy as softly as he could, petting it through his coat to soothe it. He just needed it to be quiet for a few more seconds.
“Are you okay?” the librarian asked.
Scott looked over at him, unsure how to respond. His nametag said Charlie.
“I’m fine,” Scott lied, unsure that he was being particularly convincing. He could feel the puppy squirming inside his coat, but he wasn’t sure whether or not it was obvious.
Just as Charlie nodded, about to look away, the puppy poked its head out of Scott’s coat. He had it zipped up halfway to let some air in while still keeping it warm and dark, but apparently it was puppy play time now.
Charlie gasped, his mouth falling open into a perfect ‘O’ shape.
Scott’s stomach turned. He was about to get banned from the only library in town in the first semester of his degree.
“Is that a puppy?” Charlie asked.
“Would you believe me if I said it wasn’t?”
Accepting that he’d been caught, Scott cuddled the puppy closer, stopping it from escaping his coat. It was only about two weeks old, so it needed the warmth.
“No. Not if there’s an opportunity to tell it it’s a good boy,” Charlie said.
“You’re not throwing me out?” Scott asked, surprised at how this situation was going so far.
Charlie looked up and down the row of shelves the same way Scott had before. “I won’t tell if you won’t. The spirit of the no dogs rule is to keep them from eating the books. The books don’t seem to be in danger.”
Scott breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, man. I gotta keep the little guy with me.”
“He seems really small. What breed is he?” Charlie asked, abandoning his cart of books to stand beside Scott’s desk.
“He’s a Golden Retriever, as far as we can tell. Not sure if he's mixed with something else. He’s not old enough to be away from his mother,” Scott said, unscrewing the top of his water bottle. If Charlie was interested, he was happy to talk about dogs all day.
“Weird, you don’t look like a Golden Retriever mom at all. Except maybe around the eyes.”
Scott snorted. If either of them had puppy eyes, it was Charlie. Even behind his glasses, he had the kind of big, soft eyes Scott couldn’t say no to when they were on a dog.
He’d probably have just as much trouble with Charlie if they were friends. It took him a little longer to warm up to people than dogs, but once he did, they had his loyalty for life.
“We found him abandoned. I was the only foster carer who could handle a puppy this young, so…”
“So you’re a daddy now,” Charlie finished for him.
“Pretty much,” Scott agreed. “I’m not ignoring you, I just need to feed him.”
“Is that milk?” Charlie asked. “I thought you weren’t supposed to give that to dogs.”
“It’s puppy formula. Basically just baby formula for dogs. He only needs a couple of drops at a time, but he needs them really often. Plus warmth,” Scott explained as he filled the feeding syringe. There hadn’t been a bottle teat on hand small enough for the puppy’s mouth, so this was the next best solution.
“Oh, cool. I never thought about that being a thing.”
“It’s for situations like this,” Scott said, settling the puppy so he could feed it comfortably.
“What’s his name?” Charlie asked, still watching intently.
“He doesn’t have one yet. I was thinking Chewie.”
“As in Chewbacca?”
Scott nodded. “Yeah, exactly. Plus he chews on stuff, so it fits. I mean, he’s not really my dog, but… I give them all names. They all come no matter which one I call.”
“How many dogs do you have?” Charlie asked.
“Uh, right now? Five, including this little guy.”
“Wow,” Charlie said, leaning back against the shelf beside the desk. “Isn’t that kind of a handful?”
“Kinda.” Scott shrugged. “I dunno. I like having the company. Mostly they just follow me around house and take up my whole bed.”
Charlie chuckled. “I bet your partner loves that.”
“Haven’t got one,” Scott responded. Between work, study, and dogs, it wasn’t as though he had time to look.
“Oh. Uh, me neither.” Charlie scratched the back of his neck.
Was he flirting? Scott had no idea what that was like coming from another man.
It felt a little like flirting, but he had no way of knowing whether Charlie was into other guys.
Not that it mattered. Scott wasn’t, but he didn’t want to be the kind of man who reaffirmed his heterosexuality to every new person in the first five minutes of conversation, totally unasked.
“I have dogs,” Scott said. “They’re easier than people.”
“I don’t disagree,” Charlie said wryly. “Anyway, I’ll leave you alone. If you need anything or any help, I’m usually at the front desk. Charlie, by the way.”
He offered his hand, which left Scott juggling the puppy and the syringe around to shake it. Not that he minded. He’d gotten away with having the puppy there in the first place, so being nice to Charlie seemed like a small price to pay. “Scott. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too. Take care, Chewie,” he said, his voice soft and playful, the same way Scott would have spoken to a baby.
Scott watched Charlie wheel the cart away and then focused on finishing up with the puppy.
Well, he supposed it was called Chewie now. That was as good a name as any.
This was easily the coolest library he’d ever been in.