Page 47 of Puppy Love

Is leaving this little piece of information out considered cheating?

Maybe. But Cam is smart enough to know I wouldn’t have agreed to stakes so high if I wasn’t going to win. Especially since she’s aware I’ve been saving that spot for just the right thing at just the right time.

I’m not worried about it. Middle school me has this one in the bag.

I glance around and find everyone gathered around the bar. Well, not everyone. Brooke and Malcolm are in the arcade playing a racing game, and from the looks of it, she is totally kicking his ass.

I approach them. Cam is still tangled in Hayden’s thick biceps, the back of her head resting against his chest.

This has to be part of the bet, right?

Her eyes dart over to me, and I immediately look away. I’m not going to give her the satisfaction.

“Hey Vi!” Avery nods, flashing me a soft smile. “I was wondering when you were gonna show.”

Avery doesn’t need to know that the reason I’m late is because I spent two hours watching bowling tips on YouTube.

“Yeah, I had some catching up to do,” I say instead. Avery nods, and Adrian’s head tilts slightly.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” they ask. Adrian is a sweetheart. They’re always bouncing around the facility, asking everyone what they can do to help.

Everything about them screams wholesome, but you’d be shocked as to what they’re capable of.

Once, a rude customer screamed at Brooke because she brought out the wrong “Daisy Mae.” When I got to the lobby, Adrian was already telling him not to yell at her and that, if he didn’t want to get the dogs mixed up, he should be more specific or—and I quote—“Pick a less basic name.” I did have to have a chat with them afterward, but I couldn’t deny their intentions were purely protective.

I smile.

“No, I think we’re all good now. But thanks.”

I feel a presence behind me, a familiar voice chiming in. “I think someone wants to say hi,” Hayden says.

Normally, I love Hayden’s voice. It’s deep but gentle, and if I’m hearing it, it means we’re together. I like being around Hayden, even though he’s usually paying me to be there. But images of his arms snaked around Cam’s waist flicker in my mind, and I don’t realize how tense my jaw is until my teeth grate together in a painful, screeching friction.

I’m not the jealous type. I loved when everyone saw Mallory the way I did. Radiant and elegant. Beautiful. She walked around with a sort of glow to her. A glow that would irritate me when people didn’t turn their heads to look.

I’m not the jealous type, and I’m not even jealous now. I’m just pissed that, if I let Cam distract me, I might lose this goddamn bet.

I plaster a smile on my face and turn around to look at him. Hayden’s grinning down at me with the most innocent face and steps to the side to reveal a tall, lanky white poodle. Major’s eyes widen, and he steps back excitedly in an attempt to control himself. His gaze flashes to Hayden, and he sits quickly, without being prompted. Hayden gives him a nod.

“Okay, Major,” he says, tapping his knee. “You can go say hi.”

Major trots over to me, the pom-pom on his tail swaying with enthusiasm. I crouch down and ruffle my fingers through his top knot, sinking my knuckle into his ear and scratching vigorously.

“Hey handsome,” I say, grateful that I now have something else to look at for the duration of the night. Something that isn’t Cam.

Hayden slaps a hand against his chest adoringly. “Awh.”

My gaze flicks up to look at him, but out of the corner of my eye, I see her. I don’t mean to, and I don’t want to, but my eyes latch onto Cam the moment she looks back at me.

It’s a brief glance. Something nobody else around us would ever think twice about. But to me, it feels like I’m frozen in time.

Mallory’s eyes are blue and glassy. Sometimes, they almost looked translucent. I always thought she had the most beautiful eyes on the planet. Blue has always been my favorite color. But the way the light reflects off of Cam’s umber irises is like a strike of lightning in a midnight storm. When it hits just right, it highlights all of the things you didn’t know were there. The golden undertones, the bronze flecks. Her eyes aren’t brown, at least not just. Whatever color you’d classify it as, it may just be my new favorite.

I look back to Major.

After we get our drinks and Brooke beats Malcolm a second time at the racing game, we break off into two lanes. Just my luck, I get stuck with Cam and the human straitjacket.

Kidding. Kind of.

---