Page 25 of Why Not Both?

She laughs.

“I’m probably a mess. Pass me my purse.”

I grab it from the floor where she’d tossed it after retrieving it from the trunk. She pulls out a packet and takes a wet napkin out. Flipping down the visor, she wipes away the rest of the makeup.

“Is the colour in my hair running?” she asks, trying to tilt the visor down to see.

“I thought you said it was permanent.”

“It is. But it usually runs for a few days. I didn’t notice any when I went for a shower this morning, but I don’t want to get colour on this shirt.”

“You look fine.”

She laughs as she puts the car in drive. “I look like a drowned rat.”

“A very cute drowned rat.”

We chat on the drive back to the city, rain pouring on the car.

“I didn’t think it was going to start raining until tonight,” Lis says as we merge into the traffic heading over the Lions Gate Bridge. “I didn’t bring any extra clothes.”

“You can wear some of mine and we can put yours in the dryer.”

“And Cerberus? He smells like wet dog. He’ll probably just lay there. After all that exercise, he’ll sleep for a few hours before he needs another walk. Those are pretty much his two settings, all out or sleep.”

I glance back at the sleeping dog.

“He’ll be fine. I talked to Vic about it. She said it was okay. What does he do while you’re at work?”

“Sophie usually works from home. So I take him out for a walk or a short run in the morning. I give him his breakfast and Sophie takes him out to go to the bathroom a few times a day. Plays with him a bit during her breaks. Then I take him out again when I get home. Usually to the dog park to throw the ball for a bit.”

We’re finally over the bridge and driving through Stanley Park. The traffic isn’t bad, despite the downpour, and we make it quickly out of the park and then through the city, back to my apartment. I direct her to the underground parking lot where there are a few visitor spots and then we wake Cerberus to go upstairs.

Almost immediately, Lis starts shivering again.

“Are you all right?” I ask.

She nods. “Just cold.”

“You weren’t shivering in the car.”

“But we’re not in the car,” she says through chattering teeth. “And it wasn’t hot enough in there to warm me up properly.”

“Well, let’s get upstairs so you can put on some dry clothes.” I wrap my arm around her and she leans into my body as I lead her to the elevator and then into my apartment.

As soon as we get inside, Cerberus makes himself at home, trotting in and finding a spot on the floor by the heating vent in the living room to curl up and go back to sleep. I give Lis a quick tour, since she hadn’t seen much of the place the last time she was here and I need to consciously stop myself from thinking about the last time we were here.

After I show her the kitchen and living room, she follows me into my bedroom. I find her a pair of sweatpants and my favourite hoodie, that I’ve now started thinking of as hers. Our fingers brush as I hand her the clothes, heat racing up my arms and tingling down my spine, hardening my cock. It doesn’t help that my bed is right there, and I can easily remember us tangled together in the sheets.

I clear my throat. “You can get changed in the bathroom. When you’re done, the closet between the bathroom and kitchen is the laundry. Chuck your clothes in the dryer and I’ll get it turned on.”

She takes the clothes and I’m certain she notices that I’ve given her my Evil Dead hoodie again. She goes into the bathroom, and I close the door to my bedroom to change. I’m just emerging when I hear her start to laugh. I smile at the sound even though I don’t know the joke yet.

“What is it?” I ask.

She just laughs harder and then flings the bathroom door open, arms outstretched to show off her outfit. Her wet hair hangs around her shoulders, which are swamped by my hoodie. The sleeves hang past her fingers. The pants I gave her are staying up, probably because of the drawstring inside, but the pant legs go so far past her feet that I can’t see them. Everything is a mile too big for her and she’s laughing so hard tears are rolling down her cheeks.

Cerberus wakes up from where he’d parked himself and wanders over on his stubby legs to see what the commotion is about.

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