Page 37 of Sleeping with the Frenemy

The dog sniffed and walked forward a few steps.

“Don’t throw the whole thing,” Leo told her. “Break off a piece and throw it.”

He was surprised when she actually did what he said without argument.

She tossed the piece of meat a few feet in front of the dog. It slunk forward and grabbed it before moving back again, never once taking its eyes off her.

“Leo,” Sofi whispered. “He’s just staring at me and wagging his tail, but I don’t think he’s happy to see me.”

“It’s okay, bombón. Just stay still. Let him sniff at it and come closer.” He glanced down at his phone and saw a link at the bottom of the page that said, “How to identify different tail wags.” He clicked on it and a graphic appeared.

“Leo,” she whispered again.

He watched as the dog inched closer to Sofi, his nose in the air sniffing. “Give me one second,” he said, quickly scanning the page.

“Listen, sir. I totally respect that you’re not interested in dealing with humans today,” Sofi told the dog in a soft but clear voice. “I don’t blame you. Humans are the worst.” The dog stopped and titled its head and raised its ears as if it was listening. “So let’s figure out how to make this work without really having to deal with each other. I’m sure there’s a solution here.”

The tail wag paused for a second and the dog took a few more tentative steps in Sofi’s direction when she said the word “here.”

“Oh. No no, dog. Don’t come over here.” She tossed the rest of the meat in the dog’s direction.

Again the wagging paused as the dog dove forward to grab the food. As soon as it was done the wagging started up again this time a little faster. Leo could see its dangly bits as the dog took a few more steps in Sofi’s direction.

“It’s a boy and I think he likes you,” Leo said. He took a quick glance at his phone to skim the webpage about tail wagging. “Yeah,” he said a moment later. “His tail is mostly down and wagging sort of fast but not too fast.” He looked at Sofi. “Slowly hold out your hand and lower down to your haunches.”

“Are you out of your damn mind?” Sofi asked him. “This is a brand-new Gucci dress.”

“Who told your bougie ass to dress up just to come down here like we care about that shit?”

“This is what I wore to work and even if it weren’t, I dress for myself. Get it straight.”

“Just do it.”

“Ugh, fine.” Sofi lowered herself while holding out a hand. “We’re cool, dog. You don’t need to be scared and you definitely don’t need to rush me and attack my face. I need it to stay pretty, okay?”

The dog stretched its neck and attempted to smell her hand. He took enough steps forward until he was only a few short feet way from Sofi.

“Just like that. Good girl,” Leo murmured warmly.

Sofi shot him a quick glance before quickly turning her attention back to the dog. “I thought you said it’s a boy.”

“I’m talking to you.”

She paused. “Oh,” she breathed like he knew she would. Sofi loved it when he called her a good girl.

“Okay, now I want you to tell him to come to you.”

Sofi took a deep breath. “Come here, boy.”

The dog’s ears perked all the way up and his tail started wagging a bit faster, but it was still low. He took a single step forward.

Sofi perked up too. “Come on, boy. Come here.”

The dog walked up to her hand and started sniffing.

Sofi held perfectly still without Leo having to tell her to. “Good boy,” she told the dog. She slowly turned her hand and let the dog sniff the other side. “That’s a good boy. You’re a pretty boy even if you are dirty as hell. Yeah, you’re a handsome boy. Look at that cute face you have. Such a pretty boy.” She didn’t seem to notice that by the end of her monologue she was full-on using the baby voice.

The dog rewarded her with a few licks to her hand and more tail wagging.

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