Page 116 of The Guy Who Fake Dated Me

It did look soft.

“And fluffy,” Brooke added.

She wasn’t wrong.

“He’s not going to hurt you. He might lick you, but that’s it.”

“I don’t like the licking.”

“That can be trained out of an animal.”

Slowly, I reached out a shaking hand until my fingers brushed the very ends of Benjamin’s fur. It tickled.

“You actually have to touch him,” Brooke said.

With one last deep breath, I pushed my hand to him. His fur was cool, but his body warm. I could feel him breathing hard from playing.

The only sign that the dog noticed me was his tail speeding up.

“See, not so bad,” Brooke said.

Before either of us could react, he turned his head and licked my hand.

I screamed and jerked my fingers away.

Benjamin jumped and tried to scale to the top of Brooke’s head.

My heart thundered, and I held my assaulted hand to my chest.

Brooke laughed as she got Benjamin under control. “Maybe no kisses for Victoria.” The dog licked her, and she took it like a champ.

A few minutes later, we sent Benjamin back, and Brooke asked for the next dog. This one was a small black lap dog who only wanted to cuddle. She was cute, and I managed to pet her for a few seconds at a time while she was on Brooke’s lap before we sent her back.

“Last one for today,” Brooke said as she led a chocolate lab in.

The dog looked around with golden brown eyes at everything until her gaze rested on me. Her tail thumped against the wall, and she came straight for me.

“Easy, tiger, this one is skittish.” Brook kept a hold of the dog’s harness. “Her name is Holly,” Brooke said to me. “She’s two years old, and according to the staff, very loving.”

For the first time since I was eight, I didn’t feel threatened by an animal. It’s like her eyes were telling me hello, and her tail begged me to be her friend. “Why is she at the pound?” I asked as Holly took another step toward me.

“Her owners moved and couldn’t take her. She’s pretty big, so it’s hard to find an apartment complex that will accept her. And apparently, she likes to chew on things.”

Holly moved even closer, then stretched her neck to sniff at me. Her nose twitched. I held out my hand and steeled myself.

The dog kept her distance but seemed satisfied as she sat on her haunches.

“Scratch her head,” Brooke said.

“Are you serious?” Her head is where the teeth were.

“Trust me.”

I’d promised to trust Brooke, so I slowly reached for Holly’s head. The dog stayed perfectly still until my fingers grazed the short fur on the top of her skull. Then her tail began thumping, and she dropped to the ground.

“Uh-oh,” Brook said.

“What?” I leaned back in my chair.

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