Page 12 of Pretty Puppy

Chapter Six

Ash wasn’t calm. Not calm at all. As a matter of fact, he was freaking the fuck out. As soon as Lee left, all Ash could think about was getting out of there. He didn’t have it in him to pretend to be the Pup Master all night with boys trying to get his attention as though he was going to give them some of that up close and personal training in one of the private rooms.

As if.

Thankfully, Jarrod had found someone to play with, which meant Ash could make his escape. He shoved the room’s key card into the slot with a trembling hand. He needed to call Owen, stat.

After tossing his jacket onto the chair he landed on the bed with a bounce. While kicking off his ankle boots—the only club-friendly shoes he had left—he wrangled his phone out of his pants pocket.

“Owen, oh my God. It fucking happened.”

“I’ve got about five minutes.”

Ash could barely understand him through all the chewing. “This is not a five-minute conversation, dude.”

“Give me the Cliffs Notes.”

Ash growled out his frustration. “It’s only nine-thirty. You can’t be going to bed yet.”

“Technically, I can. And I will as soon as I finish my nighttime snack.” He snorted. “Of course, I won’t necessarily be going tosleep, mind you.”

Ash swallowed down the rush of jealousy that assailed him. He shouldn’t be envious of his friend because Owen deserved all the happiness in the world, but it was hard to make his emotions behave after the run-in with Lee.

“Gah. Okay, but I get you for at least thirty minutes of uninterrupted time tomorrow.”

“I can work that out. So… What happened?”

“I saw Lee at the club, and wetalked.” Ash rolled onto his back and gazed up at the ceiling. “And he’s as hot as ever. Probably hotter. He’s even sexier in his thirties as he was in his twenties.”

“Shit, seriously?”

“For real.”

“Don’t leave me hanging! What did you—sorry Daddy. I promise.”

Ash drew his eyebrows together. “What was that all about.”

Owen chuckled. “He heard the S word.”

Ash rolled his eyes. “There should be exceptions for that rule when something epic happens.”

“Yeah, that won’t fly over here. Too many of the couples we hang out with have littles.”

Ash shoved another wave of jealousy aside. Since Owen had gotten together with Rick, they didn’t hang out as much. No more club hopping or checking out the hot new Daddies. And Ash wasn’t about to be the odd pup out at any of the parties or game nights they held at their house.

“Oh, well. Maybe I’ll have to start watching my potty mouth, too, now.”

“Quick, I gotta know. Are you guys back together? I don’t have time for the detailed, drawn-out, monetized YouTube video explanation.”

“Har har. And I wish.” Ash sighed. “No, but…” He growled again. “This requires details, bro. I’m sorry. You need to understand the delicate dance of our first face to face after five years.”

“You’re killing me, Smalls. We’ll do thirty minutes of the delicate dance tomorrow. I gotta go.”

“Fine. I have to get to the training center in the morning, and who the hell knows how long I’ll be there, but I’ll call when I can.”

“Sounds good. Try to catch me before six. Rick will be back from the office, and it’ll be time for dinner. I can talk while I’m cooking, so that would be perfect.”

Ash pinched the bridge of his nose. The explosion of domesticity was eating a hole in his gut.

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