Page 16 of Short Stack 3

“Hmm. So, is this our dog, then?”

“Sort of. Yes.” He bites his lip.

Before I can respond, more hurried words come rushing out, and it’s so unlike my usual urbane husband that I settle down with my back to the wall and my legs stretched out to enjoy it. “I know I should have asked you,” he says, “but it was all a bit of a rush, and before I knew it, we had another dog, and I’m sorry.”

“Are you?”

He settles down next to me, and the dog curls its thin body against him immediately. He drops his blanket and licks Gabe’s fingers delicately with a very pink tongue. Gabe watches him with a smile playing on his lips.

“No,” he finally says. “I think this is our dog, Dyl. He was abandoned by a motorway.”

“Fuckingwankers,” I say immediately.

“I know. And when I saw him, he was so fucking pathetic and…”

I nudge him. “What?”

He tugs gently at the dog’s ear. “It’s ridiculous, but he sort of reminded me of me.”

“Oh, Gabe,” I whisper. I throw my arm over his shoulders and kiss him. It’s testimony of how far we’ve come that he doesn’t rebuff me with snark but instead kisses me back. When we separate, the dog is watching us, his head cocked. “I love you,” I say fiercely.

He cups my face. “Not as much as I love you.”

I look down at the dog. “Well, we’d better introduce him to Charlie. He’s in the kitchen in his basket.”

“Do you think they’ll get on?”

“Of course.”

He immediately relaxes, and I reach out and ruffle his hair.

“They might have a few spats,” I say, “but they’ll get used to each other, and he’ll be company for Charlie.” I get to my feet, looking down at him. “So, what’s his name?”

He looks startled. “I don’t know. I thought you’d do that.”

I wink at him. “Nah, this one’s all yours. I doubt it’ll be as epic as mine, though.”

“What could be? How else could we pass our days making salacious remarks and tagging on the name Charlie Hunnam?”

“Don’t yuck my yum,” I advise him. “Come on. Let’s break it to Charlie that he’s no longer an only child.”

“You’re a very special person, Dylan,” he says seriously as I pull him to his feet.

“I know. Hopefully, it will reflect in the size of my Christmas present.” He opens his mouth, and I wag my finger at him. “Don’t bother. You’re just going to say something with more innuendo than the whole of the seventies, aren’t you?”

“Probably.”

Gabe

When I hear Dylan’s first soft snore, my eyes fly open. Turning my head on the pillow, I look at my husband. His face is soft with sleep, his hair ruffled. I shake my head, smiling at the soppiness in my heart towards this special man. Then I ease out of bed. My body is aching after the last bout of sex, and moving quietly, I sling on my dressing gown and tiptoe out of the bedroom, avoiding the creaky floorboard with the ease of practice.

When I enter the kitchen, I switch on the light, illuminating the occupants asleep in their new baskets. I’d bought Charlie one when I’d purchased one for the new fellow. Charlie patters over, nudging my hand, and I crouch to give him some attention. “You’re still important,” I tell him seriously, but he just licks my chin and bounces happily back to bed.

He’d been startled when we introduced the new boy, but he’s a friendly dog and had greeted him exuberantly. The new one had been too nervous to play, but Dylan had assured me that would change as soon as he felt comfortable. I’d bowed to his superior knowledge, as his family has always had dogs.

A cold nose on my hand brings me back to the present. “I need to find you a name, mate,” I say, rubbing his soft ear. Oneof them sticks up, making him appear startled. He’s going to be a fairly big dog, given the size of his paws. He nestles into me, and I grin down at him. “I’m going to sort out the presents. Want to help me?”

He bounces alongside me, a shadow at my heels as I walk into my office and grab the presents I’d stored there. I look down at him. “This is the way Christmas goes,” I warn him. “It’ll be noisy and full of people, and sometimes you’ll want to hide, but it’s also sort of lovely.”

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