Page 39 of Between Us

“I’ll talk to you in the morning.” The last thing I see before I click end is his playful smirk.

Sun, October 5at 6:23 AM

Good morning storm cloud

I hope you slept well

I slept like a baby just so you know

So now I can confirm that…

You’re still a siren and I’m still just a desperate man stuck in the lure of your heart’s song

…

Don’t EVER free me I beg you

Chapter Nineteen

Blake

Steppingoutofmycar, I stretch my arms above me and let my head fall back for a moment. It’s colder today than it’s been all week, but the sun is bright and still feels warm on my skin. It makes me feel hopeful for a quiet Sunday morning.

I crack one eye open as a car door slams a few spots away. When I see his lazy smirk, I can’t help but smile in return. While my head is still tipped back, I let it fall to the side. “Good morning, Storm Cloud,” he says smoothly as he makes his way toward me. I watch his long, languid strides—letting myself get lost in his presence for a moment.

I’ve become accustomed to the nickname over the last week, except it still sends a spark of electricity through me every time I hear it.

Adrian stops in front of me and doesn’t hesitate for a second as he pulls me into him.

His muscular arms wrap around my shoulders, letting one fall to my back while the other lightly curls around my neck, holding me to him. I’m certain it’s the best type of hug to ever exist. And I really hope he was planning to make this a normal thing now.

When I step further into the hug and wrap my arms around his waist, he whispers, “That’s better.” His lips are right by my ear, and his chuckle feels like what I’d imagine his knuckles would, brushing down the side of my neck.

I’m probably holding him a little too tightly, but I really don’t want to stop. He doesn’t seem like he’s in much of a rush either.

My suspicions are confirmed when he keeps one arm around my shoulders, tucking me into his side and walks us toward the door.

“I thought you were opening this morning?”

“My dad let me sleep in since we don’t have anything scheduled for another hour or so,” I tell him. My eyes are fixed on his handsome face as he opens the door and leads me inside, without ever losing contact.

“That was ni—Polly?” Adrian asks cautiously, dropping his arm. I peek around his large frame and can see the old woman sitting by herself, twisting her hands in her lap.

Slowly, she turns her head to face us, tears silently sliding down her cheeks. He slowly walks toward her, falling into the seat across. I follow, suddenly feeling guilty that I agreed to my dad’s offer.

“Hey, wanna talk about what’s going on?”

Polly takes a deep breath and sits up straighter. “Benji the Beagle is in surgery with Dr. Miller. I didn’t know what was wrong when—” her voice cracks and even my bitter heart does too in response. “When he was trying to cough something up and could barely move this morning, so I brought him right here.”

“Does Dr. Miller know what’s going on now?” Adrian glances toward the hall to the back operating rooms. As a vet assistant, he can’t perform surgery, but I know every day, he’s itching more and more to be able to help in a bigger way. It was one of the first and few similarities between us I noticed.

She sighs and lightly rolls her eyes. “Yes, we know. The landscapers were over yesterday and left a pile of branches in the corner. They’re coming back today to finish so I didn’t think much of it.” She shrugs and bats the tears away. “He ate them. Not all of them but enough to puncture his salivary glands and fill his stomach. I don’t know much else than that right now.”

“Oh, Polly. I’m so sorry,” he comforts. “You’d be surprised how many times a month someone brings a pet in for eating something they shouldn’t have.”

“Yes, well, that little shit has really done it now, hasn’t he?”

Gaping, I glance at Adrian. I have never heard this woman swear, and the thought of her saying anything bad about her dog is even crazier. He bites his lip, trying his best to stifle his laugh.

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