Page 80 of Puppy on a Leash

At least I shut up Jaime’s professor.

Jamie was going to need to tighten up that email after this. Gerlach looked like the type who nursed a bruised ego for a long time.

NINETEEN

jaime

Jaime

That was so fucking hot

I’d totally fuck you if you were here right now

I might’ve jerked off a few times

And before you try, you never said anything about orgasm denial

Sucks to be you

Tony

Easy, pup.

I’ll arrive tomorrow evening. We can talk about denial then.

Jaime

Dinner?

Tony

Get a table wherever.

Jaime

Sweet

Ugh

I have to get going. Sergio’s throwing a welcome party for his new kitten

Tony

My condolences to the cat.

The cat was adorable, but I had to agree with Tony’s last message. The poor thing didn’t know what to do when we all first walked in. Even now, she was mostly burrowing in Abel’s ratty hoodie.

Sergio was taking a million pictures—without flash, thankfully. Apparently, the cat was almost a year old, and her previous owner had died in a car accident. No one in the family wanted her, so she was sent to one of the shelters Sergio and Abel had been checking out the very same day they’d scheduled a visit. Sergio wouldn’t budge, refusing to let the poor cat grieve her owner in a cage alone.

The guy was a softie, but it meant the shelter expedited their background checks, interviews, and whatever else they did.

“Seriously, though. Did you see Gerlach’s face?” I pointed at the screen. I might’ve made everyone watch the thing because I knew none of them were into academic circles, which meant Tony’s achievements would go unseen, and that was unacceptable. “Tony swept the floor with him.”

“Someone doesn’t have a crush,” Cece drawled.

“Shut the fuck up.” Of course I had a fucking crush. Understatement of the year. “You’re the one who thought he wasn’t going to stand up.”

“True.”