Page 43 of Stick By Me

“Oh, no, honey. He went home to a nice family out in Queen Creek a few weeks ago. They have a small ranch and loads of kids. It was perfect for him,” she said.

As a smile spread over my mouth, my heart soared. “That’s great news. I’m so happy to hear it.” I’d have to figure out something else to do with Archer today.

Axel, drying a frying pan, strutted my way. “What? What happened?”

“Just a minute.” I held up my index finger to him. “Okay then, thanks so much. Bye now.”

“Bye.” She hung up the phone.

I set my phone on the table. What the hell was I going to tell Axel and Remy about where I was going today? It might be time to tell them the truth. “I was just inquiring about a dog at the rescue. Turns out they adopted him out.”

Axel glanced at Remy. “You weren’t thinking of bringing him home, were you?”

“No, just going to see him.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. Fuck, I couldn’t tell them about Archer.

Remy turned from the sink, then wiped his hands with a paper towel. “You don’t just go to see dogs at the shelter. You would have brought him home.” He raised his lips in a smirk. “Are you still headed over there?” He lifted his brows. “Are we getting a dog today?”

“No, we’re not getting a dog today and no, I’m not going over there now.” I twirled my phone over the table. I had to tell them something.

Bending over, Axel stepped closer to me. “Were you going over there with Archer?”

Remy rounded the kitchen island, throwing the paper towel into the trash bin as he went. “Were you?”

I glanced from one to the other. They’d been talking about me and Archer, it was obvious. “Yeah, I was.”

“But now what?” Axel eyed me. “Why don’t you invite him over and we’ll, I don’t know, watch a football game or something? Don’t the Cardinals play today?”

I snapped my gaze to Axel’s. “You don’t watch football, and don’t you have band practice today?” Besides, if I invited Archer over here, there was no way they wouldn’t see what was going on between us.

“Oh yeah.” He scratched his cheek. “But still, Remy watches football and I’m sure he’ll be lonely while I’m off practicing with the guys.”

Remy scoffed. “I won’t be lonely. I’ll finally have some alone time and maybe I can get to the next level on Sons of Destiny.” He walked over and patted my shoulder. “You have fun with Archer today and don’t worry about us.” He shrugged. “If you want to invite him over though, that’s cool, too.”

“Yeah, we’ll see what he wants to do.” I picked up my phone and texted Archer.

Leo

Good news. Goliath was adopted out already. What do you want to do instead of going to the rescue?

The three dots blinked.

Archer

Awesome! How about we go out for lunch. I have more good news to share, but it should be in person.

Axel peered into my phone.

“Don’t eavesdrop on my messages.” I slapped my phone to my chest. We hadn’t said anything incriminating, had we?

With a tsk, Axel said, “Jesus, Leo, you’re so weird when it comes to Archer.” He strutted away, swaying his hips as he went. “Almost feels like you’re trying to hide something.”

My chest twinged. Fuck. “There’s nothing to hide. We’ve just become good friends.” And I wasn’t ready to say anything more. The longer this went on, the harder it was becoming to not tell them the truth. My phone chimed and I held it to my face.

Archer

How about we hit up a pizza place? I’m tired of eating healthy and today is my cheat day.

I tapped on my phone.

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