Page 10 of Otter Heart
I couldn’t bring myself to say it.
“Blind?” he said, filling in the blank for me. “You can say it. It’s not like it’s a bad word or something.”
“I… I just feel like a dick…”
“Youwerea dick,” he corrected. “But I’ll accept your apology anyway because you brought my dog back.” He narrowed his eyes again. “Unless you stole her.”
I held my hands up. “No! Why would I do that? I don’t even like dogs!”
His posture stiffened. “Who doesn’t like dogs? That’s like saying you hate sunshine or food or being happy.”
Apparently, everything I said was going to be wrong. I figured it was time to cut off this conversation before I made even more of an ass of myself.
“I’ve never had animals,” I replied. “So, I don’t know how to act around them.”
“Probably like a normal person.”
“Right.” I paused. “Well, I’m glad I could bring her back. But I should get going.”
“Yeah.” He still seemed annoyed by me, but that was probably the best I could hope for. “Thanks again.”
I started to walk away, but I stopped after two steps and turned around.
“Uh… why did you name her Bessie? Isn’t that a cow name?”
The man lifted an eyebrow in my direction. “I figured it was obvious,” he said. “She’s black and white so she looks like a cow. Duh.”
I glanced down at the dog who wasobviouslya Golden Retriever.
“Oh. O-Okay.”
I didn’t know what else to say, so I just walked away. The last thing I wanted to do was shatter this blind man’s world by telling him his dog wasn’t the right color.
Oh well. I was probably never gonna see him again, anyway. Why shatter the illusion?
I headed back for the path to the beach, the entire interaction still buzzing in my brain. Something about that guy rubbed me the right way even though he’d chastised me for being an ass. And damn was he good looking. If I wasn’t on a boy break, I might’ve tried to pick him up. But I just sighed and kept walking, a wave of self-pity washing over me.
No boys for me.
Chapter Five: Mateo
As soon as I heard the asshole’s footsteps disappear into the distance, I turned Bessie around and led her inside. I shut the door behind me before letting her go.
“First off,” I said, pointing a finger at her. “No more going outside without a leash for you. And secondly, I’m gonna change the lock if you keep breaking out of the house.” I crouched down in front of her, running my fingers through her fur. “And last but not least, why are you bringing home guys that are mean to us? Can’t you bring me a boyfriend instead?”
She didn’t respond of course, and I had to be content with her silence. At least I’d gotten the guy back. The silence after I told him Bessie looked like a cow was golden. He didn’t know what to say, and that made me smile. Messing with people was the best part about being blind, especially when those people were assholes like that guy.
Still, I couldn’t deny that he’d piqued my interest. The tone of his voice and the way he said his words definitely gave me gay vibes. No judgment of course, but he had the affectation, nonetheless. That coupled with the expensive leathery cologne he doused himself in told me he probably cared about the way he looked and took decently good care of himself. Obviously, I couldn’t see him, but his steps were light and calculated,meaning he was fairly dexterous and probably on the thinner side. And I heard the bracelet on his left-hand jingling. It must have been made of stone because it didn’t sound like glass, metal, or ceramic.
All of that put together conjured up an image of a curly-haired playboy with gold jewelry, tanned skin, brown eyes, and very loose-fitting clothing made completely of linen. In my head he looked like the sort of guy that would own a boat. Probably a big one. And he spent the weekends making people feel bad while he caused trouble.
An asshole.
Then again, he sounded rather genuine with his apology. And sort of hot.
“No,” I muttered to myself, straightening back up with a huff. “He doesn’t like dogs. There’s not a single good person on this planet that doesn’t like dogs.”
I wasn’t really sure why I cared anyway. I’d had two interactions with the dude, and both were less than stellar. There was no reason for him to be occupying so much of my mindspace. Then again, he sounded like he was close to my age and that would’ve made him the first I’d talked to in a long time. The neighbors said hello, but they were all much older than me. I hadn’t been out on a date or even chatted with someone my age in months. Then this stranger came along, and I was sure we had a lot in common.
