Page 53 of Flagrant Foul
I let him.
He opens his mouth to argue, thinks better of it, and changes the subject instead. “I also have a blanket that I like that’s super ugly and doesn’t go with anything in your place.”
“That’s okay. You can put it on the couch if you want, or on your bed. It’s up to you.”
He stops at a red light and turns to face me, keeping his hands on the wheel. “You’re being so reasonable right now, Tee, it’s kind of freaking me out.”
“I’m actually a very reasonable person, Sev, you just haven’t brought out the best in me for a long time.”
“What abo—”
“Yes,” I say firmly.
“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”
“I don’t need to. I know that if you want it and it makes you happy, the answer is yes.”
“As long as it’s not a blond guy whose name I can’t remember.”
“Right. No guys, no girls, no one but me anywhere near your dick, but other than that, you can do whatever you want, and you can have whatever you want.”
He frowns and huffs, reluctant to believe what I’m saying. “So, like, are you saying you’d let me get a dog if I wanted?”
“Would it make you happy?”
“Yeah, I love dogs. It’s my dream to have one.”
“Then yes, you can get one. All we need to do is talk to Mae and see how she feels about dog-sitting. Take it from me, you do not want to buy a pet until you have a carer sorted out for it. The stress isn’t worth it.”
“No, I wouldn’t do that. If I get a dog, I want it to have a good life.”
See how adorable he is?
See what a good man he is?
God, I love him so much.
I dig my phone out of my pocket and start scrolling, determined that nothing and no one will stop me frommaking his dreams come true. “What kind of dog do you want? Big, small? Do you have a breed in mind?”
He scoffs, but his eyes are full of hope. Hope you don’t usually see in men. Hope you see in boys who still believe amazing things happen when you least expect them.
“I like big dogs,” he says cautiously, “and I want a rescue. I want a dog that no one else wanted.”
“Hmm,” I say, flicking through posts on pet ownership. “In that case, we might have to consider buying a house with a backyard. Big dogs can live happily in an apartment, but you have to take them out several times per day, and with how much we’re away, I don’t know if living in an apartment would work.”
“Maybe we should wait until we retire to get a dog,” he suggests. “That’s always been my plan.”
“Yeah, maybe. Let’s make a deal though. When we retire, the first thing we do is buy a house and get you a dog.”
He laughs softly. “You really think we’ll still be living together by the time we retire?”
It’s my turn to scoff. “Oh, we’ll still be living together, big boy. You’ll see.”
He rolls his eyes and fights a smile. He loses.
He liked it when I called him big boy. Good to know.
“You’re impossible. D’you know that?”
