Page 70 of Hound Dog
Nick seemed to pause, deep in thought. “Can I think it over for a day or so?”
Without hesitation, Haylee grabbed one of the bar napkins he’d set on the table and a pen from her purse and scribbled her number down. “Of course. Here you go.”
“Thanks,” Nick said, taking the napkin and slipping it into his back pocket. “In the meantime, what can I get you two?”
Haylee’s eyes lit up at the mention of food and she clapped her hands together. “I’ll do a Baxter IPA. And a large pineapple pizza, please.”
My eyes went wide. “A large? All for you?”
“Not just for me. I’ll bring some home for Meryl. And then I’ll have leftovers for dinner or for lunch tomorrow.”
I chuckled. “Okay, then. I’ll do a Guinness and a medium Supreme pizza. And can we start with mozzarella sticks?”
“Oh,yes.” Her head bobbed up and down in emphatic agreement. “Yes to mozzarella sticks! With ranch please!”
This elicited another groan from me which only made Nick give a gruff laugh before he tucked his pencil back behind his ear and said, “You got it.”
“Mozzarella sticks withranch?” I asked.
“Ranch goes with almosteverything.”
“That’s the most girly thing I’ve ever heard. Let me guess, your sorority sisters taught you this while you painted your toenails and discussed your love of bubble tea.”
“First of all, music conservatories don’t have sororities. Second, bubble tea is the shit. And third, yes, my girlfriends and I used to have spa nights at my house where wemighthave ordered pizza and learned the amazingness of dipping said pizza in ranch.” She folded her arms, chin tilting as she fell back in her chair. “Fight me.”
Pizza dipped in ranch? Jesus.I made a gagging sound.
“Okay,” she said, rolling her eyes. “What doyoulike?”
“Mozzarella sticks withmarinarasauce. Like a normal person. And nothing weird on my pizza. None of that buffalo chicken bullshit. Or barbeque pulled pork pizza. Just plain ol’, regular, run-of-the-mill pizza.”
“Bo-ring.”
She tugged at the elastic holding her hair in a knot at the top of her head, and her long, dark curls tumbled down her back. Her cheeks were naturally flushed, kissed with a little bit of the sun from our hike despite us reapplying sunscreen every hour or so.
And she was so fucking beautiful, she nearly took my breath away.
Beneath the table, Tyson slurped up some water, then flopped back over, landing his drooly jowls on my shoes.
I laughed and bent down to scratch his belly, which he happily accepted, rolling over to lean into my hand. “He’s a good boy. Even if he did try to take me out at the knees the first time we met.”
Haylee smiled, peering below the table. “I’m really going to miss these guys when they’re all gone. The house will almost feel empty with only a few animals.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. I almost don’t want to see Tyson go.”
When I looked up from where I was petting him, Haylee was peering at me with a smile. “You could adopt him, you know.”
I snorted. “Me? I can barely take care of myself day-to-day.”
“Somehow I doubt that. Besides, he’s a good fit for you. He’s active. Loves to play and go for walks. But at home, he’s just a big ol’ couch potato.”
That did sound like my kind of dog if I were to ever get one.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want a dog, but I had an odd lifestyle. Up at 3:00 a.m. to bake a few days a week. Working weird hours. Especially now with the added schedule of slinging hotdogs just to keep up appearances.
How long would I do that?I wondered. How long until I would just come clean to everyone and give up the hotdog ruse.
I glanced back down at where Tyson blinked up at me with eyes so dark they were like two glittering onyx stones. Then, he sneezed all over my hand.
