Page 14 of There Is Also a Dog
“I’m an ophthalmologist. I specialize in pediatric ophthalmology, but I have a general practice.”
Doctor Conrad. Of course. Of course he’s a doctor. Of course he’s an ophthalmologist and not the kind of doctor that’s easy to spell, like a family doctor or an optometrist, even.
“Ah. You work with kids. Hence the lollipops.”
“No. I just like lollipops.”
I search his face for clues. Does he have a deadpan sense of humor or no sense of humor at all?
The skin around his eyes crinkle a little, the edges of his lips curl upward, and I have my answer.
I grin back at him, realizing, finally, that we’ve been standing here with only a few inches between us, staring at each other.
“I like your eyes,” he says.
Like he’s making a simple statement.
A diagnosis, even.
I can’t tell if it’s a diagnosis of him or me, but those four little words unlock something inside both of us.
I find my hands reaching for his sweater.
His hands cup my face.
I rise up on my tiptoes.
He tilts his head down.
And just like that, he is kissing me as if he’s been longing for me for an eternity.
Hesitantly for a few seconds, like he can’t believe it’s finally happening.
Urgently, for a minute or five, until we both have to catch our breaths.
In less than the allotted time for a vibrator break, I have somehow opened up to this almost stranger in ways that I haven’t with anyone else since my ex-boyfriend.
He pulls away from me slowly, still holding my face in his big, beautiful hands.
For the second time tonight, I’m embarrassed because I feel so safe with him holding me like this and I never even realized I felt unsafe before.
There’s snorting down around my calf area.
We both look down to find Agnes staring up at us.
We both let go of each other as we bend down to pat her and bump our heads.
“Ow.”
He laughs, rubbing my forehead before his own. “You okay?”
“No. You have an unbelievably thick skull.”
“So I’ve heard. Not quite as smooshy as my dog’s.” He picks Agnes up and holds her so I can stick my face up in her crazy, wonderful face.
“Hi. I missed you. Did you miss me?”
Agnes licks my nose—and the general area surrounding it—around forty-seven times, thus confirming that she does in fact love me more than anyone else on the planet.
