Girl's Best Friend

Chapter 6

Briar

It had been a couple of weeks since the doggy paddle. I had seen Hank and Quinn a few times. I played fetch with Hank in the backyard, went on a couple of jogs with them, but I had been so busy with classes and Brad that I was starting to go through Hank withdrawals.

I was sitting in my room, typing out a paper when I heard a knock on the front door. Izzy was out in the living room so I let her get it, but my interest was peaked when I heard her talking.

"Oh, hey Quinn. What's up?" She asks in her usually perky voice. I smile a little imagining how much that must grate on Quinn's nerves.

"Hey, Izzy. Is Briar here?" He asks and I stand from my desk to walk out.

"Oh. Sure." Izzy says, sounding disappointed. "Briar!" She turns around and yells directly in my face, not realizing I was right behind her. "Sorry." She says with a smile and sneaks off into the other room.

I smile over at Quinn, but he looks really tense and agitated.

"What's wrong?" I ask, foding my arms over my chest. He takes a deep breath and runs his fingers through his hair. He's never come here first, and it doesn't seem like he's enjoying the experience.

"I need a huge favor." He says and I'm sure the shock shows on my face.

"Um... ok? What is it?" I ask.

"I have to go out of town for work. For three days. Usually they give me more notice so I can take Hank to my sister's. He doesn't do well with being kenneled but I need to leave tonight. One of our locations is having issues and I need to fix it. Is there any way you could watch Hank for me?" He asks, well more like pleads and a shot of excitement goes through me.

"Three days not having to share Hank with you? Hell yes!" I say and a small smile cracks through his anxious face. "But I'm not allowed to have dogs here." I say with a frown. Who knows if the landlord would show up during the next three days, but I don't want to risk getting us kicked out.

"That's fine. He can stay at my house if you'll just let him out a few times a day and feed him. Maybe walk him." He says and I nod.

"Sure." I say and Quinn lets out a long sigh of relief.

"Thank you." He says, grabbing my arm and dragging me out the door.

"What are we doing?" I ask and he looks at me confused.

"I have to show you where everything is." He says annoyed and I roll my eyes, taking my arm back.

"Fine." I say sharply and he sighs again.

"I'm sorry. I'm just anxious. I hate traveling, I hate meeting new people and I hate doing it all with absolutely no time to prepare myself." He says and we enter his house. I hadn't even thought about how leaving his little sanctum would make him feel and a nugget of empathy for him builds in me. I walk up to him and wrap my arms around his waist, holding him tight. His body stiffens at the contact and he clears his throat.

"What are you doing?" He asks and I huff out a little laugh.

The man doesn't recognize a hug?

"Hugs release good endorphins. They make you feel good. Lessen anxiety." I explain. He grunts a little, but wraps his arms around me and I hold him tighter. We stand like that for a few minutes until he lets me go.

"Thanks." He says, his cheeks a precious pink. "That actually helped." He says and I beam at him.

"Good. Now show me the goods." I say.

He spends the next few minutes showing me where Hank's food and toys are, when he eats and usually goes outside. I already know what time they jog. Then he gives me his phone number and  a key to his house. He goes to hand it to me and as I hold out my hand he pulls it back quickly.