A Different Slice

4 - Rusty (Kieran)

Further in the yard, Rusty had abandoned the ball for Brinny's mother's prized flower garden. Kieran cursed and ran towards the mutt. He whistled and called the dog's name, but it wouldn't listen.

"Mom is going to kill me," Brinny whined as she jogged behind him. "Kier, please help."

He made it to the floral massacre and grabbed the puppy that thrashed in his arms. It spat out a flurry of stems and leaves. "Do you have a leash?"

"Yeah, I'll be right back." She ran into the house.

He wasn't sure how long he could keep up this game of puppy confinement as the dog wiggled out of his grip inch by inch. As Rusty's claws sunk into Kieran's skin with a painful rip, he regretted coming over.

"Chill out, little dude. I don't want to be doing this any more than you do." Kieran hummed Three Days Grace's Pain, which worked for ten seconds. "Come on, Brinny," he muttered. Scratches and dirt covered his arms, and Rusty was attempting to summit his shoulders to grab his toque. Small dogs were the worst. This would never happen with a lab.

The back door banged as she flung it open, the sunlight illuminating her slender form. "Don't worry, sweetie. Mommy's got your leash."

After they settled Rusty down enough to clip in his leash, Kieran set him down and exhaled a sigh of relief. He handed the leash to Brinny.

As she fought with the playful dog who grew interested in her shoes, she said, "Thanks, Kier. I knew it was a good idea to call you."

"What about Cole? Doesn't he want to see Rusty?"

She wrung her hands together and frowned. "There was a work emergency, so he left yesterday."

Of course, he did. The guy had been in the city for three days, long enough to win Brinny over, hook up, and bail. Cole was, without a doubt, lying, but somehow she was fine with that.

"You miss him already, don't you?" she cooed at the dog, who growled and tugged at the leash. "Don't worry, your saviour will return in two weeks." She grinned like she was imagining their reunion.

Kieran tried to focus on anything but the sinking pit of dread in his stomach.

You had your shot, and you missed it. Move on, man.

The dog played tug of war on the leash with Brinny, who grimaced. "I can't believe the energy this little guy has. Cole said he should settle out when he's older."

"I hope so." Kieran picked some of the dirt off his arm, and Brinny gasped.

"Kier, you're bleeding!" Her soft palm rested on the back of his hand. It made him think of their night at the bar, her drunkenly stroking his cheek with her thumb. "Hold him for a minute, and I'll be back."

Rusty whimpered as she ran back inside, and Kieran empathized. He'd wanted that moment to last longer too. He and Rusty headed to the patio, and Kieran sat on a chair. Rusty sat beside him, nipping at the leashed. When she returned, she carried a bowl of water with a washcloth and bandaids.  She set it all on the glass tabletop. 

"Could you?" He gestured toward the bowl. He doubted his lazy attempt at closeness would work, but she picked up the washcloth and took his large hand to stretch out his arm.

"I feel like I have kid hands compared to you." Her light pink nails stood out atop the dark purple washcloth.

"You have cute, dainty hands." 

A smile danced on her lips for a second before she focused on his arm. She removed the dirt from his skin first and flicked it off parts of his shirt too. Next, she rinsed the washcloth in the bowl and tended to his wounds. Each warm touch excited him. With tenderness, she placed four bandaids on each arm, even the subtlest scratches. It was borderline embarrassing how much he liked this.