Chapter one

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"Hi daaaarling" I get a big smile on my face when I hear a voice behind me. 'Now.. you'll probably think I'm a gigantic asshole.. but it's not the owner of the voice I'm excited to see, it's the person who's always with the owner of the voice'. I look up from the beauty-box and get enfolded in a hug before I even get to turn fully around. "Hello Olivier" I chuckle with my face smashed into his neck. "Well don't you just smell wonderful" I say as a way to make him let go of me. "Oh shoot, sorry darling" he always say 'darling' in such a way that stretches the 'a' half a second too long. He gives me a big smile and the grips on my upper arms prevent me from turning fully around. 'Would it be rude to shrug his hands off of me to turn around to the main-reason for my smile?' I fortunately don't need to shrug him off as the most delicious, creamy, deep voice says "Let the poor guy go, Olivier! He's turned you down time and time again and your charms aren't going to work this time either". Olivier lets go of me with a playful snort and turns to his brother "Some day he's gonna fall for my charms, and there's nothing you can do about it". I turn around in time to see the reason for my smile rolls his eyes. We make eye contact and I feel like a teenage girl meeting her crush unexpectedly in the supermarket. "Hello Mark. Long time no see. How've you been?" he says with his ever so smooth and confident, deep voice. "Hey Vince. I've been quite alright, thank you. What about you? Been breaking any ladies' hearts recently?" I playfully wink but feel a tiny stab in my heart. The last comment brings that delicious crooked smile of his that shows his only dimple to his face and a heartfelt laughter fills my ears. "I'm perfectly fine, thanks. And no, no female hearts have been broken since we saw each other last. I'm getting too old for that game, I think". I'm just about to contradict when Olivier beats me to it "Of course you are, brother. You're 32 for crying out loud! That ship is long since sailed". "You still here? Wasn't you supposed to go find that new prey of ours?" I see Olivier give a little jump before he declares "Shoot" and runs off without even a wave of his hand. "What was that about?" I ask feeling lost. "It's this new dog-handler. A kid about 22, I'd say. Gay as a three dollar bill" Vincent laughs. I give a little humming sound in knowledge before Vincent goes on more silently "I actually think he's serious about this one." "WHAT?!" I almost drop dead. Vincent chuckles and says sadly "I know. But I'm glad.. it's about time.". When I met Olivier for the first time he was 22 years old and he'd just had a pretty bad break-up. He needed a rebound so every person with a penis and a pulse was hit on, everybody including me.

Maybe I should explain how I know these men.. I met Vincent's ex-wife Kristina 6 years ago at a dog-show in Luxembourg. We started talking every time we were at the same dog-shows, and after about six months I met Vincent when he tagged along with his wife. After a year of knowing Vincent, I realized I'd started to develop feelings for him.. the non-platonic kind of feelings. Two years after I met Kristina I met Olivier. He'd just had said bad break-up and needed to meet guys, and what better place to meet other gay-men than at a dog-show, 'ey? That's four years ago. And then three years ago Vincent and Kristina got divorced. So four years of knowing, and getting hit on by AND turning down Olivier, 5 and a half years of knowing Vincent and I've spent the past 4 and a half years loving a straight man; three of which he's been dating a new woman every time we met. You might be asking yourselves right now: "So are you gay, Mark?" and no, I'm not. I've spent more that 25 years being your everyday, straight man who loves women. I've ever only loved one man my whole life, and that man is the reason I haven't been dating anyone the past 4 years. Well enough about my sad life!

"It really would be great for him if he's found someone he'd settle down with.. he really is a great guy. If I was gay I'd totally date him" I joke with a laugh. I see a flash of something.. hurt.. or maybe sadness.. in Vincent's eyes before it's gone again and he says with a laugh "Don't let him hear that or he'll try to convert you." "That'd be quite the sight, wouldn't it?" I start laughing harder because of the mental images I get of me walking hand-in-hand with the ever flamboyant Olivier. 'It's the wrong brother' is my brain's 5 cents. "It'd be quite the sight alright. But I actually like you just the way you are, thank you very mu.." his laughter is cut short and both his and mine eyes bulge. A blush quickly covers his cheeks and my heart's racing 100 miles/hour and he scrambles to say "I-I didn't mean it like.. I just meant knowing that you don't sleep with my brother". I quickly pump my head up and down, showing him I know what he means, though all I can think is 'he likes me'. We just look at each other with red cheeks and wide eyes until I glance into the ring and realize the dog-breed before my breed just started. I jump a little at the realization and I say quickly "Shit, it's my breed next!!" and I scramble to find brush etc. to get my dogs ready. In my peripheral vision I see Vincent standing rather awkwardly with his hands behind his back and rolling back and forth on his heels. "I'm just gonna get going then.." I hear him say and I feel my heart drop. "You aren't gonna stay?" I realize I sound too sad so I quickly try to cover it up "Or are you going to find Kristina?" I add nonchalantly. "I could stay.. if you'd like?" he says unsure, almost shyly. "Yeah, sure, whatever" I turn back around to my grooming-table to play it cool but the 100 watt smile on my face says otherwise. "Perfect" he replies with a happy voice. "You can just sit down. I think there're about eighteen dogs of the breed before me. I think the chairs are somewhere over here" I wave my hand to a general area beside me. I feel Vincent's presence behind me and I just get to think 'I did not think that through' before I feel him so close his thigh touches me. I get surrounded by his Hugo Boss perfume and I feel his arm brush against mine making all hair on my arms stand at attention. I hold my breath till I hear him sit down with a sigh behind me 'Damn people, absolutely packing so close to be near the ring! There's no space at all!'

I see they're almost done with the breed so I bend down and take out my 3 year old bitch from the cage, put on a line before I brush her up and put her down on the floor. I turn to Vincent and it looks like he's feeling a little hot with a slight blush 'Maybe it's just the lighting'. "Would you please hold Angel while I do the other two?" I ask and pass the line with a grateful smile when he nods. "Remember – looking's alright but touching's a no-no" I say the same joke I always do when he holds one of my dogs, but this time I only get a beep red blush and a "I wouldn't touch!" in reply. 'Okay.. that's strange!' I think as I bend down to get my 10 year old dog out. I put a line on him and brush him up. I bend down one last time and take out my baby-dog. I put a line on him, brush him quickly as he doesn't have much hair yet and put him down just as they shout "Little Lion dog number xxxx'. My old dog knows better than to jump off the table, and I do trust him to Vincent, but I say "bliv" ("stay") anyways before I walk into the show-ring. I smile one last time to Vincent and see him with a beet red face and bending slightly forwards. 'What's wrong with him?'

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