we met in NYC

chapter 5

"Could i please put her in here because i already know that im gonna buy it and my hand is going dead heh?" I ask and them feel my phone buzz in my pocket.

"Yes of course, here, let me open it for you." She smiles and rolls the top open so that i can place the puppy gently inside it and gently place my scarf over the top of her so she stays warm. I pull the top closed and place the travel carrier on the floor gently and pull out my phone to check who the message was from. "I am almost there. I will come find you in the store alex" ok. good, he would be here soon.

"Next you will need a proper cage for your home and they are all over here" She gestures with her hand to the end of the aisle where there are various different sized dog cages. "I think for her size, you could probably get away with getting this cage now and as the blue heeler breed aren't a large dog then you could probably get this one and it would last the rest of her life." She smiles and holds up a medium size cage and it looks like it would fit her in so i say yes and grab it to buy.

"And now we need puppy pads and formula and bottles right? Did i get it right?"

"You did indeed. all of the formula and bottles are over here."She smiles and walks back the way we came but stops halfway down the aisle and gestures to the shelves on her right which are full of formula for puppies and kittens and bottles and bottle warmers to warm the bottles. "Now, here we have a bottle warmer which is on sale so instead of 75 dollars, you will get it for 35 dollars and that also includes a five pack of the matching bottles." She points to a bottle warmer which is in a big box and the box of bottles next to the bottle warmer. "The reason i recommend this one is because it also doubles up as a bottle cleaner as it has the various settings."

"Well then, i suppose we had better get this one then hadn't we laura?" I hear alex's deep voice behind me and turn around.

"Well i suppose we had then Alex." I smile at him then turn back to the sales assistant. she is stuck in a daze staring at Alex. she is even twirling her hair round her finger. ugh, this is ridiculous! Why am I getting jealous of him? He isn't even mine! Even though I wish he was. "Umm, we will get this bottle warmer and which puppy formula do you recommend?" I look over at the sales assistant and she is still staring at Alex. I turn around and catch Alex staring at me with a glint in his eyes and a smirk on that perfect mouth of his. I clear my throat to get the assistant attention again. "Excuse me? What formula would you recommend for her?"
"Oh, um, formula? yes. um, i recommend this formula as it will provide her all the nutrients that she would get from her mother which are vital in the first few months. this box of formula is on 3 for 2 at the moment of each tub should last you about 3 weeks." she looks back at me and hands me a box of the formula. I hand it to Alex and he turns the box over in his hands.

"Okay, is that everything that she will need?" Alex asks, is voice resonating through me as he has moved closer to me.

"Umm, no, she needs some puppy pads and a bed aswell for inside her cage and i think i saw them on the way over here?" I look at the other side of the aisle and discover that i was correct and the puppy pads are behind us along with the dog beds and chew toys. "Here they are." I pick up five packs of puppy pads and a medium sized pale purple dog bed and put them in the dog cage along with the bottle warmer and the 3 boxes of formula.

"Hmm, should we get her a few chew toys?" I hear Alex ask.

"I think we should yeah, Maybe just some rubber chew toys that are soft on her mouth?" I respond. Picking up a small,lilac, soft rubber dog toy from the basket and place it in the dog cage. Alex picks up a small clear soft rubber ball for her and throws it into the cage aswell.

"Right, well, i think that is everything we need. oh wait, we need to pick up a collar and a leash for her!" I say suddenly remembering that she will need a collar and a leash.

"Okay, I saw them on the other side of the aisle." Alex says and picks up the dog cage while i pick up the travel cage with the puppy in. We walk around to the other side of the aisle and find the collars and leashes. I spot an adorable collar which is light pink with darker pink hearts on and it is adjustable so I pick it up and put it in the cage and Alex picks up a matching leash.

"Okay, now that is everything. lets go and pay then." we walk over to the counter and i put the travel crate on the counter so the lady can scan it and then i place the travel crate on the floor gently so as not to wake the puppy. Alex puts the cage on top of the counter and starts getting the stuff out so that the lady can scan the items.

"That wil be one hundred and twelve dollars then please. also just to let you know we also havea puppy health session on the first saturay of every month where you can bring your puppy in for a free health check and for any vaccinations they might need up until they are a year old if you guys are interested in it at all? " the lady smiles at us and hands alex a leaflet with all the info on it. I go to get my money out of my purse but alex's hand stops me.

"Alex, what are you doing?" I look at the black amex card he just handed to the cashier and roll my eyes at him.

"You know that i can pay you know? In fact, i would have liked to have paid considering i am the one that found her and will be taking care of her."

"I know that Laura, i wanted to pay though. you can pay me back by getting the takeout tonight if you feel the need" Alex responds and picks up the dog crate while i pick up the travel crate with my adorable new puppy in.

"Well, in that case, i guess i will" we walk out to the car and Alex presses a button on the keys that opens the trunk on his new Audi q7 and slides the dog crate in on one side and takes the dog crate from my hands to slide it in next to the crate.

"I think i might get her out of the crate and have her on my lap because she is so small she probably cant support herself" i look at the travel crate and open the side to get the puppy out and then let Alex shut the trunk whilst i walk around to the side of the car and open the door whilst supporting the puppy with my other hand.

"you know, you are going to need a name for her." Alex states as he climbs into the car behind the wheel and starts the car up.

"I know that, i just have no idea what to call her. have you got any ideas?" i look over at Alex as he drives us back to our apartments.

"Ooh, now that's a hard one. i don't know. it should be your decision." he looks at me and smiles lightly whilst we wait for the stop light to turn green so that we can turn onto our street.

"Hmm, ooh! I know, how about Layla? I think that's a great name. Layla the blue heeler puppy" i smile when i hear the name out loud.

"i think that is a perfect name Laura." Alex smiles at me and we sit in a comfortable silence all the way back home.
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