Cupid Collections

16. Nate, Eros, Peyton - 1: The Beginning

Nate’s POV:

A big push came from behind my legs as my Saint Bernard, Pyro, bowled through into the apartment. He sniffed around clearly suspicious for a few minutes. He didn’t trust the new place.

I set the bag from my shoulder to the ground and closed the door behind me. Setting the leash and collar on the kitchen counter, I moved into the living room. Pyro joined me a moment later and took the couch before even allowing me a moment to sit down. I huffed at him.

“Don’t get used to this place,” I said to him. “You know we never stay for long.”

Pyro grunted before rolling over to scratch his back on the couch. He turned back around after a few minutes and laid his head down to sleep. He didn’t care what happened as long as there was food in his bowl and a comfortable spot to sleep in. It had been that way for a year now.

That dog was my first real best friend. He loved me unquestioningly and I love him back. He jogged with me, he walked with me, and he knew how I lived. I had never had anyone be so close to me. It was nice. I had gotten him a year ago from the pound. He was quite an older dog so he enjoyed the lazy days we had too but he was still a ball of energy. He had some other name when I adopted him but he responded to anything and the name Pyro just seemed to fit.

Moving around a lot had gotten kind of tiring and I didn’t make many new friends that way. Hence, why Pyro came into my life. I had been in New York for a few years now. The number was irrelevant since time no longer mattered. My life had changed when I dropped down from Heaven. Time passed, things changed, but nothing mattered.

I did make one friend in New York. My only friend, Sean. About six months back, we had met once at the dog park that I used to take Pyro to. I was there to walk my dog and he was there typically reading the newspaper. I sat next to him once when I wanted to take a break from walking and he struck up a conversation. I never knew if I would run into him again but during the following week, I did.

From there, he invited me to other things since I had mentioned that I was new in town. That wasn’t completely true or false. I was new to that part of town but even then I had been in New York for some time. So we began hanging out as a group typically then it turned into just some solo events and from there on out we were friends. He introduced me to his wife and I came to love both of them like family. I often ate dinner over at their place.

Then it was time to move again. I didn’t want to move too far away because Sean was awesome. I had met him during the end of my twenty years in one place. People in my building we’re beginning to questioning my lack of aging. I didn’t want to give up my newfound friend though so I moved to another part of town.

Sean and I still hung out when we could. I never really had anything going on these days so I was almost always free. My mornings consisted of taking Pyro out on long walks and maybe going for a jog with him. Sometimes I would spend the whole day outside and other times Sean would change those plans. I just went with the flow.

Sean’s wife, Grace, seemed to be the love of his life. She was a sweet girl who was working part time to pay off her student loans. Sean adored her as any husband should. He constantly thought that I felt like a third wheel when we all hung out but it really wasn’t true. Still, he insisted that I should get a girlfriend. Honestly, I didn’t want one. They were so much more complicated especially when you were an immortal who dated a mortal. That didn’t make things easier.

So I avoided the topic. Love would find me when it did. It was just that simple.

Pyro sneezed suddenly which almost shook the whole couch. I glanced over at him and smiled gently. His tail suddenly thumped against the cushions.