Puppy Love (bxb)

Chapter Three

Barbara was back at it again.

The woman was looking fine as hell, even with the gray in her dark hair and the wrinkles around her eyes. She was dressed up in blue heels with a blue blouse and a black pencil skirt. Her outfit accentuated her intense blue eyes.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Barb," I laughed, holding up the silver CD. Marker was scrawled all over it, labelling the songs it contained. "What is this from, the 1800's? Take On Me? I Wanna Dance With Somebody? This is the cheesiest thing I've ever seen."

She wagged a finger in my face. "Don't you dare sass me, kid! I think he's going to love it. It's supposed to show him how I feel."

Barb was always relentlessly coming into the kennel with new ways to flirt with Jeff. He wasn't out front, so I was the lucky duck who got to receive the mixed tape from 80's hell.

Oh, but she ways brought me the most delicious baked goods, so I loved her.

"You need to eat more!" she snapped. "A strong breeze will do you in, boy. You better have those cookies I left you."

I smiled and grabbed the box. "Thanks, Barb. I'm too broke to buy food, I practically live off of your baked goods."

It was low-key true. But if I saved money by skipping meals, I could adopt a puppy someday!

Jeff wandered out front and froze when he saw her. "Oh God. Lady, how many times do I have to tell you? I ain't interested."

Barbara delightedly snatched the mixed tape from my hands and threw it at him. "I made that for you, honey. Give it a listen and get back to me. My number's on the back."

She was such a badass! I always admired her flirting style. Very direct, very attractive. 10/10.

Jeff shook his head and walked out back.

Barb gave me a wink. "You gotta always put yourself out there. Jeff is going to come around eventually, I know it. We're made for each other."

I sighed dreamily. "Man, they never realize, do they? I've been hitting on this guy for two days now and he still hasn't realized that we're perfect for each other."

"Only two days? Honey, I've been coming in here for a month." Barbara stroked my brown hair and pinched my cheek. "Chin up, Dill. You're a handsome young man that anyone would be lucky to have. Go harass that man."

I laughed and grabbed a cookie. Barbara always made me feel really good. It was probably weird that I considered her a friend, but I pretty much saw her every day.

Once she left, I took a deep breath and headed out the door. Jeff wouldn't miss me for five minutes.

There was another little family that was browsing the treats when I walked in. Henry's bakery pretty much always had a steady stream of people in and out. I didn't know how he could possibly manage the whole thing by himself.

He saw me and propped his hands on his hips. "Didn't you read the sign?"

Ahh. The 'open except for Dillon' sign.

I decided the best option would be to fake amnesia.

Then I scratched that and settled on lying. "Uh, no. What sign? The name? Your bakery is called Bite of Heaven. Bet you're a bite of heaven."

The mother of the family gave me an annoyed look.

This rarely ever happened, but I decided to dial it down.

With an awkward cough, I moved a little closer and dropped my volume. "Sorry, I just couldn't stay away from you, handsome."

Henry sighed. "Can you at least start buying my baked goods if you're going to loiter at my store?"