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"Coming." Tom called when he heard his doorbell ring. He wasn't expecting anyone, so he made no effort to look presentable before opening the door. Once unlocked his front door, he found you standing outside. You smiled awkwardly and gave a stiff wave. He quickly fixed his hair when he realized his surprise visitor was a girl and leaned against his doorframe in an attempt to look cool.
"Hi. Tom?" You asked him.
"Hi, yeah, that's me. And you are?"
"Y/n. Your brother hired me to help you out. He said you were in desperate need of my service." You explained. Tom shut his eyes in embarrassment and felt himself turn bright red.
"My brother? Oh my God. Look, you're very pretty and I'm sure you're very good at your job-"
"Slow down. I'm a dog sitter." You clarified. "And walker. And some might even say whisperer."
"Oh." He smiled in surprise. "A dog sitter? Right. I knew that."
"You thought I was a sex worker, didn't you?" You said with a raise of your eyebrow.
"I did." He admitted. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. They make a lot of money. If I had any of those skills, I'd be doing that instead. But alas, my talent lies with getting dogs to be obedient."
"This was the strangest start to a conversation I've ever had." Tom said, mostly to himself.
"You know what? Me too." You laughed, making him relax and laugh as well.
"Why don't I show you my dog and then we can discuss what I might need you for?" Tom offered and stepped to the side. You smiled shyly at him and walked into his house with him following behind you. You took a moment to look around his space to get to know him a little. He had photos of his family and his dog all around, as well as memorabilia from past films he was in as well. He disappeared into the other room for a second before returning with Tessa in his arms.
"So this is the woman in my life. Tessa. The only woman in my life." He emphasized, making you look at him sympathetically.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. When did your mom pass?" You asked him as you pet Tessa.
"Oh, no. She's fine. She sent me a recipe for cornbread this morning. I just meant I have no romantic prospects." Tom quickly corrected.
"Oh. Okay." You laughed awkwardly and looked to the side.
"Sorry. I feel like I'm talking so much. And that all the things I'm saying are insane and embarrassing. Are you also feeling like that?" He asked you through a nervous laugh.
"I'm not feeling anything except this coat. What shampoo do you use on her?" You asked in baby voice as you put your nose against Tessa and scratched her ears. She immediately warmed up to you in a way Tom had never seen her do before with a stranger. He smiled and looked at you fondly before realizing he actually had to answer your question.
"Oh, uh. Rain, mostly. Sometimes dish soap if she bumps into me while I'm washing dishes." Tom answered honestly, making you crack a smile and look up at him. He smiled in relief when you found his word vomit funny.
"You hand wash your dishes? In this big ass house?" You laughed and looked around.
"I do. Is that weird? I feel like it keeps me humble. Like, if I ever started using my dishwasher, I'd become James Franco overnight."
"I like that." You chuckled. "I just figured you'd have someone to do that for you. You know, since you're Spiderman and all."
"I'm not one of those celebrities. I don't pay people to wipe my butt and stuff. I'm just a regular guy."
"Wow. That's definitely the first time I've heard a "I'm not like other celebrities" speech." You said sarcastically but playfully.
"Oh yeah? What are you, some kind of celebrity dog walker?" Tom humored you and put Tessa down. She immediately nuzzled up to your leg and laid down on your foot.
"You could say that." You smiled coyly and bent down to pet Tessa.
"Oh. I was trying to tease you but I guess that's exactly what your job is." He laughed and bent down as well to be eye level with you.
"Yep. That's how your brother found me. I was walking one of Ariana Grande's thousand dogs and it bit Harry on the ankle out side of a Panera."
"Oh shit. Tolouse?"
"Yeah. How'd you know?" You smiled in surprise.
"That's the only one I know." He sheepishly admitted.
"Honestly, me too. I just call "Toulouse" and make kissy sounds and they all come running. All 500 of them."
"Kissy sounds?" He laughed in confusion.
"You know." You smiled shyly and made kissing sounds to show Tom what you meant.
"Oh. I like that. See, this is how I call Tess." He said and stood up. He then bent his knees a little and patted his thighs. Tessa stopped cuddling you to run to him.
"Ah, yes. The old crouch and pat. You know your stuff." You smiled and stood up straight.
"I'm glad you approve." He said as he blushed at the compliment, even if it was stupid.
"I do. I respond to the same call actually." You joked.
"Good to know." Tom laughed. You looked at each other for a minute and a silence filled the room for a little too long. It was surprisingly not awkward, just noticeable. Tom felt unusually comfortable with you and liked that Tessa did too.
"So what kind of services do you think you might need?" You asked to break the silence.
"Well, I travel a lot for work. So I need someone to look after her while I'm away. She's a really good dog, though. She does all her business on walks which I try to do twice a day and she never bites or growls. Except at my brother. But he usually growls first."
"She sounds great." You laughed and gave Tessas chin a scratch.
"She is. She's kinda my best friend."
"That's sweet. Have you had her a long time?"
"Since I was 16, yeah." Tom told you.
"Aw." You pouted. "She grew up with you."
"Yeah. She did. Though neither of us got much bigger than we were when we first met." Tom tried to joke.
"You're the same size you were at 16?" You raised an eyebrow.
"Height wise, unfortunately yes. But fortunately I grew in other places since being 16, if you know what I mean." Tom replied, immediately regretting it. You raised both eyebrows at him this time and looked at Tessa to see if she heard that too.
"Oh. Cool." You laughed awkwardly.
"I wish I didn't say that." He admitted.
"I wish that too." You nodded before an awkward silence fell. you stared at each other for a moment before Tom changed the subject.
"Let me show you around." He offered and put his hand on your back to lead you around the house. He brought you into all the rooms and ended the tour in his pantry.
"And this is where I keep her treats and food. And her heart worm medication but that's just a once a month pill."
"Oh, sick. I've eaten a few of these. They look exactly like my gummy vitamins." You nodded and tapped the box of medication.
"Do they work?" He genuinely wondered.
"Well, I've never had heart worm." You shrugged.
"Wow. At least now I know they really work."
"So is it just you that lives here?" You wondered and looked around again.
"My best friend Harrison lives here too. And my brothers occasionally stay over."
"These guys?" You asked and pointed to a nearby framed picture.
"Yeah. That's my family." He smiled proudly.
"Woah. That's a lot of boys. Bless your moms heart." You chuckled and touched the picture.
"Yeah. She's a saint for putting up with all of us. We did not make it easy."
"You're definitely the cutest." You said without taking your eyes off the picture.
"Oh. Why, thank you." Tom smiled in surprise and touched his cheek to his shoulder.
"I was talking to Tessa."
"Oh." His smile fell.
"I'm just teasing. I was talking about you." You patted his shoulder before moving past him. Tom chuckled a little and touched his shoulder where your hand had been before going after you.
"So does anyone else occasionally stay over?" You asked, wanting to circle back to the "no romantic prospects" conversation.
"No. No one."
"Hm." You nodded and turned your head away from him to smile at the answer. No one staying over confirmed no girlfriend.
"What about at your house?" He asked you, wondering the same things you were wondering.
"I live in a flat above a bakery. So other than the occasional rat, no. No overnight guests." You told him, knowing exactly why he asked.
"Oh my. Those wouldn't be the friendly rats that can cook, right?"
"Unfortunately not. They're the unfriendly kind that run across your floor in the middle of the night and scare the absolute shit out of you."
"I bet you wish you had an overnight guest then. To help you fend off the rats." Tom joked as he moved closer to you.
"Oh, absolutely. Everyone knows trapping and releasing a rat is at the very least a two man job." You humored him. He laughed and realized he felt comfortable with you as if he had known you for years instead of just a few minutes.
"I don't know about you, but I think this pairing has been a success. Do you think you'll take the job?"
"I could definitely add Miss Tessa to my roster." You nodded, making Tom first pump subtly.
"Perfect. Let me get your information then." He smiled and handed you his phone to get your number. You gladly accepted it and typed it in, adding a dog emoji next to your name so he remembered.
"When can you start?"
"How's right now sound?"
"That's perfect. I'll come and show you my usually routes." Tom said and brought you over to where he kept Tessa's many leashes.
"So how long have you been walking dogs?" Tom asked once you were stroking down the sidewalk together with Tessa pulling you.
"Five years. I started doing it during college for extra cash and then dropped out of college because I realized no matter what I got my degree in or what job was offered to me, I'd rather be with the dogs."
"So you're an animal person I take it?" He chuckled at your explanation.
"Big time." You nodded. "But not enough to be a vet or a zoologist. Dog walker was the perfect solution for me."
"You seem really good at it." Tom tried to compliment you.
"It's really not that hard." You pointed out, making him shut his eyes in embarrassment.
"Yeah. It felt like a stupid compliment as soon as I said it." He admitted. You laughed and squeezed his arm, making him relax and stop feeling embarrassed.
"It's okay." You laughed. "You tried. It's the effort that matters the most with girls. Trust me."
"Oh really? Not the execution?"
"That's important too. But I guess for me personally, I just want to know you're trying. I don't care if it comes out weird."
"That's good to know. I always come out weird." Tom replied, then instantly felt regret.
"I didn't mean it like-"
"I figured." You laughed again and looked at him.
"We need to change the subject. What's the best compliment you've ever received?"
"Hm, that's a good question. Maybe the time that someone told me once that they always felt listened to when they talked to me. And that resonated more than anytime I'd ever been called pretty." You answered him.
"Well you probably hear that one a lot. I'd imagine it loses meaning after a while." He said, making you smile shyly at the subtle compliment.
"It depends on who says it." You said and looked over your shoulder at him as Tessa tugged you forward.
"Well, I think you're beautiful." He said as stopped walking. You stopped walking as well and turned to look at him.
"Gross." You said, taking him by surprise.
"What?"
"Sorry. That just came out. I don't react to compliments well." You said and slapped your hand over your mouth.
"Oh. It's okay." He laughed and started walking again. You fell into a stride beside him again and relaxed when he didn't find your reaction to the compliment too weird.
"What I meant to say was thank you." You told him.
"Maybe I'll be able to give you a better one once I get to know you a little better." He replied, making you smile.
"It's nice to have goals." You said coyly.
"It definitely is." He chuckled and never took his eyes off you.
"Tess, I think I may be in love." Tom announced once you had gone back home. Tessa didn't look up from her very busy and engaging task of licking her foot.
"I know I just met her. But come on. You can't tell me you didn't feel the chemistry." Tom continued while Tessa kept licking her foot.
"Why are you getting so defensive? I didn't say you had to call her mommy." Tom scoffed. Tessa stood up and tilted her head to the side.
"But I might." He added with a cheeky smile. Tessa sighed and laid down on the floor.
"You're right. I'm sorry. That was a bad joke." He agreed while Tessa rolled over and laid on her side.
"Look, darling, I know change is scary. It's scary for me too. But it can't be just us forever, princess. You've been the only woman in my life for too long now. It's time to add someone else." Tom said gently as he bent down to pet Tessa. Tessa licked his hand and he sighed.
"You're right." He agreed. "I don't even know how she feels. But I swear, Tess, there was a spark. I felt it. And I think she did too."
Tom pulled out his phone and started to write to you. Tessa let out a little whine and stamped her feet.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm texting her her work schedule. You're getting walked every day from now on." He told Tessa. Tessa shook out her body in response.
"I know you already get walked everyday. I was making a joke about how I'm gonna make her walk you everyday so I get to see her more. Keep up." Tom said sarcastically. Tessa whined again and Tom felt bad for sassing her.
"You're right. I'm sorry. I won't let her come between us." Tom told her. Tessa laid down on the floor in response.
"What?" Tom laughed in surprise. "No. You have a dirty mind."
Tom asked you to come over the next day for your first day or work. He spent the morning tidying up the house, then made it a little messy so you wouldn't expect the house to be clean every time you came over. Finally, he heard the doorbell ring.