.:Author's Note:.
Maximilian at the top.
***
Liam's POV:
It's been almost two weeks since Blake and I first kissed. The thought of it made me blush madly.
Since then, Blake and I have shared plenty of more smooches, even in the presence of my parents (not by my choice) who were surprisingly okay with it. Whenever Blake would "plant one on me," as Papa would put it, I became flushed with embarrassment. Okay with it or not, I didn't want Papa and Ma to see me kiss Blake. Those were intimate moments for me and him alone. However, Blake had a different view of it. He said, and I quote, "It just shows that I'm not ashamed of you and that I care more about you than what anyone else has to say." That made my insides simmer.
"Go on a date with me." Blake voiced hopefully, snapping me out of my thoughts. I stared at him in embarrassed shock. Thank God he couldn't read my thoughts. How would he react to me strolling down memory lane?
"Um, h-huh?" I replied intelligently. My blush darkened even more as I silently scolded myself. It was a simple statement, Liam!
"Shoot, I'm sorry! That didn't come out right at all. Okay, let me try again." Blake babbled, making me giggle slightly. "Liam, will you grant me the honor of accompanying you on a date?" He restated, not at all allowing my flushed face to relax.
I didn't even have to think of an answer before I was nodding excitedly. When I realized what I was doing, I stopped immediately and played with my toes. Blake and I were currently sitting on the carpeted floor of my recording studio. School hours were over and we hadn't left the basement after music class.
"Is that a yes?" Blake asked teasingly. Since my knees were drawn up to my face, I peeked at him over them with a tiny glare. It made him laugh. "I'll take it as a yes."
Before I could respond, Blake grabbed me quickly and placed me in his lap. I giggled as he smothered my face with kisses, his beard tickling and scratching me at the same time. I was pretty sure my face was turning red, and not because I was blushing, but because I could hardly breathe as I laughed.
"B-Blake!" I managed to get out between giggles. "S-stop! I can't breathe."
He turned my face slightly, connecting our lips and instantly stopping my laughter. My eyes widened before they closed instinctively as I took Blake's shirt into a tight grip. I was so inexperienced, but he didn't seem to care as he took charge. I was breathless by the time our lips disconnected and my face felt like it just came out of one of those pizza ovens.
I quickly scrambled out of Blake's lap and dusted myself off, getting rid of invisible dirt.
"Um, we should- we should head upstairs." I mumbled, avoiding eye contact with the lion as I slowly walked over to said stairs. Not sure of what I was running from, I headed up the steps quickly. The fact that I got a five-second head start didn't matter as Blake's arms came around my waist just as I made it to the door.
"Got you." He growled into my ear before nipping the lobe, causing a foreign sound to pass through my lips. I blushed as he nuzzled my neck before giving it a wet kiss.
"Ew, Blake! That's gross." I complained while wiping away his saliva. Blake laughed as he released me, heading towards the kitchen. I followed behind him, playing with my fingers and secretly watching his back as he walked. He had decided to wear a tight fitting shirt today, which showed off his flexing muscles as he moved. It was shameful the amount of times I imagined how he would look without the shirt. Shame on you, Liam!
"We should get out of the house." Blake's voice snapped me out of my thoughts once again. I froze in the kitchen's entrance. Leave the house? Again?!
"Wh-what? Why?"
"I would like to take you out right now." Blake answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. I pouted as he grinned at me before raiding the pantry. He pulled out a bag of trail mix before facing me once again, raising a questioning eyebrow as he snacked.
"Our date is right now?" I asked incredulously, not really wanting to step foot out of the house again.
"Of course not! Our date is this Saturday. I just wanted to take you out of the house for a few hours. Surely being cooped up in here for more than a month can't be healthy."
"H-hey! I am perfectly healthy." I countered, knowing that it wasn't necessarily the truth. The last time I was even hit with a ray of direct sunlight was when my family first moved. It was night time when Blake took me out of the house to go to Party City so that didn't count. No wonder you're so pale. Look how tanned Blake is.
"But you won't be if you decide to spend the rest of your life indoors." Blake's tone wasn't judgmental in the slightest. He actually sounded like he was worried and was really hoping that I would go outside. But I couldn't, not with all those predators who would most likely be out. I couldn't handle it. Already, I could feel myself panicking. What if something happened to me?
"Hey, hey, hey, Liam! Look at me, love." Blake's hands were firmly holding onto my arms. I wasn't sure when my vision had gone unfocused, but I followed his order and looked directly into his vivid green eyes. Instantly, I was relaxing.
"That's it. You're doing great, love. Can you follow my breathing?" He questioned, dramatically inhaling and exhaling air. I followed him, now noticing that my lungs were on fire.
Blake kissed my forehead once he realized that I was okay. I hugged him quickly, burying my face into his chest, wetting his shirt with my stray tears.
"It's okay, love. I'm sorry for pushing you. We don't have to leave now." He said apologetically before nuzzling my hair. I shook my head, now sad that he was disappointed. He may not have said it, but I knew he was. Plus, if I couldn't even go out right now to hang out, how would I go out for our date?
"I-I want to go out." I told him as I took my face from his chest. He looked at me in shock before grinning and wiping my face dry.
"Really? You don't have to." Despite his words, I knew that Blake really wanted to get out of the house, and I didn't want to get in the way of that.
"Yes, really. I-I will go grab my shoes." I was out of the kitchen before he could respond. I convinced myself that this would be a good thing while heading upstairs. Blake was already at the front door when I came back down. He pulled me close and pecked my lips quickly, making my blush reappear in an instant.
"Trust me, love. You'll be okay." He whispered, slowly washing my worries away.
"I trust you."
***
"A dog shelter?!" I asked excitedly after Blake had taken his hands from over my eyes. Eagerness filled my entire being as I bounced on my tippy-toes while looking at the large building.
"Yeah..." Blake mumbled. I turned to him to see that his face was red, much like my own would be if I was blushing. Was he nervous? Did I make Blake nervous?
"I remember you telling me that you absolutely adore dogs. I thought this would be okay." He explained. It was my turn to blush. I had told Blake that piece of information during the first week of school. I couldn't believe that he remembered something so small.
I didn't stop myself from launching into his chest and hugging him until he couldn't breathe.
"Well, you thought correctly! Come on now. What are we waiting for?" I questioned before rushing up to the front of the building. I was so excited, my anxiety couldn't even make an appearance. Blake's laughter behind me only made me giggle. I am so ready!
Blake held my hand as we stepped inside the dog house shaped building. My excitement increased, not because of the dogs, but because of the innocent yet intimate act. I knew there was a blush on my face as I glanced at my and Blake's interlocked hands.
"Is this okay?" He asked me, causing my stomach to flip.
"Um, y-yes, It's okay. This is fine." I rambled nervously, trying hard to contain the grin that tried to appear on my face.
"Good." He said happily before we stopped at the front desk. The inside didn't even look like a dog shelter. It looked like a hotel with bright lights and immaculate designs. I was in awe as workers (who were wearing uniforms) walked by with the dogs they were taking care of. They ranged from sizes of Chihuahuas to Great Danes.
"Hello!" The lady sitting at the front desk greeted politely. She was a short woman with brown hair styled in a bun and brown eyes. She had plenty of laugh lines, and surprisingly, I didn't find myself hiding behind Blake since her gaze was so comforting. It also helped that she smelled like a rabbit.
"Hello, Bailey." I greeted quietly, referring to the name on her tag.
"Welcome to Bailey's Bound Hound Hotel. Yes, despite our name, this is a dog shelter." She joked, making Blake and me laugh.
"How may I help you, handsome young gentlemen?"
I looked to Blake for an answer. Although I was excited, I had no hint as to why we were here in the first place.
"We came to play with a dog. I read online that we can interact with a dog or two of our choice for a few hours." He answered, causing my anticipation to skyrocket. Yes! Yes! Yes!
"I can definitely help you with that." Bailey replied while looking at the both of us. "Each dog resided in this shelter has a room of their own that they go to when they're not doing anything else. All dogs have free rein to move about the shelter as they please as long as they're in bed at their set time. Most workers here aid in cleaning up messes, taking care of ill dogs, and making sure everything runs smoothly. I have a book I can give you two so that you may choose a dog you would like to spend time with."
I nodded quickly, already knowing that this would be fun. Both Blake and Bailey laughed at me as Bailey took out a big book from under her desk. I stared at it in shock. It was huge and looked really heavy.
"There are a little over one hundred dogs here and they each have their own page with information. I promise it's not as bad as it looks." Bailey said helpfully as Blake took the book. We smiled at her appreciatively before sitting in the empty chairs.
Blake and I flipped through the book, oohing and ahhing at the variety of dogs. None of them really caught my attention until we stopped at a picture of a brown and white Dalmatian pup. He was adorable and I instantly felt drawn to the picture.
"He's the one!" I pointed excitedly at the picture, stopping Blake's attempt to turn the page. At the top of the picture, it said "Maximilian" in bold letters. I didn't even have to read his information on the back of the page to know that I wanted to play with him.
"Are you sure?" Blake asked with a small smile as he looked at Maximilian and then me. I nodded, causing him to nod also before returning to the front desk. I decided to stay where I was as the two talked. It wasn't long before Bailey was leading Blake and me to an elevator.
"Unlike most of the pups in the facility, Maximilian is very reserved. He even rejected care from his mother after birth, which is why he ended up at this shelter. Many visitors have tried to interact with him, but all left with failed attempts. Are you sure you wouldn't like another dog?"
She pressed the button for the third floor once we were on the elevator before looking at me. I shook my head no with a small grin as I buried myself into Blake's side.
"No, that's okay. I would like to see him." I responded.
"Okay." Bailey said in slight wonder. Once we were on the third floor, we got off of the elevator and followed behind her to a door that had the name Maximilian written across it. At the bottom, there was a little doggy door for the pup to get in and out of the room. Bailey unlocked the door, stepping aside so Blake and I could get in.
"You have until closing hours which is ten o'clock. Enjoy your time!" She said excitedly before leaving. Blake closed the door behind him as I looked around the room. It was small with gray tiles and walls, and two windows. There was a bed (smaller than a single human bed but still larger than a dog bed) in the corner of the room. There was also a rug in the center of the room and toys scattered all around.
I frowned when I noticed that Maximilian was nowhere in sight. Sniffing the air, I knew that he was definitely in the room, but didn't want to be seen. I looked at Blake worriedly, but he only stood by the door, waving for me to continue looking.
"Maximilian?" I called out softly. There was a small whimper in response from under the bed, letting me know that the Dalmatian pup was there. I got onto my hands and knees, moving the bed sheets aside to look under it. Maximilian was in the far corner, shrinking away from me. He was whimpering, almost sounding like he was crying.
"Hi, Maximilian. Aren't you the cutest pup ever?"
He stopped whimpering to tilt his head slightly at me in confusion. His eyes were bright despite how dark under the bed was. I giggled as I heard him sniff.
"It's okay, puppy. You don't have to come out." I told him in a soft voice. "My name is Liam."
It shocked me when Maxie started shuffling, moving closer to me a bit. He was still sniffing and staring at me.
"I won't hurt you, Maxie." I put my hand out so that he could smell it. Instantly, there was a wet tongue licking my fingers, making me giggle. I shuffled backward so that Maxie was able to get from under the bed completely. He laid in my lap, since my legs were now crisscrossed, and licked my hand contently. I rubbed the sweet spot behind his ear and giggled some more.
"You are the cutest pup ever!" I declared cheerfully. Glancing over at Blake, who I honestly forgot was in the room, I saw that there was a cute smile on his face.
"That man over there is my friend, Blake." I told the puppy. "He likes me." I continued happily.
Maxie glanced at Blake quickly, growling cutely, before going back to licking my hand. Again, I laughed, now extremely glad that I left the house.