*6 months after the final chapter NOT the Epilogue*
"It's quiet without everyone living here anymore," I sigh as I plop down beside Nathan on our bed.
My boyfriend wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close. "I know, princess but at least now we have our own space."
"True," I reply, still feeling down that everyone was gone. I knew having six of us under one roof wasn't going to last long, but I didn't think they'd leave so soon. Samara and Hayden decided to go backpacking around Europe for the next four months and once they returned, they were going to find a place of their own. Meanwhile, Justin and Darian moved out a week ago since getting engaged two weeks prior to that. I was happy for everyone, but I also missed seeing them everyday. "It just seems so silly to have such a big place when only two people occupy it."
Nathan played with my hair as he thought to himself quietly. After a few minutes, he said, "You know what? You're right. Get dressed, we're going out today."
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An hour later, Nathan and I stood outside a building that had painted paw prints on the front glass door. Despite not being inside yet, we could hear the barks and howls from outside.
I bit my lip, hesitant to go inside. "A puppy? Nate, you know I've never had a dog before."
Nathan laced his fingers through mine. "Don't worry, princess, I've had several. I promise we won't leave here today until we find a dog both of us can handle."
I nodded my head slowly. "Alright but what if none of the dogs like me?"
"I highly doubt it," He chuckled, tilting his head back, as if the thought of not liking me was completely absurd. He walked forward as he pulled open the door. "These dogs are just looking for a safe place to call home, I'm sure they'll love anyone who provides them that."
I nodded my head once again and we approached a woman at the crescent shaped desk. She wore scrubs, like the kind nurses wear but instead had the rescue's logo on the right side of the top. "Welcome to The World of Paws and Pals, what can I do for you today?"
Unsure what to say, I turned to Nathan, we has clearly done this before. He shot the woman a kind look and said, "We're here in hopes to adopt a dog. Is there any available at the moment?"
The woman nodded her head vigorously. "Oh yes, follow me."
She got up from her desk and led us through the rescue, down numerous hallways, and eventually to one narrow hall that had several rooms with glass windows so you could peer inside. In one of the windows, there was a family playing with a black lab.
"Beside each window, there is information on each dog such as their weight, age, breed, etc," the woman explained. "When you find one you believe is the best fit, we'll hold an interview and go from there."
Nathan and I nodded our heads and proceeded down the hallway, looking at each dog and their information they provided.
Eventually, we came across one window with a german shepherd sitting right in the middle of the room. When he saw us, he tilted his head in curiosity. Nathan read the information by the window as he rubbed his jaw. "His name is Gizmo. Want to check him out?"
"Sure," I respond, pulling the door open.
Nathan and I stood by the entrance and waited for the dog to approach us, careful not to spook him. When Gizmo realized we were not going to leave, he walked over to us carefully, not sure what to make of us. He sniffed my outstretched hand and did nothing, however, when he sniffed Nathan's hand he licked it.
We played with Gizmo for about twenty minutes, but it was more Gizmo and Nathan playing together rather than paying me any attention. I didn't mind, it was cute to see Nathan goof off with the puppy and enjoy himself.
But once they were done, he suggested looking at more dogs to ensure we find our best fit.
In the next room, there was a corgi named Cupcake. When we walked into the room, she immediately charged at us, nipping at our heels. Nathan tried to get her to settle down but failed to no avail, she was just so adamant on chewing on us. At one point, she bounced up from the ground and chomped down on my hand.
"Son of a monkey!" I hissed through my teeth. The corgi let go and scattered to the other end of the room.
"Oh shit, baby, are you okay?" Nathan asked, pulling me close to inspect my hand. Luckily, the wound was hardly bleeding, nor was it deep. It just stung a lot.
I nodded my head and he pulled the door open so we could get out. My eyes landed on the hand sanitizer dispenser that was mounted on the wall and I squirted a couple of drops onto my hand to sanitize before seeing the next dog. As I rubbed my hands together, I let out a small laugh. "I guess corgis are definitely off my list."
"They're not all bad. But," Nathan chuckled as he pointed in Cupcake's direction. "That one is evil."
I laughed as we walked down the hall and there was a room with two dogs lying together. One was black from their face to tail, but was white on the belly and legs. The other one was brown from their face to tail but was also white on the belly and legs. I read the sign and cocked my head to the right. "The black and white one is named Luke and the brown and white one is named Leia. They're two years old, a Pitbull Boxer mix, and also siblings."
Nathan smiled to himself. "They're cute."
Without saying anything else, I opened the door and walked inside. Both of the dogs raised their heads, but did not move, looking quite unsure of the situation.
Nathan entered from behind. "What are you doing, princess?"
I turned to Nathan and shrugged. "Looking at the puppies, they're so cute."
"But they have to be adopted together," he said, looking just as unsure as the dogs.
I ignored his statement and walked over slowly to the pair anyway. Luke's head shot up and he unraveled himself from Leia, walking over slowly to me to meet my outstretched hand. His snout touched the tips of my fingers and once he was done, he tilted his head.
"It's okay, little guy, I just want to pet you, is that okay?" I reassured in soothing tones.
Going on my knees, I held out my hand once again and Luke began to sniff me some more. He must have been thinking about whether he could trust me or not because he sat down right in front of me for about a minute before he got back up again and walked over to me. He began to lick my hands as I slowly started petting him, careful not to spook him. Soon, he was jumping on my lap, licking my face, his tail wagging fiercely.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Leia getting familiar with Nathan, licking his hands, however, it took I could tell she was still having an internal debate about whether she could trust us. Unlike Luke, she kept her distance despite licking Nathan's hand, but after around fifteen minutes, she also was on his lap, basking in all the attention she was getting.
Nathan shot me a pointed stare. "If we don't adopt these two, I'm breaking up with you."
"Funny," I laughed, knowing damn well whether we got the puppies or not that he wouldn't do such a thing. "I was going to say the same thing."
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Over an hour later, Nathan and I had just finished the interview. It was strange, seeing as I had never adopted a dog before, but they had asked all sorts of questions about our house, our experience, what our day to day lives were like. It was almost as if we were adopting a child. Part of me was worried we had answered the questions wrong but another part of me was relieved that not just anyone could walk in here demanding a dog for all the wrong reasons.
The woman came out the office that was behind her desk with a bright red folder. With a smile, she handed it to us. "Congratulations you two, you guys just got yourselves two beautiful companions."
She handed me the folder and I peeked inside, seeing the certificates, vet records, and pamphlets. She walked away and I turned to Nathan with a huge grin on my face. "We're getting puppies! I'm getting my first ever puppy! This is better than Christmas."
"I'm glad you're happy, princess," my boyfriend leaned over and kissed me on the lips but my eyes snapped open when I heard the lady come back with both dogs on separate leashes.
Nathan took Leia's leash and I took Luke's. Together, we walked out of the rescue.
As we walked to the car, Nathan devised his plan. "We'll head out to the pet store and let them choose what toys and beds they'd like, as well as pick up some food, and then we'll go home and make some dinner. How does that sound?"
Luke barked in agreement and I let out a laugh. "That sounds perfect, Nathan. I love you, you know that?"
Nathan's hazel eyes caught mine as the sun began to set, making his eyes look utterly gold rather than hazel. He offered me a great big smile and said, "I love you more than anything, princess."
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A/N: Hey guys *waves awkwardly* I hope you liked this bonus chapter! Anyway, I know I don't do author's notes very often but I came here to tell you three things!
1. I am slowly but surely editing TAOTBH and will be uploading the COMPLETE revision when it is finished. Now in this revision, I have added some new characters, tied up a few loose ends, and added more scenes. I'm aiming for this novel to be 100k words and right now I'm sitting at around 60k.
2. I have started writing two other stories. One has twenty four chapters already written but I'm still debating if I want to upload it as it's not what I typically write (this story is a werewolf/paranormal one), so I'm not quite sure who would be interested in reading it (raise your hands in the comments if you would be and I shall begin the uploading process!), and the second one has only two chapters written, however, it does have an outline/game plan, I just have no clue when I would start uploading.
3. This is arguably the most important news and that is... I HAVE ENTERED MY SECOND NOVEL "THE NEW NORMAL" INTO THE WATTYS! So it would mean a great deal if you could go onto my profile, click on that story and begin to read, enjoy, and vote! I have never entered the Watty's before and it would mean a great deal if I could win or even just be a finalist!
The New Normal link: https://my.w.tt/TT6avHwhDX
I lied, there's four things I have to tell you!
4. I have also entered The Art of The Bartender's Heart to the Wattys under NEW ADULT! So please, vote vote vote!