Something moved behind the woman and Naina relaxed, noticing the familiar mop of hair and grouchy expression.
In a naïve tone, Naina asked, "Really? Is that so boss? Did you tell this lady that she could keep her pet here?"
The woman staggered away as Ian walked up to their group.
His tone came out so harshly, Naina was surprised the woman didn't spontaneously combust. "No, I've never seen you before. You've got five seconds to get off this property or I'm calling the police. That means you too sir." He turned his glare to the knock off cop. "I don't think the local law enforcement appreciate people who pretend to be them."
They ran off so fast, the dude's costume tore down the middle and the woman tripped several times. Sugarpie nipped and barked as they jumped into their car and sped out, kicking up dust in their path to get away.
Ian chuckled a bit. "Always get the crazies don't you Naina?"
"I'm starting to think it's a curse. Do you think that dog's safe with that woman? I feel scared for it." Grant it, the rat dog was annoying and obviously had never been around other people, but it was an animal after all. Its personality reflected its owner's tendencies.
Ian nodded. "I'm stopping by the station later in the evening and letting them know of what happened today. Would you like to come with me?"
"Yes."
The rest of the day moved by steadily; no crazy dog diva women shoving their pets onto her came by. Ian shuttled the pets to their liaisons for their forever homes. He'd looked handsome in his worn out jeans and black collared tee, like a modern-day prince rescuing her from a Karen.
They had no patients by the end of the day. Kenny decided he'd venture out and check out the town.
Naina checked her little satchel. Pair of pajamas, her pack of bathroom related items, purse, phone, and other essentials all sat inside, waiting to be used.
Ian waited for her by the door of the clinic and locked it as she came out.
"I'm staying over at your place tonight right?" she asked.
He raised an eyebrow. "I didn't say anything about that did I?"
She froze; her feet went rigid and for a moment, she forgot to breath. She'd done it again! Assuming something without checking with the person who needed to hear it most.
Naina winced when Ian came close to her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Kidding, Naina. Please, don't look so scared. You're always welcome to stay over."
Burrito yapped at them when Naina got into the car. The puppies whined from their big carrier; it was buckled in, just to be safe.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"Police station, first. I have their license plate down and all the information I could get from the three of you." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair before returning it to the wheel. "From there, we can just do whatever you want."
Whatever she wanted? When was the last time someone had asked her that? She thought about the possibilities. They could go window shopping, check out the local farmer's market or see the little summer setups the town had invested in.
They first dropped off the puppies and Burrito at his apartment. He constructed a wall of sorts, to prevent the little ones from exploring the place too much.
Then, they headed to the station. While he gave his statement and information, Naina waited outside, soaking in some sun and dusk winds. The clinic was kept at a lukewarm seventy degrees, but when summer temperatures reached almost a hundred, anything below eighty felt cold.
Someone snorted, ruining her peaceful moment.
Queen B and her consort, Carmella, stood nearby. Nic wasn't in view at all.
"What, you ruining someone else's wedding?" Carmella asked. "Gonna change things and pretend it never happened?"
Naina watched her carefully. Carmella's thick foundation and powder slowly drooped, giving her the look of an ugly wax statue melting away. Naina didn't know what expression she wore, but whatever it was, Carmella's arrogant smirk slowly slipped away.
Lauren scoffed. "No, she's probably just wondering how she's single. Maybe crying over it. Look, hon, guys don't like it if you don't take the initiative."
Naina shook her head. "I'm sure that worked out well for you in college didn't it? Or did you call Ollie to help you when things didn't go your way?"
Both of them sucked their breath in sharply, almost as if they'd choked on something.
Oh, had she hit a nerve; the millisecond of a scared glance and eye contact between the two asshats gave everything away.
Naina smirked. "Don't worry. I won't be ruining anyone else's wedding, okay Lauren?"
Before Lauren could give a retort, Ian came from behind Naina and looped an arm around her neck and kissed the top of her head. "You ready to go?" he asked.
"Yup."
With that, she held his hand and tugged him away from the other two.
"You alright?" he asked.
"Yeah, I forgot that they go out whenever Friday hits. I didn't expect them to be near the station."
He had a soft grin, so sweet that her knees almost went weak.
"What?" she asked.
"Oh nothing, you're taking the initiative with some things and you're not taking crap from her—"
"How much of that did you hear?" She stopped walking and faced him.
He crossed his arms. "Um, let's see. You bringing up her wonderful college days and about Ollie. I've got to say, I didn't expect you to be sarcastic. The look on their faces was just so awesome."
"Was the sarcasm bad?"
He pulled her close and put an arm around her shoulder. "No, it's definitely good."
Some local bands were playing covers of famous eighties hits, so they stopped by to listen to them. Like everyone else letting loose, she called out the lyrics to the songs and danced to the beat. Ian bobbed his head to the beat. Every now and then, she'd catch him watching her with a huge grin on his face.
After ordering takeout from Demi's they went back to his condo and tumbled inside. Burrito and the little ones ran them over with love and licks. Naina peeled away Queso from her lap and looked up at Ian, who wiped away some saliva from his face.
"Want to shower?" he asked.
Was he asking together? Could they do that? It hadn't been too long since they'd started dating. "Um—"
He interrupted her thought process. "I mean by yourself Naina. Stop reading into things too much. You should've seen the look on your face."
"Sorry." Could she just melt into the floor right now?
"No need to be sorry. Just speak if you're uncomfortable with something."
He paused for a second, before smirking so cunningly, that a chill formed at the bottom of her neck and jogged the length of her arms. There was a different look in his narrowed, beautiful eyes as he said, "Well, if you want to go in together, I don't mind."
With a body like that, of course he wouldn't. She thought about her fat rolls, and how she hadn't shaved in the past week and cringed, while wondering about what kind of look he'd have on his face if he saw something so weird. "Um, maybe next time?"
"That's a promise." He shrugged off his shirt and let out a long sigh. "God, it's so hot."
She agreed. So used to seeing brand-name models without a lick of hair on their body, she felt mildly refreshed that he had hair on his chest and lower abdomen, reaching into—"
She did a weird walk-run to the bathroom and locked the door before her thoughts went off way too far into dreamland. Thank god she'd brought everything she'd needed. As she brushed her hair and tied it up, she thought about what he'd said.
She really didn't even need to speak up; he picked up on her cues way too quickly.
When she came out, he was being attacked by the pups from every angle. He seemed to look resigned to it; an almost painfully peaceful expression sat upon his eyes despite looking relaxed.
One pup, Tortilla, gnawed on the dragon on Ian's abdomen.
He grinned at her. "Your turn."
To what? Bite his tattoos? Lay against him while he was shirtless?
No. Definitely not that. As soon as he left, the pups decided she was their new plaything. She had to resort to the few toys she'd brought to distract them.
Ian walked out in basketball shorts when he was done; his hair, still wet on the top, flopped awkwardly around.
"How'd you finish faster than me?" She glanced at him warily, furrowing both her eyebrows together as she shifted away from him.
"You think it was faster. Maybe you were having fun with them." He nodded to the puppies. Burrito snoozed away on her doggie bed.
Hair dotted all over his lower arms, and on his chest. She traced a few stray droplets as they scurried down his ribs. The light scent of soap and aftershave floated over her and she felt herself tense up.
"Like what you see?"
"Beh." Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, dry as a biscotti. "Yeah, sure."
His laughter rippled over to her side of the couch and she scooched closer to him. "Stop laughing," she complained. "I got nervous."
"No need to be nervous."
"Oh yes there is." There were things she wanted to do, which included nibbling on his tattoos. And kissing the dimple that appeared in his right cheek whenever he laughed. And messing with his hair until the smug expression on his face disappeared.
Instead of doing that, she wolfed down the food they'd gotten and joined him in some good Dario Cart competition.
He wrestled her when she sent a blue spiky shell his way. It barely sent him off track, tumbling into the deep space regions below. By now, the pups were all tucked away near mom, piled on top another.
The two of them crashed into the floor, trying to pin the other person down. He started tickling her once he caught on that she wasn't giving in easily.
But then, he managed to pin her down.
~~~
I know you lovelies want sexy moments. But if you've read The Book Keeper's Heart, you'll know that I can't write them!
Maybe I'll be able to fit something later on... >.>
If you like the chapter, please leave a vote and some feedback, if you can. Thank you for still keeping up with it! It's not too far from being finished XD