Clifford-the Matchmaker

1-Bad dog

He once thought that getting a dog was a great idea. That was before he had to chase that raggy wastrel through Hyde Park on a Sunday morning when he managed to break out of his collar like some fucking Houdini.

Clifford, yeah he liked male names on dogs, sue him, anyway, Clifford had failed his puppy course. He refused to listen to commands. He had done two courses before he gave up.
"CLIFFORD! COME BACK HERE!"

Louis ran after him. His lungs protested and he sounded like a blow torch. The idea of getting a dog was to get out on walks for some calm, daily exercise. Instead, he was running a damn marathon. 

He watched in horror as Clifford reached the picnic area and ran between couples, making people jump up and scream. Oh, God. Clifford managed to kick someone's soda to the ground as he ran past it, and the beverage spurted all over the grass. 
"NO CLIFFORD! BAD DOG!"

He ran after him, apologizing on his way.
"I'm so sorry. He escaped."

"Keep your damn dog in a lead!" A man yelled at him. Great.

His legs were about to give in but he kept going. Clifford had turned left and was out on one of the paths. A man was jogging ahead of him and Clifford started barking and jumped around the man who stopped and looked around. Louis had almost reached them when he heard the man say "sit" and to his surprise, Clifford immediately complied. Damn dog!

He stopped when he had reached them. He had to bend forward and rest his hands on his legs, trying to catch his breath. Black dots were dancing before his eyes and he had the taste of metal in his mouth. He was panting hard, unable to get a word out.
"Are you okay?" The man asked.

He looked up from the ground slowly. His eyes traveled along with a pair of nice-looking legs, muscular. The next thing he saw was a fucking thigh tattoo. He loved those. His eyes traveled higher, over a ripped torso and broad shoulders before he finally reached the man's face and let out a small gasp from the sight. Brown, curly hair green eyes, and a fucking simple smile. The man was gorgeous. He also seemed amused from the way Louis had so obviously checked him out that Louis blushed.
"Is this your dog?" 

"Uhm, yeah, he managed to break free from his collar." Louis answered and waved the thing frantically.

The man petted Clifford on the head and the dog just sat there and looked at him with adoration.
"I'm Louis by the way and I'm sorry to break it to you but I think Clifford is in love with you."

The man let out a loud cackle and covered his mouth to muffle the sound. Clifford wasn't the only one who stared at him with adoration. Louis caught himself and looked away.
"I'm Harry." The man smiled before he leaned down and scratched Clifford's head.
"Hi Clifford, such a good boy, aren't you?"

"Are you some kind of dog whisperer?" Louis asked.

Harry laughed again.
"I just love dogs."

"Well, that's the first time he listens to a command." Louis chuckled.

"Really? Just train with him every day and you'll see that he will start to listen." Harry suggested.

Louis smiled and put the collar around Clifford's neck again so he wouldn't run off. They had enough drama for the day, but now he was kind of glad that he ran off, otherwise he wouldn't have met Harry. Apparently he was the only one who thought this was fate.
"I'm gonna go now. It was nice to meet you, Louis. Bye." Harry said and started to run again without looking back.

Clifford tried to run after him and Louis stopped him. He watched Harry disappear from his life. Geeesh, now he was really melodramatic too. There was no way a man like Harry was single even if he might not be straight. He had picked up a vibe. But he couldn't be that lucky.
"Come on Clifford." He said and started to walk in the direction of his apartment. He lived five minutes from the park. Maybe Harry lived nearby as well?  Oh, now he sounded desperate. Louis chuckled at himself and unlocked the apartment door.
"Okay, I need a shower because you made me chase you through Hyde park." He said to Clifford who looked at him with his head to the side like he was really listening.

He gave him food before he hit the shower. He was expecting company in an hour. His friend Liam was coming over to watch the game and drink a couple of beers.

Clifford ran to the door barking when Liam knocked an hour later.
"Be quiet Clifford!" Louis said and opened the door.

Clifford jumped at Liam and started to lick him in the face.
"Clifford, get down!" Louis tried without success.

"Hi, buddy." Liam said and tried to push Clifford off him. "You still haven't managed to get him to listen to commands?" He asked Louis with a smirk.

"He's hopeless. Or maybe not! A guy in the park got him to sit down." Louis answered.

"How did he do that and what guy?" Liam asked while they made their way to the living room.

"Funny story actually, Clifford managed to escape his collar and took off in the middle of Hyde Park." Louis grunted.

"Oh no!" Liam laughed.

"Yeah, I ran after him of course but he didn't stop until he found a guy out jogging. The guy in question just said "sit" and Clifford obeyed him.

"Just like that?" Liam questioned. He looked over at Clifford. "Sit!"

Clifford just wagged his tail at him. Liam laughed at him before he turned to Louis again. "So tell me about the guy."

"Gorgeous. He introduced himself as Harry." Louis said.

"Oh, that explains it." Liam grinned.

"What?" Louis questioned.

"Harry? He's a wizard Louis! That's why he got Clifford to obey." Liam smirked and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh God, worst joke ever!" Louis cackled.

The game started so they turned their focus on the tv.