The Dog Walker

Chapter 2- Edited

I wake up to Audi's paws kicking at my face, her nails beginning to dig into my skin. Irritated, I heave a sigh before sitting up and gently pushing her away. She rolls and wakes up, blinking at me innocently to which I can only smile at. Glancing at my phone, I sigh again before getting ready. I'm up now anyways and a small part of me, a part I don't want to admit to, is actually excited.

I only glance at myself in the mirror this time, ready to get a move on and go dog walking. Once I'm out the front door, I text Mom what I'm doing before shoving my cell phone into my back pocket.

Ringing the doorbell at Adrian's house yet again, the dogs bark. A few seconds later, I hear a loud groan then footsteps approaching the door. It flings open to reveal a very irritated and very tired looking Adrian. It brings me back to own wake-up call this morning, a sweet kick to the face by Audi.

"What do you want?"

My eyebrows join my hairline. Is he serious?

He blinks and runs a hand down his face. "Oh sorry, it's you. What are you doing here?"

My brows have yet to return to their rightful place but I manage to hide a grin behind a fake cough. "I'm here to walk the dogs, remember," I remind him.

His green eyes widen with disbelief. "Are you crazy? Who gets up this early on a Sunday?"

"I'm an early riser," I defend myself, not wanting to elaborate that the real reason is because my own dog decided to use my face like pavement during one of her dreaming episodes. He scoffs but moves out of the way so I can walk in. I do so and he shuts the door behind me.

Now that he's no longer snapping at me I looked him over. His hair is in disarray and he's wearing pajamas, a matching set that's bright red and covered in teddy bears. I don't bother holding back.

"Nice pajamas!" I laugh.

His eyes grow wide again but with anger that he's quick to cover up. "I can always take them off if you would rather," he shrugs and his fingertips hover over a button suggestively.

I can feel my cheeks fill with heat. "No, I'm good." He smirks but lowers his hands. "So where are the leashes for the dogs?"

"You really want to walk them now? Stay here and wait a bit, it's too early to walk now." He grins and runs a hand through his hair. "I can make us some milkshakes if you want."

I chew on my bottom lip as I look at him and I find I can't say no. I'd already eaten burgers with him so why not? "Okay." Following him into the kitchen, I sit in the same chair as yesterday as he pulls out a blender and plugs it in.

Resting my chin in my hand, I watch as he cuts up pieces of a banana before putting them into the blender. Then he pours in some milk, adds vanilla ice cream, and finally some peanut butter. I flinch when he turns the machine on but once the concoction is all blended together, he pours some into two cups. Sitting in the chair across from me, he slides one over before taking a deep drink from his own. When he sets it down, I laugh. Banana milkshake coats his upper lip.

"What?" He asks, furrowing his brows.

"You have some" - I motion around my own mouth - "stuff."

He narrows his green eyes. "I don't see you doing any better."

With a grin, I take my own deep drink. When I set the glass down, my lips are milkshake free and his glare makes me laugh.

"Follow me; I'll get you the leashes." He leaves the kitchen and I quickly finish drinking my milkshake before hurrying after him, barely catching myself from tripping over one of the chair legs. A mudroom of sorts, there are shoes haphazardly thrown around and three dog beds against a wall where three leashes, each blue in color, hand from hooks. We don't make it far into the room before Collet, Willow and Pike surround us, tails wagging.

All of a sudden, they're jumping on my legs and I stumble into Adrian who falls with me onto a dog bed. My heart speeds up as I look down at his chest before meeting his eyes. They're crinkled with amusement, his mouth stretching into a grin and I catch myself doing the same until I see him glance down at my lips. Standing up, I try to ignore the burning in my cheeks and along my neck.

"Well I guess I should start walking them." He nods quickly and I hook the three leashes up to each dog. They bark and wag their tails with excitement, each tail wag almost like a whip to my legs. I walk them into the back yard where Adrian leads me to a gate.

"Is there anywhere you don't want me to walk them?" I ask before starting the walk.

"Just not the main road." I nod and let the dogs lead me out past the gate where almost instantly they pull me forward. When I go down, I hear Adrian laughing behind me at the open gate. The pain from my scraped knee has me growling in frustration - not to mention Adrian laughing at me - so after making sure their owner isn't looking, I stop and look down at three dogs making sure to keep eye contact with each of them. I can feel the heat of my irritation sitting in my chest, burning to be let out.

I know it's happened when they whine in submission, their ears no longer perked and their tails having ceased thrashing back and forth. After closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I reach down and scratch behind their ears. When we start to walk again, they don't pull. Instead, they just walk alongside me, sniffing curiously at plants and the like.

Smiling, I glance up at the sky and take another deep breath, the sweet spring air filling my lungs.