My Dream Man | Book 1 | Sal Vulcano

Chapter Six

"You've got to be kidding me Addison! Another dog-do you know how much dirt and hair you're going to have in your house? You'll need to clean it weekly, daily even!" Sal complained.

"Her name is Lady, and she's eight. She's an Australian Shepard found abandoned in an old barn not even a few months ago, thank you for asking." I rolled my eyes.

Sal sighed. "She is very pretty. But look at all the hair! Addison, how are you going to keep your house clean?"

"Sal!" Brian and I yelled in unison.

Sal stood there, dumbfounded. He blinked, and took a step towards Lady. He bent down to her level and held his hand out to show his friendship. Slowly, Lady walked up and sniffed his hand. Out of know where, she started liking his hand. Sal quickly pulled his hand back, his face full of disgust. I covered my mouth, hiding away my laugh. All that came out were cackles. Sal gave me a glare.

"Bathroom?" He asked.

"Down the hall, first one on the left." I chocked out.

Sal gave me a nod and walked away. "You should know by now anyways!" I called out after him.

"Shut up!" Sal called back.

When I heard the door lock, I busted out in laughter. Brian held me up as I tried not to loose my balance. When I calmed down, I wiped away the tears the sprung from my eyes and clutched my stomach in pain.

"Woah man." I sighed.

"You alright?" Brian asked.

"Great actually." I said with a smile.

Brian gave a side smirk. Sal came back with disgust still written all over his face. I gave another cackle before taking a deep breath.

"I heard you laughing. It really wasn't that funny." Sal said in a low, annoyed voice.

"Uh, yes it was. You should've seen the look on your face! Oh man, that, that right there," I pointed at his face, "was priceless."

"Okay, whatever." Sal said rolling his eyes.

After everyone calmed down, especially me, I told Sal and Brian to keep an eye on Lady while I went to pick up Speckles from Joe's place. They agreed to keep an eye on her, which made things easier for me. I took a quick picture of Lady and sent a quick text to Joe letting him know I was on my way. I said my goodbyes and headed off to Joe's. When I got there, I got out of the car and to the front porch. I heard barking, a familiar barking. I chuckled to myself as I knocked on the door. Joe didn't answer though, Bessy did. I smiled.

"Well hello there!" I chirped.

"Hi! Come in, come in." Bessy greeted.

I thanked her and walked in. Bessy closed the door behind me and walked up next to me. Not even two seconds later, I saw Speckles running around the corner towards me. She jumped on me and I laughed. I bent down to her level, her paws on my shoulders as she gave me kisses.

"I missed you too girly." I said petting her behind her ears.

"Well somebody missed somebody." I heard Joe say.

I put her down and stood up. Speckles stayed by my feet in front of me, her tail wagging wildly.

"Was she good?" I asked playing with my knuckles.

"Awful. We had to keep her outside the whole time." Joe said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes and placed my hands on my hips. "Don't play that Gatto, she's not that bad of a dog."

"I know she is. That's why she was really good." Joe laughed. "Actually, she's the one who put Milana to sleep for her nap."

"No way! Really?" I asked shocked.

"Yes! Speckles was just laying down on the bed we pulled out for her and Milana was refusing to sleep. So, we let her be. Then, out of the blue, she cuddled up on Speckles and laid there. By the time we knew it, Milana was fast asleep." Bessy explained.

"Huh, I guess I raised you well then." I said to Speckles and patted her on the head. I looked back up at Joe. "How did she react with your dogs?"

"She didn't do anything really. She just sat there mostly and watched them. I have to be honest with you, the most she did was run when you just came to pick her up. Other than that, she liked to watch us with that little smile of hers." Joe said.

I smiled. "That's good. Do I owe you guys anything?"

"No no. It was all for a friend." Bessy smiled.

"You sure? I can totally pay you-"

"Keep your money." Joe stopped me. "It's was a pleasure to keep an eye on Speckles while you did errands."

I gave a sympathetic smirk. "Well, thank you guys so much. I promise, I will repay you guys."

At that moment, we heard Milana crying. Bessy waved bye and went to check on her daughter. As I leashed up Speckles and put her in the car, Joe followed me out. When I closed the passenger door, I walked up to Joe.

"What's up?" I asked.

"A little bird told me that you are going out with my friend tomorrow. Is that true?" Joe snickered.

I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks. "Y-yeah, it's true."

Joe smiled wide. "That's good."

"Why'd you ask? And who told you?" I asked.

"No other than Brian told me. I also asked because Sal has had the biggest crush on you after you moved in and became friends." Joe explained.

"That son of a bitch." I said under my breath.

"Don't worry. Brian only told James and I. So you're good." Joe said.

Then, as if my ears and my brain just turned on, my face turned shocked. I looked at Joe with a confused look.

"Wait, what do you mean Sal has had a crush on me after I moved in and became friends?" I asked folding my arms over my chest.

"Let's just say that after you moved in, Sal really was afraid to talk to you. Then after he brought up the courage to bring courage to give you cookies as a 'hi welcome to the neighborhood' thing he said he wanted to see you again. He wouldn't stop talking about you. After you guys became friends and we finally met 'mystery girl,' we could tell Sal had some sort of crush on you. But we never knew how strong it was until after the fact that James showed the whole crew of our television show the video of you two sharing his hoodie. Let's also just say I have the highest bid on you two."

My jaw flew open and my eyes widened. I playfully hit Joe's shoulders. Joe started laughing as I contemplated all that was going on. I turned around and rubbed my temples. Then I took a sharp turn to face Joe.

"Does Sal know about this bet?" I asked sternly.

"Nope. Has no clue. But like I said, I have the highest bet. So, you two better do something interesting soon." Joe winked at me.

"In your dreams lover boy." I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, it's worth a shot." Joe said with a shrug.

I gave a small smirk and headed to climb into the drivers seat. When I closed the door and started the engine, Joe notified me to roll down the window. When it was all the way down, he crossed his arms on the door with a stern look on his face.

"Listen to me though. It may be fun and games with us three and the crew, but Sal is really serious about this. I don't want to have a big head for his part, but he loves you, and I can't lie about that. He's serious about you and him, and I don't want you breaking my best friends heart. I love you Addison, but if you hurt my best friend, you're going to get something in return from the three of us. Got it?" Joe asked.

I swallowed. "Yeah, I got it."

Joe gave a small smiled. He patted my shoulder. "Have a good rest of the day. Enjoy your date with Sal tomorrow."

"I'll try." I said with an airy chuckle.