Page 144 of The Plan

“Fuck. You.” She clearly bites back a laugh. “You wish you slept with her.”

“I have. Your girl fucks good.” She says it so damn seriously I can’t tell if she’s fucking with me or not.

“Shut up.” I know Hazel is bisexual, and she’s always making comments like that or flirting with Vid, and I can’t tell what’s a joke and what isn’t, but I know she’ll only tell me it’s true to fuck with me, so I leave.

I walk into Vid’s apartmentcomplex right on time. She got off of work a while ago, so she should be home. A few people stare at me, but I can’t tell if it's me they’re looking at or the huge rottweiler walking beside me with no leash.

When I make it to her door, I look down at the dog before knocking. “Sit.” On command, she sits and stares back at the door. This is going to be fun.

With a smile, I knock on Vid’s door and give her new dog a pat on the head.

“Hey.” She looks down at the dog, and her eyes widen a bit. “Hey!”

I give her a hug, but she pulls away quickly and pats the dog. “Oh my God. You are so cute.”

I smile at her as she pets her. Her tail wags back and forth, but she doesn’t move since I didn’t release her.

“He is so well-behaved. He’s like a statue. Oh my God, who’s dog is this?”

“Yours, and it’s a girl.” She looks up at me, a bit confused, and then a smile grows on her face. I turn back to the dog and say, “Go ahead.” Without hesitating, she playfully jumps on Vid, practically knocking her over. I watch Vid laugh, and I feel like nothing else matters but this. That smile on her face.

“What’s her name?”

“Athena.” Athena looks up at me at the sound of her name, and then she walks into her new home as Vid stands back up.

“Do you like her?”

“Of course I do!” She practically jumps into my arms, and I hug her, bringing us into her apartment. “Is today a special day I forgot about?”

I lightly laugh as I shake my head. “No.” She still looks a bit confused at the random surprise, so I explain. “I know how you aren’t too comfortable being at your new place alone after the break-in, so I thought a guard dog would help you feel safer here.”

She gives me a smile I'd kill for. “Sire, you didn’t have—wait, she’s a guard dog?” She looks back at Athena with a huge smile on her face. I should have led with that. “Wait, okay, what are the commands?” She sounds so excited, and I just stare at her staring at Athena.This girl deserves everything on this damn earth and then some.

“The usual sit, stay, and rollover of course—”

“Yeah, yeah, what do I say for the fun stuff.”

I break into a laugh. “She’s not a toy, Vidia.”

She leans down to rub Athena’s belly. “I know that. I've just never seen a guard dog in action, and I’ve always wanted one.”

“I know.”

She looks up at me, and she’s biting back a smile. She only brought it up one time in college, but I remember her saying she always wanted a guard dog, preferably a rottweiler. She thinks they need extra love, along with pits, because everyone thinks they’re mean and scary. It feels like we had that conversation in another life, but I don’t think I could forget anything that comes out of her mouth.

Athena sneezes, and Vid tears her gaze from mine. “Salud.” She laughs and gets back up. She looks at me like she’s waiting for me to teach her the commands, so I show her my favorite one first.

“Okay, I’m going to go outside and knock on your door. Point in that direction and say her name, then “away” but with authority.”

“Got it.” She nods, and I walk out.

Vidia

When Sire knocks on mydoor, Athena gets up from lying on her back and looks between the door and me like she’s waiting fora command. When he starts banging louder, she gets in front of me protectively.

I point at the door like Sire said and say, “Athena, away.” As soon as the command is spoken, she lets out a loud chain of barks. Sire is still knocking, but I can barely hear over her barks.

“Okay, stop.” She keeps going, so I assume that isn’t the right command, so I try another. “Heel.” I raise my voice a bit, and she immediately stops barking and sits in front of me. I know she isn’t a toy, but this is so cool. I can’t believe he got me a freaking dog.

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