Page 10 of Head Over Feels
@IronAndy
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CHAPTER2
MALCOLM
JANUARY
Idodged the golden retriever dragging its owner along the sidewalk, butIshould’ve just trusted the dog to avoid me instead.Physicaltherapy was helping, but quick movements were not my friends.Istopped to watch the dog run up to the gate of the daycare yard, and if anyone thoughtIneeded a minute to breathe through the pain, they could suck my dick.
Acouple of employees excitedly shouted “Duke!” as they let the dog in.Hewas ecstatic to greet his friends, his tail thrashing from side to side as he ran to each human and dog.Oneof the employees crouched down to pet him, andIdid not at all envy the easy way she stood back up again.
OnceIwas able to peel my fingers off the handle of my cane,Iadjusted my grip and continued toward the front entrance of theBark&PurrPetResort.Craig’sSUVwasn’t in the lot, but he could be running a quick errand or something.He’dbetter have left the fancy air filterIneeded to pick up for the rental house.
Insidethe lobby, the warm air was a welcome change from the damp chill outside.Behindthe front desk,Craig'sbusiness partnerGregspoke to a woman in yoga pants with a corgi on a leash.Atthe other end of the counter a woman wearing a polo matchingGreg’swas taking notes on haircut instructions from a man holding a tiny blonde poodle.
Ihadn’t been to the pet resort very often, andIcouldn’t get over how much money people would spend on their dogs.Buthey, if they wanted to shell out that kind of dough,CraigandGregmight as well be the ones to benefit from it.
Thewoman with the corgi knelt down to kiss its head and sob a goodbye before she tearfully handed the leash over to a bright-eyed polo-wearing young person of indeterminate gender.
“We’lltake good care ofHambonefor you,” the employee told her as they took the leash.Thewoman sniffled, hand covering her mouth, while she watched her dog being led away.Shemumbled thanks toGregbefore spinning around and racing past me to the door, tears staining her face.
Takenaback,Iblinked atGreg.Hejerked his chin at me. “Hey,Malcolm.”I'donly met him a few times, but he seemed like a good guy.
“Hey,Greg.”Itilted my head toward the door the woman had run through. “Iseverything okay with her?”
Hechuckled. “She'sonly going away for the weekend.Shecries every time she drops her dog off.Whatbrings you by today?”
“I'msupposed to be picking up some sort of special air filter fromCraig.Hiscar wasn’t in the lot.Doyou know when he'll be back?”
Greggrimaced. “Hehad to take a dog to the vet.Ayoung lab got the zoomies in daycare and collided with aRottweiler.Nowhe's limping soCraigtook him to get checked out.”Gregshrugged. “You’rewelcome to see if he left it on his desk, or you can hang out in the office and wait for him.”
“Thanks.”
“Sure.Comeon back.”Greggestured at the half-door set between the wall and the end of the front desk.Thepoodle watched with beady little eyes asIwalked around its owner and went through the gate.Nodoubt it could senseIwas a cat person.
Gregled the way through another door into the office right behind the front desk.Ithadn’t changed much since the last timeI’dvisited.Craig’sdesk was covered with detritus as usual—papers, pens, leashes, a bottle of dog shampoo and a small piece of artificial turf.Iwasn’t a complete neat freak, butCraigandIhad shared a house for a few weeks before he moved in with my best friendFosterlastNovember.Theguy did not spend much time picking up after himself.
Ipoked aroundCraig’sdesk, butIcouldn’t find anything resembling an air filter.Ipulled out my phone to text him.
“Havea seat while you wait,”Gregsaid.Hesat at his desk, which was free of everything other than a laptop, a paper tray and a cup filled with pens and pencils.Thelast timeI’dbeen in here there’d been a photo ofGregand a good-looking dark-haired guy with their arms around each other, but it was gone now.
ToobadIwasn’t in the market for someone to date, or even sleep with.ThoughGregwasn’t whatItended to go for.Hewas far too attractive, tall with angular features, dark hair and piercing gray eyes.Prettypeople learned to use their looks to their advantage at an early age.Ihad zero evidence ofGregbeing an entitled prick, butIhad a hard time putting aside my anti-pretty sentiments.
FortunatelyGregdidn’t seem interested in me in that way either.
Mybias against overly-attractive people aside, whenIwas looking for sex or a date,Iwent for someone who led with their personality, who was smart, friendly and fun to be around.Ofcourse before my injuryI’dbeen a lot more friendly and fun to be around myself.Icouldn’t say that was true anymore.
Ilowered myself carefully into the chair, which thankfully had a seat deep enough to give some support to my bad leg.Inodded towardCraig’sdesk. “Idon't know how you stand looking at that all the time.”
Greglaughed. “It’ssort of everyday background at this point.Andyou haven’t seen clutter until you’ve visited my parents, soIguessI’mused to it.”Hewatched me carefully stretch out my right leg.
“Youknow,Idon’t thinkCraigever told me—how did you injure your leg?”
Iraised my eyebrows at him. “Holdon.Craigdidn’t tell you?Hegot you andCallieto come overfor dinner.”Imade air quotes. “Andyou didn’t talk about what happened to my leg whileIwas lying there, out cold on pain pills, andCalliewas drawing a fucking pink rainbow unicorn on my cast?”
Apang went through me.I’dnever admit it, ever, but some daysIreally missed that unicorn.
