Page 48 of Jake and Conner
Iarrived at Conner's place before he did and waited in the entrance. Inside, his dog was barking and mine responded in kind. I hoped Conner would get here soon. Not only because I wanted to see him but also because I didn't want his neighbors to kill him in his sleep.
"Quiet, Kitty!" I called into the house as I stood in front of the closed door. "It's just me."
Kitty barked again as if to say that, yes, she knew who it was, but why wasn't I coming inside to pet her and feed her treats?
The answer was simple: Because I didn't have a key.
Conner and I had been cautiously dating again for about six weeks now and we were all up in each other's space all the time. It was almost as if the years we'd spent apart had never happened at all.
And then little things like this--standing in front of Conner's house with no way to get in-- reminded me that weweren'tback to where we used to be.
I wondered how long it would take.
I hadn't given Conner a key tomyhouse either. Maybe I should. But would he feel rushed if I did?
He knew where I kept my spare key, anyway, if he really needed to get in while I wasn't there.
In the end, Bailey and I only had to wait for about five minutes until Conner's car pulled into the driveway. "Sorry," he said with a sheepish smile as he got out. "I stopped for a pack of coffee on the way. I was out."
"Can't havethathappen," I responded with a knowing grin. "My life depends on you getting your coffee in the morning."
"I'mnota monster before coffee," Conner insisted.
"I never said you were a monster." I took his hand and drew him closer so I could kiss him. "And if youwerea monster--"
"Not a monster," Conner protested again.
"But if you were a monster," I went on, undeterred, "you would be a cute one. Like a Pokémon."
Conner looked at me as if he wasn't sure if he wanted to be offended or amused. "I'm not a Pikachu or anything," he muttered, fumbling with his keys to open the door.
"Nope, not a Pikachu. Maybe something more fiery. I don't know what that red lizard thing with the flame on his tail is called, but maybe that."
"Only because I have red hair. That's discriminatory, you know."
"I'm not discriminating against anyone. I love red-haired people. Especially you."
Conner shook his head at me. "You're--"
"Impossible?" I finished for him.
I could tell that Conner wanted to pout at me, or at least sigh in exasperation, but he'd opened the door and his dog was on him now, licking and greeting him as if she hadn't seen him in ten years. "Hey, Kitty," he said gently. "You want to go for a walk?"
Kitty barked enthusiastically in response. Bailey had heard the word 'walk' too and as soon as Conner pulled out Kitty's leash, Bailey tugged on hers as if she needed to convince me to take her too.
"Are you coming along?" Conner asked almost casually as he strode past me with his dog. "I've got something we need to talk about."
As if we couldn't talk inside his house.
Although, to be fair, things tended to move to the bedroom fairly quickly these days whenever we were alone in an enclosed space. So maybe going for a walk wasn't such a bad idea if he wanted to talk.
What about, though?
Curious, I followed Conner. "What do you want to talk about?" I asked as soon as we'd walked past a few houses. The sun had started to set half an hour ago and there weren't a lot of people out and about anymore. If he wanted privacy for his talk, he had it.
"Don't worry," Conner said. "It's not anything bad or dramatic."
"So what is it?" And why was he framing it as if itwasbad or dramatic?
