Pawsitively in Love (6 page)

“What are you up to today?” she asked.

“Not much. Just finishing up writing my final tests. I need to have them submitted by Wednesday to the department head so they’re approved and printed before finals week.” He shrugged.

“You want to come over for dinner?”

Evan couldn’t see why not. He didn’t have anything else to do. Going to dinner at the neighbors was slowly becoming a habit. One he’d never in a million years expected to have. “Sure. What time?”

“How about seven?” she asked. “I haven’t decided what I’m making yet, but there isn’t anything you absolutely hate is there?”

“Nah.” Evan was a big fan of food in general as long as it was good.

“Great.” Peggy smiled. “I’ll see you at seven.”

“I’ll bring dessert.”

Evan waited for Dexter to finish his morning ritual, which included a few laps of the yard and some judicious digging in the garden, before he led the little dog inside. He fired up his coffeemaker and opened his computer to start working on the tests. He figured he’d get a few hours in and then take Dexter for a walk as a break.

He noticed that he had a few e-mails. One was from the travel agency that he’d been using to book—well, book something that wasn’t going to happen anymore. Evan needed to call and cancel the booking. He wasn’t going to Greece after all.

He tried to get upset about what had happened with Derek, about how everything they’d planned had fallen apart in a matter of days. Somehow, the emotion wasn’t there, though. Evan didn’t really… care.

He’d met Derek at the gym sometime around Christmas, and they’d exchanged numbers. Derek had been hot, great in bed, and nice to go out with at first, but as things got more serious, Evan got more itchy. Derek was the one who’d wanted to get involved as more than a casual thing. Evan had warned him that it wasn’t his style.

Still when Derek had burst into his house a month ago out of nowhere and said he and Evan were over, called him a catalog boyfriend—pretty on the outside but as deep as a sheet of paper—Evan had shrugged it off. He wasn’t big into emotional sharing. Derek had known that.

It would’ve been nice to see Santorini. That was about as upset as he’d gotten over the whole scenario.

Hell, the two odd and uncomfortable encounters he’d had with Austin the dog groomer stuck with him more than his five-month relationship. If he could even call it that. Evan preferred not to. He got to work on his test, with Dexter curled next to him on the couch and some quiet music in the background.

A few cups of coffee and some toast later, he was about ready to go out of his mind. Maybe he’d feel better if he got that travel cancellation out of the way. Then he could focus on writing the test questions. As it was, he could barely remember the topics they’d covered that semester. He got out his cell and called the number on the e-mail.

“Hi, this is Evan Partridge. You e-mailed me about a reservation?”

“Oh, yes, thank you for calling.” He remembered the woman from the travel agency. She’d been around his age and exceptionally helpful. Probably a little too interested in him, but nice all the same. “I’ll just need your itinerary number and confirmation of your dates of travel so we can set everything up.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Evan said. He cleared his throat. It was strange, to say the least. He’d never really had a breakup. He’d never had someone to break up with. Derek had been dramatic enough about it that it should’ve left a scar. All he’d left Evan with was a sense that he wished it had never happened.

“Oh, would you like me to set up another trip? Perhaps a different location?”

“That won’t be necessary either.” Evan heard how cardboard he sounded. Maybe Derek had been right. “Um, me and my travel partner won’t be needing any further trips.”

“I hope everything is okay,” the woman chirped. Evan thought he might have heard a bit of satisfaction underneath the sympathy.

“We… we broke up,” he finally spit out. Yeah. Evan would rather be doing just about anything than having this conversation. And that would be why he didn’t date anyone. He’d been sort of conned into dating Derek anyway. The last thing he knew they were kind of seeing each other occasionally. Then Derek decided to start introducing him as his boyfriend. Evan hadn’t known what to say.
I seriously don’t think so
probably wouldn’t have gone over so well. Might have saved him an uncomfortable one-sided screaming match, though.

“Oh. Well, I’m sorry to hear that. You don’t have anyone else who could go with you?”

“No.”
Please stop asking questions
. He knew the agent would be missing out on a fee, but there was a line, and he thought she’d just crossed it. “I think I’ll be staying in the US this summer. Thank you again for your work setting up the trip.”

Evan hung up before the whole thing could get any more irritating. He flopped back onto his couch and scratched his dog on the head. At least Dexter loved him. Peggy did too. Maybe it was just that he was a really good casual friend, but he couldn’t be anyone’s boyfriend because that required getting past casual. The thought of being serious with someone made him feel like he was being strangled. That was probably it.

After the call, Evan settled down to work. He flipped through his material and made lists of essay, multiple choice, and fill in the blank questions to fit every unit they’d covered. He was sure his students would prefer a Scantron test, or perhaps just a final of old questions from the rest of the semester cobbled together to make a new test. Too bad. Some professors ran their finals that way. Evan hadn’t ever felt right about making things too easy.

After he had a nice long list to choose from, Evan stretched and rubbed his sleeping puppy’s belly.

“You want to go on a walk, Dex?” Evan needed to get out. He’d made good headway on his final tests. It was a nice place to stop on a break. “Maybe we’ll run into Austin again. I’ve already had a hell of a week. Why not make it better?”

Of course he’d thought of Austin. When hadn’t he lately? It was disconcerting, and Evan really wanted it to stop.

He suited Dex up in a leash and a thin sweater since it was still a tiny bit chilly on cloudy days, and then he locked up and headed out into the fresh air.

EVAN HAD
dinner with his neighbors at least a few times a week. Peggy had unofficially adopted him when he first moved in, and she’d never quite let go. Now it was him and Dexter. Both were more than welcome next door, and while Evan had only gone once in a while at first, it was becoming quite a ritual. Peggy was a few years older than him, sweet, and not the tiniest bit flirtatious. She’d been some sort of an executive in the past but had decided to have children later in life. The result had been the rambunctious but loveable Scout. Evan thought her real name might be something longer, but nobody had ever referred to her as that other than the first day he’d met them, and he’d long since forgotten whatever he’d been told. So Scout it was.

When he got there, wine and garlic bread in hand, Peggy was loading the table with salad and a huge plate of shrimp and grilled vegetables. It looked fantastic. Evan set down his bottle of wine, brownies, and the warm garlic bread he’d brought on impulse, then led Dexter to the backyard where he unclipped his leash to let him run around on little puppy legs. Then he closed the screen door and wandered into the kitchen to say hello to Peggy.

“Hey, gorgeous,” she said with a grin when he turned the corner.

“Evah!” Scout cried. She sprinted forward and wrapped her arms around his legs. “I learned how to color today.”

Peggy gave Evan a wry grin. “She learned about different shades of pink and purple and blue at her mommy and me art class today. You want to show Evan your picture?” she asked. The little girl scampered off, pale hair flying as usual. Scout still had two years before she went to kindergarten, but Peggy was clearly not any more interested in having an underachieving child than an out of shape one. Evan was somehow not surprised.

“Can I help you with anything?” he asked.

Peggy waved him off. “It’s all taken care of. Jeff will be here any minute. All I need to do is put out water and wineglasses.” Over the past few months, Evan got the distinct impression that Peggy treated her home like she had her job—with precision and a great deal of planning. Everything was colorful, neat, and well organized, even with the chaos of a toddler around. Evan could respect that. Her walls were an array of warm greens, from pale moss to nearly olive, the floors were polished to perfection, the trim bright white, and not a thing out of place. With the exception of the color scheme, it reminded Evan a lot of his own place. He had no idea how she did it with a miniature tornado running around.

“I can get the water set out if you want to sit for a few minutes,” he said. Peggy looked a bit relieved for a moment, but pulled her face into a radiant grin.

“If you insist.”

Evan went about filling the water glasses and setting wineglasses out for him, Peggy, and Jeff. Scout came back a minute or two later with a small stack of abstract watercolors all in shades of pink and purple and blue.

“Those are gorgeous, Miss Scout,” he said.

She preened at the praise. “Thank you, Evah.” He wasn’t sure why she had a hard time with “Evan,” but her mispronunciation was adorable, and he figured he’d let her mother correct her if she wanted to. Evan reached down and ruffled her hair.

“Why don’t you go put your drawings away, pumpkin?” Peggy said. “Your dad should be home in a minute, and then it’ll be dinner time.”

“Are you staying for dinner?” Scout asked Evan.

“Yes, I am.”

“Yay!” Scout bounced away with her water-wrinkled stack of papers, and Evan finished putting the glasses out on the table. He heard Jeff come in and greet Peggy and Scout. He stayed in the dining room rather than intrude on their private family moment. Evan wondered every once in a while what it would be like to have someone at home to greet him. Then he remembered who he was, and more importantly who he wasn’t, and finished with the wineglasses in silence.

AN HOUR
later, dinner was finished, and the three adults were watching Scout run around the backyard with Dexter, when Evan’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He wasn’t used to getting phone messages on the weekend, except from his sister. Evan figured he’d better check and make sure she was okay. It wasn’t his sister, but a message from his department head about wanting to schedule an additional end of the year wrap-up meeting for the coming Thursday. He needed an immediate reply. Great.

“Hey, Peggy do you mind watching Dex for a minute while I go next door and check my schedule?” Evan asked. “I need to get back to my boss about a meeting.”

“Yay. Meetings,” Jeff said with a sarcastic laugh.

Evan laughed with him. “Right?”

Peggy waved her hand. “Of course not. He’ll be fine here. Look how much fun they’re having.”

She was right. Dexter was happily chasing Scout around the grass, yipping and wagging his tail.

“Okay, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Evan wasn’t gone long—just enough time to check his schedule and confirm the study sessions with his freshmen were over by Thursday, but by the time he got back, all hell had apparently been released.

“Oh God, Evan. I’m
so
sorry,” Peggy said as soon as he walked in the door.

He heard Scout’s plaintive wailing, Peggy looked like she was about to cry herself, and poor little Dex was barking happily in the background. Evan remembered all of a sudden why he wasn’t the family type. He was mystified and really wanted to take his dog and get out of whatever was suddenly going down.

Evan didn’t know what Peggy was apologizing to him about until his dog came bounding up to him, tail wagging a mile a minute… with thick, purple, pink, and blue scribbles all over his fur. Scout was in the corner of the deck with her face buried in her arms, and Jeff looked like he was about to pop his top.

Evan wavered between thinking it was hilarious and being totally horrified. Dexter didn’t seem to mind. He wove his way around Evan’s feet like he always did. Evan checked to make sure Dex wasn’t getting marker onto his pale khakis, but it seemed to be stuck pretty well to his fur.

“It’s just marker,” Peggy muttered. Her voice was thick, like she really was on the verge of tears. “I tried to wipe it off, but it’s not budging without shampoo. I’m so sorry. She managed to get that much on him while Jeff and I were putting the dishes away. I ran out here as soon as I noticed.”

“Scout, come over here,” Jeff said. Scout screwed her fists into her red, puffy eyes and walked warily across the deck. She had colored marks on her little white dress as well, and a few on her face. At least Dexter hadn’t been the only victim. “Apologize to Evan and Dexter,” Jeff said.

“Really, Jeff—” Evan was horrified. And he wanted to escape. Quickly.

Jeff shook his head. “She needs to know that it’s not okay. Sorry to get you involved in this, but she has to apologize.”

“I’m sorry Evah,” Scout said. Her voice was thick from crying. “I’m sorry to you too, Dexter,” she whispered. “I love you.”

She reached out gingerly and patted his streaky coat before she leaned over and picked him up. Scout wasn’t very big, and even though Dexter was still a puppy she struggled to hold him. He squirmed in her arms while she bestowed a number of sloppy kisses to his head, and then he woofed softly when she put him down.

“We’ll pay for you to get him cleaned, Ev,” Jeff said. “I’m sure a professional can get this off.”

Evan thought of the other day in the grocery store and chuckled. “That might not be necessary. I have a friend who owns a grooming salon. He owes me a freebie anyway.” Evan wouldn’t exactly call him and Austin friends, but it was sure as hell a lot easier to explain than “he accused me of neglecting my dog and then felt guilty about it.” Guilty or not, Evan would take advantage of what was offered. Looked like Dexter was going to need it.

“Are you sure, sweetie?” Peggy asked. “I’d hate for you to use your free groom on what was clearly our mistake.” The poor woman seriously looked like she was about to lose her mind. Peggy’s life was usually just as neat and pretty as his own. Apparently she wasn’t very good at dealing with things going sideways either.