Page 43 of Connectio

He pulls to a stop outside, and I open the car door, planning to rush in and out, when he opens his door too.

“I’ll only be a second,” I tell him.

He adjusts himself. “I need to take a piss.”

Staring a bit too long at his hand cupped over his groin, I blink and scrunch my nose at him. “Right. Sure. Follow me.”

He does, his body a looming shadow as I unlock the front door and push it open.

Distracted by his close proximity, I forget Sasha’s tendency to try to escape the house, and she bounds out, nearly knocking me over.

“Oh no! Quick! Catch her!”

Will darts to the side and catches her midleap.

“Who do we have here?” he asks, appearing to delight in her enthusiastic, laving tongue.

“This is the naughtiest Golden Retriever to ever live.” I grab her head and massage her cheeks with the pads of my thumbs. “Her name is Sasha, and she’s an adorable menace.”

“My kind of menace.” He hoists her higher.

“Please, come in.”

Will steps into our entryway hall, and I close the door behind him.

“You can put her down now.”

“Nah, I’m good.”

I laugh, thinking he’s kidding, but the way he has her comfortably reclined in his arms soon tells me he’s not.

“I like animals,” he says, as if it’s the only justification he needs.

“You’re not taking our dog into the toilet with you.”

“Don’t need to go anymore.”

My eyes narrow. “You didn’t need to go in the first place, did you?”

He goes to step around me and into our lounge room, when I fling my arm out and block him.

“Oh no you don’t.” I point to his muddy boots. “Not in those filthy things.”

We both look down, and he slides them off with his feet while grinning and jiggling Sasha as if she’s a baby.

I sigh. “Fine! Just don’t touch anything. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Letting him pass, I then make my way to my bedroom, hopping as I lever one heel off after the other. The relief is instant, and my toes fan out over the carpet. Never again will I wear those murderous weapons to school.

I place them in their allocated space on the floor of my walk-in robe then unzip my skirt and shimmy it down my legs. Grabbing the closest pair of jeans, I step into the legs and wrench them up as I walk back into my room to find Will standing in front of my dresser, inspecting my things, Sasha still comfortably sprawled in his arms while he lightly scratches her belly.

“Jesus!”I shriek. “Do you mind?” I quickly turn away from him until my jeans are secured.

“No, do you?”

“Yes! Get out.”

He takes one last look around and leaves the room, but instead of turning toward the front door, he turns in the opposite direction and stops in front of Carly’s room.