Page 54 of Fun and Games

He quirked a smile.

"I've wanted a dog for a long time, remember?" he said. "I've had a list of names since I was seven."

"What were the other names in the running?" I asked.

"The usual," he said. "Spot. Rex. Fido. I wasn't the most creative kid."

I thought Mason was plenty creative, but I didn't say anything to counter his claim.

"I know of a pet store near my place," I said. "We can stop there and pick up anything you need."

The pet store was more of a pet accessories store, since it didn't have any live animals on site, but it had everything we needed for Lucky.

A pretty and perky sales girl greeted us when we walked in. Her name tag read Becca, and I wondered if it was short for Rebecca, the way Bree was short for Breanna.

"Hi there, how can I help you today?" she asked us.

Mason pulled out a thorough list he'd typed up on his phone, already knowing what he wanted to buy. Becca beamed.

"You're well prepared," she said with an approving nod. "Sounds like you're going to be a great pet owner. Follow me, and I'll get you set up. What's the name of your lucky new puppy?"

Mason and I shared a smile.

Even though we knew exactly what we needed, there were dozens of options to choose from, so it took us a while to fill up the shopping cart as Mason hemmed and hawed over every choice.

"Do you think he'd like chicken flavored kibble or pork flavored kibble?" he asked me, holding up two different bags.

"Why not get one of each and see which ones he likes better?" I said.

"Right, good idea." Mason put both bags in the cart, and I wondered if I'd given him bad advice. If he bought multiples of every product, he'd end up with three cartfuls of stuff.

"We tried to spoil our cat like this," I said. "But he's a fat, lazy old thing. Fluffy has no interest in toys or treats. He just naps in the sun all day."

"Not a bad life," Mason said. "Have you had him for long?"

"Fluffy's got to be fifteen or so by now," I said. "He's an old man, but hanging in there. I kind of miss him."

"He doesn't live with you?" Mason asked.

"No, he's more the family cat. He lives with my parents. I wouldn't want to be dragging him around from city to city, the way I travel. It wouldn't be fair to him to make him get used to a new environment every few months."

Mason stilled in the middle of taking a toy down from a shelf.

"Right," he said. "You mentioned before that you don't stay put too long."

The note of disquiet in his voice gave me pause.

I had been thinking before that I was going to miss Mason when I moved on.

I hadn't given thought to whether or not he would miss me.

A flustered tingle hit my chest, almost like panic, but not as strong as I usually felt. My mind went a little woozy at the thought that Mason might miss me when I was gone.

Maybe I didn't have to leave so soon after all. What would be the harm in staying another month or two… or more? It would give me more time to think about things. To see where things were going with me and Mason.

Maybe… Maybe the two of us…

"I think I've bought half of the store," Mason said. "This is probably enough for now."