Page 116 of Just Another Silly Love Song

LORI

I walked out to the balcony of my condo, glancing below at the cars and people on Pearl Street, and then over to El Pescador, my favorite fish place. I sat down and called the one person I couldn’t get out of my head.

Ben answered on the first ring. “Hello?”

I smiled. “Good morning.”

“Woof!”

Ben chuckled. “That wasn’t me, in case you’re wondering.”

I laughed. “Good to know. Where are you?”

“I’m at home.”

“Woof!”

“Do you have a dog?” I asked.

“I donow,” Ben answered. “I kind of adopted one yesterday after you left.”

“Kind of adopted one? How does that work exactly?”

“Okay, I definitely adopted one. I was getting ready to call you, actually. Would you mind coming over to my place today instead of us going out somewhere to do something? It’s his first full day at home and I wanted to be with him, to make him feel comfortable. If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all,” I answered. “When should I stop by?”

“Come over now, if you want to.”

“Sounds great.” I couldn’t contain my excitement because I loved dogs and wanted to meet his. And of course, I was looking forward to seeing Ben again.

“I’ll text you my address,” Ben said.

After disconnecting the call I checked the text from him, surprised that he didn’t live far from my place. It was perfect because I was in the mood for a stroll and it was a gorgeous day in La Jolla, sunny and seventy-eight degrees.

I changed into jeans and my favorite Air Supply t-shirt, the one with the cover of their Greatest Hits album.

I was certain Ben would give me flack about the band, but I didn’t care.

Twenty minutes later, I stopped on the sidewalk, admiring Ben’s place in front of me. He had the cutest yellow house with a white picket fence around the yard, a flower garden in front, and wind chimes hanging near the front door.

It was absolutely adorable.

“Looks like you surprised me again, Ben,” I mumbled to myself, opening the gate on the white picket fence and closing it behind me.

I pressed the doorbell and waited.

“Woof! Woof!”

“It’s okay, it’s just Lori,” Ben said from the inside of the house. “I know you’re excited, but you need to sit. Good boy.”

Ben was already trying to train the dog, which made me smile.

He opened the door a few inches and peeked through the opening. “Welcome, partner.”

“Hey, partner.” I tried to look past him into the house to see the dog but couldn’t see a thing. “Are you thinking of letting me in?”

He smirked. “Not with that T-shirt, I’m not.”