Page 1 of Numbers Boy (Working Boys #2)

CHAPTER ONE

Steve

Adopting a pet is just one way that I’m taking back my life after I broke up with my cheating douchebag of an ex, Adam.

At first, it made sense that we couldn’t get a pet because who gets a pet with their boyfriend of just a few months, especially while still in college?

But then the excuses became more and more flimsy after I moved in with him.

“Who would take care of it?” Umm, duh, I would.

“I don’t want everything to smell like dog piss.” Which is why we don’t let the dog pee inside the apartment.

“What about the new tile flooring in the kitchen?” Tile is literally made to be easily washed.

Eventually, I just stopped bringing it up.

Just like I stopped mentioning my drag performances.

And stopped wearing so much makeup.

And stopped asking where he had been the night before.

But no longer. Adam and his two- (or three or four or who the fuck knows?) timing dick are out of my life for good. And I’m about to adopt me a puppy dog.

“Oh my god, Stevie, look at this one!” my best friend, Stu, exclaims, breaking me out of my thoughts of Adam. I head over to where he’s got his long fingers jammed into a crate as best as he can to scratch the chin of a loudly purring orange cat. “He’s got your same hair color.”

I chuckle and move closer to the pair. “He is rocking the ginger look. But I’m here for a dog.” I look down at the cat, and I swear he looks sadder than he did a moment ago. My heart twinges at the expression on his furry little face. “Sorry, sweets. Nothing against cats.”

The cat, Patrick, according to his name plaque, gives Stu’s finger a final lick and then turns his tail to us with a huff. Stu gives a little wave and looks around the brightly lit space before pointing to the other side of the room.

“Alright, looks like dogs are over in that area.”

We head over to where the canines are housed, and I can’t with the level of cuteness that greets us.

There are about twelve dogs in separate crates along the wall and another half a dozen flopping around a giant playpen.

Each animal’s crate has an inscription, just like Patrick’s.

They all include the pet’s name, a picture, and facts about them.

I go down the line one by one, carefully reading about them and giving the ones who want pets as much love as I can.

I recognize a few of them from my perusal of the shelter’s website.

I’m reading about Petey, a Pomeranian whose favorite book is apparently The Hobbit – love that for him – when a staff member comes up and welcomes me and Stu.

“Hey, I’m Adrian. Anything I can help you two with?

” a man wearing a long-sleeved staff T-shirt asks, his pale blue eyes giving us both a once-over.

He’s about our age and kind of cute with his messy black hair sticking up in every direction.

I stifle a grin when his gaze goes back for another look at Stu.

I don’t blame him. My best friend is very easy on the eyes, with his smooth, deep tan skin and thick, dark curls.

The muscles visible even through his sweatshirt and the dimple when he smiles don’t hurt either.

Too bad for this guy that Stu doesn’t swing that way.

In fact, I don’t even think Stu realizes he’s being checked out.

He’s too busy looking at the cute animals.

I can see the moment Adrian decides that nothing is going to happen there.

He turns back to me, and I fill him in on my situation.

“Yeah, I’m looking to adopt a dog. I’ve been on the website a few times and completed the pre-approval paperwork. Now I just need to find somebody to take home with me.”

“Don’t we all?” he quips, and I smile in solidarity. “What kind of breed are you thinking?”

“I’m not sure. I work from home, so getting out for walk breaks won’t be an issue. My apartment is fairly small though, so probably nothing too big. Also, maybe a little older so I don’t have to worry about potty training?”

“Sure, we’ve got a few that might be a good fit.

” Adrian heads over to the playpen area and points to an energetic-looking puppy with tan fur.

“This here is Nova. She’s a little young, we think about two years, but she’s house-trained and not too big for an apartment.

She is fairly vocal though, so if you’re worried about shared walls, that’s something to keep in mind. ”

Nova trots over at hearing her name, and I give her some head scritches.

Stu immediately starts making cooing sounds and baby-talking at her.

Nova eats up the attention, and I grin at how happy my friend looks.

But as adorable as Nova is, I’m not quite sold yet.

Adrian must sense it because he brings me to another dog.

We do this for five dogs, both in the playpen and in separate crates. Each one is sweet, cute, and fits my requirements. But none of them feel like mine. I’m just about to give up when Adrian bumps my elbow with his.

“I’ve got one more I want you to meet,” he says, just as upbeat as when we started, and brings us to a crate toward the end.

“This is Stacy. She’s an Aussie mix, so she’s a little bigger, but she’s pretty mellow and needs someone to love on her.

She was surrendered without any information, so all we know is what our vets have found.

She’s fixed and estimated to be about six years old. ”

As Adrian is telling me all about Stacy, I peer into the crate to find the most beautiful dog I’ve ever seen.

She got fluffy, multicolored fur, but what really strikes me are her eyes.

She has one blue and one brown. I crouch down and hold my hand up to the door.

Stacy slowly makes her way forward before sniffing tentatively at my fingers.

“Hey, girly,” I whisper, not wanting to scare her back. “How would you like to come home with me?”

She gives my knuckles a lick, which I take as a yes.

“She licked you, so you’re hers,” Stu says, mirroring my thoughts, and I grin up at him.

“I don’t think that’s how it works with pets, but I do think she’s the one.”

“And, hey, you get to be Stacy’s mom, so everyone will know that you’ve got it going on.”

I reach out and push him gently, laughing at his stupid reference. “If people can’t tell I’ve got it going on just by seeing my awesome face, they need to get glasses.”

“Truth,” Stu declares and bends down next to me to get a better look at her.

While Stu and I have been going back and forth, Stacy has pressed herself as close to the bars as she can.

“Can we take her out?” I ask Adrian, giving him my best puppy dog eyes. The lashes I have on definitely help my efforts because he immediately agrees.

“Sure, let me just put on this lead.” Stu and I scoot back out of the way as Adrian leans down and carefully opens the door, then clicks the lead into place on her collar.

He holds the end out to Stu, who eagerly takes it.

“I think you two have got this handled, so I’ll let you have some time alone.

Just let me know if you need anything. Otherwise, I’ll be back in a few to get all of the paperwork finished up. ”

“Thank you,” I say, my eyes glued to the precious pup now wiggling in my lap. I smile widely at her enthusiasm and give her a kiss on the snout before glancing at Stu. “Take a picture for me?”

Stu pulls out his phone, a shit-eating grin spread across his face. “Of course, but I get to take some pics with her, too. I want to make Henry jealous.”

I laugh and agree easily. Henry, one of our friends, would do the same thing if he were here instead. Stu snaps a few photos, and then I take some more of him and Stacy.

After that, we find Adrian so I can fill out a few more forms and pay the adoption fee. He runs through her basic medical information, helps me set up a vet checkup, and shows me how to register her chip to me.

Once we say one more goodbye to Stacy and promise to be back for her tomorrow, I open up the Working Boys chat, the text thread Stu and I are in with our group of friends from college.

Me: Hey, boys, check out my new girl! *image attached*

Hen: Squee! She’s adorable! *heart eye emoji*

Mark: What’s her name?

Stu-boo: That’s Stacy. And sorry, Henry, but I’m already the favorite uncle. *shrug emoji*

Stu-boo: *image attached*

Leighton: When can we come see her?

Greg: She looks so sweet. Congrats, Steve, I know you’ve wanted a dog for a while

Me: Thanks *heart emoji*

Me: I get to take her home tomorrow and want to let her get settled in a bit before she gets too many visitors. Maybe give us a few days and then we can slowly introduce you all?

Hen: Dibs on first visit!

Chad: Can I come with?

Greg: Dude you can’t just add yourself to someone else’s dibs!

Leighton: Looks like he just did, Greg

Chad: You snooze, you lose

Greg: Fine, but Andrew and I are next

Mark: How about Steve tells us when we can come and keeps us updated with lots of pictures in the meantime?

Stu-boo: *image attached* I’ll help out with the picture sending

Leighton: Showoff

Stu ignores the jab and tosses his phone down in favor of starting his car, grinning widely at having caused a little chaos.

I laugh as the guys continue to rib each other, only half paying attention as I scroll through the pictures we took at the shelter.

I choose one of me and Stacy to post to my Instagram and settle back into my seat, happy with the step I took today to get my life back.

HAVING STACY AT home with me is amazing.

I love getting to cuddle up with her in the evenings, and she’s the perfect excuse to go for walks.

Although, with it being January in Wisconsin, I am a bit envious of her thick fur coat when it takes me ten minutes to get bundled up for our evening stroll to the dog park.

As I throw her tennis ball again with slightly frozen fingers, I realize that I might need to figure out who is going to do this on nights that I’m rehearsing or performing, since one of the other ways I’m taking back my life is by starting to do drag again.

Drag was something I really enjoyed doing in college.

I loved the power I felt while performing, the high of being this person who was all of my boldest parts amplified for the audience.

It was also one of the things that got the most snide comments from Adam.

Eventually, the fun wore off because I didn’t feel like I could share that part of me with the person who should have been supporting me the most.

Now that Adam is out of the picture, I’m resurrecting my drag persona and taking back that little bit of power. Right now, I’ve only got a few Sunday brunches lined up, but it’s a start. And as I get more and more into it, I’m going to have to make sure I’m not slacking on doggy daddy duties.

I know Stu and the rest of the Working Boys will help out in a pinch, but I can’t ask them to do it all the time.

They have their own lives. I pull out my phone, grinning as Stacy starts chasing her tail.

Seeing her so happy is worth the fact that I can barely feel my fingers and the air hurts my face.

Thank god for gloves that work on touchscreens.

Me: Hey, I’m going to start looking into dog walkers for nights that I have practice and performances. If you hear of anything that might work, lmk

Stu-boo: You got it

Stu-boo: Btw, I’m super excited to see you perform again. I’ve missed Eve

I grin down at my screen, a warm feeling filling me at my friend’s support.

Over the past year, all of my friends have encouraged me to keep doing the things I love, but it was really hard once we graduated and they weren’t there all the time.

Once I finally got it in my head that Adam had changed me in ways that I wasn’t okay with and was continuing to make things worse, they all rallied behind me while I got my shit together.

None more so than Stu. He’s been my ride-or-die since elementary school, and this past year has been no different.

I can’t wait to see them all in the audience of my first gig back.

Because I know, no matter how rusty my skills might be, they love me no matter what.

Me: Honestly, me too