The Naked Truth

  We arrived at the building that housed the animal shelter, and I stopped. “We’re here.”

  “Where?” She looked around, and her eyes lit up as they rose to the sign high on the tall brick building: New York City Animal Care. “We’re visiting dogs?”

  “We can visit them all. But I’m here for one in particular. I adopted a dog, and today’s my appointment to pick him up.”

  ***

  “Oh my God.” Layla landed flat on her ass and cracked up. Just like the first time I’d met Freckles, he’d acted shy and hesitant, sniffing her until he decided she was okay, and then he’d pounced and knocked her over to lick her face. This time I grabbed his collar, much like the volunteer had done when it was me.

  “Relax, boy. Take it easy. I know she smells good, but you’re embarrassing the both of us. Plus, I might be a little jealous.”

  Layla’s smile was wide as she rolled her eyes and let me help her up. She stayed crouched down next to me, as Freckles finally turned his attention my way.

  “There you go. It’s about time you noticed I was here.”

  She looked on as I scratched behind his ears and gave him a good two-hand rub.

  “And here I assumed you were referring to the attention I was giving the dog when you said you were jealous,” Layla teased. “Now I’m not so sure. I think you might’ve been jealous of the dog giving me attention.”

  “You let me lick your face, and I won’t even remember I have a dog.”

  She laughed.

  The volunteer had said the center’s Wi-Fi was down this morning, so they were a little behind in getting the adoption paperwork together. She’d suggested we hang out in the pet playroom while they worked on finalizing everything.

  I would stay all day in this putrid-smelling room just to keep that smile on Layla’s face. She looked so carefree in the moment.

  Freckles ran over and got his shoe. I guess that thing was coming home with me if he still hadn’t given it up. Layla took the shoe and pulled on one end while he happily pulled on the other.

  “Is this what they’re using for toys now? Whatever the fee is for adopting him, I think you need to double your donation.”

  God, that damn smile.

  “It’s his previous owner’s. Sad story. He died…” I reached out and scratched the dog’s back while the two of them played tug-of-war. “And this little guy got himself into trouble in the house for a few days before anyone found them. That’s why he’s shaved. When I saw him yesterday, he was covered in glue and mud. But that shoe is his owner’s, and he seems to be attached to it.”

  “Awww. Poor baby.” Layla released the shoe and scooped Freckles into her arms, snuggling him against her chest.

  I could swear the dog looked back at me and grinned. Maybe I imagined it.

  “I had a dog when I was little.”

  “I know. That was the start of your yeahway lists. You got a mutt that you named Muffin the Mutt.”

  She looked at me funny, her nose crinkling up. “You remember my dog’s name?”

  “Too creepy?”

  Her lip twitched. “Maybe a little.”

  Ten minutes later, Carol, the volunteer who’d helped us when we came in, appeared in the doorway. “Looks like he’s taken a liking to the Mrs.”

  I saw from my peripheral vision that Layla was about to correct her, so I beat her to the chase. “Can you blame him? Dog’s got good taste.”

  I winked when my pretend wife gave me the evil eye.

  “We’re all ready with the paperwork. Sorry about the wait. We just need you to sign a few forms, and you’ll be on your way.”

  I lifted the dog from Layla’s arms and offered a hand to help her up.

  “I’ll be right next door when you’re ready,” Carol said. She began to walk away and then turned back and pointed to the beat-up loafer on the floor. “Don’t forget Freckles’ shoe.”

  Layla had been brushing the dog hair from her pants. Her head popped up. “What did she just say?”

  “She said she’d be right next door when we’re ready.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “After that.”

  “She didn’t want us to forget his loafer.”

  “Yes, and what did she call the dog?”

  “By his name, of course.”

  She playfully smacked my arm. “What’s the dog’s name, Westbrook?”

  I grinned. “Freckles.”

  “That was his name already or that’s what you named him?”

  “I had nothing to do with it.” I pointed to his nose. The little guy’s freckles were front and center with his new shaved head. “But now I know why we bonded so easily. Me and Freckles. We’re meant to be.”

  She shook her head, but the smile she wore hadn’t disappeared. I extended my hand for her to walk through the doorway before me, but stopped her before she passed through to whisper, “I was referring to both Freckles, in case you were wondering.”

  Chapter 15

  * * *

  Gray

  I wasn’t ready to call it a day.

  But after a trip to a nearby pet store to stock up on supplies, Freckles told me he was ready to go home. He actually laid down while I waited in the checkout line.

  Layla placed the dog bowls in her hands on the conveyor belt while I added a twenty-pound bag of food, biscuits, some chew sticks, and a plastic shoe that I had a feeling would drive me nuts from squeaking.

  She looked at Freckles as he yawned and made himself comfortable. “I think you have a lazy dog.”

  “Don’t pick on your namesake.” I paid the bill for my purchases and grabbed the dog food and one of the bags. Layla picked up the other two, and we walked back out to the street together.

  “My little buddy’s wiped out, and I could really use some help carrying all this junk to my place.”

  Layla gave me a face that said you’re full of shit. “I could tie these bags to your belt loops and make you walk home like a pack mule while I go into the office for a few hours like I should’ve done today.”

  I grinned. “Or…you could come home with me and let me try to impress you with the view from my living room.”

  “If I help you, do you promise to be on good behavior?”

  “I do.” I looked down at my new dog. “But I can’t speak for Freckles here. I’m not the only one that wants to lick you.”

  “Which way? Before I change my mind.”

  ***

  My palms started to sweat as I opened the front door to my apartment. I had no fucking idea why. I lived in a great building, the views were spectacular, and before my disastrous relationship with Max, I wasn’t a stranger to entertaining. But with Layla, everything just felt important.

  I couldn’t have asked for a better reception if I’d ordered the sunset myself. The floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room revealed the most colorful, hazy sunset casting orange, yellow, and purple streaks across the sky. It wasn’t quite fully dark, but it was dim enough that the lights of Manhattan bounced a glow all over the city.

  “Holy shit.” Layla made a beeline for the wall of glass. “I assumed you saying you had a great view was just a way to lure me up to your apartment.”

  I walked over and stood close behind her. God, what I wouldn’t have given to pull her hair to the side and devour her beautiful neck. Together we looked out in comfortable silence until she broke it.

  “You must’ve missed this.”

  I looked at her standing so close and began to salivate. “You can’t even imagine.”

  If I didn’t put a little space between us, I was about to fuck things up. I cleared my throat. “I need to give Freckles some water. Can I get you a glass of wine?”

  “I’d love that.”

  Layla stayed at the windows as I filled Freckles’ new bowl and opened a bottle of wine. It was getting dark fast, and by the time I joined her again, the light of the day was almost gone.

  “When I was little and people asked me my favorite color, I would s
ay rainbow because I loved the way all the colors looked together and couldn’t pick just one,” she said. “I think that’s changed.”

  “Oh yeah?” I extended the glass of wine to her. “What’s your new favorite color?”

  She smiled. “Sunset. That’s my new favorite color.”

  “Come on. Let me show you the view from my bedroom before it gets completely dark. It’s different, but just as good.”

  “I don’t even care if that’s a line. I want to see the view.”

  “Seriously?” she said as she walked in. The two windows in my bedroom were smaller than the display in the living room, but they framed a view of the Hudson River, which currently reflected the last of the sunset and lights of the coming evening. “These are the best views I’ve ever seen in an apartment. I don’t think I’d ever leave if I lived here.”

  “I’m sure that could be arranged.”

  Just as we’d done in the living room, we stood at the bedroom windows looking outside for a while. I’m not sure how long we were there, but when Layla turned around, it was totally dark.

  Her big green eyes looked up at me. “What did you miss most?”

  Before I could answer, she held up a finger, clarifying her question. “And you can’t say me.”

  I thought for a moment. “I missed wanting time to slow down.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I wanted every day to pass quickly. I was basically wishing my life away. I missed the moments in life when I wanted time to stand still.”

  “I’m not sure I understand.”

  “How did you just feel watching the sunset in the living room? Like you were enjoying the moment, and maybe it would be nice to stretch it a few minutes longer…make time slow down?”

  “Yeah. That’s exactly how I felt.”

  “I missed that feeling. I missed having things that were so important to me, that I enjoyed so much, that I wanted them to last a little longer.”

  She looked into my eyes. “That’s a really good answer. I guess it can encompass many different things—a sunset, a special moment with someone, hearing an old song, a rainbow.”

  I wanted to tell her that this was one of those moments in the worst way. But I held back for fear of scaring her. Instead, we both sipped our wine. Tension built inside of me. She had to have felt it, too. We were standing in my bedroom, in the dark, in silence. I looked over at the bed eight feet away, and my thoughts couldn’t help but move to what it would be like to be inside her. I wanted to fuck her all over my apartment—a christening of sorts. Against the living room windows while she watched the sunset, in the bedroom on all fours while she watched the sun rise. On the kitchen counter, in the shower, on the floor in front of the fireplace in the dining room, on top of my desk in the guest bedroom that I used as an office.

  Layla’s voice broke me out of my fuckfest fantasy.

  “What are you thinking about right now? You seem so focused on something.”

  I sipped my wine. “I don’t think I should say.”

  She tilted her head. Even though it was dark now, the green in her eyes sparkled. “Why not?”

  “Because I promised myself I’d never do something stupid like lie to you again.”

  “Why would you have to lie to me?”

  I pointed my eyes to the bed before meeting hers again.

  “Oh,” she said.

  The tension we’d managed to keep on simmer suddenly intensified. The air grew thick as the seconds passed, neither of us making an attempt to move out of the dark bedroom. I heard her breathing turn heavier as she stared down at the floor, avoiding my gaze. When she looked up from under thick lashes and our eyes connected, I thought I might lose it.

  So fucking beautiful.

  So fucking sexy.

  In my bedroom…

  But I couldn’t make the first move, even though I would have given anything to take that mouth, devour that neck, hear her moan the way I knew she did when I kissed her. It was a sound I’d never forgotten.

  Her voice was so low, I almost thought I’d imagined it at first.

  “Tell me what you were thinking.”

  “You won’t hold it against me?”

  She swallowed and shook her head.

  “I was imagining waking up to a sunrise in my bed with you. I was imagining the sun coming up over the river and all the beautiful colors.” My voice was gravelly, and I waited for her to stop me. She didn’t. “You’d be on all fours in the center of my bed while I fucked you from behind, slowly, as you watched the sun rise.”

  Her lips parted. Yet she still didn’t stop me, so I took that as a sign to continue.

  “I want to fuck you up against the glass in the living room so the entire city knows you’re mine.”

  Her breathing became more labored.

  “I want to lift you up onto the kitchen counter, spread your legs wide, and eat you for breakfast.”

  “Jesus, Gray.”

  A jingling noise called our attention to the door, and we turned just as my new dog came busting into the bedroom. The big shoe he carried knocked against the doorjamb as he charged in. I’d honestly forgotten all about him. Freckles took a running leap and jumped right up onto my bed. He circled a few times before plopping down dead center in the middle.

  It effectively broke the moment. Maybe getting a dog wasn’t such a great idea after all.

  Layla blinked a few times. I got the feeling she was relieved to have an interruption. She walked over to the bed and sat down. “Hey there, little buddy. How do you like your new home?”

  I stayed at the window and watched their interaction.

  Freckles got up and walked over to the edge where she sat. Layla extended her hand for him to smell, and he took full advantage, even adding in a few licks. Then, out of nowhere, just like he’d done to me the first time I met him and then to Layla earlier today, he jumped on her. Only this time, he didn’t knock her on her ass. She fell back onto the bed and laughed while he hovered over her on all fours, licking her face.

  Rather than stopping it right away, I enjoyed the moment. Layla’s dark hair was sprawled all over my comforter, and she was laughing and smiling, so carefree. Eventually, I felt guilty for not calling my dog off, so I walked over to the bed and gave his collar a little tug.

  “All right, buddy. Take it easy,” I teased. “Save some of that for me.”

  Layla sat up with a genuine smile and wiped doggy drool from her face.

  I still couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

  “What?” She patted her hair and righted her shirt, which had slipped from one shoulder. “Is my makeup all over my face or something?”

  I shook my head. “Remember what you asked me before? What I missed most?”

  “Yeah.”

  I looked between her eyes. “That was one of those moments. Just watching you enjoy the dog.”

  Warmth filled her eyes. “He’s a sweet dog.”

  “How about his owner?”

  She smirked. “He has his moments.” Looking around the room, it must’ve dawned on her that it had turned dark. “We should go back to the living room. But thank you for sharing the view.”

  “My view is your view. Come for sunset, stay for sunrise.”

  She laughed, and I followed her to the kitchen, enjoying my own spectacular view of her ass. When she turned around at the bathroom in the hallway, she caught me, but didn’t call me out on it.

  “Okay if I use this bathroom?”

  “Of course. There’s one off the bedroom, also, if you want.”

  “Thanks. This is fine.”

  Freckles walked over to the front door and scratched at it. “Do you need to go out, buddy?”

  He responded by chasing his tail in a circle at the front door. “I’m going to take that as a yes.”

  Layla came into the kitchen while I tried to attach the leash to Freckles’ collar. “I think he needs to go for a walk.”

  “Wow. That’s great that he just let
you know. It took us months to train our family dog. Although he was a puppy, and I guess Freckles’ previous owner had him trained. But still. Will be nice not to have to go through that.”

  “Why don’t you relax? Stay here. Have another glass of wine while I take him out.”

  She walked to her purse. “Actually, I think I should be going anyway.”

  We’d spent the entire day together, and I still didn’t want it to end. “You sure? There’s a great little Italian place up the block. I was supposed to take you to lunch today, and we never made it. We can order in. Or go grab a bite, if you want.”

  “Thanks. But I think it’s best. Plus, I have a ton of work to do.”

  Neither of us said a word the entire way down in the elevator. Once we were out on the street, Freckles pulled me over to a tree to relieve himself.

  “Smart dog,” Layla said.

  “Yeah. I think I might’ve gotten lucky.”

  She looked down. “Thanks for taking me along today to pick him up. I had a really good time.”

  I couldn’t let her go without pushing. Reaching out, I slipped two fingers under her chin and lifted so our eyes met. “Let me take you out to dinner. On a real date.”

  I watched as the wheels in her head spun. She bit her lip and looked away before giving me her eyes. “We take it slow.”

  “I can do slow.” I responded way too fast. It was obvious that if she’d said “Okay, but you have to eat a bag of shit first,” I would have agreed.

  She shook her head. “I hope I don’t regret this.”

  My face lit up into what was probably the most obnoxious, over-the-top, cheesy smile. “That’s a yes?”

  “Fine. Yes.” She held up a warning finger. “But it’s dinner. Slow, Gray.”

  I wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her to me. “I can do slow.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “I thought you said no lies.”

  “I did. That doesn’t mean I want to do slow. But I can, and I will, if that’s what it takes.”

  She rested a hand on my chest, applying a slight pressure that I suspected was telling me to keep the distance. “I need to take care of some things. Call me during the week?”