We get to the shelter just as they are opening their doors. Mom doesn’t waste any time as we approach the front desk.
“I’m Mrs. Albright, and I’m here for Brutus.”
“Just a moment, ma’am.”
Mom taps her fingers on the countertop and lines up her ID’s and her printed receipt. “This is my proof of ID. There’s the receipt showing I’ve paid all your fees. I’ve got a long ride home.” Mom’s all business.
The lady studies everything. “Give me five minutes, please. I need to talk with my manager.”
She leaves the room and talks on her phone. JuneBug looks over at my mom. “No small talk, Ms. Albright?”
“JuneBug. I’ve got things to do, which is why I completed everything online beforehand.” My mom rolls her eyes. “And they say technology makes everything easier…”
We stand here awkwardly. I watch mom put all her things back in her purse. Just when we think they’ll never come back, here comes a lady leading a beast dog, pulling her sideways as she tries to right him. She gives up as he walks along the wall, bumping into it clumsily as he keeps coming. She hands the leash over to me. “Here’s Big Brutus.”
I watch in awe as mom gets down on one knee in front of Brutus. She rubs his ears and talks to him sweet and low for a few minutes. She stands up. “Come on, Brutus.” He follows her voice across the parking lot, walking a little sideways. His one good eye tracks our movements; occasionally bumping into cars with the side of his head as we go. This doesn’t upset him as he lumbers along like Sesame Street Snuffaluffagus, swaying side to side like a drunk cowboy.
We get to the truck. Oh boy. His big body makes the backseat of dad’s King Cab look very small. We wait patiently. Mom encourages him as he tries to get in the car. On the third try, he manages to jump inside the truck. JuneBug turns to face me. “They weren’t kidding about his poor vision and screwed-up depth perception.”
JuneBug crawls in the other side and leans up against the door. Brutus takes up most of the backseat. I’m worried about her lack of space, but JuneBug doesn’t seem to mind. Pretty soon, she curls up next to Big Brutus and goes to sleep.
Mom hands me her phone. “Snap me a picture and post it on my Facebook.”
I giggle. “Admit it, mom. Your heart literally melted toward JuneBug a little more just now.”
“Katie. You’re such a cheese ball.”
We make good time on the way home and stop at the same shoreline as before to stretch our legs. Big Brutus stumbles out of the car and wanders around for quite some time before he finally finds the perfect spot for his mammoth-sized dump. That done, he runs away from it like a frisky puppy.
He heads for the beach and sniffs at the sand. He sneezes it back out when it goes up his nose. He heads for the water and sticks his toes in as daintily as a ballerina.
I hold up my phone and make a video. “Watch Brutus, the 200 lb. beast, dip his toes in the water like a little girl,” I speak quietly. As if cued, he pokes a toe in again before drawing his foot back and shaking his head. He hovers at the water’s edge. “Ladies and gentlemen. Now is the moment of truth. Will Brutus dare to venture into the lake?” He turns and walks toward the car. We make a great pair.
“Thank goodness! I thought we were going to deal with wet dog smell all the way home!” I holler over at mom.
We three humans walk back to the truck. There sits Brutus, patient as you please, like a doorman at a hotel. It’s the sweetest thing. He woofs one time. His tail wags as he sits, waiting on us. My mom puts her hand over her heart. “Oh, Brutus. You are quite the gentleman.”
We load up and start down the road. Mom looks over at me. “So. Tell me about the concert on the roof.”
“Well. We met two guys, Chad and Ty. They’re from Oklahoma. Ty and I both love books and poetry, so we talked about reading and writing. It was so cool.”
“So how does this work? Are you interested?”
“Mom! I’m interested in...” Oliver’s name almost slips out. “I mean, we’re just friends. Ty and I agreed.”
Mom glances in the rearview mirror. “JuneBug? What about you?”
JuneBug’s sawing logs again, so I answer for her. “JuneBug and Chad kind of hit it off.”
“So they’ll see each other again?”
“Oh. I doubt it. I mean he lives in Oklahoma, and JuneBug’s in Ohio.” She gives me a funny look. “She’s not really one for long-distance relationships,” I say, as if I have a clue. Time to change the subject. “Hey, Mom. Do you know who J.R. is?”
“I don’t think so.”
“He’s like a famous author, like one of my favorites. Anyway, he was at the concert. Ty and I talked to him! And then he invited us to a poetry reading at the Corner Café, and we totally went, and we got to watch him do free verse. And it was awesome!”
“That sounds nice.” She doesn’t believe me. I can totally tell.
“Mom, it was more than nice. It was Epic! I mean, J.R. is only one of the best-known poets of our generation. I’ve never had anything so exciting happen in my entire life. It was…it was life-changing”
She laughs at me. “Oh, you almost had me going, Katie, you really did. I swear, I knew there would come a day when your imagination would become so vivid to you that you would get reality and your imagination mixed up, and it’s finally happened. You’ve officially gone around the bend.”
I cannot believe this. “Mom. I’m not delusional. There is a clear line between reality and make believe, and I know the difference.”
“Sure you do, Katie. Sure you do. I mean, what are the chances that a very famous writer/poet shows up at the hotel at the dance in Buffalo, New York? I mean, come on.”
I’m not mad, not really, just disappointed. I made a perfectly good argument, and mom still doesn’t believe me. I get out my phone and pull up the picture from the coffee shoppe that J.R. was in. I wave the picture in her face. “There. See? It’s him, he’s a writer.”
She snatches the phone from my hand, looking hard. “Alright. I believe you. But you gotta admit, it’s pretty unlikely. I mean, you can see why I questioned you, right? I mean, you are always telling me these tall tales and I never know what part is true, because you like, add so much description to your story, that I just don’t know.”
I sigh. “Just because I’m good at story-telling, doesn’t make it any less true, Mom.”
She pats my leg. “I’m sorry, Katie. Truce?”
“Yeah, I guess.” We drive on, and she lets me control the radio. “Why does time always drag on the way home?” I whine.
She laughs. “Because there’s no expectations or curiosity.”
“That’s fair.”
I smile when I see the Athens sign beside the highway hours later. “We’re home!”
Brutus’s ears perk up. He sits up and stares out the window. “Katie, when we get home, show him around the yard, please.”
She parks the truck and I go around to the door. I let Brutus out and walk him around the yard.
JuneBug stumbles out of the truck and grabs her stuff from beneath the seat. “JuneBug out. I’m going home to sleep.” She puts her hand to her forehead and salutes.
I walk Brutus into the kitchen. “Brutus, lie down.”
I’m amazed he follows my command. He lies down in his doggie bed and looks at me with complete comprehension.
All my stuff is beside the stairwell. I pick it up and trudge up the stairs tiredly. I throw open my room door and flop down on the bed, hugging my pillow. I’m almost in nap mode when I hear something hit my window. It must be a stray branch, but it’s not that windy? The window pings and rattles. I look outside. Oliver stands in my yard. I make a beeline for the stairs and head out the back door. “Hey.”
He grabs my hand. “Walk with me, please?” I allow him to tug me down the street a ways. “So you went to Buffalo.”
“Yeah.”
“And you like saw J.R.? For real?”
I look at him. I wish I knew what he was thinking. “Um, yes.”
He coughs a little. “And the guy in the picture, sitting by you?”
I giggle. His hand tenses in mine. “That’s Ty. Very cool guy. He loves writing and so do I. He’s the one who told me J.R. was in Buffalo. I mean, if it weren’t for Ty, I may have not met J.R.. It was like one of the best nights of my life.”
Oliver stops walking, and he looks me in the eye. “So…did you kiss him?”
I can’t help it. “Who, J,R.? No. I don’t think I’m his type. I mean, I might have, bein’ he’s famous and all, and I’d probably never see him again…”
Oliver winces. “That’s not funny. You know who I’m talking about, Ty, the literature guy. Did you kiss him?”
Why am I poking a jealous giant? “And what if I did? What are you going to do about it? We aren’t together.”
Oliver won’t let go of my hand. He pulls me toward him. I don’t want to resist, but the kiss with Ty is fresh in my mind. “Cut me some slack, would you? It’s not what I want, but I’m trying to be patient. You know I want to be with you.”
His honesty gets to me every time. “Yeah, I kissed him,” I utter.
He drops my hand and steps away. “I see.”
I dance around the truth. “He told me he was okay with being my boyfriend online.”
Oliver kicks at the ground. “Is that what you want?” Why does he know exactly what questions to ask to call me on my b.s.?
“It’d be a lot easier.”
He steps closer to me. “That’s not what I asked.”
I can’t look away from him. “I know.”
How can he smile and look sad at the same time? “So. Tell me about this poet.”
My heart races. I can’t help it. “It was so Boss! We found him by accident. JuneBug and I were at the hotel when she ran into the two guys. They told us about the roof top dance. We went. Ty told me about the author being in town, and then the author shows up at the dance. And we were just like in awe, you know? So, Ty danced me over to J.R., and then Ty talked to him. And J.R. was like totally cool and invited us to this quaint little coffee shop on the corner and he like, read poetry and we just sat and listened.
It was an indescribable night. I’m still starstruck. Of course, JuneBug and Chad were not impressed, they were too busy chasing each other, but Ty and I—we were just like wow. Just wow! And then afterwards, JuneBug asked if we all could take a Selfie and J.R. let us. And it was just so...just so out there.”
Oliver stands here staring at me like he’s trying to make up his mind about something, which makes me really nervous, so I ramble.
“And then we got a rescue dog named Brutus that my mom picked out online. He’s at the house. He’s our new pet. I don’t like having guns in the house, so I asked my mom to consider a dog. After getting stuck in the ceiling, she relented.”
Oliver stands here listening to my whole one-sided conversation. I stop when I run out of words. I’m still unsure about the look on his face. I stop for a minute. “So you two are dating now?”
I blink. I can’t lie anymore. “No.”
Oliver’s eyes light up a little. “But you kissed him.”
I roll my eyes. “Yes.”
He steps a little closer. “Why?”
I stomp my foot. “You kissed me that first day, and we weren’t dating.” I give him a shove. “You even had a girlfriend.”
He wiggles his eyebrows at me. “I don’t have one now.”
I step backwards and lean against the tree. “I know.” I place a hand on my heart. “But you’re a little too heavy.” I exhale. “I won’t be your rebound girl.”
He looks all confused. “Rebound girl?”
I look sideways. “The girl who gets what’s left from your last relationship—that’s not good enough for me.”
He laughs. “Too heavy, huh? I can be light on my feet. You won’t even feel it when I sweep you up.”
My eyes fly to the ground. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
His fingertips rest on my jaw. “Look at me.” I lift my chin. “You’re not my rebound girl. My relationship with Livvy wasn’t much of one. It was already over before it ended.”
I escape his touch and head toward my house. “You’re too smooth for your own good, Oliver. It makes it hard to trust you.”
He snags my hand and tugs until I spin around. His expression changes. “You can trust this,” he growls. Here comes the searing heat. He pulls me to him, and I go willingly. His kiss scorches my lips.
He’s my delicious dessert straight out of the oven; a fudge-filled brownie, all gooey and melty with just the right amount of delish chocolate sauce; a lemon bar with just the right amount of sweetness and tart...
Something bumps my butt. Soft and furry, tail, it’s Brutus.
I pull away from Oliver. I lay a hand on the furball. “Hey, Brutus.”
“Katie!” Mom calls my name.
I gather my wits as I look back at Oliver. “I have to go.”
He frowns. “That’s what you always say.”
I can’t help but grin. “That’s because it’s true.”
Brutus nudges my leg. “Oliver. This is Brutus, my one-eyed drunken sailor beast dog.” Oliver lowers his hand slowly in front of Brutus’s face. Brutus sniffs his knuckles and rewards him with a sloppy lick. I laugh. “I’d say he likes you.” I grab Oliver’s other hand. “Come on, you may as well come see my mom.”
He chuckles. “We met, remember? She saved me from your firing finger gun.”
“Oh, yeah. Well, you could come say hi.”
He squeezes my hand. “If you want me to. Sure.”
Brutus and I and Oliver walk back to the house. My mom sits on the backyard swing. From here, she looks like a little lost girl.
I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to the difference in our sizes. I mean, I’ve accepted it and all that, but it’s just we look so different from each other. Sometimes I look at her and I can’t see myself anywhere. I shouldn’t let it bother me, but sometimes it does.
I shake my head to clear my scattered thoughts as we stand in front of her. “Mom, this is Oliver. Oliver, this is my mom.” She stands up from her swing. Oliver gives her a killer smile as he shakes her hand. She gazes adoringly up at him. Yep, I’ve officially fallen for a guy who charms moms. I stand here awkwardly.
“Oliver, we meet again. Come inside. I’ll make you some hot chocolate.” He looks at me with uncertainty. I give him a nod. We follow her into the house. “You two can head on upstairs. It’ll take me a little time to make it.” What is going on? It’s not like my mom to let me go upstairs with a guy, unsupervised.
We walk upstairs. I feel more awkward with each step. He steps inside my room but leaves the door partially open. He moves around my room, looking at everything. He leans over my team photos, the only souvenir from Florida. I try as best as I can not to feel like an open book. I recall all my framed certificates of all my academic and athletic achievements about the time he’s going through them. Thanks to my adoring mother, I’m not hiding who I am.
He turns to me, watching. “What are you thinking?”
“I feel like you’re looking around inside my head. It feels kind of weird,” I blurt out.
“Haven’t you had anyone up here before?”
I’m all sorts of fidgety. “Yeah, JuneBug. That’s a little different.”
He laughs. “That’s a relief.” He reaches for my hand.
I keep mine at my sides. “I can’t, Oliver.”
He sighs and plops down on the side of my bed. “What are you waiting for, Katie?”
“I don’t know. Um. This is all new to me. I’ve…I’ve never had a guy in my room before.”
“You mean this room?”
I’m annoyed that he’s not getting it. “No. Like any room, ever,” I ground out.
“Huh. Well, we’re just hanging out.”
I relax a little. “So what do you think?”
“About what?”
“I don’t know. About everything that you’ve seen so far.”
He clears his throat. “I’m not sure, but I’m enjoying being here, right now, like this.”
What do I do with that? “Um, okay.”
He stands up, reaches out again, and takes my hands. He tugs me toward him and pulls me all the way in. We dance very slowly in circles in my room with his hands at the small of my back. It’s the sweetest thing ever. I lean my head on his shoulder.
“I love the smell of your hair. I love the way we fit together when we dance. I love the way you think. I love the way you name things that mean a lot to you. I love the fact that you don’t let anyone change you. I love your big feet that you hate. I like the way you step out of your gate every day. I love the way you love your mom. I love the way you enjoy life.” All the while he whispers, he rubs my lower back with his thumbs. It’s driving me bananas.
The rumble and rhythm of his voice roll across my heart, and I can’t pull away. “Oliver. You can’t say those things to me.”
He steps back a half step. “It’s how I feel, Katie.” He tips my chin, and leans in for a very slow, unrushed, delicious kiss.
I pull away and step back. The least I can do is be honest with him. “You are simply the most beautiful specimen of a guy that I’ve ever seen in my entire life. If I were a painter, I would paint a new picture of you every day. I want to taste the cleft in your chin, and I want to touch your dimple with the tip of my finger. I want to run my fingers through your beautiful, thick curly hair. I could take 100 pictures of your eyes and never get tired of them.”
He sighs? “I’m flattered, really. But you do like more than just my looks, right? I mean, there’s more to me than just the outside wrapping.”
I feel bad. “Of course. You’re a mad details guy, not to mention your athletic prowess and gigantic hippocampus… You’re comedic, kind, and generous. But you’re too smooth, and I don’t think I’m equipped to handle the devastation you’re sure to leave behind if we start something that eventually will end. I don’t think I can take it.”
I try to turn away from him. He pulls me closer and hugs me tight. “Katie. What do I have to do to get you to go out with me? I think it’s rather obvious I’m more than interested. As much as I’m enjoying all your compliments, I don’t like the outcome. What I’m hearing is that you’re really into me, and I know I’m into you, but you don’t want to take the chance of getting close to me, so you’re not going to even try, even though we both know that our chemistry is like off the charts.”
I nip his shoulder in answer. “That’s exactly it. You’re too hot and I’m not ready for that.”
He growls in my ear. It’s a total turn on. “Alright, I’ll back off for now, but a full-court press is coming.”
I laugh nervously. “I thought you were already doing that.”
He dips me and gives me a killer grin. “Not even close. Prepare yourself, play-a. Once we go man-on-man, you’re mine.” He leans in. His lips hover and drive me crazy. “You don’t even know.” I’m putty in his arms when he pulls me back up. “I’ve gotta run.” He leans in and gives me a peck, barely touching the side of my lip, before he walks away.
“You missed,” I call after him.
He spins around, fills up my doorway, and does an air shot with his hands. “I never miss. That was a teaser rim shot, baby.” He gives me a saucy wink.
I plop down in my chair—shot clean through with disappointment. I glance in my dresser mirror and catch the uncertain look of longing all over my face as I hear his footsteps going down my stairs. “Oh, Katie, you’re in for a fall of ginormous proportions,” I whisper to my reflection.
Absentmindedly, I touch my lips. I don’t know how Oliver knows how to kiss me just right; but he sure does. Every time we kiss, it’s like the first one all over again, and I want another.