Saved by the....bark?

I jumped, scared when I saw him standing up from the chair while I walked up the few steps from the sand to the deck.  “What are you doing here?” I asked softly, a little embarrassed that I hadn’t noticed him earlier and that he had to watch the previous exchange between me and Cole.

"I took the train in a little while ago, I have a meeting Monday so I’m giving myself the day tomorrow to lock myself in the apartment and prepare for it.” He said, looking to the box on the table, “I uh, grabbed a pizza from that place you mentioned the other day, I thought maybe we could just hang low tonight and relax…” he said smiling weakly. “I didn’t realize you would be busy. I should have called.”

“i…uh…thank you, I’m sorry I wasn’t here, there was this bonfire up the beach” I offered sympathetically, motioning up the beach a little.

“So was that your boyfriend or something?” he asked, surprising me a little at how hurt he seemed by the word boyfriend.

“Cole? No, I actually just met him at the party, he was nice enough to walk me home,” I said softly, walking closer to him. Even after having such a good night with Cole and my friends, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that I didn’t have the opportunity to spend a lazy night in with this man I was dying to know everything about.

“Maybe I should just leave actually, I don’t want to intrude or ruin anything with your friend...” he said, emphasizing the word friend.

“No!” I said, laughing at how eager it came out, “I mean you have pizza, so why not heat it up and we can talk or watch a movie?” I offered, still wanting to hang out with him for a little bit. “I have beer.” I said holding up my little cooler and smiling.

He returned the smile, that instantly left goose bumps all over my body. I made my way to the door, feeling him move across the deck and come up behind me as I unlocked it. His arms started to run up and down mine, warming me up a little as I fumbled with the key. I finally got it and led us inside, locking the door behind us. I turned to follow him as he walk over to my kitchen and put the pizza on the counter. “Does that need to be heated up?” I asked walking over and putting the beer from my cooler back into the fridge, then sliding one over to him.

“Yea probably,” he said walking over and turning the oven on. I grabbed a pan and put it on the stove top.

“Do you mind heating this up while I do change into something more comfortable?” I asked, looking over at him, as he started to put some slices on the pan.

“Sounds good,” he said smiling.

I turned to go upstairs, just as his hand caught my wrist and pulled me back to him. I giggled as he pulled me across the floor to him, his arms pulling me up against him closely as he smirked down at me. “I haven’t stopped thinking about your lips since the other day,” he whispered before kissing me softly, just little pecks as he backed me up against the counter, his arms wrapping around my waist, sliding under my butt and lifting me up onto the counter. I giggled as he lifted me with such ease, my legs spreading so he could stand between them as he moved in and kissed me more, harder this time. My hands lifted up, running through his hair, gripping into it a little as his tongue intertwined with mine. I moved back a little, sucking playfully on his bottom lip as I pulled away. Looking into his eyes, I smiled, leaning in to kiss him some more, unable to get enough. Just as my lips started to brush against his, a loud bark from the living room distracted us both. Turning reluctantly, there was Daisy, sitting in front of the back doors, barking and wagging her tail, ready to go outside. I shook my head, a little disappointed, but a little relieved she had interfered before things went too far too fast. “I’ll take her out and put this pizza in, you go change,” Andrew offered, his hands rubbing my thighs as he talked, squeezing them slightly before sliding me off the counter and back onto my feet. I nodded my head agreeing, unable to form normal words. The smack on my ass as I turned to go to my room didn’t help either.

My mind was spinning.