by J. J. Howard
I think Frankie rolled his eyes a little as he said, “Thanks.”
“What grade are you in?” I asked him.
“Seventh,” he said. “I know I look old for my age.”
Mateo groaned out loud. “We know you sound stupid for your age,” he said to Frankie, then turned to the rest of us. “I apologize for the human stain otherwise known as my brother.”
Mateo had been so nice and polite … until his little brother came along. At that moment, I was pretty glad to be an only child, or at least not to be anybody’s younger sister.
“We’re in seventh too,” Hallie told Frankie, and he shrugged. I bristled. He didn’t seem very nice.
“Boys, where are you?” a woman’s voice called from the garage. “Your dad and I need your help!”
“Coming!” Frankie called in the direction of the garage. “See ya at school,” he told me and Hallie, before racing back toward his house.
“I should go too,” Mateo said, but he looked very reluctant to leave Annie’s side.
“I could come over and help,” Annie offered with a shy smile. “Except I promised these two …” She glanced apologetically at me and Hallie.
“It’s okay!” both Hallie and I said at the same time.
“We can meet up another day,” I added.
“Let me just go tell my mom where I’ll be,” Annie told Mateo. She waved goodbye to me and Hallie, knelt down to give Cupid a quick kiss on the top of his head, and ran back toward her house. Mateo watched her go with a dreamy smile on his face. He didn’t even notice when Hallie and I said goodbye to him and walked off with Cupid trotting along between us.
I turned to Hallie. “I’m sorry Annie bailed on the cheer squad prep,” I said.
“It’s really fine,” Hallie said, and for the first time that day, she was smiling. “I actually told my mom I’d help her with some chores around the house today, so it works out better this way.”
“Are you sure you’re okay with it?” I asked. “I can see if Annie would meet us tomorrow …”
Hallie shook her head. “No, Emma. Really.” She took a deep breath and added, “I decided I’m not going to try out for the cheer squad.”
My stomach dropped. I’d been talking Hallie into trying out for the cheer squad since last year. I just knew she’d be great at it. “Wait, what?” I said. “Now I feel terrible! I shouldn’t have suggested—”
“No, Emma, look—you’re not listening to me, okay?” Hallie said, sounding frustrated. “I was seriously wavering on the whole idea anyway, and I’m taking this as a sign. I feel really … relieved now that I’ve decided not to do it. So, that should tell you something.”
“Oh. Okay.” I tried not to let my disappointment show on my face. I thought I was being helpful, encouraging Hallie to try out. “You’d be amazing, though … I mean, you’re such a good dancer.”
We turned onto my street, with Cupid stopping occasionally to sniff at a tree root.
“Thanks,” Hallie said. “But I think I’m more of a freestyler than a choreo girl. I’ll still get a chance to tear it up at the dance next month.” She shot me a grin.
“Yeah, you will!” I said, newly excited. Next month was the Valentine’s Day dance at school, something Hallie and I had both been looking forward to. We’d gone together last year, and it had been a blast.
“I was even wondering,” Hallie added, and her cheeks turned pink—but not from the cold. “If we might end up bringing dates this year? I heard from Autumn Hawkins that in seventh grade it’s practically a requirement to have a date to the Valentine’s dance.”
“Really?” I said, surprised. I hadn’t thought about that part of the dance. I bit my lip. Who could Hallie and I take as dates? We definitely didn’t have boyfriends.
But thinking about dates reminded me of Annie and Mateo, and I turned to Hallie with a smile. “Can you believe what happened with Annie and that new boy?” I asked. “It was just so amazing how Cupid—”
“Set them up? Yeah, I caught that too.” Hallie laughed.
I picked Cupid up and put his little wrinkly face close to mine. “You’re a wonder pup, yes, you are! I must have had a premonition when I named you Cupid. You’re basically a matchmaker.”
We had reached my house, so Hallie gave me a hug and rubbed Cupid’s head before turning to go back to her house.
Now, sitting in my bedroom with Cupid in my lap, a few hours after the Annie/Mateo meet-cute, I thought back to how my pug had gotten his name. My dad is a professor of ethics and philosophy at a small college in the neighboring town. He’s a huge fan of everything from the classical period, so I grew up learning all about Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates—but also all about the ancient gods and goddesses like Mars, Cupid, and Venus. When I finally talked my father into letting me have a dog for my tenth birthday, Cupid seemed like the perfect name. After all, one look into his big, round brown eyes and I felt like I’d been hit with one of the love god’s arrows. From the first moment I saw him, I loved that pug more than words could ever say.
Forgetting about my journal entry for the moment, I scratched Cupid under his chin. “You’re the best matchmaking pug in the whole world,” I told him. I didn’t actually know of any other matchmaking pugs in the world, so it seemed a safe bet. “The best!”
“You are going to give that little dog a very big ego,” said a voice from the doorway, and I jumped in surprise.
Girls just wanna have pugs … and fun … and thanks to Aimee Friedman and Olivia Valcarce, my writing life has been paws-itively full of both! Here’s to another furry adventure hitting the shelves.
Thank you to my agent, Devin Ross, for always being in my corner—next time we’re getting cookies!
As always, thanks, Mom, for our daily chat, and a special shout-out to my family in PA: Jim, Laura, Grace, Matthew, and welcome to baby Henry.
Thank you to my Palm Beach Day Academy family. I love spending my days with all of you.
Finally, thank you to every reader who’s spent time with Potato, Osito, Pancake, Pepper, Jack, Cupid, and now Meatball. You guys are TOTALLY PAWSOME!
PHOTO BY MICHELE LAWRENCE
J.J. Howard is the author of Sit, Stay, Love; Pugs and Kisses; Pugs in a Blanket; and The Love Pug. She teaches English in Florida, where she lives with one very spoiled miniature dachshund named Willow (who does exactly as she pleases and ignores all commands … unless there are cookies involved). Visit J.J. online at jjhowardbooks.com.
The Love Pug
Pugs in a Blanket
Pugs and Kisses
Sit, Stay, Love
Copyright © 2021 by Jennifer Howard
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
First printing 2021
Cover design by Yaffa Jaskoll
Cover photos © Shutterstock.com
e-ISBN 978-1-338-64045-8
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