Welcome to Blissville

by Walker, Aimee Nicole

  Yeah, I couldn’t keep my mind from going there. I had something smooth Dr. Vaughn could pet. “He’s… um, great.” My voice broke a little when Dr. Vaughn slid his hand beneath Harry to examine his abdomen.

  “His bladder feels hard and contracted,” he said. “We’ll take some x-rays to make sure he doesn’t have any blockages in his bladder, draw some blood for tests, and hopefully Molly can coax the little guy into giving up a urine sample.”

  “I brought some with me,” I replied. “Harry started peeing outside his box, which was how I saw the blood. I grabbed the first thing that came to mind to get a sample.” I pulled a small mason jar out of my pocket and handed it to him. “I don’t want the jar back.”

  “I bet not,” Dr. Vaughn said. “Well, hang tight in here for a few minutes while I borrow Harry to get his lab work started. The blood test will take a little longer to come back, but the urine test results will be immediate. Hopefully, we’re just looking at a UTI that we can resolve with medication and changes to his diet.”

  “Okay,” I told him. I worried my bottom lip between my teeth the entire time they were gone. Luckily, it didn’t take too long for Dr. Vaughn to come back into the room and confirm the diagnosis.

  “Terry is filling his prescription now, so it won’t be long before you can take him home.” Dr. Vaughn handed my cat back to me. Harry looked up at me with big eyes that pleaded with me to hand him back to the good doctor.

  I kissed Harry’s smooth forehead then smiled up at Dr. Vaughn in relief. “Thank you, Dr. Vaughn.”

  “Kyle,” he said.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Call me Kyle.”

  “Why? Because I blew you?” Too bad I said it right as Terry walked into the room with Harry’s prescription.

  “Should I come back?” she asked sassily.

  “No!” I said.

  “Yes!” Kyle answered at the same time.

  “He signs my checks,” Terry said, pointing at Kyle. She laughed heartily then set the pill bottle on the exam table and left the room.

  “Oh my God!” I’d always had a knack for saying the wrong thing at the right time. Or was it the right thing at the wrong time? No, I was pretty sure it was the wrong thing at the wrong time. “I just need to stop talking.”

  “I like your mouth just fine,” Kyle responded.

  “Well, at least someone does,” I muttered while placing Harry inside his carrier. “Do me a favor,” I told him. “Don’t tell my aunt, Sandra, that I brought Harry’s urine to you in a mason jar. She keeps me supplied with the best homemade strawberry jam if I return the jars to her so she can reuse them. I’ll tell her I accidentally broke one instead of telling her the truth.”

  “My lips are sealed,” Kyle said. He looked like he wanted to say something more, but decided against it.

  I’d never seen his playful side before, and I wasn’t sure what prompted him to show it to me that night. He was one of Josh’s clients at the salon, so I saw him on a semi-regular basis. Plus, we lived in a town with a population of just over six-thousand people, so I saw him around a lot, namely the diner. He was always friendly but usually serious. I liked the glimpse he showed me.

  I started to tell him to have a good night, but his hand on the small of my back caused my words to stick in my throat. I had my winter coat on over a sweater, but I was convinced I still felt the heat of his hand. I’d had some pretty vivid dreams about Dr. Dimples, but I never thought they’d have a chance of coming true. Wait a minute. One flirty exchange and his hand on my back doesn’t equal my crush morphing into anything more than spank bank material.

  That didn’t stop me from practically levitating off the floor in excitement when I exited the room. I’d never been high before, but I was certain the detached floating sensation had to be similar. Josh looked at me and did a double take then narrowed his eyes as he searched my face for clues about what happened in the exam room. Technically, nothing happened, but something did because from that night forward, it felt like a cosmic shift whenever we were in the same room.

  I became even more aware of Kyle than before, and I had the impression that he experienced the same with me. Instead of it giving me more confidence, it made me feel more shy and awkward because I knew there was no way in hell anything would come out of the attraction. He was a respected town veterinarian, and I was a receptionist at a salon. It wasn’t that I didn’t have dreams, I just never expected them to come true.

  I quickly learned that life was full of surprises—some of them were good, and some of them were exceptional. For the next few months, I spent my free time writing a book that I thought was sexy and suspenseful, but I felt it needed a bit more technical grit when it came to the subject matter. I figured the best way to get in the head of a hardcore gamer was to become one. I got more than I ever bargained for when I discovered that Kyle was playing World of Warcraft, I mean Doc Paws from B-Ville wasn’t exactly covert or anything.

  We struck up a quick online friendship that became both addictive and dangerous. It was addictive because I craved the flirting banter between us more than alcohol or chocolate, and I loved fine wine and chocolate. It was dangerous because I had fallen fast and hard for a man I would never have, and worse, I allowed him to fall for me. I molded myself into the perfect guy for him because I already had the inside scoop on his favorite things and knew the secrets to his heart. I knew that Kyle would never forgive me if he found out that I had deceived him, but that didn’t stop me from taking the playful banter a step further.

  Next thing I knew, we were meeting in private chat rooms and sharing moments that left me breathless one minute and filled with shame the next. Knowing that I was revving Kyle up and making him moan and come was the biggest turn on I’d ever had until I remembered that it wasn’t me that drove him crazy. It was Drew from Columbus. I knew I’d gone too far when Kyle said that he wanted to take the next step and meet me in person.

  I cut myself off from him cold turkey, and let me tell you that I had withdrawals for weeks afterward. Our online romance only lasted a short time, but I suspected it would taunt me for a lifetime. I’d shake hard every time I saw his messages pop up in the app on my phone, but I erased them before I read them and did something even more stupid like pick up the habit again. Kyle wasn’t one to give up easily and persistently messaged me daily for nearly a month before he stopped.

  Ignoring his messages made me miserable, but it was nothing compared to the devastation I felt when they stopped coming altogether. I had myself a good cry and doubled down on my focus to finish my book. Once I was done writing it, I spent all my extra energy on editing it and researching how to self-publish the thing. I had zero expectations when I uploaded the book for sale, but I learned that another surprise was in store for me.

  My book became a best seller, and people actually wanted to read more work from me. By that time, my best friend Josh and his detective had finally realized that they had something special and began a real relationship with dates and a trip to meet their families in Florida. I was so happy for him, but it drove home how lonely I was at night with just Harry and my latest manuscript.

  Burning the midnight oil caught up to me and Meredith and Josh called me out on it after I was late to work and almost slept through Sunday family dinner. Meredith, our queen, wanted to take me to the hospital to get checked out because she thought I was sick, but I promised her I wasn’t ill. She and Josh demanded to know what was going on with me while Gabe silently watched our exchange. I had to come up with something, but I wasn’t ready to tell them about the book. It was still too new, and I had no idea where the hell it was going to take me.

  I thought madly for an excuse and used the first one that came to mind. “I’m not sick,” I told Mere. “I was just up late last night—well, early this morning—playing video games.”

  “Video games?” Meredith’s tone and demeanor had changed from distraught to disbelief in a second.

  “Yeah, it helps me
relieve stress,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

  “Stress?” she asked me, placing her hands on her hips. I could tell she was about to give me a piece of her mind, but I pressed on anyway.

  “Yes, stress,” I said defensively, not liking her tone one bit. “I don’t have a built-in stress reliever,” I said, pointing at Gabe, “like Jazz does, and I’m not as kickass as you are. Nothing seems to faze you, Mere.”

  “That’s a bunch of bullshit if I ever heard it. Don’t make excuses for bad behavior and then play the poor pitiful me card,” Meredith told me. She was madder than a hornet, and I could tell she was just getting started. “Josh and I have been worried sick to death about you for months. You’ve turned us down to go out, you’ve been late to work, you’ve been absent-minded at times, and you nearly missed Sunday dinner with your family. You look physically ill right now, baby,” Meredith added, but with a softer tone of voice. “What can we do to help you?”

  I felt the fight fade right out of me and flopped down on a kitchen chair. I had worried my friends sick over my behavior and then turned on them when they expressed their concern. Josh and Meredith moved to flank my sides and began comforting me.

  “I feel so immature and ridiculous, but that’s what I’ve gotten caught up in.” I felt sick inside from lying to my friends. “I’m sorry for worrying you. I promise you that I’m not sick and I’ll do better about getting to work on time.”

  “What game are you into these days?” Gabe asked randomly.

  I looked at him in surprise and said, “World of Warcraft. I know, you probably think I’m acting like a ten-year-old.”

  “No, I don’t think that. You’re not the only guy I know in this town who’s hooked on that game,” Gabe said. I fought to keep my composure because I was certain that he was talking about Kyle. Even though I found Gabe and Kyle’s friendship odd, I never questioned that it was right. They were better as friends than lovers, and they obviously talked about the things happening in their lives.

  Luckily Josh saved me from a response. “You don’t say?” he asked Gabe.

  “I just did,” Gabe replied smartly.

  I looked back and forth between them in confusion. Were they about to get into an argument? “Um, I hate to break up whatever is going on here, but do you think we could eat now?” I asked. “I haven’t eaten all day.” As if to emphasize my misery, my stomach growled angrily.

  “I do believe Gabe and I can table this discussion until later,” Josh said somewhat huffily as he returned to the kitchen. I shot Gabe a sympathetic look, but he didn’t see it because his eyes were locked on Josh. I suspected the good detective had a long night ahead of him.

  It was obvious as hell the next day that Josh and Gabe discussed who else in town was playing World of Warcraft because Josh started shoving me in Kyle’s direction. Okay, he didn’t exactly have to twist my arm to convince me to help him at Diva’s next vet appointment. He wasn’t responsible for me putting on a new shirt, cologne, or the brown leather half-boots that I couldn’t pass up when I received my first royalty check. I told myself I was doing it for me, but he saw right through me.

  Once again, I found myself alone in the exam room with Kyle when the receptionist told Josh he needed to fill out new paperwork to update their records. I thought he stood a little closer than was proper, but I wasn’t complaining until Josh’s cat bit me when I didn’t hand her over to Kyle quick enough. I set her down on the floor and looked down to see if I still had my finger.

  “Damn, that hurt,” I said as I looked around for something to wipe away the blood.

  “Here, let me take a look,” Kyle said. He had just dabbed the wound and was examining it closer when Josh walked into the room. “Well, at least we know the little vixen is well-vaccinated.”

  “What happened?” Josh asked.

  “Your little slutty cat bit me when I didn’t hand her to Dr. Dimples quick enough,” I told him. Kyle stood up a little straighter and blinked at me several times before a wide smile spread across his face. I felt the blood drain from my face when I realized what I’d said. I should’ve been used to it by then, but I was still shocked by the words rolling out of my mouth.

  “Dr. Dimples, huh?” Kyle asked. “I like it. Maybe I should change my avatar name to that.”

  “Chaz plays World of Warcraft too,” Josh told him. “He’s really good at it. Plays at night and makes a lot of friends around the world.”

  I looked at him with bulging eyes that pleaded with him to shut up. The last thing I needed was Kyle to start adding up facts and figure out I was the Drew he’d spent more time masturbating with than playing games. Shut the fuck up, Josh. If you love me the tiniest bit, please shut the fuck up. Josh was on a roll and had no intention of stopping.

  “I think he’s met a guy online and just doesn’t want me to know about it. He worries I’ll make fun of him or something.” Josh rolled his eyes for effect.

  “Josh,” I growled a warning.

  “I would never!” Josh clutched his heart dramatically and batted his eyelashes innocently. “We never know when we’ll find the other half of our soul. Sometimes they’re standing right in front of you all along.”

  By that time, Kyle was staring into my eyes and looking like he wanted to kiss me. I don’t know what he would’ve done because Alyssa burst into the room just then.

  “Dr. Vaughn,” she said breathlessly, “Beth Handerneski called and said their bull got loose. They tracked him down and lured him back in the trailer, but not before he cut himself pretty bad on a fence. They want to know if you can come out and take a look at him.”

  Kyle broke eye contact with me and looked at Alyssa. “Tell them I’ll be out there as soon as I finish up here.”

  When he looked at me again, his professional mask was back in place. “I’ll let Molly give her the booster so that Diva doesn’t get mad at me.” Josh laughed at his comment, but I was still too stunned from our moment to react. Kyle didn’t miss a beat, though. “I better get out to the Handerneskis’ farm and look at Tank. I’ll see you guys around.” He studied me closely once more and said, “Maybe I’ll find you online, and we can play together.”

  I didn’t think it was possible for my face to turn redder than it already was, but I was wrong. I also didn’t think I’d ever find myself in such an embarrassing situation with Kyle again, but I was wrong. So very wrong.

  I didn’t remember much about Chaz Bailey from my younger years in Blissville because there was an eight-year difference in our ages. We didn’t exactly run in the same circles back then, but he was friends with my middle sister, Brittney. He’d been to our house for her birthday parties and stuff, but I honestly didn’t pay much attention to him. That changed when I returned to my hometown to take over my grandfather’s veterinary practice when he decided to retire.

  I’ll never forget the first time I saw him. He was standing in the produce section at Sac-N-Save with Josh, who I hadn’t recognized at the time either. At first, I thought he was just a cute guy, but then he smiled and laughed at something Josh said to him. I don’t mean a little giggle; I mean a throw-your-head-back kind of laugh. The sound of it sent an electric zap straight to my nuts, and I was like “hello.” The bright lights in the grocery store made it easy for me to see the mirth sparkling in his blue eyes.

  “How about these?” he had asked Josh, holding up two kiwis for inspection. “Firm, but not mushy and fuzzy; not too hairy either.”

  “Oh,” Josh had replied, “just how you like ’em, Chaz.” I recognized that name as one of the kids who hung out with Brittney, but I couldn’t reconcile the grown man with any particular memories.

  Chaz had tipped his head to the side and puckered up his lips like he was thinking hard about something. “Well, I prefer them smooth if I’m going to get up close and personal with them.”

  Insane lust sparked inside me, and I veered down the next aisle to get away from him. I think I spent fifteen minutes studying the selection of maca
roni and cheese the store offered while forcing my brain to think about something other than the feel of Chaz sucking my nuts into his luscious mouth. Men are wired to think about sex and being in a relationship didn’t change that, but the good ones knew not to act on those thoughts. I considered myself a good man and had recommitted myself to making my relationship with Gabe work.

  It just felt like life wasn’t on board with my plan because Chaz started popping up almost everywhere, including the salon that my sisters swore up and down was the place I needed to go instead of the town butcher… I mean barber. There he was at the receptionist desk scheduling appointments on the phone while checking a client out. The cordless phone enabled him to move out behind the desk and help the client find the product she needed while discussing services and prices with another client on the phone. I tried so damn hard not to stare at his round, firm ass, when he bent over to pick up something from the bottom shelf, but I couldn’t seem to help myself.

  I should’ve walked away, but I was rooted to the spot. When Chaz turned around and saw me, I was glad I stayed. His eyes widened slightly at having my regard locked so firmly on him. His voice faltered briefly in his conversation, and I decided that maybe I hadn’t lost it after all.

  He recovered nicely and continued handling both the client in front of him and the one on the phone. “Thank you, Chaz,” the blonde lady said when he handed her the bag with her hair stuff in it once he hung up the phone. “You’re such a sweetheart.”

  “Thank you for being so patient, Deidre. It’s a little bit like a zoo in here today,” he had said in relief as he handed her an appointment reminder card. “We’ll see you in six weeks.”

  “Not even death would keep me from my appointment with Meredith,” the woman said.

  “Let’s not test that theory,” Chaz said wryly. He turned his attention to me once the woman left and I noticed the smile he gave me was more tentative than the one he gave her.