I took in more deep breaths, sensing that the mood needed to be lightened. Now that we were in the clear with the smallest puppy, I felt almost drunk on relief. “Other than a lowlife scumbag who knocked up poor Diamond, then ran off?”
“Right.” Heidi smirked. “Other than that, I think he might’ve been a corgi. That’d make these beagis.”
“We should give them some fun names,” I said. “That last one should be named Dipshit after she scared us like that.”
“For real, Tope? I was thinking of something like Blessing.”
“She is a little dipshit,” I said. I leaned my elbow on the table, unable to suppress my joy as I stared down at the smallest puppy. She had to be barely half the size of her siblings, and they were small enough. If the others were rats, she was a baby mouse.
“Seriously, though?”
“It’s only for a few weeks,” I said. “Their new families will all rename them. Why not have some fun with it?” I drained my glass of water, suddenly parched.
“Maybe you’re right,” Heidi said. “She is a bit of a dipshit, isn’t she? Too stupid to come out of her mom properly.”
“Right? Like, what could even be easier? It’s the first thing she ever had to do, and she managed to fuck it up. Can you imagine how shitty she’s going to be at life? What a bad foot to get off on.”
“I see it now.” Heidi’s eyes met mine, and she gave me a dazzling grin. “Dipshit it is. What about the others?”
I gestured at the next one, a brownish-beige female with cute miniature ears. “Dorkbrain.”
“Why Dorkbrain? She isn’t stupid. She came out of Diamond just fine.”
“Exactly,” I said. “Probably because she was studying all through the pregnancy, like the little dork she is.”
“Okay, fine.” Heidi gave me a patient smile. “Then the next one is Dillhole.” The puppy tried to stand up on his shaky legs, then fell down. The name suited him.
“I like the D theme.”
Number four had a beagle’s color pattern, but in darker shades. “This one can be Darklord.” Heidi was getting the hang of this.
I definitely felt drunk now, or even high. Except the relief was lessening, and I just felt drunk on being with Heidi. Sitting around and bullshitting with her like this was what I’d been missing. Naming the puppies that we’d nurtured, and that we’d now be taking care of, made me feel amazing.
“What’s another good name that starts with a D?” I asked, pointing at the next puppy. He was still latched onto Diamond’s teat, but his ears flicked toward us as if he knew we were talking about him.
“That one’s easy,” Heidi said. “Dingbat. It’s obvious.”
“And the last one?”
I could have come up with a hundred names, but I preferred to watch Heidi’s excitement as she came up with something herself. She looked so sexy as she concentrated, a frown furrowing her brow. This pup looked more like a corgi than a beagle. Other than the floppy ears, there was no sign she was Diamond’s son.
“Dumbnuts,” she finally decided. “That one just looks like a Dumbnuts.”
“Perfect,” I said, resisting the urge to slap her on the back. I knew the gesture would lead to me wanting to massage her. “Dipshit, Dorkbrain, Dillhole, Darklord, Dingbat, and Dumbnuts. The cutest puppies who ever lived.”
“That’s for damn sure.”
I exhaled, letting out some tension. I could almost start to relax around Heidi. It almost felt like things were back to normal.
But somewhere deep inside me, I already knew things would never be the same.
TWELVE—HEIDI
“Yes, Mrs. Holloway,” I said, twisting the phone cord in my hand and fidgeting in the office chair. “You do need to visit Brutus at his foster home again before you can adopt him. No, we can’t just drop him off at your house.”
Fighting the urge to yawn, I continued the conversation on autopilot as I glanced around the room. The animal rescue’s office was a cramped room shoved like an afterthought into the corner of the fifth floor of a building. But being here always made me feel good. Even when the work was boring or frustrating, I knew I was doing something good.
Sometimes I wondered if I was crazy for spending my evenings on the phone or doing paperwork for free after doing the same at the hotel all day. Every time I thought about quitting, some amazing dog came through the rescue and made me fall in love with the work all over again. I kept coming back and putting in my ten or fifteen hours, week after week. I expected I’d keep doing it for the foreseeable future.
“Yes, Brutus is still available,” I said to Mrs. Holloway. “I’d have no reason to lie to you if his foster parents intended to keep him. I know he’s a special dog, but none of us want to take him away from you. We want you to have him!”
Mrs. Holloway seemed unconvinced. “So I can see him soon?”
“You can call his foster family and visit him any time you like. That will be your third visit, which is the number we require. After that, you can come on back here to fill out the paperwork.”
“I see.” Her voice was as unpleasantly screechy as ever, but she was finally listening to me.
I hung up, glad to be rid of her. Brutus would actually be a good fit for her. She seemed like a lonely person, and Brutus was a gentle senior dog. He’d bring her a lot of happiness.
Finally letting out that yawn, I closed the windows on the computer and tidied a few papers on the desk. My energy quickly rose as I realized it was time for me to leave.
Diamond’s excited barks came straight through the screen door. I smiled to myself as I pushed it open. She was on me within seconds, jumping on my leg and licking my hand. Considering she’d only given birth a week ago, the amount of energy she had was impressive.
I headed inside to the whelping box, where the beagis would stay for another few weeks. The six of them were a bit bigger than before, but still had their eyes closed. They were coming along nicely. I couldn’t get over how adorable they were, despite the ridiculous names we’d given them.
“How are they doing?”
Topaz was leaning against the door frame, her arms folded. I surveyed her, taking in her light jacket, her leather satchel, and the way her V-neck sweater accented the gentle swell of her chest. She looked like she was ready to walk a runway, even though she’d been at home all day.
“They’re great,” I said, still thinking about her body. “Did they eat?”
“Yeah, they made a few trips to the milk bar.”
I raised my eyebrows at her. “The what?”
“They drank a few milkshakes, and they’ll probably have some more tonight.”
I shook my head at her as I stood up. “Great outfit,” I said. “Are you going out?”
“No, I started a new feature on my blog where I post what I wear every day. So far, people are loving it.”
Interesting. I’d have to look that up later. A new picture of her every day would be hot. Of course I saw more than enough of her already, considering we shared a house. Plus I really, really needed to stop thinking about her like that.
We’d been caring for the puppies all week. But we hadn’t talked about that kiss again, or about the almost-kiss the day of their birth. I thought about it all the time, but there would’ve been no use in bringing it up. Topaz was my landlord as well as my crush, and I didn’t want to destroy my living situation.
I cleared my throat. “So, you’re not going out tonight?”
“No, I don’t think so. I was vaguely thinking about going to see the new Spider-Man movie, but none of my friends want to go.”
“Nice.” I glanced down at the box. Dipshit was lying a few inches away from the “milk bar,” either whining or groaning. “She’s so annoying.”
Topaz picked up the runt and held her to her heart. The little body quivered as if she wanted to jump down, but didn’t know how. “She’s adorable. I don’t want to let her go.”
“I don’t want any of them to go to fore
ver homes,” I said. “I’m going to miss every single one of them, even Dipshit.”
“I know. I think I’ll miss Diamond the most, actually. She was so shy and nervous at first, and now she’s such a princess. She’s all plump, and her fur is so shiny.”
“I’ll miss everything about this house if I ever leave.” I sighed. “I’ve been really happy here.”
The tiny puppy looked like a naked mole rat in Topaz’s hands. Even keeping my eyes on her, I thought I could hear a hint of sadness in Topaz’s voice. “What, you planning to leave?”
“Not anytime soon.” The house was worth the never-ending sexual frustration, especially at the rent Topaz was charging. “Definitely not until after I finally get my makeover.”
Topaz laughed, setting Dipshit down on the table. “You mean the style refresh,” she said. “Sure, we can do it. The only condition is that you stop calling it a makeover.”
“We’ll see,” I said. “Are you going to do my hair, too? Maybe some makeup?”
“Don’t even tempt me,” Topaz said, rolling her eyes.
I tried not to think about the way Liana had imagined the makeover. She was out in left field with all that… I thought so, anyway.
No way was Topaz going to flirt with me during this thing. It was all about my style, which apparently could use some serious refreshing.
“So, how does it work?” I asked. “Are we going to go to a store, or what?”
“Come with me.”
My heart beat a little harder, and it was nearly impossible to stop myself from thinking about that kiss as I followed Topaz into her room. I had only peeked in from the hall before, and now I got to see the full picture.
She’d kept the master bedroom for herself, and it was gorgeously put together—one side a home office, the other a space for sleeping, all of it seamlessly integrated with the same design. She had the same flair for interior decorating as she did for her own style.
She’d clearly put a lot of effort into the modern and yet classic design. Every throw pillow, painting, and piece of furniture looked painstakingly chosen.
“Maybe I do have a thing or two to learn from you,” I said, glancing around the room.
“You don’t even know the half of it.”
I swallowed as she stood a few inches in front of me, measuring me with her eyes. If Liana was right, Topaz was about to start putting her hands all over my body. But although Topaz looked somewhat interested by what she saw, all she did was speak.
“You have a spoon shape.”
I looked down at myself. She’d used that term for me before, but I forgot to look up what it meant. Being a spoon didn’t bode particularly well. It made me sound like I was scooped out, or something.
“What’s a spoon?” I asked. “Is that better or worse than a fork?”
Topaz laughed. “I wouldn’t say any body type is better than any other, but a spoon shape is similar to an hourglass. You have a defined waist, just like an hourglass. The difference is that your hips are larger than your bust.”
“Oh, I see. So it’s not a bad thing?”
“Not at all,” Topaz said. “You have a great, great body to work with.”
She didn’t repeat herself so much as she stuttered as she looked at me. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see drool coming out of the corner of her mouth. How could she claim to be straight? Something was up with her.
“So what would you recommend, Ms. Clothing Doctor?”
“The basic idea is that you’re trying to draw the eye to your upper body, away from your stomach and hips. And that’s Dr. Clothing to you.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “What’s wrong with my stomach and hips?”
“Nothing is wrong with them, but we want to create a balanced appearance.”
Hmph. I kind of liked my hips.
“Your legs are one of your best assets, so we definitely want to show them off. Here, I’ll show you,” Topaz said. She licked her lips as she looked at me, but it seemed more out of nervousness than desire. I wondered if she was going to touch me in one way or another. I tensed up, waiting for it. I was nearly sick with anticipation.
Instead, Topaz turned toward the computer. “Hang on. Before I sit down, I need to take a picture of you.”
“What? Why?”
“So I can show you how you’d look in some different clothes. This’ll save you from going to the store and trying a million different things on.” She picked up her phone. “Just stand there.”
I struck a pose, fluffing up my hair and throwing a hand on my hip.
Topaz suppressed a laugh. “Stand naturally. Let your hands hang down. You can do your model poses some other time.”
“But I want to show off my amazing style,” I said.
I was still smirking as she snapped a picture. When she loaded it onto her computer, I raised an eyebrow at myself. Anyone who looked at that picture would probably think I was sleeping with the photographer. I looked playful and teasing, flirtatious even.
She opened the picture with some kind of photo editing program, and I stood behind her chair. She set it all up, doing some things in the program that I didn’t understand.
“Take a look. You can see how different clothes look on you. So, for example, you like to wear cardigans. Check out how a nicely tailored blazer would look instead.” She selected a gray blazer from a list of options, and it appeared on my torso. “This one has a structured shoulder, a wide collar, and a nipped-in waist, which will visually balance your figure.”
I blinked in surprise; first at the way the program worked, then at the realization that my waist did look smaller. “That’s kind of cool,” I said. “Maybe I’ll try to find some blazers.”
“It’s not a problem if you don’t have any yet. You must have some tops with an empire waist, right? Those would be good on your body type, too. Check this out.” She clicked again, and I was in a top that flowed out from underneath my breasts. “This type of top accents the smallest part of your torso, so you don’t look disproportionate.”
“Got it,” I said, still looking at the screen, but also painfully conscious of Topaz’s body heat. “Blazers and empire waist tops. What about pants?”
“Straight leg pants are good. Any kind of skirt would be good for you, too.” Topaz clicked a few times, setting me up with a whole new outfit. “Let’s talk about colors. The program says you’re cool-toned, but I’m not seeing that myself.”
She took my arm and examined it, her thumb running along my skin. I closed my eyes, willing goosebumps not to form.
“Your veins look olive to me, which means you’re warm-toned. I always lean toward going with my own judgment since a computer can’t see the full picture, but we’ll do the white-paper test to be sure.”
Before I could ask what that was, she’d grabbed a sheet of paper and held it beside my face.
“Definitely warm,” she said. “The green and gold undertones are jumping right out at me. To get even more specific, I’d say you’re an autumn.”
“Okay.” I had no idea where the seasons came into play, but I certainly felt warm with the way she was standing so close to me. “What’s all that mean?”
“I’ve noticed you wear a lot of dull colors. Warm, deep colors would be better for you. Check out how you’d look in a rich caramel tone.”
With another click, the flowing top my picture wore changed to dark brown. My face immediately looked more vivid, and I even seemed healthier. “That’s pretty cool,” I said. “Thanks, Tope.”
She closed the program. “No worries.”
“Maybe we could go shopping sometime. I’m not exactly rolling in cash, but I can probably manage a few new outfits, especially since you’re being so generous with the rent. Seeing you look so good all the time does make me want to improve myself.”
“Cool,” Topaz said. She tilted her head back, looking at me. “You’d look good in nicer clothes. Really good.”
My throat was suddenly dry, and I swallow
ed again. Topaz had my heart beating at a rapid pace, and yet she claimed that there was nothing between us. Whether or not she was my landlord, I had a hard time letting this go.
“Topaz…” I hesitated. There was something strange in Topaz’s eyes. Nervousness, maybe. And also… hope?
I put my hand on her shoulder. She didn’t move away. Even if this awkward angle, me behind her at her side, there was that connection between us. I couldn’t chicken out now. “Tope, I’m into you. Very into you.”
Topaz nodded tightly.
“I know what you said before, but I have a hard time believing you’re straight.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, looking tortured. “You’re right,” she whispered.
And then she rose out of the chair and pressed herself against me, her hands in my hair, her arms winding around my neck. Her lips found mine and her scent wafted in my nose. I struggled to even understand what was happening. After a seemingly endless cycle of hoping and giving up and hoping again, Topaz was finally admitting something to both of us.
When I finally drew back, it was only to ask her what was happening. “Does all of this mean that you’re interested in me, too?”
Shakily, Topaz nodded again. “This is new for me, but I’m tired of hiding it. Can we maybe go on a date, or something?”
My heart felt like it was going to explode into a million pieces. I wanted to jump into the air, rip off my clothes, and run naked into the street. The entire world needed to hear how the one girl who made me want more than a short-term fling might kind of actually be into me too.
“Sure,” I said instead, barely meeting her eyes. “How’s tomorrow night?”
THIRTEEN—TOPAZ
“These are the cutest fucking puppies I have ever seen.” Cindy laughed as the six Ds scrambled around in the whelping box. They were hyper today, especially the runt.
I knelt on the ground beside Cindy. There was a basketball game on TV, but we hardly paid attention. The miniature dogs were a lot more entertaining.
Keep Her Forever Page 8
