Someone Else's Ocean

I wanted her and that was dangerous. I was in no position to offer her anything at all. I simply wasn’t ready to begin to trust another woman after what Tara had done to the rest of our relationship. Though it wasn’t Koti’s fault, I was too angry, too bitter, too unsure of my feelings at that point that a friendship would be pushing it. What was worse, and from what I could tell, the attraction was mutual and she had no idea that just moments ago, I was seconds away from pushing any moral thoughts aside and ravaging her. I discarded the hammer on the porch and laced up my takkies. I needed to clear my head.

Koti had zero place in my life, nor I in hers. I had absolutely no desire to start anything, whether it be sexual or more, with any woman. Keeping my distance would be the only way to avoid a disaster and I was good at that. She’d granted me the space I asked for. In an attempt to wipe thoughts of her away, I began to jog down the beach. I wasn’t a teenage boy, I could handle attraction. It was nothing more than appreciation for the beauty that she was. An entanglement of any sort with me would only hurt her. With distance, I could rid myself of the ache to touch her.

I sped up as Koti’s lingering gaze flashed through my head.

Fuck.

“What in the fack? Koti!”

I hid in my bedroom with repressed laughter as the puppy squealed with cries. As soon as I saw her, I knew who her rightful owner was. It wasn’t a man’s dog, by any means, but Ian needed a friend and since he was opposed to the human kind, I’d taken it upon myself to get him a suitable companion. As soon as I put her down on Ian’s porch in a box she couldn’t climb out of, she began to howl bloody murder.

“Just look at her, Ian.” I urged in a whisper spying their first meet from my window. I heard the thwack of his back door and a brief pause of silence. I was sure they were staring at each other. More silence followed, before the boom of a loud knock on my door.

“Koti!”

The pooch whimpered in his arms, still traumatized for being a fifteen-minute orphan.

“I’m not dressed,” I yelled from the safety of my bedroom.

“Then get dressed!” he ordered.

“I have to shower,” I called out toward the door before slipping into my bathroom.

He knocked again ignoring my lies. I went and took an unneeded shower to give them a chance to bond. When I emerged from my room minutes later, all was silent. I peered through my living room window and saw no sign of either of them. Curious, I peeked out of my back door to see if the coast was clear.

“I appreciate what you’re trying to do,” Ian said with a lifeless voice sitting on my wicker loveseat with the tiny puppy in his lap. He slid thick fingers through her fur while her pink tongue darted out and rewarded his other hand in kind. “But this is the last thing I need.”

I squared off and stepped onto the porch. “I disagree. Everyone needs a best friend.”

“I can’t take on this responsibility.” His tone was distant, cold, his head down as he stared at the nameless dog.

I spoke up, far too uncomfortable with the pain that still radiated from him. “I was thinking Disco, for a name. She looks like a Disco, do

esn’t she?”

“Koti,” there wasn’t an ounce of humor in his voice. Murky gray eyes trailed over my romper. For a flicker of a second, I had his attention and it felt way too rewarding.

“Just give it a week, okay?”

Ian stood from my love seat. Disco was dwarfed by his size, engulfed in his large hands. I inhaled his scent as he towered inches above me, his stubble had grown out slightly, but he never went more than a few days without shaving. In a little over a month, he’d settled nicely into the beach bum look. I was tempted to brush the unruly dark hair away from his brow. I felt inexplicably drawn to him while he stared at Disco as if she were going to speak. Rows of curly white and beige hair made up the most of her. She weighed no more than a few pounds. Her dark chocolate eyes stared back at him before she let out a squeak.

I caught the subtle smile he tried to hide.

Come on, Ian. Can’t you see she loves you already? She can give you a thousand of those smiles.

I saw his decision before he spoke. “Again, I appreciate the gesture, but—”

“I’m allergic.” Lie. “And I couldn’t bear to see her homeless.” Another lie. I’d paid a fortune for her.

Ian studied me with ill-tempered eyes. It seemed he was immune to my bullshit.

“No.”

“Ye-es.” I said in a sing-song voice. “She won’t be any trouble. Besides you’ve already entertained a hyena.” I grinned cheekily.

He looked confused until he realized I was talking about his booty call. “Cute.”

“What was that hyena’s name again?”