Page 41 of Stroked by (Stroked)
“Fantastic.” Rita hands Reese a clipboard. “You know the drill, sign and date, and if you want to make a donation to the shelter, please feel free to do so.”
Reese signs and hands her the clipboard just as he’s pulling his wallet out. “You know I always make a donation.” Searching through his wallet, he pulls out two one-hundred-dollar bills and hands them over. “Here Rita. Did you guys get the shipment of dog food the other day?”
“We did. Thank you so much. Your generosity has been so valuable and appreciated. Are you sure we can’t put your name in the newsletter?”
“Keep it anonymous.” He winks and then rubs his hands together. “All right, who do we have today?”
“Whimsy just had puppies. We think they are a poodle collie mix, not quite sure though.”
“Is that what the fluff balls are?”
“It is. Would you like to play with them today?”
Turning to me, Reese asks, “What do you say? Want to play with some collie doodles?”
“Sure,” I say, a little too excited.
Rita smiles at both of us and goes into the pen. She picks up two dogs. One is grey with black spots, and the other is white with a black spot over the right eye. They are adorable!
“Here are some toys, stay within the area, and bring them back when you’re done.”
“Thanks, Rita.”
I take the puppy with the spot over his eye and Reese takes the grey puppy. Together, we walk over to an area in the sand and take a seat. I cross my legs while Reese sprawls his long legs out in front of him, facing in my direction so we form a little bit of a closed-off area. The puppies are both energetic and instantly start biting our fingers and wrestling with our hands.
Glancing up at Reese, I ask, “You play with puppies often?”
“When I can. It’s relaxing.” He smirks, an evil glint in his eyes. “The shelter rescues mill dogs, you know, dogs that are used for breeding only. You should see some of the horrible things these people do to them. Breeders treat them as cattle and stuff them in cages their whole lives, giving them only six inches on all sides to live in. It’s disgusting. To raise money for the shelter’s medical bills and expenses, they bring down some of the puppies that are born in the shelter for people to play with. Individuals can make donations to play with the puppies and also learn about the shelter. I ship some food to them every month and play with the puppies when I can. Occasionally I’ll go to the shelter and help clean the kennels, but that’s rare given my schedule.” He shrugs. “I do what I can.”
Are you swooning as well?Not only is he extremely attractive, but he has a giant heart for animals. How is a girl supposed to hold up a front when she learns about something like that?
“Is this some ploy to get me to fall head over heels for you?”
“Is it working?”
“No,” I answer quickly even though my mind is screaming yes.
Playfully, he pushes his foot against my knee, a huge grin on his face. “Liar.”
He caught me, but there is no way in hell I’ll let him know that. Trying to move past the heated tension between us, I ask, “So you play with puppies, but you don’t have one?”
“Not yet. After I retire I’ll get a dog. I want to be able to devote time to him, make sure he’s loved. Right now, I spend so much time training and traveling, I would feel guilty not being around.”
I chuckle. “After you retire, sounds so funny coming from a thirty-year-old. Are you looking forward to it all being over? Or are you sad?”
Playing tug-a-war with his puppy, he sighs and answers. “I have mixed feelings. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been in a pool, training. I think it will be weird to just stop it all, but it will also be nice to focus on other things.”
“Like what?” My puppy has his mouth wrapped around my finger but is starting to drift off to sleep. Adorable.
“It will be nice to hold more camps for inner city kids, to help out at the Boys and Girls Club with Bodi.”
“Bodi Banks?” I ask, referring to Reese’s biggest competition to date. “I thought you guys didn’t like each other.”
“You shouldn’t pay close attention to what the media says. Bodi and I get along just fine. Do I want to rip his arms off sometimes, especially during the Games? Yup, but he’s a good guy. He’s a little more closed off, quiet at times, but still a good guy.”
“Interesting.” I smile and say, “He’s hot.”
Reese stares at me, a look of dislike across his features, clearly not happy with my comment. It’s just the reaction I was looking for. I’m learning I like pushing his buttons.
