Hello Everybody, this may be a bit short, but here we are with chapter 2. Also I just want to thank that one person who Reviewed/Commented, I appreciate it :). Also please follow and review. This Chapter is a hell of a lot shorter than I would have liked but it's whatever.

' + Bold + Italic = Thoughts i.e 'He's so annoying'

() + ' + Italic = Text message/Phone Conversation i.e ('Hey, doll')

Italics in dialogue is used for emphasis etc

If anything is just in (-) that means I just didn't fix it. And if anything seems to not make sense or just odd keep in mind I wrote this chapter on my phone, and when I use my phone I usually type fast and sometimes things may not make sense, esspecially since I did not rewrite the chapter on my computer.

Enjoy


Chapter 2 - The Daily Grind

"He only eats Castor and Pollux..." Naomi mimicked One of her employers words from the evening prior. She sighed, the brand dog food she had in her hands was nearly 32 dollars, she normally makes her employer pay for the food they prefer, especially when it's so expensive, but the family payed her a decent amount of money to watch over the Maltese pup, who was soon to be a show dog, so she'd bare paying a little extra for the families preferred food.

Naomi looked down at the white ball of fluff. He sat cheerily in his carrier, his dark brown eyes starring up at his new caretaker. Naomi smiled, she enjoyed animal's more than humans, and she enjoyed Scruffy's company a lot more, he was friendly and docile, energetic and he kept her active.

"Uh, excuse me" Naomi called to the worker a few feet away from her. The man turned, smiled and walked over to her,

"How may I help you ma'am?" He asked kindly.

"Yea, um, do you have this any, ah...any cheaper?"

The man chuckled, "No, I'm afraid not in this brand. But, we do have similar products at a way cheaper price" he suggested. Naomi smiled widely, she nodded. The man gestured her to follow him and she did. Down an aisle and to the left, they halted, "Here we are. This one..." He grabbed a bag from the lower shelf, "...is exactly the same as the Castor and Pollux. But it's a lot cheaper" he smiled sweetly at Naomi, who gladly accepted the cheaper brand.

"Thank you" She smiled at the worker and quickly made her way to the checkout counter. She felt a presence behind her as she walked to the counter, she steadily increased her pace. Finally she made it to the counter, relieved she let out a chuckle,

"Uh, Naomi right?"

She froze. That voice, it was familiar. She turned around with a forced smile on her face.

"Hey. Remember me?" he asked skeptically. Naomi's mouth fell slightly agape. She smiled genuinely now the man from last night. The one with the scars. The only person she felt even remotely comfortable with.

"H-hi. Um, J?" She dragged out his name while narrowing her eyes. J nodded with a grin. Naomi was saddened to see that he covered his face still, 'Guess he's self conscious about them' She bit her lower lip, "What, um-What brings you here?" J sighed and took a small step closer, Scruffy barked protectively, growling at the man. J flinched which caused Naomi to giggle, "Don't mind him. He can't hurt you" She cooed while scratching the pup behind the ear. J nodded,

"That your dog?"

"No. I, uh, take care of him" Naomi explained. "For money" J groaned in understanding. "So you have a pet?" Naomi mumbled turning back to the counter. J contemplated for a moment,

"Yeah, uh-A dog" He said quickly and scratched the back of his neck, "Came here to buy food for her" He smiled watching Naomi fumble for money in her bag. She gave a chuckle,

"Don't buy Castor and Pollux!"

"Why?"

"Too expensive" she sighed. "Thanks" Naomi waved to the cashier before turning back to J, "It was nice seeing you again" She smiled kindly,

"Wait!" J spoke which stopped Naomi from walking out of the store. She turned slightly with a questioning look on her face, "You, um, want to go get coffee? Now? I know a Starbucks that's almost always empty" Naomi was slightly taken aback. Somebody asked her to go out, she desperately wanted to say yes, but her conscious told her to say no.

"Sure" J smiled,

"Good. Want to take my car or yours?" He asked, the smile and amusement was apparent in his voice. Naomi sighed,

"I, uh-I don't actually have a car" she said in a saddened tone, "I have a bike" she chuckled. J grinned sucking on his scars he looked down,

"Wanna, uh, take mine?"

"That's the only option left" Naomi chuckled innocently. J nodded,

"You can put your bike in the back"

"Ok, where did you park?" Naomi asked as J led her out of the pet supply store. "Also what about your dog's food?" She stopped quickly to point to the dog food aisle, J chuckled,

"I, uh, actually don't have a dog. I just saw you come in here and wanted to ask you out for coffee" J told her truthfully. Naomi blushed and turned her head down. J motioned to the door, "Ready?" He giggled. Naomi smiled, nodding her head quickly she followed him.


"Wow! This place is pretty empty. Especially for a Starbucks" Naomi nearly mumbled. J huffed as response. They sat quietly in the back of Starbucks, they shared a corner booth and was already sipping on and enjoying their coffee's, Naomi ordered a plain iced coffee with milk, and J ordered a simple hot coffee which was black with three sugars. Scruffy sat in his carrier eating his Puppuccino that Naomi insisted they order, J didn't object although ordering an expensive treat for the mutt was absurd. "Uh, How are you?" Naomi asked sheepishly while taking a sip of her beverage. J half smiled,

"I'm fine. Uh, and you?" He asked also taking a sip of his coffee, Naomi smiled,

"Good" She half smiled. "Don't be so awkward' She sighed. "So, uh, what it that you do for a living?" . J chuckled,

"My work is really, uh...complicated, and hard to explain" He smiled while watching her drink. She then nodded, "I already know what it is that you do" He chuckled, "Why a , ah, dog handler?" J asked curiously. It was a rather odd job, he's never heard of someone being paid to watch over another persons dog. J placed his hands on the table and began tapping his fingers on the table. Naomi took note of the odd white paint on his fingers, she narrowed her eyes,

"Are you a painter?"

"What?"

"You, uh, you have paint on your hands" She placed a hand on his and traced the paint with her finger. J stiffened wanting to pull his hand away from hers, which was surprisingly warm, but he left it instead, enjoying the contact. He thought for a second.

"Not technically" He smiled. Naomi raised a brow, "So why a dog handler?" He insisted, Naomi sighed and watched as he sat back in his seat and relaxed.

"I find that, um-That handling dog's is easier than handling-O-or I mean dealing with people" She tried to explain, but her sentences were botched and she stammered somewhat when she spoke, J smiled at that, his face now exposed as he drank. She chuckled and pet Scruffy on his head, she hung her own to hide from him. J smiled,

"Interesting choice of career"

"I don't exactly like working with people"

"I see"

Naomi huffed, "Yea" She twirled the straw around in her cup and sighed. "Not the best company to have really" J narrowed his eyes, low self-esteem perhaps?

"Oh that's nonsense..." He said to ease her, "Your the best company I've had in a while" He smiled a hint of amusement and seriousness in his dark and mischievous eyes. She smiled too and took another sip of her coffee while patting Scruffy on the head.

"I ,uh, I'm going to have to go to work in a few, but..." J paused and Naomi looked up at him. "I was wondering if maybe you'd like to have dinner tomorrow night?" Naomi nearly choked on her coffee. Someone was asking her out, that's something that doesn't happen very often. She, utterly shocked at his outrageous question, smiled shaking her head,

"I am not-I would love to, but, uh...I'm not the best best company. I mean look at me, I'm- Uh, are you sick?" J giggled. That sentence told him that she does indeed have some sort of self-esteem issues, J would honestly never have guessed, a fine young lady such as herself should never feel this way. Oh well.

"No, I'm perfectly fine. So I'll pick you up at 7?" He insisted.

"I guess. Yea, 7, uh, fine" Naomi chuckled, "Are you sure you want to do this...I'm not -Uh, I'm boring, I . That's the word" She warned him, something she'd often do when the rare occasion of her being asked out did actually happen. J smiled,

"I'm sure" He began rifling through his pockets, "And here..." He pulled a card out of his coat and handed it to her. She took the card and examined it. A Joker card. She raises a brow and flipped the card over, a number was neatly written across the back. "My number"

"Yea, Kinda figured"

"So tomorrow night at 7, I'll come pick you up. And text me your address"

"Ok. Yes. At 7. I'll be ready" Naomi nodded. J gave her one last smile before rushing out of the store, a duffle bag at hand. Naomi smiled while settling back in her chair, the Maltese pup barked at her and she pet his head. She immediately pulled out her phone and saved J's number to her contacts. (Damn. He doesn't have my number) Naomi sighed, and texted him a simple

('Hey, it's Naomi') and almost instantly she received a message,

('Yea, kinda figured') He mocked her words from earlier. Naomi chuckled,

('Oh, I forgot to give you mine that's why. Till tomorrow :)') She blushed, if she had friend's they'd be cheering for her. Aside from the scars he tried to cover up, he was actually a very attractive man, even with the marred flesh he was attractive, it added to his character.

The table buzzed, ('I can't wait')

('Me either. Have fun at work')

('Oh, I will')

Naomi smiled widely, she looked down at Scruffy and giggled, "Let's go home Scruffy" she spoke in a kiddish voice as she rubbed the pup behind the ear. Tomorrow she had a date, although she was uneasy about him being a stranger to her still, but she shrugged that feeling off. That's how most people meet. Right?