Jake's P.O.V

Walking Amy Santiago's had quickly become a two-person job, and it seemed like I was the only person who liked to help her. Gina would help her from time to time, but she'd never go out of her way to help.

I didn't fault anyone, though – the dogs were growing quickly and even though we could handle their strength, the dogs had very little attention span and would trip you if you weren't paying enough attention.

I enjoyed walking with her, though. Even if it was a little cold and we would constantly get tripped by the young dogs who were just getting used to their adult size it was nice to spend extra time with her every week.

Usually, we'd simply window shop and attempt to wrangle the small beasts into walking decently, but today we decided to hit up a dog park that was a little further away. There were a few risks associated with this, which Amy did not skimp on voicing as we walked to our destination with her pets.

"So, we need to make sure they drink enough water and we have to watch for panting," she rattled, as I nodded. I already knew to watch for panting, but it was nice to just hear her talk excitedly.

"Also, they might get tired since we're walking further than they're used to and letting them run around. It'll be so cute to see them with other dogs, though," she said cheerily. I looked down at the dog tugging on the leash in my hand and smiled.

It was nice to see her excited about something so often, and she definitely spent a lot of time caring for them. Even now, they were freshly groomed and had little booties on to protect their feet from the icy ground.

"Maybe we can go to a dog-friendly café afterward and get some lunch and let them rest."

"Of course, Santiago. Hopefully, they'll sleep well tonight."

"Yes, they're such good dogs."

I smiled at her even though she was looking at her dogs. She was so adorable when she was excited, and these dogs made her happy so often. I'd have to remember to thank Holt later for letting her have them.

We got to the dog park and Amy insisted we get as far away from the gates as possible.

"Release the hounds," I joked as we unclipped the leases from their harnesses. The dogs were understandably confused for a second but quickly ran away. "I like seeing you like this," I told her.

"Like what?" she asked, taking her eyes off of her dogs for a brief second.

"Happy and like, not wearing a pantsuit."

She scoffed, and returned to watching her dogs closely.

"Can I tell you something?" I asked, suddenly feeling my stomach flip over.

"Depends on if you're going to pick on me," she teased.

"Well, never mind," I replied, feeling utterly rejected. I didn't bother to say anything else or to try to continue the conversation. I just waited until her dogs returned to us and she decided to go and get some lunch.

I tried my hardest to not make it awkward between us, but luckily the dogs were a decent distraction. I found myself lost in trying to keep a steady pattern with the obviously tired dog and didn't even realize Amy had made her way over to the café until she called my name.

We sat out on the patio and ordered our food, and she chattered on about why she had switched to using harnesses for her dogs instead of collars.

"You know, they pull and tug so much I figured there was no way the collars were good for their throats. Especially how the collar works by just yanking them by the neck. Could you imagine walking like that with someone? It'd be awful."

"That's true," I said, unwrapping a straw and rolling up the paper between two fingers.

"Yeah, so I did some research and it turns out dogs can actually get injuries in their neck and it's much better to put that pressure on their front legs than it is to put it on their neck," she finished with a smile.

I laughed. "I love how much you care about them," I told her. She blushed a little and looked away from me.

"Aren't their harnesses so cute, though? I still put them in their collars in the apartment if they get out and I don't want them to get a rash under their harness or anything, you know?"

I looked at the two dogs who were lying next to each other and close to dozing off. The dog with lighter markings around her nose had an orange harness with a pink flower and little loop-de-loops stitched in the fabric. The darker dog had a pink harness with an orange flower and the loop-de-loops were in the fabric of the harness.

"They're adorable."

We ate happily, talking about the weather and how one of her seven brothers were getting married next weekend and we slipped the dogs some scraps of food here and there.

The walk back to Amy's apartment was quick, and the dogs went straight to their beds as soon as they were off their leash.

"Thank you for helping me out," she told me.

"It's no problem," I said with a smile. "It was fun."

"It really helped out a lot," she said, sitting on her couch.

"I, uh, actually want to talk to you, though." My stomach flipped again, and I fiddled with my thumbs.

"Oh, what's up?" She patted the empty space next to her, and I took the hint and sat next to her.

I breathed in deeply and looked at her. "I've kinda had feelings for you for a while now and I know you probably think I'm just some joker or something and nothing will probably happen but I want you to know that I wish something would happen between us. Romantic stylez," I confessed, my hands shaking the entire time.

"With a z," I added, once a second had passed and she had not yet said anything. She rolled her eyes at me and sat up.

"I don't know what to say," she whispered.

"Well," I started. "Do you feel anything for me or am I just making a fool out of myself?"

I looked at her, and she quickly averted her eyes with a blush.

"I do feel something," she told me, and I wanted to desperately make a 'name of your sex tape' joke. "But dating cops is hard. I dated this guy, Teddy, back at my old precinct and it made everything difficult. I worried about him day in and day out and when he got hurt I would lose my mind."

"I get it," I mumbled, my heart flooding with sadness.

"I'm sorry Jake. Maybe if things were different." She still wouldn't look at me, and I slowly got up.

"Yeah. I should go, though," I said as I rubbed my neck. She nodded and didn't say a thing as I headed for the door.

What have I done?

Yay! Chapter 2! I'm going to have a lot of free time at school tomorrow, so hopefully I can get some solid writing time in! Reviews would be lovely!