Hey guys! So here's chapter two for you, and you finally get to see some Lassie! Yayyy! But I would like to say sorry for the fact that it takes me so long to update. Both me and my beta have all kinds of craziness going on right now, so we aren't working as fast as I'd like, but we're doing the best we can! But thank you to every one who has reviewed/subscribed/favorited, and extra thanks to all of you for being so patient with me!
Okay, I'll shut up now and let you guys get on with the chapter :)
Mr. Darcy
Chapter Two: Cold Shoulder
I had barely made it out of my car before I felt Lauren's arms wrap around me with a vice-like grip. Apparently people really like trying to suffocate me—Either that or I am just a weakling that can't stand up under firm hugs. But for the sake of my vanity, I'll go with that first choice.
"I missed you too, Lauren, but I've already been suffocated once today," I laughed and hugged her back once she loosened her grip.
I cast a look over her shoulder and saw a man standing in her doorway, watching us with a look somewhere between irritation and indifference. The lines on his face told me that he probably looked at people like that a lot. Aside from the look on his face he was a fairly handsome man. He was tall and thin, but obviously strong. He was probably in his mid to late thirties, but he looked a little older – probably a result of being on the police force for so long (my father had been a cop, so I knew how the job could take its toll). His hair was salt and pepper – heavy on the salt, once again probably due to the job – and even from the distance I could see the electric blue of his eyes.
Conclusion: Extremely attractive. Let me put it this way: if he weren't Lauren's brother, and if he met the qualifications . . . well, you get where I'm going with this.
Following my gaze, Lauren let me go only to grab my wrist and drag me up the front walk towards him.
"Carlton, this is Genevieve Taylor – I call her Quinn, though. Quinn, this is my big brother Carlton."
"HI," I greeted him, smiling as we shook hands.
"Hi," he replied, nodding slightly before letting go of my hand. He barely even looked at me. Talk about a cold demeanor. All his attention was on Lauren, as if I wasn't even there. "Sorry, Lulu, but I have to go to work."
"But it's your birthday! We were supposed to hang out today," Lauren protested.
"I have a double homicide on my hands, I have to go," he explained to her and hugged her quickly before heading for his car.
I don't know why, but part of me wanted to say something to him – I don't know what, anything really –while the other part of me was yelling at myself to run back to my own car and get as far away from him as possible.
Lauren let out a sigh, watching him leave before turning to smile at me. "Well, since I don't have any more plans, let's go see that new apartment of yours."
OooOOooO
"You are insane, woman," Lauren reminded me, shaking her head as soon as I opened the door. "There isn't a box in sight; it looks like you've been living here for weeks, not days."
I let out a shrug and gestured for her to go in. "I had coffee and a lot of free time. There was no point in waiting to get it all finished."
"Yeah, 'cause who needs sleep anyway?" she asked sarcastically before shooting me a teasing wink. "Well where's this giant dog I've heard so much about?"
"Probably taking a nap somewhere," I laughed. "Sheldon, Mommy's home! Come here, Moosie-face!" I called out.
Within seconds I could hear my baby galloping down the hallway. As soon as I was in his sights he sped up, coming at me as fast as he could, and knocked me to the ground.
"Oh my God," Lauren exclaimed and looked down at me, eyes wide as Sheldon attacked my face with slobbery kisses.
"Oh, it's okay, Lauren, I'm used to it. Yes, thank you, Moose. I missed you, too. Thank you for the kisses. Mommy loves you too, baby, but you have to let me up. There, that's a good boy." Finally Sheldon removed his paws from my shoulders and I was able to return to a standing position.
"You aren't kidding when you call him Moose," Lauren laughed as she followed me to the kitchen. "How much does that dog weigh?"
"Uhm, I think they told me one-fifty-five when I took him to the groomer last month."
"You do realize that means he's bigger than you?"
"Psh," I scoffed.
But she was right: Sheldon had thirty pounds on me (during a good week, that is. Twenty-five following period-induced binge eating). Also, he's over a foot taller than me when he stands on his hind legs. But thankfully he is aware of how big he is, for the most part. He knows he's not allowed to jump on anyone but me, and he's always gentle around little kids and smaller animals. Just because he's big doesn't mean he hasn't been trained to be a good boy.
"I feel the need to say it again: you are insane," she smiled and shook her head at me.
"But that's why you love me!" I exclaimed enthusiastically. "So anyway, do you wanna hang out and do one of our movie marathons? I can make dinner!"
"Oh, you cook now? And yeah, that sounds great," Lauren agreed, taking a seat on the couch. Having calmed down significantly since greeting me, Sheldon climbed up and laid next to her, resting his head on her thigh.
"Awesome, Chinese or pizza?" I asked, half-joking.
When I say "cook", that generally translates to either "microwave" or "carry out." While Maureen may be great at following recipes and cooking for her boyfriend about-to-be-fiancé, Detective Tim Collins, I couldn't make spaghetti if my life depended on it. For someone that came out of my imagination, Maureen is really nothing like me.
OooOOooO
The next day it was back to just me and Sheldon. I knew I probably should've taken the opportunity to go see Mom, but I decided against it. Ideas started flowing the second I got out of bed and I knew I needed to start writing or they would be lost forever. Besides, I woke up at 4:30 - thanks to my upstairs neighbors and their lovely fighting – and I don't think she'd appreciate me dropping in before the sun came up.
I wrote for a solid hour before Sheldon decided he wasn't going to have it anymore.
Whenever Sheldon wants my attention, he goes through five steps. First, he sits as close to my desk chair as possible, whining while looking at me with those sad puppy-eyes of his. Then, he'll find a way to inch in even closer and he'll sit his head on my leg. After that, he starts whining again and keeps going until I stop typing and look down at him. Once I ask him what's wrong, he lifts his head up, slams it back down, and then he whines again. "Do you need to go on a walk?" I'll ask. In response, he always grabs part of my t-shirt in his teeth and literally pulls me out of the chair, out of my office, and towards the front door.
"Maybe Lauren was right, it wasn't my best idea to get a dog that is both bigger and stronger than me," I said teasingly this particular morning, grabbing his leash off the hook next to the door and hooking it onto his collar.
Sheldon let out an excited bark and gave me a look that said, "Come on Mommy! Let's go! You said walk! Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!"
"Yes, I know, we're going," I told him patiently and slid my shoes on. I grabbed my keys before finally heading out.
We walked almost thirty minutes – I lost count of how many blocks away we were from the apartment complex – before something caught Sheldon's eye. At the time I had no idea why, but he decided to take off running. I was instantly being dragged, moving my legs as fast as possible to keep from getting knocked on my ass.
"Sheldon, what's the matter with you?" I tried to yell, but it was difficult considering how hard my lungs were working to just keep me breathing in general. I don't do a lot of running, so it takes forever for my heart and lungs to return to their normal pace after sprinting, making it exceptionally irritating when Sheldon does this.
Eventually, he caught what it was he wanted: A man who was apparently on his morning jog.
"Sheldon, no!" I yelled again. But it was too late. He put on one last burst of speed and the leash flew out of my hand, freeing Sheldon to jump on the man.
As expected, the man began cursing as soon as Sheldon hit him. Sheldon, however, paid him no mind and instantly began licking his face. You'd think he'd known the man since he was a puppy.
"Sheldon, no! Get off of him right now," I commanded breathlessly. My dog shifted so I could see who it was that he'd assaulted, and a new wave of horror washed over me. "Oh my God, Carlton! I am so sorry! I swear he never does this – well, not to anyone but me."
He looked even unhappier than he had looked yesterday as I yanked the still-excited Sheldon off of him. I will say that he did look pretty attractive in his work out clothes. The t-shirt he was wearing definitely showed off his muscles better than the suit he'd worn the day before.
And oh my God, I was not thinking that way about my best friend's brother. No. It wasn't allowed to happen.
"I am so sorry," I repeated myself over and over again, struggling to restrain Sheldon as he stood up.
"Yeah, you already said that," he replied. "Did it ever cross your mind to get a dog that doesn't outweigh you?"
Instantly the guilty feeling – and the attraction – was gone. It's one thing for a person to make jokes as long as they aren't seriously being mean. But no one says bad things about my dog.
"I said I was sorry and he never does this. Normally he knows better than to run off or to jump on people. I don't know why he did it, but he didn't mean any harm. He's a good boy, and he was just trying to say hi." I tried my best to keep my temper under control, but the same thought kept going through my head:
If he wasn't Lauren's brother, and if he wasn't a cop . . .
Even my own brain didn't want to consider what I might do if I lost my temper.
"What does he want with me, anyway?" Carlton asked, casting a judgmental look down at Sheldon, who just looked back up at him happily.
"I don't know," I scoffed. "He just decided he likes you for some reason."
Hearing the irritation in my voice, Sheldon began to look extremely confused. I started feeling guilty again. I don't like when my baby isn't happy.
"Oh," Carlton looked taken aback before he smiled slightly and scratched Sheldon on the head. The excitement immediately returned to my dog and he let out a happy bark. "You know it's weird, animals usually don't like me," Carlton told me as he knelt down and continued petting Sheldon, who decided it was appropriate to lick his new friend's face. I just laughed and shook my head.
"Sheldon, you are . . . one of a kind," I told him with another laugh as Carlton stood up.
"Wait, do I know you?" he asked me before we could part ways.
I sighed, irritated yet again. For only having met me twice, he certainly had managed to get under my skin.
"We met yesterday when I went to visit Lauren. You had to go to work and you barely even acknowledged that I was there," I reminded him.
"Oh, right," he nodded, making a face as he searched his memory. "Quinn, right?"
"Yeah," I nodded, feeling exceptionally awkward.
Just like the day before, I felt an urge to run the other way every time I looked at him. "I'll, uh, I'll just let you get back to your run." I tightened my grip on Sheldon's leash and quickly turned, leading him back the way we had come.
