Stephenie Meyer owns all TWILIGHT characters.
The Twilight Twenty-Five
thetwilight25[dot]com
Prompt: 17 – lick
Pen name: IngenueFic
Characters: Bella, Edward,
Rating: G
All prompts can be found here:
www[dot]thetwilight25[dot]com/round-five/prompts/
"Hello?" Bella calls out as she lets herself into her friend's house. "Anyone home?"
There is a muffled response from the back of the house but before she can yell Angela's name, two large dogs come galloping down the front hall. Bella braces herself because she knows they like to pounce on her – only her, never Angela or Ben.
"Oof," she breathes out when Monty gets up on his hind legs and tries to hug her. "Hey, boy," she greets him. She's not really one to talk to animals but she can't help but hold one-sided conversations with the Cheney dogs.
"Oh my gosh, Bella, I'm sorry." Angela rushes toward her and puts a firm hand on Monty's head. "Down, Monty." The dog immediately falls back onto all fours and stares up at Angela.
"It's okay," Bella assures her. "I'm used to it by now. I think."
Angela gnaws at her bottom lip for a moment. "Are you sure you're comfortable taking care of them this weekend? We can still drop them off at the kennel."
"No!" If there's one thing Bella can't stand, it's the kennel. She had a dog when she was younger – for all of a year before it ran away – and she still remembers the whimpers that came out of Simba's mouth when he came back from the kennel.
She shakes her head and repeats, "No."
"You sure? Positive?"
"Yeah, Angela. Don't worry. I'll take care of the boys." Bella crouches down and laughs when Dakota nudges her shoulder, wanting affection. "Won't I, boys? I'll take care of you."
Dakota responds by licking up her cheek.
"Ew, gross, Cody," she says, using his nickname. "No treat for you later."
Angela laughs and shakes her head at her friend. "Okay, so I'm not leaving until tomorrow morning but you can stay here tonight already if you want."
"Yeah, I brought my stuff," Bella says absent-mindedly. Her weekender bag is in the backseat of her car, filled with casual clothes and the bare necessities. It's not like she's stranding herself on an island, after all. She's just across town from her own apartment.
"The guest room is ready for you. But these guys," Angela says with a wave to her dogs. "I don't think you've ever seen where they sleep. Come on, I'll show you."
For the next hour, Angela shows Bella where the dogs sleep and eat, and gives her a rundown of their mealtimes and where they like to walk and which dog likes which toys. Bella's head spins by the time the instructions are over and she's beginning to wonder if maybe taking care of Monty and Cody will be a lot more than she bargained for. She's starting to think taking care of her newborn niece might be easier.
"I've overwhelmed you, haven't I?" Angela frets. "I'm sorry. I know it's a lot, especially when you're not used to it."
"I'm fine. I'll be fine." Bella is trying to convince herself as much as she's trying to reassure Angela. "Everything's written down right?"
"Right," Angela says with a nod. "Right here, with the vet's number."
"Okay." Bella nods. "Okay." She takes a deep breath and glances at her watch. "I guess now is when Ben usually takes them for a walk? It's just after six."
"Yeah. He takes them to the dog park about three blocks away right after work."
"Okay," she says again because it's the only word she can come up with when it comes to this situation. "Why don't I take them now while you finish packing? You haven't finished packing, have you?" she adds the second part as an afterthought.
"That would be a no. You don't mind doing it yourself?"
"I'll be fine." Bella is starting to feel like a parrot with the way she's repeating herself. "You guys wanna go for a walk?"
Both dogs bark once in response before Cody runs off, only to return with two leashes hanging from his mouth.
"Crazy smart," Bella murmurs.
"They are," Angela agrees. "Okay, you have the key. Take your time. Be stern with them. They know you so they'll listen even though you're not usually their disciplinarian. They should behave for you."
"Okay. Don't worry!"
Ten minutes later, after more minutes of reassuring Angela she won't kill the dogs or lose them, Bella walks them down the block in the direction Angela pointed her toward. With a leash in each hand, Bella walks between the two dogs. They're heeling without being told, which she loves. Even when they arrive at the dog part, neither of them goes crazy or starts pulling away from her. Angela had mentioned that they could be let off the leashes once they were inside the park and all she had to do was call their names and they'd return to her.
"Here goes," Bella mumbles. She squats down and unhooks the leashes from their collars. Immediately, they run toward the large grassy area in the center of the dog run. Bella watches them closely; the last thing she needs is for them to take a crap and her not realizing it.
The two dogs mostly play with each other, ignoring the others around them. It makes sense; Angela and Ben bought them together from the same breeder. They were two of a nine-pup litter. One dog keeps trying to run with them but is ignored. It's a semi-large cream-colored dog with curly hair that makes her think of Rowlf the Dog from The Muppets.
"Monty!" she calls after about 10 minutes. "Cody!"
If she's going to stay in this dog park, she's going to play with the dogs instead of just standing around like some creeper. She sees the two dogs running toward her.
And they have a third behind them.
"Whoa!" she cries out. The dog from earlier somehow rushes past Monty and Cody and jumps on her. It's bigger than she thought, easily able to place its paws on her shoulders. The dog is also a lot heavier than she originally thought because Bella wobbles under the added weight and soon topples toward the grass. The only thing she can think is that the grass better not have any dog crap.
"I'm so sorry!" a voice apologizes from above her. She can't see anything because the curly-haired dog is still on top of her. "Down, Sasha. Sit."
The weight disappears and Bella lets out a huge rush of air. "Holy crap, that's some dog," she blurts out.
"Puppy, actually," the voice says. Bella looks up and sees a tall man holding onto the dog's – Sasha's – leash. "I'm really sorry. I'm still in the middle of training her. Here, let me help you up."
He reaches down his free hand and Bella grasps it. Her breath hitches lightly when she feels a spark between their palms. When she's standing, he doesn't let go right away.
"Are you okay? Did she hurt you?"
Bella shakes her head. "No. She just surprised me."
"Oh, good, for a second there I thought –"
Before he can finish his sentence, Sasha leaps up again. Bella jumps away at the last second but the dog keeps bounding after her.
"Sasha, no." He turns his attention to Bella. "Just turn your back. I'm so, so sorry."
Bella tries to follow his directions, turning her back to the energetic puppy, but Monty is behind her and she lets out a squeal of laughter when she ends up falling and getting tangled with the dog. From the corner of her eye, she sees the man reaching toward her, as if to help her up again, but Cody darts between his arm and her body, causing him to back into his own dog before falling down next to her.
"Ow," he mumbles as he falls hard on his ass. "Jeez, these dogs."
With a giggle, Bella whistles to the two Ridgebacks. They immediately go to her and sit in front of her. "What are you doing, guys?" she asks them. They don't answer her at all but Bella still reaches over and scratches their heads lovingly. "You want me to make a fool out of myself in front of strangers?"
"Edward," the man says immediately. She glances over at him. "The name's Edward and, like you heard earlier, this is Sasha. He gestures toward the puppy who is leaning heavily against him, tongue lolling out of her mouth in a silly grin. "Now I'm not a stranger."
Bella lets out a laugh. "Touché, Edward." She gives him a grin.
There is a pregnant pause for a moment before he clears his throat. "Do I get to find out your name?"
"Oh!" She shakes her head and rolls her eyes at her rudeness. "Bella," she introduces. "I'm Bella."
Thank you to oOza for the beta work.