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I’ve got to keep moving. I can double back the next block over, head back home as fast as I can.
Someone will probably see me, there will be people soon.
Nice people.
Normal people.
Not people following me.
It takes everything I’ve got, but putting one frozen foot in front of the other is all I can do and after a few blocks, I start to calm down again, feeling silly.
Telling myself I’m imagining things and that I must be the only person for ten miles dumb enough to be out in this cold weather.
I’ve almost forgotten about my mystery man, well. His scent anyway.
When I’m sure I hear somebody calling something out from far away. Something that sounds like it’s being carried on the wind from miles away.
“Valentine!”
I stop and cock my head, sure I hear it again, but the sudden sound of an approaching car drowns it out.
I almost wish it was a cab.
The car zooms by and the closer I get towards familiar streets, the more I start to feel at ease. Eager to get into a hot bath and forget about everything else for a few hours at least.
“Valentine!”
I hear it again, like an echo in my mind. A sad, mournful call that’s filled with an emotion of longing and sadness.
Almost like a wolf howling in the wind.
Or, it could just be some whacko wandering the streets screaming ‘Valentine!’ at the top of their lungs. I guess that’s one way to try and get a date for the weekend.
But I’m not that desperate. I’m beyond desperate, to the point of having given up.
Waiting at a crosswalk, I jerk my head around when I hear it.
I know before I even see him that these are the same eyes that have been watching me, following me for what almost feels like since I left the house.
He’s huge, and as well as a jolt of admiration I also feel a stronger ripple of fear rush across my belly.
More like a wolf than a dog.
A deep, melodious bark that’s rich and full of powerful things.
Masterful.
Not something I’d expect to see roaming the streets without a leash, or an owner nearby.
The crosswalk buzzes, but I’m frozen to the spot.
The huge animal across the street behind me is whining now, his large pink tongue lolling outside of his mouth, his intense blue eyes zeroing in on mine.
He barks again and I jump.
Starting to whine his huge paws knead at the sidewalk in front of him before he tips his head back like he’s calling me over.
I’m not a dog person, but there’s almost something magical about this one. I know better than to approach strange animals in public too, but once the breeze shifts and I catch that familiar scent, that same cologne. A part of me is hooked.
I look both ways and cross the street, going back in the opposite direction from my house all over again, determined to at least get close enough to see if this dog is really a dog.
My apprehension seems to dissolve the closer I get to him, more once I spot the thick collar under his fur.
He lays flat on his belly paws out in front as I get closer, his eyes and tongue dancing with excitement because I’ve followed his command.
I’m wary, but not scared anymore. He’s huge, but there’s something so disarming about his smile, if dogs… wolves, whatever he is even can smile.
I get within a few feet of him before he springs to his feet and lurches the other way. Looking back at me and bowing down again with his paws out before running off.
I’m close enough to get another subtle blast of that cologne though, and despite being late already as well as against my better judgment, I can’t help but trot after him.
No dog wears cologne, but their masters do.
“Wait, come back!” I call after him.
I have to meet whoever owns you so they can own me too.
If the man’s anything like his dog or his cologne, I know I’m already his.
Chapter Two
Conor
It’s not unusual for me to stay indoors for days at a time when it’s cold out, I can work from anywhere.
If you’d call what I actually do working.
If you could say there was really anything worth going outside for in weather like this.
“I know, I know, boy,” I tell him, lifting myself from my seat and stretching, running my hand through his fur as I walk him to the back door of my house.
“Let me know when you’re done,” I tell him, closing the door so he can have the privacy he needs to… well. To do what dogs do when they have to go outside on a cold day.
Making a detour to the kitchen, I decide a late breakfast is in order, and Valentine would appreciate something too, I’m sure.
