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"Yeah, sure. It looks like you make nice collars. I like how the dog's name is right on the collar and not on a tag."
"I make tags, too," I said. "I actually really love doing that. That's a new branch of my business that I'll be introducing soon. I'll have separate tags you can purchase for people who don't want to do the custom collar."
"Do you make the actual collars out of leather?"
"Yeah, leather and hardware. I make a ton of those all at one time and then I customize the little middle plates and add them once the order comes in. I was just working with the leather at first, and I like that, but then I started stamping the metal and that's my favorite part of the whole process now. I'm not even worried about the leather now. I might start buying pre-made collars and focusing on tags. But what about you," I continued. "I know you're an architect, but what else do you do?"
"I just graduated college," he said. "I lived in Indiana for college, but I'm back in Chicago now."
"How does it feel to be back home?" I asked, and he shrugged.
"I'll only be here for a few days before I head out again."
"That's right, you'll be traveling this summer, too. We're kind of on the same plan, except I'm going to be working my butt off on my vacation."
"Yeah, I'm not going to be working," he assured me. "I just finished up with sports and finals, and I've pretty much been turning my wheels non-stop for the last six months. I am more than ready for a break."
"I thought you said your brother was the ladies' man," I said glancing at him as we walked.
"He is," he said confidently.
"I don't know how anyone could be more of a ladies' man than you are."
Beau cracked up at that. He got a good, hardy laugh out of it, and I stared at him with a look of confusion. "What's so funny?"
"If you looked at my brother, you would not be saying that."
"How could anyone be hotter than you?" I asked, still looking confused.
He laughed again. "When you grow up as the scrawny older brother, that is a sentence that only happens in your dreams."
I pulled back and stared at him with a stunned expression. "You are not even close to scrawny," I said. I reached over and took a hold of his upper arm, measuring it in my hands.
"What? No. You're not even close to… my ex-boyfriend's arms were way smaller than this. He was way… I would never,everdescribe you as scrawny. And seriously, I don't think you know how good-looking you are. Jade was coming up to you even though I told her you were there with me."
"I think it went good in there," he said. "I think everyone thought it was true."
"They did, and I loved it. Now they're going to leave me alone."
"Why don't you just tell them you don't want a boyfriend?"
"Because people don't understand that. It's better to just break it up a little. Now they saw me with someone and they don't need to ask for a while."
"Well, I'm fine with being your alibi if you ever need me again."
"I'm sorry for kissing you."
"You kissed me twice."
I laughed. "I know. Sorry."
"You really got into it," he said, making me laugh even more.
"I know. I'm sorry. I just wanted to, honestly. I'm sorry to say that, but I'm never going to have a boyfriend, and it felt good to just… part of that wasn't just for show. Part of me really wanted to kiss you. I was just thankful and happy, and I just wanted to kiss you. But seriously, after that experience, I can say you're hot, Beau. You're handsome, and you're a good kisser. I don't know what your brother looks like, but I do know that there's sort of a cap on how good-looking a person can get. I've seen like all the combinations that can happen with noses and mouths and things like that, and I can't imagine your brother being any better looking than you are… unless he's Captain America."
"He is Captain America. He's at least that."
"Either way, you're nowhere near scrawny. Not even close."
