Veronica
I rested my arm on my forehead, covering my eyes from the sun. Thick white clouds floated in and out of my sight. I could smell the green grass, feel the coolness of the ground beneath my body.
Letting out a sigh, I closed my eyes. Perfect time to nap. I should feel content. It was a beautiful day, after all.
But my heart hurt.
I felt something beside me, but I didn’t move.
“Hey, Red. Why so serious?”
My eyes snapped open. Heart beating madly, I turned my head.
“Caleb?”
He was lying beside me on the grass. His eyes, clear and so green, gazed at me with that familiar naughty glin
t. His hair, bronze and thick, glinted in the sunlight. The wind picked up, and a lock of his hair fell, covering one of his eyes. He smiled.
“Hi, Red.”
I held my breath, my hand slowly reaching out to smooth the hair from his face.
“You’re here,” I choked.
“I never left.” He covered my hand with his, pressing it to his cheek. “I’m waiting for you.”
He leaned his face closer to mine and licked my cheek. And then my nose. And the rest of my face.
What the hell?
“Woof! Woof! Woof!”
“Burp! Oh, come on! How many times are we going to have this discussion? You do not wake people up. Especially pretty girls you have never met before.”
Damon?
I suddenly became aware of a heavy weight on top of me. When I opened my eyes, a goofy-looking white Lab blinked at me happily, pink tongue licking my face.
“Woof!”
“All right, that’s it!” Damon scolded, sounding embarrassed.
The dog disappeared. Wiping the dog drool from my face, I sat up.
“I’m sorry. This is Burp, by the way. My mom’s dog.” Damon looked apologetic. He held the Lab at the foot of my bed, while the dog whined and gave me sad eyes. “He knows how to open doors and loves to wake people in the morning. It’s kind of his thing.” Damon shrugged apologetically. “He just woke up Kar.”
Uh-oh.
I heard the clanging of pans and swearing in the kitchen. Apparently, Kara wasn’t a morning person when woken up by a dog. Damon winced, looking a little scared.
“Well, I better go before Kar blows up.” He pulled Burp to the door. “My mom baked croissants this morning and asked me to drop them off for you and Kar. I’m really sorry about Burp.”
I raked my fingers through my hair, catching a knot. “Thanks, Damon. Nice meeting you, Burp. I can’t believe you named him Burp.”
Burp barked happily when he heard his name.
“I was going to name him Fart.”