“She’s running an errand for me,” August explained. He jogged over to her car and opened the back door. “Thanks, Julia. I know this kind of thing is outside your job description…”
She waved a hand. “Compared to the random errands Cornelius had me do? This is a pleasure. And he’s just thecutest little boy.”
I frowned. “I’m not sure I would describe Cornelius that way…”
“Not my dad,” August said, leaning into the back seat. “Thislittle guy.”
There was a bundle of black, white, and brown fur in his arms. Two dark eyes fluttered open among all the fur, and a pink tongue lolled out.
I gasped. “Who is this!”
“A while ago, at the first cocktail party you came to at my place, you mentioned wanting a dog,” he explained.
“I did?”
“You mentioned it to me,” Michael added. “And I told August.”
“But you said you didn’t want to get one until you were living in a house, with a big yard.” August gestured at the big pink house. “Well, here you go!”
He put the dog down. I crouched down, and the dog immediately ran over to me, wiggling and whimpering and rubbing up against me. I laughed as he licked my face.
“His name is Fritz,” August said. “Or Poopy Face. You can name him whatever you want. It’s not like he speaks English.”
“I love Fritz,” I said, squeezing him to my chest. “Where did you get him?”
“The same breeder where I got Bernie. They’re brother and sister.”
“Aw, you didn’t go to the pound?” I asked.
August sniffed. “Not for a dog like this.”
“I hate to get a dog from a breeder when there are plenty of dogs at the pound who need a home. You probably paid, like, a thousand dollars for Fritz.”
“A thousand? Try ten times that.”
I stood up while holding Fritz. “YOU GOT ME A TEN GRAND DOG?”
“Oh, uh.” August ran a hand through his dark hair. “Did I say ten grand? I totally meanonegrand. A smooth thousand dollars. A reasonable amount to spend.”
Michael laughed and said, “You overdid yourself.”
“Fuck you. I did myself the right amount.”
“Forget the cost,” I said as Fritz licked my cheek. “I love him.”
Potty training a puppy was a lot of work, but it helped that my parents were living in the house. Dad immediately fell in love with Fritz, and didn’t mind letting him out the back door twenty times a day. But the puppy had alotof energy. He chewed on everything, including two pairs of shoes. We couldn’t keep an eye on him all the time.
Then, two weeks later, Michael and I went to the pound and got a nine year old mutt named Frank. As soon as we brought Frank home, he went zooming across the yard, running circles around the property happily. Fritz followed him around like—well, like a puppy. The two of them became instant friends, rolling around together and playing constantly. And over the next couple of weeks, Frank showed Fritz how to behave. Whenever the puppy picked up a shoe, Frank trotted over and snapped at his neck until he dropped it. Then the two of them would grab a chew bone and run off playing together.
And just like that, my house became a home.
Now that I had moved out of my apartment and was living with my parents, I ran into a problem on how to maintain my OnlyFans page. Kai suggested a simple solution: I do all filming at his place. He had a second bedroom which he dedicated solely to recording his OnlyFans videos. I discreetly moved all of my outfits, equipment, and toys over there one evening when my parents weren’t home.
Kai had a nice apartment—not as fancy as August’s or Michael’s, but leap years nicer than my crummy place. The first time I visited, I perused the bookshelf in his living room.
“You really did major in European History, didn’t you?”
He shrugged. “I like history.”