Scraps - Puppy Love

I knew from the moment I walked in the door that things were not good. There were bits of fluff and scraps of something –  I didn’t know, I didn’t want to know – lined along the foyer and hallway. As  I ventured further into the living room it only got worse. So much worse.

“That fucking dog,” I growled under my breath as I eyed the destruction.

Jules had convinced me that getting a dog would be a good idea. It would be something that we could raise together, help us bond or whatnot. I think she just wanted a baby without the diapers or all the responsibility. Then again, this was Jules, she would probably prefer a puppy over a baby anyways.  

A puppy I would have been fine with. This dog was not that. It was a goddamn demon.

“Cookie!” I roared and stomped through the house to find that wily little dick.

Jules also thought it would be funny to name the dog that. She had held the lab puppy in her lap, his chubby little belly facing up and tongue lolling out as she cooed out names to him; names that were uncanny to the ones I used to pick for my, er, girls. After every one she would throw me a sly little sideways look as if she were going to get a rise from me or something. I’m sure Jules thought she was just so fucking funny.

“I could name you Cinnamon. What do you think?” Jules said as she rubbed the pup’s golden fur and stole covert glances at me. “Oh, or Caramel. Hmm?”

I sighed and stared ahead, doing my best to ignore the little game Jules played. She finally settled on Cookie after the puppy had begun to yip at her after her saying it. This was a sign to Jules, it was nothing but a coincidence to me.  

Finally finding Cookie on my bed, gnawing on a couch cushion he had somehow dragged into my room, made me absolutely see red. How in the fuck did a thirty pound fucking puppy get into this much shit? Why the fuck did I ever let her bring a tiny tornado into my house…

I took a step towards Cookie with the intent to grab him and lead him back to his kennel, where he should have been in in the first place, when he looked up at me. Big, chocolate brown eyes stared up at me innocently, like he had done nothing wrong in the world and that he should be pitied on his cuteness alone. Cookie’s charm, unfortunately, worked on me.

“Aww,” I said out loud unconsciously. Then he darted off the bed and between my legs in a run. “Son of a bitch!”

I was running around the house in an attempt to wrangle the demon dog when Jules’ got home. If there was one thing that I hated about Cookie more than anything it was his undying loyalty to Jules. That dog wouldn’t listen to two words that I would say but he would heed every look and sound that Jules threw in his direction. It was frustrating to no end.

“Cookie, did you do this?” Jules said in a sound of utter disappointment as she entered the living room and threw her bag in my chair.

“Well I sure as hell didn’t,” I muttered from where I stood. I had Cookie pinned into a corner and I was slowly approaching him. It was like a good old fashioned Mexican stand-off.

“Hmm,” Jules hummed and then with a snap of her fingers and two pats to her thigh, Cookie dropped his gaze from my face and looked towards Jules before obediently trotting off to her.  

Jules snapped her fingers again and told him to sit, which he did. My jaw was clenched painfully hard as I watched her reprimand him for the mess he made, the way that Cookie’s head dropped in shame and then the way he slunk off into his kennel after Jules commanded him to go to bed. Why the fuck couldn’t he respect me like this?

After Cookie was out of sight, Jules turned to me and smiled. “How was your day?”

I looked at her as if she were fucking crazy before sweeping my gaze from right to left, dramatically highlighting my disaster of a living room with my hands as I did. “Look at this shit!”

“Aww,” Jules cooed in that patronizing way that made it near impossible for me to not smile. I fought the urge regardless. “Big, scary Bear can’t handle a little puppy?”

“Shut up. Yes I can,” I grunted.

“Oh, yes. I can totally see that. You’ve got it all under control, don’t you?”

“Watch it, you,” I growled and tugged her forward by the hem of her shirt. “Your demon dog may run circles around me but I can still handle you just fine.”

“Can you now?” Jules purred, amber eyes shining up at me with curiosity.  

I leaned in and took her bottom lip between my teeth before tugging on it slowly. Jules’ lids drooped as she watched me release her lip with a hungry pant before I devoured her mouth. She grabbed at my back with a desperate moan and pushed herself closer to me.

A low whine behind us took me out of the moment with Jules and with an angry turn of my head I saw Cookie standing there shuffling.

“Mm, someone needs to go out,” Jules said and tapped me on the chest. “Hold that thought, alright?”

I watched Jules go and collect the dog and take him out back with a shake of my head and crossed arms before I let out an over the top, exasperated sigh. “That damn dog…”