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Nick leaned against the door and listened to the voices behind it, and what he heard pissed him off. He clenched his fists hard, intending to walk away so he wouldn't have to listen to his possible ex-girlfriend flirting with someone else and practically declaring her love. But as he took a few steps toward his car, he realized he needed answers. Pushing his feelings of anger to the back of his mind, he unlocked the door with his key and froze in place.
"What does it all mean!?"
"AH! Nick? I wasn't expecting you today".
"I noticed..." Nick exhaled in relief and closed the door.
"Are you mad at me?" - Ellie asked, looking at Nick and slightly cringing at his gaze.
"Not anymore...so was it all about him?" Nick stepped closer and pointed to the dog in her arms-a small Yorkshire terrier puppy. Ellie adjusted the bandana collar on the dog and patted its ear.
"Hmm, silly isn't it? But...I didn't know how to tell you. It's just that you said you didn't understand little dogs and called them nothing but rats..." Ellie wrinkled her nose, imagining for a second those rodents, which were nothing compared to this cute little boy in her arms.
"And that's the only reason you found a thousand reasons not to stay with me?" Every morning, after spending the night together, he woke up alone, next to her cold pillow. No matter how tightly he hugged her, she managed to slip out of bed, and leaving a note she disappeared into the night.
"Nick, I am so sorry...I didn't mean to upset you. But leaving the baby alone at night would be cruel, too". Ellie stuck out her lower lip and returned her attention to the puppy: "right babe? Tell your grumpy daddy that you're afraid to be alone at night". The puppy licked her nose and moved his ears, whimpering as if he understood her. "You are my good boy."
Nick grimaced and nudged Ellie toward the living room. The dog nestled between them on the couch and hid his nose between his paws.
"How long have you had him?" Nick couldn't help himself and stroked the puppy's head, and it stuck its tongue out in pleasure.
"Um...it's not really my puppy. How can I explain it to you? My neighbors recently had their second child and found out he was terribly allergic to fur. One morning their daughter knocked on my door: she was crying and cradling the puppy in her arms, begging me to take her little brother in so she wouldn't have to part with her dog, can you imagine?! Her parents decided to give the puppy to another family, you know - they just had no choice. We talked it over with her parents...so I decided to keep the dog so she could still play with her puppy."
Nick smirked and rubbed the bridge of his nose, imagining the shock Ellie had experienced that day. "Oh my God...that's... ahahа. I have no words - poor girl, and how she must not love her brother right now."
"It's not that bad, Nick. I think she was just desperate that day: her parents had to confront her with the fact that the puppy couldn't be left at home without explaining anything to her."
"Yeah...and you decided to do the same to me? Ellie, I wouldn't make fun of you or anything. You did the right thing by deciding to help this girl and her family. You have a huge heart. I love you".
"And you didn't think anything of it?"
"Repent...I was beginning to suspect that you had fallen out of love with me, or worse, met someone else...and now I'm a little ashamed, actually. And who would have thought that THIS would be my competition?" Nick picked the puppy up in his arms, marveling at how tiny it was in his palms, weighing almost nothing.
Ellie snuggled up to his side and pecked him on the cheek: "Hmm, you look so cute... I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away."
The puppy licked Nick's nose and wiggled his tail, trying to do it all over again and reaching for his face. "Oh, ew...don't do that."
"Uh huh...yeah baby! You like your grumpy daddy! Yay!"
Nick shook his head and let the puppy go to the floor, and it ran off to its dog bed to chew on its toy.
"Honey, I love you so much, but let's make a deal, don't call me his daddy"- Nick kissed her on the lips, pulling her closer to him on his lap. "And I'm not grumpy..."
Ellie pursed her lips as she looked at him and spread the fold between his eyebrows with her thumb to make him stop frowning. "Mhm...You just don't like small dogs."
Nick took her palm in his and kissed her hand. "Yeah. But I like this one."
"Whoa! Did you hear that, baby? Nick loves you, too."
"But I love you more, because I'll finally wake up holding you..." Nick kissed her cheek again as Ellie snuggled against him, making herself more comfortable on his chest, keeping an eye on the puppy.
"And you'll even bring me breakfast?"
"Absolutely."
"And coffee?"
"And coffee..."
"Mm, perfect. Love you."