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Living in New York had taken some adjustment time for Alex. The list of differences between here and Texas was endless. No open fields, no good barbeque spots (at least, that he approved of), and borderline too much hustle and bustle. Despite that, he enjoyed living here. He worked at an immigration law firm where he got to advocate for his clients’ rights in a way that made his grandmother proud. His sister and her girlfriend, (also his best friend, but that was a long story), also lived in Brooklyn. They made an effort to get together for dinner at least one night a week, though it was often more than that. Alex and Nora would even goad June into going out for drinks on the weekend every once in a while. Life was good.
Alex lived in a brownstone apartment on his own, about five minutes away from Nora and June’s place. He made a point to move out to give the couple some space after they made it official, and to 'preserve his innocence', as he put it to them. And hey, the neighborhood was relatively calm, at least for NYC. He’d never met his neighbors officially, but a part of him thought it was for the best. Everyone minded their business here, something that he appreciated for the peace that it granted him.
He was appreciating the peace one day, doing his quarterly apartment clean. ADHD makes it so easy to make a mess, yet so hard to clean it up. So, he typically marks down a day on the calendar, makes a list, and hyperfixates on deep cleaning until the apartment is spotless. It’s an all day affair, because it’s difficult to focus on one task when there’s so much to do. He often bounces from room to room, switching tasks until they’ve all been completed.
His speaker was set up in the living room, Selena’s Si Una Vez playing as he hummed along, swaying his hips a bit while he dusted his bookshelf. There’s nothing more motivating than Mexican music when you’re cleaning, in Alex’s humble opinion.
June and Nora are well aware of his routine, and tend to steer clear of the cleaning chaos. That’s why he was surprised to hear the quick knocking on his door during the last chorus of the song. Alex paused, his eyebrows furrowed slightly as he stopped the music before jogging over to the door.
He did not expect to see a gorgeous blonde man on his doorstep, an adorable beagle cradled in his arms like a baby. Dark brown eyes met striking blue for a second, and they both seemed to freeze before reanimating again.
“Terribly sorry for this,” The stranger said, and oh god he’s British, “but our landlady is on her way here at the moment and she cannot see David.”
Alex blinked once, twice, then suddenly he had an armful of beagle. His brain short circuited at the sudden weight of furry mass he now had. So much so, that his mouth opened to ask a million questions and nothing came out. Instead he gaped like a fish, which the stranger ignored.
The blue-eyed man shoved a duffel bag and pet bed into Alex’s apartment, leaving them on the floor before checking his watch. “Bloody hell, it would be my luck that she’s quick.” He muttered to himself before turning to Alex again. It’s only then that Alex could see he was blushing so much that his ears were turning red. “Again, so sorry.” Then he closed Alex’s own door, leaving him standing there with a beagle in his apartment.
“What the fuck.”
Alex finally seemed to reawaken, blinking down at the dog. “Who’s David? Are you David?” He blurted out. To be fair, the dog seemed content despite suddenly being in a stranger’s possession. His tail wagged contently, tongue lolling out of his mouth.
Alex carefully walked to the couch, sitting down like he had something fragile in his arms. He checked the dog’s collar, and yes, this is David. “Terrible name for a dog.” He muttered.
David and Alex sat and stared at one another for a minute, before David quickly got bored and started sniffing around the couch. Alex stood again, still baffled by the exchange before an offhanded thought occurred to him.
“Please don’t pee on my couch.” He pleaded to David, who ignored him in favor of shoving his face between the couch cushions. “Jokes on you, I cleaned out the couch earlier.” Alex snorted while picking up his phone and dialing the one person he usually turns to for help.
“Hello?” June answered. “I thought you were doing your all day cleaning today.”
“I am, or at least, I was.” Alex replied, sighing as he stared at David, who then decided to curl up on a pillow. “Funny story, a hot guy just knocked on my door, handed me his dog, and then left?” He phrased it more like a question than a statement.
The line was quiet for a moment before he heard Nora’s telltale cackles. “You didn’t say I was on speaker.” Alex complained.
“I didn’t think I had to.” June quipped back. “Alex, what the hell do you mean?” She pushed him to clarify.
Alex took a deep breath, then explained the little information he had about what transpired. “Did you check the bag?” June asked. Alex smacked his forehead with his hand, groaning about forgetting the obvious.
“No, hold on.” He muttered and returned to his front door. Alex put the phone on speaker, setting it on the floor while he knelt down beside the duffel bag and opened it up. Digging through it, he listed out the contents out loud for June and Nora. “A leash, bowls, a bag of dog food, toys… This is like all of David’s stuff.” He murmured.
“Who’s David?”
“David is apparently the dog’s name. It’s awful, am I right?” Alex scoffed while Nora snickered.
The beagle’s ears perked up at his name, tail wagging slightly before he realized he wasn’t being summoned. He laid his head down and let out a sigh that sounded much more exhausted than he likely was.
Alex sat back on his heels and sighed, gaze going back and forth from the duffel bag to David. “I guess I’ll just wait for his owner to come back? He seemed like he would be back soon.” He said skeptically.
“Right…” June drawled in response. “Hey, you said he was hot, right? Maybe you can hit that in exchange for dogsitting.” Nora chimed in while her girlfriend whined in disgust.
“Okay, I am not going to engage in prostitution, Nora,” Alex rolled his eyes despite nobody seeing him, “All the power to sex workers, but that’s not my vibe.” He also did not want to guilt the guy into sex. The people who slept with Alex always gave enthusiastic consent, it was the bare minimum.
“Well, keep us updated, Lil’ Bit.” June said, clearly wanting to steer away from talking about her brother and sex in the same conversation. “Keep your new houseguest comfortable!” Nora called in the background. Alex rolls his eyes and picks up his phone again. “Yeah, yeah. Hush.” He said before ending the call.
The apartment seemed deafeningly quiet now, so he turned his playlist back on and let Shakira’s Loca fill the silence. “Well,” he hopped back to his feet, “no reason to stop the cleaning party. You take a nap, okay David?” He scratched behind the beagle’s ears, grinning. “You can keep me company while I fold my laundry.”
-
A bit over an hour later, there was another knock on Alex’s door. He straightened up from where he was sweeping the kitchen, then leaned the broom against the counter before he ran to the door. “Coming!”
The blonde man was there again, still looking as flushed as he did before. “I… once again, I am so sorry.” He blurted out.
Alex smirked, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. “Good, you’re back. I didn’t have the heart to tell David that his dad left and wasn’t coming back to get him.”
The stranger looked offended for a moment, but before he could say anything, David jumped off the couch and trotted over after he shook himself off. The man knelt down, happily petting the beagle. “Hello, mate. Terribly sorry for the sudden abandonment.” He murmured. And no, that did not make Alex’s heart melt, who said that?
“I’m Henry.” The blonde suddenly said, peering up at Alex. “I can’t even begin to thank you enough for watching him, even if it was against your will.” A breathy laugh that will live in Alex’s fantasies forever followed.
Alex cleared his throat. “It’s no problem, man. I’m Alex. Though… I am curious. Why did you trust a literal stranger with your dog?” Amusement colored his tone.
“Right, yes.” Henry stood and dusted himself off. “You see, our landlady has a strict no pets policy, which was fine until I needed a therapy dog. Legally, I need a letter from a provider to have him here but my therapist and primary care doctor have been sending me in circles and… anyway. Regardless, David is not supposed to be here technically.” Henry shifted his weight awkwardly while Alex chuckled.
“Look at you, rebel. And you’ve hid him all this time?” Alex questioned.
Henry flushed even more, which Alex didn’t think was possible. “Yes. Typically I know ahead of time if she is going to stop by, so my best mate comes to take him and his things while she’s here. However, today my bathroom ceiling started leaking from something upstairs and she was insistent she needed to take pictures for the repairmen. How lucky am I that she just so happened to be already in the neighborhood, and my best mate is out of the country.” He rolled his eyes as he explained. “Hence, you.” Henry gestured to Alex, looking more than a little embarrassed.
“That is… yeah. Debra is not one to be messed with. I can see why you’d hide him.” Alex winced in sympathy. When Debra sets her mind on something, there are no ifs, ands, or buts. She made that very clear when he signed his lease, and he had no intention of crossing her. Clearly, Henry was living on the dangerous side.
Henry’s shoe cuffed against the floor while he nodded faux solemnly. “Besides, you aren’t a complete stranger. I’ve seen you before.” He said with a sheepish expression. Alex’s grin widened. “Oh, I see. You’ve been watching me, eh?”
“You menace! I meant in passing, like in the mailroom, or the hall.” Henry scoffed, a certain kind of light sparkling in his eyes.
Then he reached for the duffel bag, pulling out a leash and clipping it to David’s collar. Once David was ready to go, Henry swung the bag over his shoulder easily in a way that should not have been as hot as it was. “Thank you, again. I don’t know how to repay you. You did not have to cover for me, after all.”
Alex snorted. “Snitches get stitches, bro. It's fine.” He said with a nonchalant shrug, before kneeling down to pet David. "It was a pleasure to have you here, Mr. Accountant."
"For your information, he's named after Bowie."
"Sure." Alex grinned, grabbing the door in preparation of Henry leaving. Though, A realization struck him like lightning. He didn’t exactly want to stop talking to Henry.
“You know,” he started slowly, “there is one way you can make it up to me though.” Alex made a show of dragging his eyes up Henry’s form before finally meeting those wide blue eyes. He’s a chaotic bisexual, sue him. “You could take me out for coffee sometime?” Alex would really like to know where this confidence came from. Likely his inner Nora.
A squeak left Henry’s lips as he gripped David’s leash tighter. “Oh, ah, yes. Yes, I would certainly be amenable to that.”
Alex grinned. “Cool. I already have your number, so I’ll text you, yeah?” At Henry’s confused look, he pointed to David and added, “Got it from his tag. In case you didn’t show back up.” He shrugged.
Understanding crossed Henry’s features and he nodded. “Right. Well… It’s a date then?” He looked shy as the words left his mouth.
“It’s a date sweetheart.”