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Clarke sighed and packed up her notebook and textbook when her professor finally decided that class was over. Being pre-med was generally something that Clarke was excited about, but not when it came to taking organic chemistry – especially when it was a night class. Even though she started off the semester having friends in the class, the professor scared them off one by one. If she had paid more attention to the deadlines for dropping classes, Clarke would have dropped the class, too, to take the course with a more interesting professor. Unfortunately, she had another two months in the awful class.
As soon as her peers stood to leave, Clarke wasted no time with exiting the building and sprinting across campus to get to her car. Once she was out of the cold, she pulled out her phone. There was an unread text from Lexa, including a picture of their kitchen table with two plates and wine glasses. It read, “Dinner is waiting for you. :)”
Clarke responded, “You have no idea how happy I am to see that. I’ll be home soon. Love you!”
She knew there would be another text, but she was too eager to get home to Lexa. She shoved the phone in her backpack and sped home.
**********
Lexa replied to Clarke’s text and then continued pacing the length of the living room. No matter how many times she wrung her hands or sighed dramatically, she couldn’t shake the feeling of anxiety that had settled into the pit of her stomach. She had screwed up, dreaded telling Clarke, and prayed that she wouldn’t be the cause of their first fight in the three years they had been together.
A few minutes before Clarke would be home, she had to sit and do some deep breathing in order to keep herself from hyperventilating. Just as she felt her heart rate returning to normal, she heard Clarke turning the key of their lock to the front door of the apartment. Her pulse quickened again, simultaneously. Instead of looking suspicious, Lexa stood as Clarke stepped through the threshold and threw her arms around her girlfriend. “I missed you so much,” Lexa breathed into her shoulder.
Clarke chuckled, “I missed you too, my love.”
Lexa gave her the room she needed to toss her backpack on the chair and then collapse onto the couch. “Long day?” Lexa asked, bending down to place a kiss on her girlfriend’s forehead.
“Oh my god,” she moaned. “Class tonight was even more brutal than usual.”
She knew she said that nearly every week after class, but it truly did get worse as the semester progressed. Clarke was only a semester away from graduation and yet this class had her wanting to drop out of school altogether on a daily basis. Lexa had to give her a pep talk just about every day, too. Clarke wondered if Lexa would be just as happy as her once she finished – and hopefully passed – the class. Midterms were coming up and Lexa was equally stressed for Clarke, even though she had exams of her own to pass.
“You’re almost there, Clarke,” she assured her. “Now, you better hurry up and eat before the food gets cold.”
That got Clarke off of the couch instantly. Lexa followed close behind and smiled when she saw Clarke realize that Lexa had made her favorite meal – spaghetti. Clarke counted herself lucky because her girlfriend was an amazing cook, considering she couldn’t even cook a frozen pizza without burning it to a crisp. Lexa, on the other hand, couldn’t understand why Clarke always wanted something easy to cook when she had a large dictionary of recipes taking up space in her mind. She certainly couldn’t say that her girlfriend was high maintenance.
“You’re always making my favorites,” she cooed, stopping with filling her plate in order to kiss Lexa quickly. The brunette laughed and told Clarke that there were also brownies in the oven, which made Clarke’s face brighten up even more. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’re trying to butter me up.”
Lexa laughed nervously, thankful that Clarke’s back was to her. She took a few more silent deep breaths and grabbed her plate from the kitchen table, followed by grabbing a bottle of wine and pouring some of the red liquid into each glass. When Clarke took her first bite, she threw her had back and moaned. “I love you so much,” she said.
“Are you talking to the food or the chef?” Lexa questioned.
Clarke shrugged, “You. The food. Both. I don’t care. It’s so good.”
Lexa shook her head, trying to stay in the moment and not fixate on the guilt that was trying to eat her alive. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to get the conversation over with or just act like it never happened. Keeping secrets wasn’t something she was used to doing and clearly that showed, as Clarke noticed that something was off. “You’re being quiet,” she noted. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing, just a long day of school and at the shelter,” she answered, hoping her voice didn’t squeak too much at the end. She had been volunteering at the local animal shelter since before her and Clarke got together. At least one afternoon a week was spent caring for the animals that somebody else didn’t want. Every time a new animal came in, Lexa would spend the rest of her shift caring for them. It was something that she loved doing, even though it took away time that should have been spent studying, but Lexa didn’t care. Sometimes she loved animals more than humans…except for Clarke.
The blonde stared her down for a few seconds longer than necessary, finally deciding that Lexa was telling the truth. The two ate the rest of their dinner and dessert with some small talk here and there. As the time went on, Lexa was getting more and more nervous and, of course, Clarke caught on. This was the first time where Lexa wished that they didn’t know each other quite so well. Clarke carefully set her fork down and watched Lexa move food around her plate without actually eating anything more than a few bites. It didn’t help that Clarke was analyzing her so closely – it made Lexa feel even guiltier with every second that passed. “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked.
“Of course,” Lexa answered, not meeting her girlfriend’s gaze.
Clarke stared for another minute or so before speaking again. “Lexa.”
“Yes?”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
As if on cue, Clarke swore she heard a faint scratching noise coming from the direction of their bedroom and the study they used for homework. Lexa’s eyes just about popped out of her head as she tapped her fingers on the table like she was contemplating something. Again, Clarke heard the noise. “Lexa, what the hell is that noise coming from?” Clarke said, standing up from the table to go investigate.
Before she could reach the short hallway that led to the other rooms, Lexa was blocking it so Clarke couldn’t pass. “I think I have something to tell you,” Lexa finally choked out.
“I’m thinking I agree,” she said. Clarke couldn’t decide whether to stare at her girlfriend or the door where the noise was coming from, growing increasingly louder. If she were alone, Clarke would have thought she was in a horror movie and something was going to come out from behind the door and attack her.
Lexa dropped her gaze to the floor and mumbled, “So, today at the shelter…”
“Go on.”
She started wringing her hands again, anxiety written clear across her entire demeanor. “Well, there was a call about some animals in an abandoned home and…”
“Lexa,” Clarke repeated for the second time in a span of five minutes. The brunette still couldn’t make eye contact. Clarke simply stood there and stared at her girlfriend, who looked like she would rather melt into the floor and disappear if it meant she wouldn’t have to be standing there. She didn’t plan on backing down – that is, until she heard a tiny whimper coming from the study. Clarke closed her eyes and side. “Lexa, love, please tell me there isn’t a cat in here.”
She perked up a little after that and slowly started backing up toward the door. “Well, the good news is that there is definitely not a cat in the study.”
Clarke threw her head back in despair. “Can you give me the bad news, then?”
Lexa grimaced, her hand now on the door handle but still not granting Clarke access to the room. There were clear whimpers and scratching coming from the other side of the door. “Well, the bad news is…there might be a golden retriever in the study.”
“A what?!”
Finally, Lexa opened the door and a puppy came scampering out of the study. Clarke was too busy staring down her girlfriend to even think about the puppy that was wagging its tail and sniffing all around the two of them. “You brought home a dog,” Clarke stated.
“Look, I know this is a lot to take in. I admit that I fucked up. Just hear us out for a second.”
The “us” didn’t go unnoticed by Clarke. When Lexa bent down to pick up the puppy, Clarke followed her to the living room, where they sat down on the couch with the dog between the two of them. Clarke only looked down at the puppy when Lexa started petting him and he settle down. She still was at a loss for words.
Lexa smiled, trying to get Clarke to do the same. When her efforts were wasted, she decided to speak instead. “As you know, the shelter is close to capacity and soon they’re going to have to start turning away stray animals. The shelter received a call today about a litter of puppies who are about seven weeks old. They asked me to help clean up the pups once they got them to the shelter and this little guy latched onto me.”
When Clarke didn’t say anything, Lexa picked up the dog and held him in front of the blonde, forcing her to look at him. Once she did, the pup stretched his neck out toward Clarke and simply licked her nose. “Clarke, he loves you!” Lexa exclaimed, sounding as if she were about to cry.
“Lexa, you brought home a dog,” she said again. “I will say that he’s cute. It’s just…how do we even know if he’s healthy?”
She was holding the dog like a newborn baby, cuddling him in her arms. “They did a quick exam and didn’t find anything wrong. My boss said that she’ll help us get free vet visits if anything comes up with him.” A few more seconds went by without the blonde speaking. “Are you mad at me?”
Clarke sighed and raked her fingers through her hair. “I know that we’ve been talking about getting a pet. I think it’s great that your boss is willing to help out. I just wish that you would have brought it up with me first. So, no, I’m not mad.”
Lexa’s eyes brightened again. “Really?”
“Really.”
Before she could change her mind, Lexa leaned forward and kissed her girlfriend, smiling and still cradling the puppy in her arms. Once she pulled away, Clarke reached out and pet the dog behind his ears and smiled when his eyes closed, feeling content and safe. “Does he have a name?”
Lexa was beaming. “I was hoping we could figure that part out together.”
They spent an hour coming up with names and arguing when one would suggest a name and the other thought it was an awful. Several Google searches and handwritten lists later, they agreed on “Charlie.” Although it was getting late, they decided to go shopping for dog food and, as it turned out, two dog beds, two baskets full of toys, seven different kinds of treats, and three puppy sweaters. Their cashier asked how many dogs they had and lied about having three dogs, too embarrassed to say that the shopping trip was for only one dog. When they got home, Charlie was waiting for them at the door and they spent another hour introducing him to his new toys.
When they finally crawled into bed after one in the morning, Lexa was shocked when Clarke pulled Charlie up onto the bed, too. The couple cuddled together and eventually Charlie curled up against Clarke’s side. As Clarke fell asleep, she whispered an “I love you” to Lexa and the puppy. Lexa watched as Clarke reached over and started petting Charlie as she drifted off. In response, Charlie licked her hand and then settled in to sleep.
As Lexa finally fell asleep, she hugged Clarke a little bit closer that night.