Free Neighbor Dearest by Penelope Ward Page B

sat by our feet as Damien and I ate at the kitchen table.
    “It’s amazing how quiet they are now.”
    Taking a bite of toast, he said, “They’re quiet when they’re content.”
    “So, you’re saying they’re happier when I’m here?”
    “Maybe they like having a female around when they wake up, or maybe they just sense something that other people don’t.”
    “Like sense something about me?”
    “You know how strong their sense of smell is.”
    “Yes, I do.” I laughed. “Between your supersonic hearing and their sensitive noses, I’m pretty much screwed around here.
    “Maybe they like the way you smell.”
    “Are you saying I’m like a piece of smoked meat to them?”
    “No. You smell better than bacon.”
    “You’ve smelled me?”
    “Yes.”
    “What exactly do I smell like?”
    “You smell really nice. It’s a sweet smell.”
    “You’re bacon me paranoid.”
    He chuckled. “Okay…so either they like your smell, or they just sense that you’re a friendly person, and they calm down when you’re around.”
    Damien was giving me a funny look that prompted me to ask, “Are we talking about them or you?”
    “Maybe both.”
    My heart fluttered, and I wanted to stomp on it.
    He broke up a piece of toast and threw the remnants on the ground. The dogs scurried to beat each other to it.
    When Damien got up to pour more coffee, I said, “So, I’m going out with Brian Steinway again this weekend.”
    He was stirring in sugar, and his hand stilled for a moment when I’d said it.
    “I didn’t realize you were still seeing him. You hadn’t mentioned him in a while.”
    Brian and I had only gone out a few times in a span of a month. While he didn’t give me the same butterflies Damien did, I’d yet to find a legitimate reason to stop casually dating him. We hadn’t done more than kiss; that was mostly because of my own hesitation.
    “Yeah…I figure why not? He’s nice enough.”
    Damien slammed his mug down. “Nice enough ?”
    “Yes.”
    “You do realize you just basically wrote him off, right? So why bother spending any more time with him if you’re not crazy about him?”
    Because I need a distraction from you.
    At the same time, I love being around you.
    “What’s the harm in spending time with someone?”
    “The harm is that while you’re passing the time, he’s getting more and more smitten with you. And I’m gonna have to kick him off the property when he becomes disgruntled.”
    “I think you’re jumping too far ahead.”
    “Okay. We’ll see about that. Anyway, you shouldn’t be wasting your time with him if he’s not exactly what you want.”
    “You can’t always get what you want.” I was sure Damien had no clue that I was thinking of him when I’d said it. I thought I’d been doing a pretty good job of hiding my true feelings for him lately, going along with us just being friends. But if there was one thing I’d learned from this, it was that you can’t control your attraction to someone. If it’s there, it’s there. It can either be ignored or acted upon but not controlled. But I was grateful for Damien, even if things couldn’t progress past friendship. At the very least, he’d helped take the focus off of Elec.
    “Where’s he taking you anyway?”
    “Fondue.”
    “At least he’ll be dipping his stick into something.”
    “You are bad.”
    “Did you tell him you like to be double-dipped?”
    “Excuse me?”
    “You know…two guys…double dipped.”
    “I don’t like that at all…nor would I ever do it in real life.”
    “I’m just messing with you.”
    “You like to do that.”
    “Double dip?”
    “No! Mess with me.”
    “I love it, Chels. Especially when you blush.”
    “You’ve never called me Chels before.”
    “Do you not like it?”
    “Elec used to call me Chels, so no, I’m not really crazy about it.”
    “Well, then we need to come up with a new nickname.”
    “What?”
    “I’ll think about it.” He grinned.
    “Oh,