Page 43 of Yolo

“Rufus,” she clipped. “I call him Ru for short. You said ‘Roo’ and he thought you were talking to him. That’s his release word.”

“Ahh,” I said. “I’m sorry if that annoys you. I know that you have to be able to control your dog.”

“It’s fine,” Garrett answered as he nudged me with a hand. “Hold out your hand and you can give them some of these treats.”

I reached up high since all of a sudden I had a dog on one side of the couch next to me, and I didn’t want whomever it was to steal the treats before they were given.

“You have Boss on the couch with you,” Garrett said. “He won’t eat it out of your hand. You’re in his spot, though. That’s why he’s so close.”

I smiled as I closed my hand over the treats.

There were two, so I assumed one was for each Roo/Ru.

“Here you go,” I held out my hand to the one closest—Rufus.

Rufus took the offering and retreated. Meanwhile, Rooster got impatient and started to nudge my belly with his nose, ordering me to give it to him.

I giggled and did just that.

Once he had it in his mouth, he, too, jumped onto the couch on my other side, effectively blocking me in.

“There are two very large dogs blocking me in,” I admitted. “Gee, what kind of dog is Boss?”

“Boss is a traditionally colored German Shepherd, but he has a longer coat. A little more black on top than the usual depiction of a GS.”

“And what about Rufus?” I questioned, moving my head a little more toward where I thought Delphine was standing.

She sighed, long and loud, not letting her frustration go unknown.

Okay, so she didn’t like me talking to her.

Noted.

“Rufus is a Malinois,” she replied.

“Rufus is brindle colored. About a hand shorter than Boss,” Garrett answered, sounding weird.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing,” he grumbled under his breath.

“Oh, okay.” I was surprised by his surly attitude.

No longer feeling like I was welcome and needing to get back to my apartment quickly now that I did, I scooted out from between the two dogs and said, “Come on, Rooster. Time to go home.”

“I’ll walk you down,” Garrett suggested.

“Actually, I’m just leaving. I’ll walk her down,” Delphine immediately interjected.

I gritted my teeth but didn’t argue.

She obviously felt threatened, and I wasn’t about to pass up an escort, no matter if she was mean to me or not.

Tonight had been overwhelming, and though Garrett hadn’t seen anything, I know what I felt.

And that was unsafe.

After Garrett reluctantly agreed, we set off not for the elevator, but the stairs.