Teddy

THE DRIVE TO THE ANDERSON FARM FEELS much more upbeat than the drive to my dad's house only a few moments ago. The puppy, having lost all sense of fear of his new humans, bounces around on the front seat, climbing from my lap to Jensen's and then back again. I try to keep him away from Jensen because I notice him tense up the second the dog goes near him, but the furry, little guy seems to be a bit obsessed with my surly friend.

Once we pull up to Jensen's apartment building, I usher the dog outside and walk around with him until he does his business against a tree. Then I pick him up and carry him up the stairs to Jensen's apartment, my friend trailing me. At the stoop right outside his door, he reaches around me to unlock it. He turns the knob and nudges the door open. With a hand on the small of my back, he pushes me into the house.

The light above the kitchen sink is on, otherwise the apartment is dark. I stop right inside the door and wait for Jensen to turn on some lights. Once I set the dog down, he goes tearing through the open space, excited to explore. Jensen sets his panicked eyes on me and a laugh bursts out of me.

"Relax, he can't hurt much. And a little dirt won't be the end of the world." I pat his chest as I walk past him into the living room, where the dog is busy doing laps around the coffee table. "Can I get some towels to give him a bath?"

I turn to look at Jensen, who is still standing in the middle of the room, immobile. I walk back to him, snap my finger in his face to get his attention, and repeat my request. "Jensen. Towels. Please."

"Teddy." He wears an unamused, slightly panicked expression on his face. "You brought a rabid dog into my house."

Laughing, I walk through the apartment. Since the only bathroom is the one attached to Jensen's bedroom, I have to walk through it in my search for towels. I slow my steps when I take in his personal space. I don't think I've ever been in his room before, not since the renovations anyway. It's different than I imagined it and yet exactly the same somehow.

The big bed takes up most of the room, leaving only a small walking space between the sides of the bed. The hunter green blanket is a rumpled mess on his bed, like he was tangled up in it all night, but didn't bother straightening it out when he woke this morning. Remembering our run from earlier, I recall that he was hungover, the evidence of his rough night's sleep staring me in the face.

As I contemplate the state of his bed, Jensen walks in beside me. He looks at the bed and then to me, a slight rosy tint dusting his cheeks. It isn't often that I see Jensen blush and I'm struck by how cute it is. He rubs a hand down the back of his neck, ducking his head.

"Right through here." A light touch on my elbow nudges me forward.

In the bathroom, he pulls a few towels out of a cupboard, and hands the stack to me. I busy myself with bath prep. When the water is running in the bathtub and the towels are laid out, I go in search of the puppy. He's in the kitchen sniffing at the refrigerator.

"You hungry, little guy?" I bend to pick him up, rustling fingers through his curly fur. "I'll get you a snack after you're clean. Deal?"

When we enter the bathroom, Jensen is leaning over the tub to turn off the water. He removed his hoodie while I was gone and is now in an old basketball t-shirt, worn jeans and bare feet.

"Ready?" I ask, announcing our presence. He just nods and moves out of my way. "Will you grab some dish soap?"

Once Jensen is gone, I blow out a breath. Sometimes his presence is overwhelming. Plus, the vulnerable moment between us from earlier is still fresh in my mind. He's always been generous with his hugs and affection, but that felt different. It was more than a simple hug. Every inch of our bodies was touching. His soothing caresses were both unnerving and comforting.

And he smelled my hair. A deep inhale like he was savoring it.

"Here." Jensen thrusts the dish soap at me when he reenters the small bathroom. It's starting to feel a bit cramped now with Jensen's looming form.

I take the soap from him and set it on the edge of the tub. Then I warn the dog about what's going to happen before lowering him into the water. He instantly tries to scramble out, but I hold him down and talk soothingly to him. "It's ok, little fella. I'm just going to wash you real quick and then I'll dry you off real good and get your something to eat, ok?"

I start scooping water in my hand and rubbing it over the dog's fur. When he's fully drenched, I try to squeeze soap into my hands, but the minute I release my grip on the dog, he resumes his escape attempts.

I turn my pleading eyes on Jensen. "Will you help me, please? I just need you to squeeze some soap into my hand."

Kneeling down next to me in front of the bathtub, Jensen squeezes a glob of soap into my hand. We're so close together on the floor that our bodies touch, the warm skin of his bare arms rubbing against mine as we both work together to scrub the dog clean.

He's a sudsy fur ball after a few minutes of scrubbing, so we rinse him off. The moment I set him on the towel between me and Jensen, he shakes his little body, water flying in all directions at us. Jensen and I screech in laughter, and I hurriedly wrap the offending creature in a spare towel before he can do more damage, but it's too late. We both wear water spots on our clothes. Jensen looks like he peed his pants and the sight doubles me over in laughter.

It isn't until later, once the dog has been set free in the living room to run laps around the house at top speed, that we notice the state of my t-shirt. The thin material is drenched across my chest, revealing my pink lacy bra beneath, and my nipples poking out.

I see the moment Jensen realizes this. His eyes widen for a brief moment and then start blinking rapidly. He doesn't tear his eyes away immediately, though, they linger at my boobs for a while. Heat creeps up my cheeks, but I fight the urge to cover myself. I should cover myself. But the moment feels weighted somehow, like all the pitstops tonight were leading up to this.

In the end, it's the dog that interrupts us. He barks at something out the window, the sudden noise breaking the spell. Jensen looks away, and I fold my arms across my chest.

Jensen pulls his t-shirt over his head and offers it to me. "Here."

Taking the shirt from his hand, I walk back to his bedroom and quickly swap my shirt for his, pulling the fabric up to my nose to sniff it. I already know I won't be returning this shirt, instantly claiming it as mine.

Jensen trades spots with me when I'm done dressing, changing out of his wet jeans. He emerges from his room wearing only a pair of gym shorts. His chest is bare and now I'm the one gawking.

"Better?" he asks, his eyes momentarily falling to my chest.

"Much. Thank you."

He nods. "Pretty sure it looks better on you anyway," he says in passing as he walks to the living room.

I steal a hotdog from his fridge and break it in half before offering it to the dog. "Here, puppy. You hungry?" He scrambles over and yanks the hotdog half from my hand, before sitting down to gobble it up. When it's gone, he comes back for the second half.

"Want to watch something on TV?" Jensen asks from his spot on the couch. He has the remote pointed at the screen mounted on the wall, but he waits for my response before turning it on.

"Yeah, sure. Maybe for a little bit. It's been a weird night." I sink down on the opposite end of the couch from him. Before I can get comfortable, though, he scooches me over to him, tucking me under his arm. He reaches behind him to tug the blanket off the back of the couch, draping it over our laps. Then he turns the TV on and flicks through Netflix recommendations.

I sigh, sinking into his warm body. "J?" My voice is timid.

He pushes the little hairs that escaped my braid off my face, tucking them behind my ear. "Yeah, Chipmunk?"

"Thank you."

He squeezes my knee under the blanket. "No need to thank me."

I move my hand to rest on top of his. He rotates his hand so our palms are touching and he intertwines our fingers, giving them a slight squeeze.

"Teddy?" he asks after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah, Jensen?"

"Are you really going out with Jackson again?"

The question surprises me, and I turn to look at him. He's staring intently at me, waiting for my answer. I'm saved by the dog again when he jumps onto our laps, licking excitedly at our faces. I push the dog down and get to my feet.

"I think it's probably my bedtime. I'll make a bed for the puppy on the floor by the couch so I can watch over him tonight. Where are your extra blankets?"

"Nu uh, Teddy." Jensen stands up next to me. "You are not sleeping on the couch." The way he says it almost sounds like he's offended. "I'll sleep here." He points to the couch behind us. "And you'll sleep there." He points to the bedroom down the hall.

Pink colors my cheeks when I think of his bed, all rumpled from his sleep. The thought of sleeping in Jensen's bed, wrapped up in his sheets, the smell clinging to them, sounds both delightful and unnerving in equal measures.

The thoughts must be written on my face because Jensen rushes to amend his statement. "I'll change the sheets, of course."

"No!" I say, a bit too loudly. "No," I try again, this time at a much more reasonable level. "It's ok. I can sleep on the couch. I'm the one intruding. I don't need to put you out."

"Teddy." His voice is gruff. He wears an expression that warns me he's seconds away from becoming pissed. "You are not sleeping on the couch."

"Jensen." I mimic his tone of voice. "You are ridiculous. It's perfectly fine and reasonable for me to sleep on your damn couch. It's comfy. It'll be fine."

"No," he says this with finality. "You're being ridiculous. You get the bed." He grabs me by the wrist and tows me to his bedroom. "Stop arguing."

"God, you are so stubborn. And bossy." I fold my arms over my chest, facing off with him. My aggressive stance loses some credibility when I have to crane my head to look up and him. "And so fucking tall."

He tries to stop the smirk blossoming on his lips, but he can't quite contain it. When it bursts free, he gives me a soft shove, sending me back a few steps. "And you're a brat."

I stick my tongue out at him to prove his point. "Fine. I'll sleep in your stupid, big, fat bed. But you don't need to go to the trouble of changing sheets. I am sure you don't have cooties. Or the transmittable kind anyway."

This elicits a laugh from him, and he lightly shoves me again. "God, Teddy. You are a shit sometimes."

I move to the other side of the room when he starts to make the bed and I help him as he rights the covers. "Why is your bed so massive anyway? It totally eats up the whole room."

"Teddy, I need a big bed. I'm a big guy." He says this like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Let me guess. Your bed is teeny tiny like you."

"I'm regular size and so is my bed." I pat down the blanket when I finish straightening my side and then fall onto the bed on my back, my feet dangling over the edge. He joins me, mimicking my position, and our heads touch in the middle.

"Teddy." He waits a few beats. "You never answered my question." A few more beats. "Are you going out with Jackson again?"

"I don't know, Jensen. I haven't decided yet. Maybe?"

With that, he rises from the bed and clasps his hands together in front of him. "I'll get some blankets for the dog." Then he disappears out of the room.

-

I NUZZLE INTO THE PILLOW BREATHING IN the smell. It takes me a moment to realize why it smells so good. Cracking an eye open, I confirm I am indeed in Jensen's bed. I snuggle further into the softness of the blanket, pulling it up to my chin, not ready to get up and face the day.

Last night was weird. I'm still trying to process it. From the call about my drunk father to Jensen's subsequent rescue to the stray puppy to snuggling on the couch to Jensen abruptly ending the night.

It's all a jumble of weirdness in my head. Where do I even start to unravel it?

Forcing myself out of bed, I straighten my twisted shirt—Jensen's shirt—and slip back into my black leggings. In the bathroom I try to freshen myself up the best I can. My braid is a frizzy mess with more strands hanging in my face than tied back, so I peel out the band and separate the pieces, combing my fingers through the waves. Then I flip my head back, gather the hair and quickly tie it into a messy bun on the top of my head. I eye Jensen's toothbrush but opt to finger-brush my teeth with some toothpaste instead.

When I walk back into the bedroom, I notice the pile of blankets on the floor meant for a dog bed is empty. I pause in the doorway of the bedroom, listening for any noises to clue me in on what my temporary roommates are up to. When only the quiet of the still apartment greets me, I tiptoe out into the living room, stopping when I come upon the sweetest sight. I quickly take a picture with my phone and stare at the screen, contemplating making it my wallpaper.

Jensen's large form is sprawled over the couch, a throw blanket draped across his waist. One arm is thrown up over his head, his hand dangling over the edge, and his other arm is cradling the stray puppy on his bare chest. Both are fast asleep, soft snores the only sound in the room.

I'm still looking at my phone when I'm startled by a small yip. The dog is now licking his bedmate awake, leaving slobbery kisses all over his face. Jensen groans and tries to block the unwanted kisses. I giggle at the scene, tempted to take another picture. But Jensen's gruff voice stops me. "Teddy. Get your dog under control."

I pick up the dog, snuggling him under my arm as I smile down at my friend. "Morning, grouchy. How'd this little guy end up out here with you?"

"The little fucker kept whining at the bedroom door, so I let him out. You were passed out cold, snoring like a bear. Figured you must really need the sleep if you were making that much noise." He sits up on the couch, rubbing both hands over his eyes, his mouth open in a wide yawn.

"I'm guessing it was a long night and this cute little guy didn't let you get much sleep."

"You guessed right." Rising to his feet, he trudges to the kitchen. My eyes trail him, moving over the defined muscles of his bare shoulders and back, and down to the shape of his butt I can make out through the gray gym shorts. "Coffee," he grunts. "Lots and lots of coffee."

"I'll take him out to do his business," I announce, slipping on my shoes before exiting the apartment with the dog still tucked under my arm.

"Were you a crazy fella last night, huh?" I ask the little furball as he races around the grass once I set him down, sniffing everything he encounters. "Did you keep Jensen up all night?"

The dog lifts his leg to pee on a tree and scrambles back over to me. I usher him up the stairs and back into the apartment, where Jensen is pouring coffee into two mismatched mugs. He slides one across the counter to me. I sit in a stool at the counter and wrap my hands around the warmth of the mug, the coolness of the morning making me shiver.

"I'm ready for spring already," I say to break up the silence. Jensen isn't much of a morning person, and the lingering awkwardness from last night only adds to the tension.

Jensen falls into a stool next to me, his arm brushing mine, the warmth of his skin heating me. He sips from his mug before turning to face me. "So, this dog."

"Right. The dog. I'll go into town and start asking around. Maybe I should go back to my dad's since that's where we found him and see if I can retrace his steps. Maybe someone will claim a missing puppy. I could always make signs and post them everywhere. Someone's bound to be looking for him, right?"

Jensen grips my wrist to silence me. "Teddy, it's fine. The dog can stay here until we figure out what to do with him. I should probably pick up some dog food, though, right? He probably shouldn't be living off hotdogs."

"No, no, I can do that. I'll grab some food when I go back into town. I didn't mean to dump this big responsibility on you."

He runs his thumb over my wrist with the lightest of touches. "Teddy." I tear my eyes away from where his hand meets my wrist and look into his eyes. "It's not a big deal."

"We agreed to one night. If I can't find his family, I'll figure out where he can stay tonight. Maybe Rylie can take him, or my mom might."

He lifts my hand in both his, mine dwarfing in his grasp. "Just let me do this, Teddy. It's not a big deal."

The puppy trots over to us and tries to jump into Jensen's lap but the stool is too high, and he crashes back onto the floor. Jensen bends over and picks him up, depositing the dog in his lap. "He's kind of cute anyway."

"Jensen Anderson," I sing, a smile slowly spreading across my face. "Are you saying you actually like this dog?"

"No. Shut up. I don't like animals. I am not a pet person." The way he pets the dog under the chin tells a different story.

"Uh huh. Sure. Now don't go falling in love with this little guy and get your heart broken when his family takes him back." I ruffle the dog's head before jumping off the stool and crossing the kitchen to deposit my empty mug in the sink. "Can I get a ride back to The Drinking Hole?"

"Yeah. But first, let's stop at the store so you can show me what dog food to buy, ok? I know jack shit about taking care of a dog."

I rinse our mugs while Jensen retreats to his bedroom to get changed for the day. Once he returns to the kitchen, we file down the stairs, puppy in tow.

The chilly morning air greets us, and Jensen grabs my elbow to halt my progress. Looking me up and down, he shakes his head and grunts a throaty laugh. "I'm not getting that shirt back, am I?"

With a smirk, I crawl into the passenger seat of his truck, leaving the question hanging in the air.

"Like I said." He turns to face me once he's situated in the driver's seat. "It looks better on you anyway."