We spend the next hours trying to leave, and I laugh every time someone stops us to talk to Thomas. He's a big part of the shelter and responsible for so many things here that it's entertaining to see how he thinks he can just leave whenever he wants.

"Seriously, let's just go. I'll ask Mike and Carlos to deal with everything else." He holds my hand in another attempt to leave.

Mike and Carlos are his partners at the clinic, and apart from a quick introduction, we didn't really have much time to talk. They are also involved in the shelter, so they're as busy as Thomas.

"It's okay, really!" I touch his shoulder. "Just finish what you have to do here first and we can have dinner later somewhere."

"Are you sure? I hate I can't just leave, sorry."

"Absolutely." I nod. "I'll call the guys at the bakery to see how things are going. We'll leave when it's all over."

*****

All over meant almost seven in the evening. Thomas looks exhausted, so I suggest we just hang out at a bar or something before we head to his place. We're both starving, so going somewhere to eat and chill sounds like a good plan.

"Yeah, I could really use a beer right now," Thomas says. "Mind if I invite Ethan and the guys to tag along? I haven't really seen him in months and I'll be leaving on Monday, so..."

"Of course not," I say as we finally get to the parking space.

"Why don't we ride together?" he offers. "We'll have to come back tomorrow for the barbecue. You can leave your car here."

"Sure, I just need to get my bag. Where are you parked?"

"Right here." He points to a huge motorcycle and I narrow my eyes.

"You know what they say about guys with big rides, right?" I try to keep a straight face, but I lose it when he gasps.

"I actually don't, Lisa. Please enlighten me." He crosses his arms, trying to sound offended.

"That they're overcompensating." I bite my lips so I don't laugh.

"Overcompensating for what exactly?" He narrows his eyes, daring me to say it.

"Small dicks." I look into his eyes and after a second, we both burst out laughing.

"Damn! You're too much." He shakes his head, a smile still playing on his lips.

"Now seriously, an Indian FTR 1200 S? I'm impressed!" I get closer to his bike, examining it.

"You're into bikes?" He tilts his head to the side as if I'd grown two heads.

"Why do guys think girls can't normally be into sports and fast rides?" I raise my eyebrows at him.

"Hey, no need to be defensive. I'm just curious. My last two girlfriends refused to ride on the back of my bikes. My sister insisted I drove my car to her place, assuring me I'd die on a dirt road or something. So, pardon me if I'm surprised."

"Sorry, I just hate when men automatically think sports and rides are entitled to them only. Cars and bikes are the only things my dad and I have ever bonded over. And even him finds it weird that I like this stuff so much."

"I'm not every man, Lisa." He holds my hand, pulling me to him.

"And I'm my own woman, Thomas." I raise my chin.

"And you're also mean. Let's not forget that." He lets go of my hand and gets on the bike, handing me a helmet before putting on his own. "Are you ready for the ride of your life?"

"Bring it on." I get on and circle my arms around him, clearly taking him by surprise by the way his abs flex in my hand.

"Okay." He clears his throat. "Hold on tight."

****

The vibration of the motor pulses through my veins and I love the way the wind blows on our faces, making us feel free and alive. Thomas is a careful driver, but there's something in him just daring him to go a little wild, to test his limits. I don't know what it is or for how long we drive, just that when he pulls over in front of a bar, we're both smiling big goofy smiles.

"Damn, that was fun!" I get off the bike and take off my helmet. My hair is a mess, but I had so much fun, I don't even have it in me to care.

"We're definitely doing it again!" He gets off too and pulls me to his side. "Here." He gets his phone and points it up to take a selfie of us.

"Nah..." I get his phone and smack a kiss on his cheek, making him laugh, then take another pic of us. "Now that's a photo worthy of keeping." I wink at him.

"I see..." He shakes his head. A lingering smile on his lips while he looks at our photo.

"Is Ken Boy now impressing girls with selfies?" Ethan appears by our side, pulling Thomas into a one-sided hug. "The guys are on the way."

"Oh, it takes so much more than a hot body and a pretty face to impress me," I say, as we walk inside the bar, making the both of them chuckle.

It's a typical place single people go to hang out and scout a date for the night. The lights are dim and the music loud and sexy, and it is all too familiar to me. In the far corner, I see a free booth and we head there to wait for the rest of Thomas's friends.

I feel his hands pressing to my lower back as if he's trying to protect me from the crowd, and I don't miss the way Ethan's eyes follow his move; neither how he slightly shakes his head.

I sit down first, with Thomas following by my side, and Ethan in front of us. A couple of minutes later, a waitress comes to get our orders. I take a quick look at the menu and don't think twice about ordering a burger and fries. I know better than to drink on an empty stomach, and apart from the hotdog we had for lunch, I hadn't eaten anything all day.

"Well, make that three burgers and three Buds, please," Thomas says.

"Coming right up." She winks at him before leaving.

"So, Ethan, what do you do?" I ask.

"I'm also a vet. Army Vet, actually."

"Really? Never heard of it before. I mean, I didn't even know it was a thing. How does it work? You guys go to war and...?" I say.

"Yeah, I get that a lot. The job is pretty much to protect the Warfighter and support the National Military Strategy. We basically provide military veterinary expertise in response to natural disasters and other emergencies and also medical and surgical care to military working animals of a variety of species," he says with that same proud expression Thomas has when talking about his job.

"Wow! I know you have to hear it a lot, but that's a badass job," I say at the same time the waitress brings our beer, so I hold it up to clink my bottle with his.

"Thanks." He chuckles, a little embarrassed.

"So, are you all vets?" I look at Thomas and he shrugs.

"We met Mike and Carlos in college, but Thomas and I grew up together," Ethan says. "Our moms are good friends and my dad is not in the picture. Drew taught us how to love and care for the animals, how we're all part of something much bigger... I think it came naturally to us to become vets, too."

"God, I love how you guys have this deep and beautiful philosophy of life and are actually practicing what you preach." I smile at Ethan and look from him to Thomas.

The moment I turn my attention back to Ethan, I see how they both share a look. One of those silent conversations you're only able to master when you've been best friends with someone for so long.

I choose not to pry and instead ask the first question that pops into my head when I see the waitress bringing our orders. "So gentlemen, the big question of the night is..." I pause for a second and they both raise their eyebrows in anticipation. "How the heck are you guys not vegetarians or vegans or whatever? I mean, a burger, really?" I ask and they stare at me for a second or two before bursting out laughing.

"Fuck, I needed that." Ethan rubs his eyes, after finally getting a hold of himself.

"Told you she is just too much sometimes! Don't let those compliments she freely offers fool you." Thomas chuckles.

"What? It's a fair question!" I pinch his side playfully, and he holds my hand, lacing our fingers under the table.

"And she can also be fucking mean. So, don't fall for the gorgeous face and hot body either!" Thomas add.

"Hey!" I try to pull my hand, but he just kisses the back of it and pulls me to his side, hugging me close to him.

"But to answer your question, no, we're not all vegan or vegetarians, even though we respect the shit out of their way of thinking. Ethan and I grew up with our families having barbecues whenever the weather was nice. So, we plain and simple love meat. Now, we do question the ethics of those that are driving up demand for crops that require high inputs of fertilizer, fungicides, pesticides, and herbicides while demonizing sustainable forms of livestock farming that can restore soils and biodiversity, and sequester carbon. We care, we research and we do our best to respect different points of view while keeping in mind that no animal should ever suffer," Thomas says.

"Damn... You make it so hard not to find you amazing sometimes...." I look into his eyes, willing my heart to stop beating so fast.

"The owner of the bar is a good friend. We know where this meat comes from, so we are safe here." Ethan chimes in, and I give him a smile.

"Really?" I smile. "I'd love to understand more about all this."

"Well, you just got a date with the nerdiest guys of Saint Clement. Bring on the questions," Ethan says and I look at Thomas, who's shaking his head.

"Way to impress a girl," he murmurs.

"Hey, she's just our good friend Lisa," he says in a mocking tone.

"My good friend Lisa." Thomas gives him a look.

"You just make it so easy, man." Ethan shakes his head and starts talking about all this new and fascinating world.

And I can't help but fall more in love with it.

-----

A/N: He does make it easy, right? ;)

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Celeste