One

In which Rachel saves a b*****d dog from starving to death and meets Cheryl, the one responsible for the dog's near-death state.

     I don't know how many times my mom asked me if I was gay. I don't remember when I started lying to her. I think it was in my late teens, but I can't be sure since I have no real sense of time passing. I do remember when I started to date another girl, when I got my first girlfriend. Her name was Rachel and she was gorgeous. Shorter than I by maybe an inch with gypsy dark brown eyes. Her smile was something from another world and I remember losing my breath when I saw it for the first time. I remember when I first met her, my gypsy girl. It was in the pet store, of all places, and I was trying to buy food for my best friend's dog who was dumped at my house like a b*****d child when Rachel appeared from nowhere and pulled a bag off the shelf with utter confidence. I squinted at the bag and didn't bother fabricating a lost expression.
"Excuse me," I said, just as she began to walk away. In the second that I had before she faced me, I remembered that my shirt advertised the 2009 gay pride parade and I wondered if she would be disgusted like a lot of the other people in Florida were when they came in contact with me and my damnable shirt. I smiled, expecting a scowl, but when she turned she looked me in the eye, not at my shirt.
"Yeah?" Her eyes were such a deep brown that I was lost for a moment.
"Um, yeah." I blinked, looking at the list in my hand absently, trying to escape and recover from the intensity of her.
"I'm trying to find.." My thoughts were sluggish and some part of me needed to tell her the reason for my confusion.
"I'm sorry, I can't remember what I was going to ask. Your eyes are beautiful."
The gypsy frowned and looked me over, disgusted.
"Are you really trying to flirt with me in the dog food isle? By complementing my eyes?" I met her gaze and frowned, the situation coming to me as clearly, horribly, cliched.
        When I was younger people always told me to 'watch my mouth'. Everything I said came out offensive to someone in the room and I never understood why I always got in trouble for telling the truth. Even today I can't really 'watch my mouth' since I don't usually pause to think how what I say is going to effect someone.
I just say it.
Maybe that's why no one besides my very closest friends asks me for my opinion anymore.
"Um. Yeah. Wait!" I sigh, my eyebrows drawing together. "No, I had no intention of flirting with you. You just turned around and looked at me and I was just trying to be honest." Seven words I've said too many times to count.
She smirked and put a hand on her hip, dog food hanging by her thigh. "Normally I would assume you were lying, but you're an open book." She looked at me, biting her lip uncertainly. "Or you're just an amazing liar."
I've been told this before too, by my best friend. I would later recognize this double edged thought as Rachel's natural suspicion, something that made her very hard to surprise.
"I can't lie for s**t." I said with a grin, immediately loving the glimpse of of a smile that I saw for the first time. The unnamed gypsy woman laughed, pulling the dog food up to rest on her hip, letting her other hand dangle. Her laugh made me smile.
"Good. There are too many liars in the world." Her eyes drifted to the list in my hands and I started a little, looking down at the piece of paper.
"I'm sorry, I was going to ask you, do you know what puppy food to buy? I've never had a dog before and some poor thing was left with me for the weekend."
The full effect of Rachel's smile was unleashed on me for the first time and I was drunk with it.
"Well, I wouldn't want an innocent dog to die due to your incompetence." She said, coupled with her award winning smile. God her vocabulary was hot.
This thought amused me and I laughed. "His owner thanks you."
Rachel held out her bag of dog food to me and I took it, already feeling a little bit of what she wanted.
"Alright, how old is this poor animal?" She asked, holding my eyes for a second before looking at the shelf full of food. I brought the little rat terrier puppy to mind and squinted an eye in thought.
"Um...well..he's had it for a few months and it's really tiny...about a year I guess?" Rachel nodded and picked up another bag of food that was right next to the empty space where her's had been.
"This is what I get for my dog at home." I took the bag and smiled. "Thank you." I looked into Rachel's eyes again and was caught by the expression. It was a look that held weight, that seemed to say; 'if you look away from me right now, we will not be meeting again'. Out of fear and determination not to be intimidated, I held her eyes, letting her see what she needed to. I had no skills in soul-gazing someone so I let myself be observed. She stared into my eyes for a few seconds, silent and she slowly smiled. Like a disease, I felt myself smile too.
"What?" I asked, to which she shook her head, finally breaking eye contact.
"Nothing." I grinned, relieved that she seemed to like what she saw. My dad must not have been showing his influence.
With little to no thought, I took both bags of dog food up to the counter, feeling light and happy.
"Hey!" She called after me softly, following close on my heels. "What are you doing?"
I set both bags down on the counter and the man behind the counter glanced at my b***s. He scowled after his eyes flit across the words, the rainbow letters bright and cheery. Though he said nothing I rolled my eyes and smiled, determined to make him feel like an a*s. "Hi, how are you?" I asked, ignoring the gypsy behind me who spoke indignantly.
"So, what, you're just going to steal my bag of dog food? Really?" She asked, hands on her hips.
The man behind the counter looked at the woman behind me, then back and mumbled "Good, you?"
I beamed. "I'm great, thanks." He took the two bags on the counter hesitantly, waiting for me to explode in the usual 'gays are people too' speech. Instead, I turned to look at the woman behind me and was once again surprised by just how beautiful she was.
"I'm buying you dog food."
The gypsy paused, considering me and eventually folding her arms across her stomach.
"A drink would've gotten you farther." She said and I smiled.
"I can do that too. If you want." Another heavy gaze before the man behind the counter cleared his throat. "The total is thirty-one seventy two." He said blandly. The gypsy rolled her eyes and my smile turned into a grin as I reached into my back pocket for the wallet that held my prepaid credit card.
The plastic gave the impression that I was stacked, which was a complete lie. I lived pay-check-to-pay-check like most people and flinched internally about the bill.
I swiped my false pretense card and punched in my pin, sighing with relief when it cleared.
The man behind the counter bagged the food separately and set them both on the counter. I took one in each hand and turned back to the gypsy who stood in front of a towering man, her expression one of 'I saw that you flinch but I know you're too stubborn to listen so I'll let you suffer knowing that I know'.
I grinned at her and held out one bag, which she took with a smirk. "Thanks."
I nodded, moving out of the way for the man behind her to approach the register with his cat treats.
I held the door for her and she dug into her purse for something as she stepped onto the sidewalk.
"Hold on!" She said quickly before I passed her. I turned, watching her pull out a receipt and twirling her finger for me to turn around. I did and she put the receipt on my back, plucking the pen out of my pocket. A slow smile spread across my lips and she turned me around, holding the receipt out to me.
"I'll buy the drinks." She said, smiling shyly. I would only see that particular smile twice in our history together.
"Sounds good." I said, taking the slip of paper with the seven little numbers on it.
    
         When Tuesday morning came around and I was collapsed on my couch, exhausted from work my door rang. "What?" I called out, the rat terrier dog, who's name I learned was Elvis, went flying through the house, barking like mad. I had become accustomed to this and didn't bother telling it to shut up anymore.
"It's Nich." Boomed the voice of my friend. The dog went wild. "Is that Elvis?" He called, his tone warning.
I sighed, knowing I was in trouble. "It's unlocked."
I heard the front door open and Elvis growled viciously, quickly followed with a yelp and a curse. "Goddammit it Sheryl."
I groaned and pushed a hand through my hair as my friend stood before me, Elvis rumbling like a little motor boat in his hands.
"What the hell? Why is he barking? I was teaching him not to bark when someone knocked at the door." Nicholas lived in an apartment much nicer than mine and his elderly neighbor lady made a fuss over the dog, almost making it so Nich couldn't have one at all. Just to spite her, he fought it and Elvis was allowed to stay on the condition that he behaved and didn't cause a ruckus.
I sank back into my couch, the night's glow stick digging into the back of my neck. "He's a dog, Nicholas. They bark."
Nicholas held Elvis out at arms length and looked down at the food bowl on the table. "He's eating on the table?! Jesus, Sher."
I opened an eye and fixed it on Nich with a death stare. "Listen, you dick, he's alive isn't he? Fed, watered? That's pretty f*****g good, considering that you dumped him on me like the Fedex kid and you don't like how I raised him?"
Nicholas rolled his eyes and Elvis, who assumed he was being handed over to me, began to squirm again.
"Ugh, it'll take forever to fix him." He said with a grumble, letting the little dog go. I closed my eye and Nich came around to sit next to me, Elvis taking residence between our thighs. The material of his pea coat scratched my arm and I heard him breathe very faintly.
"How was work?" He asked, not complaining when I laid my head on his shoulder.
"Long. I don't like drunk people. They think they know the music better than I do. Especially the chicks." Nich chuckled and put his arm around my waist, letting me sink against him.
"How was California?" I mumbled, my hand on his leg for balance.
"You'd love it." He said. I could hear the smile in his voice and I smiled too.
"I got a few people's numbers. Apparently a tall black man like myself is a prized treat in the gay man world." At this I outright laughed, my hand on my stomach. Nich joined me and laid his head on mine, his chest shaking with laughter. Once we were under control again, I began stroking Elvis who laid his head on Nich's lap.
"I met someone." I said, thinking of the girl from the pet store.
"Oh yeah?" He asked, his fingers scratching behind Elvis' ears.
"Yeah. I didn't know what to get Elvis for food so I asked her and......her eyes were so beautiful. I told her."
Nicholas chuckled. "You know, not everyone likes the honesty you have the need to express."
I shook my head, smiling. "No,that's the thing. She didn't at first but then she looked at me and it was like...it was like she was looking at me. She liked what she saw, apparently, since I have her number on the banister."
Nicholas grumbled. "Ohh. Have you called her yet?" I shook my head. "Nope. It hasn't been three days yet." Nich scoffed. "You know that rule is complete bullshit. You should call her before she forgets that she gave you her number."
I chewed on my lip, my eye lids getting heavy again. "I guess. Tomorrow after work I'll call." Something was said after that, but I fell asleep against my friend's chest.

Author's Note

What say you? I think it needs more detail.