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Pawford

Ch 13: Three's Company

copyright 2018 comidacomida

Life continued for awhile in the same trajectory it had all summer. CJ and I still had occasional chances to meet up for lunch or hang out with the guys at Arizona's. I began getting ready to handle end-of-season plans on updates and retrofits for municipal infrastructure and CJ started getting ready for the chaos of the fall and winter driving seasons. Pawford, I understood at the time had the distinct 'honor' of having to deal with freezing rain, sleet, hail, and snow, often all in the same day. It didn't leave me looking forward to driving once the weather changed.

Once school started there were less groups of Puppies wandering the streets and the teens were only on the road in their cars during off-hours of school or during their lunch breaks, though for the latter most just walked from the campus to their chosen food spot; they were only about two blocks from Roy's and maybe a block and a half from the town's main grocery story which did a fairly brisk business out of their hot-and-cold deli counter. Either way, from about 7:30 til 3:00 Pawford almost felt like a ghost town. Still, even with the major difference in traffic, life continued much the same until that Wednesday.

I had just closed up the office for the evening and was making my way out of city hall when my phone went off. Checking the caller ID, I was surprised to see that it was Carin. I answered. "Hello?"

I'm not sure why I sometimes answer like I don't know who it is; maybe it's just a social tactic I have that stuck with me since the days before everyone had caller ID. Either way, Carin played along like proper phone etiquette suggested. "Hi, Derek-- it's Carin... from the book shop... Carin the Doberman."

I'd already remembered who she was. "Oh, yeah! Carin! Made it through that stack of books yet?"

She giggled on the other end of the phone and I found myself smiling as I fumbled with my keys in one hand to get my car door unlocked. "I read fast, but not THAT fast. Plus, I like to change my nights up and not always have my muzzle buried in a book... and that's why I wanted t'give y'all a call."

Having finally got into my car I settled into the driver's seat and set my paperwork satchel on the passenger seat. "Oh yeah? What about?"

Laughing again, Carin got straight to the point without the least bit of hesitation. "Y'all said you and CJ could show me around Pawford. I was hopin' ta cash in on that offer tonight in a bit."

I remember thinking that Elizabeth used to hate going out during the week and immediately frowning as the memory of my ex invaded my thoughts unbidden. In direct opposition to that I confirmed my willingness. "Sure! That sounds great!"

Her voice came across as even more excited. "Got any good ideas where we could meet up and hang out then, Derek?"

I did, of course. "Well... the place CJ and I usually meet up is called Arizona's. It's on 4th as you head out of town."

Hearing her laugh, I wasn't sure what was so funny until she explained. "That's exactly the place CJ suggested!"

At first I was caught off guard that she'd already spoken with CJ. It wasn't that I was jealous, but it seemed odd that she'd ask us both the same question. "Okay... so... that's a 'yes' on Arizona's?"

I could hear her smile in her voice. "Well... sure! If y'all both think of the same place when I ask then it's definitely worth visitin'."

Despite her not being able to see me I found myself nodding. "Okay... so how many people should we be expecting then. Me; CJ; you....?"

I left the list open-ended with a slight raise in my voice at the end to suggest that she continue on with the list. Her response was fairly brief. "Just me this time. Ash can't make it tonight even though she really wants to. Not this time, but she promised to join us next time."

Despite still curious about her room mate, I wasn't disappointed; true, I hadn't had a lot of time to really get to know her but from what little I remembered from the book store I remembered liking. "No problem. We'll meet her another time-- besides, I'm sure we'll do fine as a party of three."

Her voice was still all smiles. "Sounds good, Derek. See y'all at Arizona's around... what time?"

I thought about it for a minute; she probably just got off work dealing with a bunch of puppies; I was still dressed up for my job at city hall; CJ probably wanted to get clean after a day working at the garage. Checking the clock on my dashboard I offered up what I thought would work well. "Seven?"

"Arizona's at 7:00. See y'all then!"

Once we hung up I set my cell down in the drink holder after calling CJ and touching the speaker phone button. I started the car and was just pulling out of the parking lot when he answered. Unlike me, CJ didn't bother with traditional phone conventions. "Hey Derek I'm just getting things closed down here-- what's up?"

Considering Carin had apparently already spoken with him I kept it simple. "Carin at Arizona's at seven?"

"Sounds good to me."

I provided more information. "Carin's friend Ashley can't make it tonight so it'll just be the three of us."

The sound of something big and metal being rolled up or rolled down preceded his response on the line. "Yeah... Carin said that she had to do some kind of lesson planning for tomorrow and Friday."

It made sense. "Okay... so I guess we can head over to Arizona's together? Who wants to drive?"

As usual, CJ was efficient in his planning and explanation. "Why don't you? You have more room in your car and you can pick me up on the way."

I had no objections to the idea. "Alright-- I'm gonna head home and get changed out of my work clothes... you do the same and I'll stop by there around 6:30 or so."

CJ's garage has a very distinct sound to its front door, and not just because of the bell on it. The sound was distinct enough that I realized he was just walking out before he offered up his goodbye. "Sure thing. Gonna get back to my place and take a shower-- no sense going out on a date smelling like used motor oil. See ya."

Until CJ actually said the word 'date' I wasn't completely sure what to call the outing. After he said it, however, that was all I could think of. What made it even stranger was that there were three of us going out and I was a single Human joining two Burb Dogs. I shook off the 'weird feeling' and focused more on the expectation that it would be fun to hang out with CJ and learn more about Carin. With a smile on my face I drove home to prepare for a mid-week night out on the town.

* * * * *

Unless you counted the guys-night-out I'd had on a semi-regular basis with CJ it'd been quite awhile since my last date but, then again, at the time I wasn't really sure if the trip to Arizona's with Carin was going to count either. Nevertheless I made sure that the clothes I switched over to were one of my better quality casual sets: a button up shirt and a clean set of khakis. The pair of shoes I wore to work were good enough so I put those back on after changing my outfit and moved on to other matters of personal care.

I'd shaved that morning so I figured going at it again would be overkill but there were some other areas of focus I could address; I brushed my teeth and my hair. After that I was just about to freshen up with some cologne when I remembered something CJ told me once about Dogs' opinions of things like that and chose to go without. Checking the clock revealed that I had plenty of time but, as my usual preference, I figured being early was better than being late so I grabbed my keys and headed out.

The drive over to CJ's place was casual, which was one benefit of being ahead of schedule. Considering how nice an afternoon it was I drove with the windows down and enjoyed the ride, smiling as I thought about a nice mid-week night out. I knew all three of us would have work in the morning so it was also reassuring that our first date (whether it was official or not) wouldn't have any expectations and no presumptions about how far things would go; we were all adults going out to Arizona's for drinks and to relax. Regardless of how I reasoned it, though, I had this sense of excitement that wouldn't relent.

I arrived at CJ's at 6:30; he was already seated on his porch and I noticed that he didn't have a beer in one paw; any night we went to Arizona's it was not unusual for him to already have one or two in him before we even started our night. He was dressed well enough, a lot like me, actually: casual but quality clothes. Trotting over, he smiled and waited for me to unlock the door before he got in. He glanced my way, ears up. "What?"

His question made me realize that I hadn't been very subtle about noticing his lack of beer bottle. I shook my head. "Nothing."

CJ gave me a light elbow. "No. Really. What's up?"

If his curiosity was so bad that he wanted to ask me twice I figured I'd be upfront and honest. "I just noticed that you didn't get your pre-party started."

It was a vague answer for anyone not familiar with the term I'd created for the Rottweiler, but CJ and I both knew that 'pre-party' pointed at his love of pre-night-out beer. He reached up and smoothed out the whiskers on his muzzle. "Geez, Derek-- gimme a LITTLE credit. We're goin' to Arizona's to hang out with Carin, not to get plastered."

I grinned as I backed up out of is drive way. "Okay... so you want to make a good impression. Got it."

The statement earned me an elbow against my arm. "Shove it, Sommers. If you're that worried about my alcohol intake then you can come back after we say goodnight to Carin and we can down em then."

He all but invited me to play it up. "On a work night?"

CJ shrugged, and I could hear his tail nub wagging against the seat. "Well... your place IS closer to the garage. We'll pick em up and head on over to your place."

I didn't relent. "So... you're saying after we finish hanging out with Carin you want to come back to my place?"

The Rottweiler finally fired back by placing a paw on my thigh as his voice lowered in tone and slid out of his muzzle like fine silk. "Well... if I wanna stay a gentleman I might need to find a way to let out some tension after we say goodbye to the little lady."

It wasn't so much the statement as the way he said it that sent a little shiver up my spine. CJ and I hadn't really gone as far as we did intimately with any expectation of a repeat performance and we certainly weren't in the realm of a 'booty call' relationship but, for some reason I couldn't explain, the idea didn't sound all that bad. Still, I played coy. "You're horrible."

He grinned. "I know... but it's not like that's a bad thing, is it?"

I rolled my eyes, heading down the road toward our destination. "Not as long as you keep being good at it."

Arizona's wasn't that far away so we arrived plenty early. Wednesday nights weren't especially busy at Pawford's premier watering hole but it still did enough business that the place wasn't dead either. I got us a particularly good parking spot and we headed inside. CJ gave me a pat on the back as he took the lead, speaking over his shoulder "I'm gonna go hit the head. Go find us a spot?"

"Sure."

If you found yourself in Arizona's, one of the first things you'd see after walking in is an occupancy notice on the wall; the fire marshal qualified the building to house a maximum of 176 people at any time. In a small town like Pawford that's not usually a problem but on the really busy days, Arizona's often gets close. That Wednesday wasn't one of them so there were plenty of options of places to sit. Rather than going for a booth, I chose a table almost equidistant from the bar, the pool table, and the dart board.

I had just taken a seat and was getting settled in when I saw Carin walk in the front door. She was obviously new to Arizona's and I saw her glancing around, taking in the sights. She saw me almost immediately when I raised my arm and waved and, just as she was pulling out her chair I caught sight of CJ making his way over. They both sat down together and the Rottweiler commented "Great timing."

I agreed. "Yeah-- we just got here."

Carin smiled warmly. "Yeah-- my ma always said that bein' early meant bein' on time. Glad t'see y'all think the same way."

The small talk began after that. We spoke for a little while about Arizona's and why it was our favorite hang-out. Aside from it being one of the main options in Pawford, we each gave our opinion of the food and especially the service. Almost as if by design Matty took that opportunity to come over and get our orders. CJ made a point to introduce the two to one another and Matty actually mentioned having met Ashley; apparently her little sister was a senior at the high school so they'd run into each other earlier in the week. Matty also lingered around long enough to comment about the lack of Locker and Hoss. "Kinda funny not to see the rest of your group."

Carin glanced at the two of us and I explained. "Locker and Hoss work with CJ at the garage... this is one of our regular hang-outs."

The Doberman looked immediately mortified. "Oh! I didn't mean t'keep y'all from the rest of your friends."

CJ stepped in to reassure her. "Oh, no-- nothing like that, Carin. Locker has a wife and a little one; he doesn't usually join us on weekdays out."

I followed his lead. "Yeah... and Hoss usually does better in big groups so if Locker's not around he usually bows out and leaves us to our own devices."

Taking the continuation of our discussion as an unspoken dismissal, Mattie headed toward the bar. "Be back in minute with the drinks."

Carin smiled at the Black Lab with a nod then returned her attention to us. "So... do Locker and Hoss know about..."

The casual gesture of her pointer finger between the two of us was all the clarification we needed. We both laughed in response and it was CJ who recovered enough first to answer. "Yeah... Hoss does-- he's a pretty easy going fellah but he's good with people like that-- he knows about us... not everything, but enough."

I felt my ears reddening when CJ began to ramble toward the end of the explanation and the feeling got worse when I saw Carin's ears perk a little at the words. To her credit, and my unspoken thanks she didn't ask for clarification. Instead, she continued looking around the bar, smile still etched firmly onto her muzzle. "Yeah... this really IS a keen place... I like the feel a it... Y'all got great taste."

Picking up on my discomfort, CJ came to my rescue by proposing a reprieve from the talking. "You know... one reason why we like Arizona's so much is because of everything there is to do here."

Carin scrunched her muzzle up cutely in a display of distaste as she said "Ugh... back home the only thing folks do at the bars other than drink or karaoke is play lottery games and slots. Horrible habit."

I couldn't help but laugh at her expression. "Yeah? Well I don't think either of us gamble, and there's plenty of other options-- like pool."

CJ nodded eagerly. "Yeah... that's our go-to."

Carin's response was polite, but I could tell by the slight lilt to her ears that she probably didn't find the game as enjoyable as we did. "Oh? Yeah... I guess that's a pretty fun way to spend time in a bar."

My Rottweiler companion's response left me with the thought that he'd probably caught on to her preference too. He motioned to the unoccupied corner of the room where several dart boards hung from the wall. "There's also darts."

Her ears perked immediately. "Darts? Oh! I haven't played darts in... well... a long time! I use'ta play with my brothers back home all the time!"

Matty stopped back just then with our drinks and a collection of fried foods CJ had ordered to go with our drinks. She set everything down and motioned to the dart board. "Go right ahead. Darts are in the wooden box on the counter."

CJ smiled, grabbing his drink and two portion of the food. "Shall we?"

I nodded, grabbing my own drink and likewise two platters of the snacks. "Sure. I haven't played in awhile though so I'm probably kinda rusty."

Carin smiled, taking her drink and four plates; she handled balancing everything with the ease and grace of someone who was used to waiting tables. The Dobie caught my glance and my expression must have given away my thoughts; she explained in a matter-of-fact tone "I spent some time waitin' tables back in the day."

CJ went and got nine darts; there were three blue, three red, and three yellow. He took the red and then handed the blue to me and the yellow to Carin. "You want me to go easy on ya, Sommers?"

I huffed, taking a sip of my drink before setting it down on the nearby counter. "Since when have I ever wanted you to go easy on me?"

The Rottweiler met my gaze and noted with a suggestive tone. "Never."

I felt myself blush again but, thankfully, Carin didn't seem to notice the hidden meaning. Oh, sure, I assumed she SUSPECTED something, but she was so focused on the darts that the 'moment' between me and CJ passed by apparently unnoticed. She glanced to the dart board. "What about me? Y'all want me to go easy?"

CJ and I both laughed... but she took her turn and once she'd started off round one with 180 points we stopped laughing. By the time we'd finished ten rounds her total was actually higher than both our scores combined. Tail nub wagging, she left us to get more drinks, calling over her shoulder "Like I said, I used to play with my three brothers. Two of em were county champions."

I put the darts away and CJ sat down to drain the rest of his drink. He laughed as I returned to our spot. "Well... that was fun."

Chiding him, I sat down with a wink. "Oh yeah! I already said I wasn't good at darts, but it looks like you enjoyed getting emasculated as much as I did."

He casually tossed an onion ring at me as he chuckled. "Two of her three brothers were county champions... makes me think she probably had some damn good competition."

I nodded, picking the onion ring off the table where it'd landed after hitting me in the shoulder. "I wonder why her other brother didn't play darts."

Carin reached over me to set three fresh mugs of beer on the table and took the opportunity to snatch the onion ring out of my finger with her muzzle. She took a seat, speaking as she chewed. "Oh, he played too-- he just cheated like all get-out so nobody let him join in on the official games."

Done with darts for the night, we continued our discussion about every conceivable topic that came up. Carin spent more time talking about her family; she had three brothers and a sister, but everyone was back home in Tennessee, though her eldest brother was getting ready to go to DC after getting hired on by some government agency. She hadn't heard specifically what he was doing or which agency he was working for but he'd promised to call when he settled in. CJ continued asking her questions about her family and I could tell that he was purposefully keeping her engaged so she wouldn't ask about his. She ultimately did ask the question of us, so I took the bullet for the Rott and explained my own.

I told her about growing up in a small town, about my grandfather, my time in college, and went a little light when it came to details about Elizabeth; I really wasn't looking forward to opening up that wound again but I did explain that I got out of a bad relationship and chose to move to Pawford to start over. That got enough of her attention that she let CJ slide on the family question and she followed it up with another aimed at me. "So... was that relationship y'all were runnin' from with a Burb Dog?"

That question was easy to answer. "Nope... just a screwed up college relationship. I'd rather not go into specifics-- no sense ruining the night."

She smiled, understanding evident in her nod. "Right... not worth the trouble t'explain. Got it."

I reinforced that thought by motioning to CJ. "Yeah... besides, this guy here's my first Burb Dog and I'm happy with it that way."

Carin's smile widened. "Yeah-- that's a magic feeling. I didn't realize I was a Burb Dog til I met Ashley... she really helped me get t'know myself."

CJ nodded. "I know what you mean. Derek does the same for me."

I blushed a little at his praise. "The feeling's mutual, you know."

The Doberman's smile was infectious and before long we were all grinning like fools. What she said next though really blew us away. "Ash was my first experience with another girl. We were nineteen and--"

Sure, I could continue telling her story but something about that feels wrong; that's HER story after all but, needless to say, she didn't spare any details and, like me, I'm sure CJ adjusted himself inconspicuously a few times during its telling. By the time she reached the end of her 'college experimental phase' and got into the warm-and-fuzzy lasting Burb-Dog/Leasher relationship CJ was working on maintaining a polite level to his panting and I was feeling a little warm in my light button up. Once she was done I spoke up before the Rottweiler managed to find the words to say. "Wow... that's.... quite a history you two have."

Her ears reddened slightly and her smile turned coy as she ran a single finger around the rim of her mug. "What about y'all?"

CJ glanced to me then back to her. "What about us?"

Her ears reddened further and her coy smile turned just a little impish. "Have y'all... y'know... done... anything? Together?"

Her slight pause between 'anything' and 'together' was just long enough that we were both about to speak but, following that, we both went silent. Exchanging glances we both nodded to one another at the same time then turned and nodded to Carin. Her smile widened further and she leaned forward, lowering her voice. "I bet y'all have quite a few stories to could tell to the right audience, don'cha?"

I was pretty sure a that point that my face was probably as red as CJ's ears. He was a little faster on the response though. "Well, sure. Derek's my best friend. There's nothing I wouldn't share with him."

Carin's smile turned coy for just a moment and she spoke after chewing on her lower lip. "Have y'all... y'know... done anything... together... with someone else?"

The two of us exchanged glances again and we looked back at her; I saw CJ out of the corner of my eye shaking his head at the same time as I did. In response, Carin reached out and rested one paw on my hand and her other paw on CJ's. "Would y'all like to?"

The answer was yes.