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Pawford

Ch 15: Ashley

copyright 2018 comidacomida

The following morning was a lot less awkward than I might have expected. For one, Carin was already up, which just left me and CJ laying on the living room floor in front of the sofa. It wasn't the first time he and I had slept on the floor and it was just as uncomfortable as the others. "Ow... gotta remember to get into bed before going to sleep..."

CJ mumbled something, pressing his cold, went nose to the back of my head before his hot breath murmured it again; I offered a non-worded sound of inquiry. His strong, furred arms surrounded me, pulling me in for a strong hug before he repeated it a third time, finally recognizable as "Morning, Monkey."

I gave him a light elbow-- strong enough to be acknowledged but soft enough not to hurt. He chuckled, slowly releasing me so I could stand. My first attempt resulted in my knees almost giving out and shooting pain up my tailbone. Wincing, I reached back to press my palm against one of my butt cheeks; it was still tender. "Damn... ow."

CJ propped his head up in his palm, his elbow pressed into the carpet as he laid on his side, as naked as he'd been the previous night; his groin was COVERED in drying body fluid. "Yeah... I think we fell asleep while I was still tied with ya, Sommers. Sorry 'bout that."

A sound from the kitchen made me realize that we weren't alone, and the specifics of the prior night came back in a rush. It was accompanied by Carin's voice "Breakfast's almost done, boys... hope y'all're hungry!"

It had been a long time since I'd had a woman cook me breakfast and, as I scrambled to find my clothes, CJ stood up, brushed little bits of carpet fiber out of his fur, and passed by me, lowering his muzzle next to my ear as he passed. "Gonna go hit the head and wash up... you don't have fur so you can get clean later."

His grin told me that he was chiding me on purpose and he managed to dance away from my half-hearted punch at his shoulder. Laughing, the Rott strolled off down the hall, leaving me to look around at the collection of clothing that lay discarded all around the living room. I took a minute to find my underwear and my pants, but, for the life of me, I couldn't figure out where my shirt had gone. Carin entered shortly thereafter carrying three plates of eggs, sausage, and toast, and wearing my shirt. "Mornin'."

I glanced at my cell, which I'd just picked up off the sofa. The screen read "Ten thirty eight? Wow... I haven't slept this late in-- uh-- forever!"

CJ, who was already returning from the bathroom held up his cell; apparently he'd already found his as well. "Yeah... I know what'cha mean. I just called in and Locker's watching things for me til I can get to the garage."

In that very moment I realized that it was Thursday. "Shit! I'm late for work!"

It took both CJ and Carin to calm me down enough that I was able to come up with a plan of action. The Doberman set breakfast out on the coffee table along with some orange juice while the Rott got my mind off of my own dilemma with the humor of him looking around for his shirt, not even realizing that Carin was wearing it, and nothing else. Eventually I had to tune them out so I could talk on my cell with city hall admin office. A Blue Heeler by the name of Duckie answered. "Oh-- Hi Derrek. Is the AC up too high again?"

I kept it simple, especially once I realized that nobody noticed that I wasn't in the office. Duckie was a sweet Dog but she usually had tunnel vision for anything other than whatever was on the desk in front of her. "Oh, no-- I'm actually not in my office right now."

She made it even easier. "I'll mark you down as out of the office then. When should we expect you back?"

Technically I wasn't 'coming back' since I hadn't even been there that morning but, seeing as she was leading the conversation I took the opening. "I'll be in before lunch."

Her response was a little ways away from the phone and I realized that she was talking with someone else. She responded to an inquiry, and then a statement before getting back to me. "Okay... Derrek-- you still there?"

"Still here, Ducky."

She was all smiles, and I could tell even without seeing her. "The mayor said we're closing up after noon. It's a nice day out and we're caught up on paperwork. He said as long as your workstation is locked and you don't have any file cabinets open you can call it a day and get in some fishing."

Mayor Chase was never one for a strict office and was a huge fan of sunshine. Despite being a relatively hefty Dog he prided himself as a lover of the outdoors and always encouraged the staff there to get as much vacation time in as possible during the summer because when winter came they'd regret not having more fun when the weather was nice.

Although not particularly responsible for a city official, he still somehow managed to always get 'enough' done to keep things running smoothly. Surprisingly, he seemed to do more with less hours in the day than most, more-serious officials managed with a draconian work ethic and much less happiness among their staff.

I got a nice reinforcement of that concept when I heard him yell at the phone from a distance "And make sure you have the Frederick Road file completed tomorrow morning!"

Ducky was as helpful as ever. "Did you get that, Derrek? Mayor Chase wants--"

I confirmed that I'd heard it. "The paperwork for the ranch's septic addition on his desk tomorrow morning. I got it, Ducky."

By the time I'd finished up the call, CJ and Carin were already eating the amazing breakfast laid out before us. Sitting between them, I accepted the fork Carin had brought from the kitchen and we enjoyed the food together. We bantered back and forth a little and shared some small talk; despite how crazy waking up late had started my day, the time with the Dogs helped to calm me down a lot.

After breakfast Carin hung out long enough to help clean up from breakfast and to help organize the living room. She gave me a hug, and gave CJ a kiss. As she headed for the door she looked back and winked with a good natured laugh. "Maybe next time we might actually make it to the bedroom."

CJ looked back at me, still without his shirt which, apparently, Carin had taken with her. He stood with his hands on his hips, wide grin stretching his muzzle as he declared in victory "Well, that went well!"

* * * * *

It was around 11:30 when CJ and I headed out to his place in my car. Although the initial though was that I'd take him straight into the garage, he decided that showing up without a shirt was just plain unprofessional. My response was, I think, perfectly suitable for the situation. "What's wrong with that? Nothing about you is professional, Ceej."

The statement resulted in earning me a bruised shoulder. Once we had our friendly morning spat out of the way our discussion shifted back to Carin. CJ wasn't really all that subtle. "So... what'd you think? I like her."

I had thought my opinion was pretty obvious. "Me too."

He continued the conversation into slightly more hypothetical territory. "What do you think about her roommate, Ashley?"

Although I had a feeling about what he meant I chose to play social hard-to-get. "I dunno-- haven't met her yet."

He hit the EXACT same space on my shoulder; it hurt even more. "You know what I mean, Sommers! Do you think we should reach out to her?"

I smirked at that. "We?"

CJ grinned and, despite the sounds of the road, his tail nub wagging against the seat was still perfectly audible. "Well, Carin got to meet both of us and we both got to meet Carin, so I think we should both get to meet Ashley too and she should be able to meet both of us."

I couldn't help but chide him. "Looking for some HDH to follow up the DHD?"

He snorted and playfully fired back. "There's no such thing as a HDH, Derrek. Damn... you need a book on Burb Dogs or something?"

It was completely impossible to tell whether he was serious or joking. "Wait-- so you mean there's a DHD but not a HDH? Isn't that some kind of disparate treatment or racism-something-or-other?"

His follow-up grin was all I needed to see to tell me that he was just pulling my leg. Although I was driving I definitely took the opportunity to make up for the two punches he sent my way by following up with one of my own. It made him laugh more.

Our discussion continued all the way back to his house. He leaned over and licked my cheek before getting out of the car. Closing the door, he leaned in through the window. "But, you know, if anything comes up about Ashley I wouldn't mind a double-date or something. I know you're inta Dogs and everything and even though I'm good at sharing, we need to get you your own girl... know what I mean?"

Although I know when he made his statement he spoke (mostly) in jest, it turned out to be more of a preplanning session than an actual joke; Ashley called me that evening and asked about getting together on Friday. When I asked if CJ was invited she replied with a very simple and very straight forward "Of course. I think that's a great idea!"

Since CJ and I had both apparently made a great first impression she invited us over to dinner at their apartment. It definitely sounded more low key than meeting at Arizona's and I didn't mind the idea of seeing where it was Carin lived; considering she'd already seen my house it seemed only fair. After confirming that I'd be over with CJ around six and that dinner would be at seven, I hung up, but not before asking if I could bring anything.

Ashely laughed at the question and responded somewhat cryptically "Nothing special... just something home made. Sound good?"

It was a strange request and left me wondering if she were a health nut, or the kind of person that didn't like prepackaged foods. Either way, I resolved to figure out what options I had even as I called CJ. I honestly didn't know what to expect from the Rott but I hoped he was open to the idea of going to Ashley's and Carin's for dinner. He listened attentively as I explained the situation and mentioned that we were invited to their place on Friday. It was funny and endearing he had the same question as I did. "Okay... so are we supposed to be bringing something?"

I let him share in the confusion. "I think so... but Ashley only said that it should be something homemade."

CJ chuckled in a knowing way and responded simply "Got it. I have the perfect thing."

At that moment I couldn't figure out of I was missing some kind of in-joke or was just too thick to 'get it'. "Oh? What are you gonna bring?"

The playfulness in his voice was too obvious to miss. "That depends... what are YOU bringing, Sommers?"

I honestly had no idea, but I hoped his answer would give me one. "You first."

He responded in a full on matter-of-fact tone with the hint of a self-assured smirk in his voice. "Some of my private reserve."

Although in any standard situation the term 'private reserve' could have meant a number of things, when it came to CJ's 'private reserve' that really only meant one thing: back when he was younger, CJ had learned how to make moonshine from his brother. It wasn't something he advertised or really ever even shared; according to him only 'a pawful' of people even knew about it and the thought that he was considering bringing some of his 'brand' over to dinner was mind-blowing. Going to someone's house on a first date didn't really seem like a hard drink kind of occasion. "Really? You're gonna bring alcohol?"

Only once I heard him laughing heartily on the other end of the phone did I realize that he'd planned on me getting the entirely wrong idea, and it had worked. With the trap sprung, the Rottweiler came back with the punch line. "What? To a dinner party? Are you crazy, Monkey? No! I mean biscuits!"

It was a face-palm moment. CJ had told me before that he didn't do a lot of cooking but one thing he made were biscuits using a recipe his great grandmother had created and passed down to his grandmother, who passed it down to his mother, who taught him. Of course, there was no doubt in my mind that he phrased it like he did just so I'd guess wrong, which was not only deceptive, but also completely within bounds when it came to his playful banter. I hated that I loved it so I fired right back. "So you're saying I should bring some of your OTHER private reserve then?"

He didn't even miss a step, going right back to repeat, verbatim, his earlier statement. "What? To a dinner party? Are you crazy, Monkey?"

Putting on my best, most convincing serious tone I stated simply and neutrally. "You know, I just might be."

The answer got a laugh out of the Dog. "Well, I'll catch ya Friday then after work... gonna finish up here at the garage and go prep for tomorrow night."

* * * * *

The following evening CJ picked me up and we headed over to Ashley's and Carin's together in his truck. Although he'd talked on-and-off about the biscuit recipe he'd never actually made them for me so when I got into the cab and was blasted in the face by the scent of fresh baked goods my mouth was watering immediately. "Wow, Ceej... why don't you make those more often? They smell FANTASATIC!"

He chuckled, backing out of my drive way as he answered. "They take forever to make and I'm lazy."

I laughed. "Huzzah for honesty!"

The statement got me a punch to the shoulder, but I laughed regardless. Once he was back on the road he turned the tables on me. "So, speaking of lazy, what'd YOU make?"

I took the grocery bag I was carrying and set it back behind my seat. "You'll see when we get there."

My chiding turned out to lose the fight to CJ's nose. With a careful sniff, the Rottweiler's tail nub started rubbing against his seat immediately. "I smell chocolate and peanut butter... some kinda dessert, huh?"

Despite my competative nature when it came to challenges from CJ I'm also a realist and I knew when I had lost. "My grandparents from my dad were from Ohio originally. Every time I visited them they always had little homemade candies and I thought it might be kinda fun."

He grinned. "Hate to break it to ya, Sommers, but Reeses Peanut Butter Cups aren't exactly homemade."

It was my turn to punch him in the shoulder before I imparted the Sommers family wisdom. "Do not mock Buckeyes."

We had more laughs on the way to dinner. Although the trip wasn't particularly long we enjoyed the time regardless and it helped me calm down; I'd never been very good at dating and having CJ along was a big benefit for keeping me relaxed. With me navigating, CJ found the house without much difficulty; it was an older single story ranch style house in downtown Pawford. Downtown Pawford isn't really as impressive as it sounds; basically it's near the center of the place and is identified by homes having less than a half acre of property, which is mostly the norm for any other part of town.

As we got out I grabbed my grocery bag and CJ pulled out his foil-covered dinner plate. We exchanged glances before I walked around the truck to join him and we approached the porch. I could tell my nervousness was coming back when I made an off-hand comment. "You know, the eight blocks around here were originally all part of the same homestead, and the same family still owns most of it?"

CJ, who knew me far too well at that point saw all the signs of my nervous 'tell' and gave me a pat on the shoulder. "Relax, Sommers... it's just dinner."

He was right, of course, but I was still interested in making a good first impression. The only thing that kept running through my mind was that I was about to have dinner with a woman for the first time since Elizabeth and I had gone our separate ways. Although it was funny to admit to myself, I was really glad that CJ was there as a third wheel; getting into complicated relationships may be just like riding a bike, but a tricycle has even less a chance of falling over.

Ashley, as it turned out, was able to put my worry to ease in no time flat. She had the calming aura of an Elementary School teacher (they really ARE calming to be around, just so long as you aren't one of their students). She was gracious and welcoming and pleasant and, I was surprised to find out, almost the polar opposite of Carin. While the Doberman was outgoing and energetic, Ashley was much more reserved and collected.

I learned a very important thing that night about certain Leashers like myself: we tend to be the kind of calming force our Burb Dogs need and they tend to help push us a little more than we would on our own. Ashley and I were very much alike in that regard, and so were our Dogs. Still, once she did start to open up a little it was obvious that she wasn't a full-on introvert, and she made a great hostess.

While dinner was finishing up in the oven the three of us relaxed in the living room. It was a little smaller than mine, but it didn't feel claustrophobic; it felt cozy. Ashley stared by apologizing that Carin wasn't able to join us-- apparently something had come up at the school and many of the staff were staying late over some kind of facilities improvement or security upgrade required by changing state laws.

CJ summed it up with a smile and a casual "All the better-- she got a chance to get to know us, so it's only fair that you get a chance to have us all to yourself too." I didn't miss his wink and I'm pretty sure Ashley didn't either.

From there, the conversation went to a variety of topics. She had received some basic information from Carin, but she wanted to know more about my work, and, after I explained that I handled all of the public works as it related to city planning, it actually seemed to get her interest. Being one of the naturally curious types, Ashley asked me if I knew what was going on at the school that some of the staff were needed to work extra hours.

I did, of course, but talking about active shooter situations and safety in public schools wasn't really the right kind of topic for a dinner date, so I kept it simple "Security upgrades... like you said. The district has had the plans in for months but they only just now got a contractor to implement em."

My answer satisfied her, and the discussion continued to roll onward. She excused herself once to check on the road, and when she came back she had a tray of iced tea. We sat and sipped and moved onto our next big topic: she wanted to know all about Arizona's. Ashley wasn't really interested in bars herself, but she'd heard from Carin that the three of us had spent some time there and apparently the Doberman had enjoyed it.

I let CJ take the lead and he explained a little about the bar, and about the owner, and about some of his experiences there, and then went on to talk about our association with the bar. He explained that it was our hang-out of choice (not that there were many options in Pawford) and we spent a few evenings a week there with our mutual friends. The Rottweiler then began giving a brief description of Hoss and Locker, but I quickly changed the subject to avoid any risk of alienating Ashley; if she was as clean-cut and proper as she seemed then the last thing she needed to hear about was a womanizing Lab and a sailor-mouthed Pittbull.

That deflection, as it turned out, led to dinner. With the table set, all that was left for us was to take a seat, and Ashley, having refused any offer of help from both of us separately and together, insisted that we find a chair we liked and to get settled. She then made three trips to and from the kitchen, emerging with a beef roast, gravy, scalloped potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts (fortunately WITH bacon-- the only way I'll eat them), and the rolls that CJ had given her, freshly warmed and covered in a basket by a cloth.

Dinner was amazing; I couldn't remember any time previous when I'd eaten so well that wasn't a holiday. We ate and laughed and talked and drank and laughed some more. Although we'd all finished our dinner we stayed at the table, continuing to chat any and every topic that came up. Eventually, as I'd originally thought it might, our discussion ultimately rolled right back around to us-- CJ and myself. It started with an innocent question from Ashley. "So... how'd you two meet?"

CJ took the lead. "I met Derrek here on his way into Pawford for the first time. Locker, the Pitbull I mentioned-- he rents part of my garage for his tow truck and auto mechanic business. On that day, I was out running his truck for him. He'd been home taking care of his sick daughter so the truck hadn't been out and about for a few days. I had some errands to run, and, as I was heading back into town, there was a car on the side of the road."

As he finished the story he pointed at me and, despite feeling my cheeks blush, I nodded. "Yeah... I checked out towing in Pawford and my phone said that they weren't open on the weekends... so I called and left a message and then, just a little while later, here comes the tow truck."

The Rott grinned. "Pretty funny coincidence."

Ashley smiled, elbows on the table, leaning forward to rest her chin on her laced fingers. "Life does that sometimes."

I asked the follow up question. "What about you and Carin?"

To be honest, I'd expected a simple, straight-forward, as-luck-would-have-it story similar to ours. I was really surprised when it turned out to be something else. Ashley explained that she and Carin met in college. They became friends almost immediately because they'd both just gotten over a bad relationship (CJ gave me a light elbow at that, and I elbowed him back). Apparently they both knew they were Leasher and Burb Dog right away and they hit it off.

Ashley didn't really reveal much in the way of details about her ex, but she did indicate that Carin's last boyfriend was a Human Leasher and, in the end, they didn't connect on either level so they called it quits. From there, the two became room mates and things ended up going from there. The way she ended her story vaguely, looking away, with a very distinct blush to her cheeks led me to believe that there was a LOT more to it than that, but I didn't pry.

CJ didn't have the same hesitation. "Carin asked me and Derrek if we'd ever 'done anything' with each other..."

Her face reddened even more noticeably and she covered it with a hand. "Oh god... of COURSE she did."

He grinned, and sat back in his chair; her reaction said it all. "Well... if you don't want to talk about it then it wouldn't be gentlemanly of me to pry..."

Surprisingly, she actually did. A summary, at least. "It was really just a college experimentation sort of thing. We each decided we were going to swear off men for awhile and just work on ourselves. It was... well... fun, and Carin is amazing, but we make better friends than we do lovers, and I'm happy enough having her as a Burb Dog."

CJ had apparently spent enough time embarrassing Ashley that he'd come to the conclusion that it was time to embarrass me. "Yeah... it's not all that different with me and Derrek."

There weren't any ways I could think of to follow up a statement like that. Instead, I just announced a single syllable "I--"

When I didn't continue with the incomplete thought, the Rottweiler continued, and reached out to rest a paw on my hand. "Derrek's an amazing friend... even though I haven't known him as long as most folks here in Pawford he probably knows more about me than almost anyone else."

Only CJ has ever been capable of making me do a complete 180 of wanting to punch someone in the gut and then give them a big hug within a matter of seconds. I did neither of those things, although I did heartily agree. "Yeah... I can't imagine Pawford without CJ... he's been... well... a big part of life here in Pawford!"

CJ smiled back at that, leaning forward to touch his nose to mine. "Well... it's pretty damn great having your Leasher be your best friend."

Ashley smiled, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "That is so very beautiful... I'm so happy for the two of you-- believe me; I know what it's like having your best friend for a Burb Dog, and I know Carin could say a thing or two about having her best friend as a Leasher."

At that point we had a small break in the conversation as Ashley started to clear the dishes. Unable to resist any longer, I stepped in and took them from her. "You're an amazing hostess, but I want to be an amazing guest. You took care of dinner and set the table-- at least let me bring everything back into the kitchen."

I was glad that I didn't have to argue the point and, after only a light objection, she relented. CJ offered to retreat with her to the living room so they wouldn't get in my way. On one hand, it seemed like a sneaky, underhanded way of getting out of doing dishes but, on the other, I'd SEEN CJ try to help with clearing a table before and it really WAS for the best that he be as far away from dirty dishes as possible.

Ashley told me that I could just stack things neatly in next to the sink and, considering she had already relented in letting me help I chose not to push the issue. I had the table clean within five minutes and, once I had the cups and silverware on the counter beside the plates, I went out into the living room to join them. What greeted me froze me in place.

CJ and Ashley were on the sofa; he had one of his paws worked up beneath her blouse, cupping her breast while his muzzle pressed to her lips, She had a hand on either side of his face, holding it to hers and one of her legs was wrapped around his thigh. Even as I stood there, the Rottweiler held up a hand and extended his index finger, gesturing me closer. There are some things I'd never been able to figure out about CJ, and one of those was how quickly he'd managed to get Ashley to be just a little more "Carin-like". Needless to say, I joined them.