grip on his own life, and he’d had enough.
“Wonderful!” Kendra motioned toward the house. “If you’ll both just follow me to my office, I’ll get the adoption paperwork ready and work out a training schedule.”
“Training schedule?” Gio asked.
“Before you can take Cookie home, we need you to come in for some time with him, show you how he’s been trained, the commands he’s familiar with, what he’ll be looking out for with your condition, and how you can help him better serve you. I’ll also give you some paperwork and a training video we did with Cookie.”
Cookie and Chip followed them inside, the two making Gio’s heart swell when they cuddled up together on the giant dog bed in the office.
It took a couple of hours to go through everything, and although Gio was nervous, by the end, he knew he’d made the right decision. When they were done, he said goodbye to Cookie and promised they’d see each other real soon. He was scheduled to come in over the weekend to spend some time with Cookie and go over his training.
Inside the car, Gio could barely contain his smile. “I can’t believe you got me a service dog.”
Sacha shrugged, his cheeks turning a lovely shade of pink. “The way you are with Chip, and with everything going on, it made sense. I know they can be a lot of work, but it’s worth it.”
Chip poked his nose into Sacha’s cheek, making him chuckle.
“Even when they’re a furry pain in the ass. But I can give you some tips.”
“Thank you. What are your plans for the rest of the day?”
“I’ve got the day off so…”
Gio held back a smile at the way Sacha left the rest of the sentence hanging. “Spend the day with me? We can swim in the pool or go to the beach.”
“Wait, are you saying you’re going to…” Sacha gasped dramatically, making Chip tilt his head. “Take the day off?”
Gio rolled his eyes. “Yes, I’m going to take the day off.”
“Who are you, and what have you done with Gio?” Sacha demanded.
“Ass.” Gio shook his head, loving Sacha’s amused smile. He seemed to smile easier these days, and Gio loved it. He lived to hear Sacha laugh, to see the little wrinkles appear at the corners of his sparkling blue-gray eyes when he laughed.
They got home and climbed out of the car, Saint scanning the half-circle driveway and the greenery around them. They headed up to the house, and Gio unlocked the door, then stepped quickly to one side so Saint could disarm the alarm. He scrolled through the security feed like he always did after they came home from somewhere, a quick browse, and then he’d get on his laptop and check through the footage.
“Pool or beach?” Gio asked.
“Let’s go with the pool,” Sacha replied.
They headed upstairs to Gio’s bedroom and both changed into swim trunks, then slathered each other with sunscreen. Gio made sure to stop by the kitchen and grab them some bottled water. Outside, Saint took a seat in one of the shaded lounge chairs, and Chip lay on the concrete floor in the shade as close to the pool as he could get so he could keep an eye on his people, a bone Sacha had given him between his paws.
The water was the perfect temperature, not too warm but not cold, thanks to the sun. Gio took the stairs into the pool while Sacha jumped into the deep end, water splashing everywhere. Chip had been smart to lay toward the shallow end. He lifted his head from his bone, tail wagging as he waited for Sacha to resurface. Once he did, Chip went back to gnawing on his bone.
With a relaxed sigh, Gio swam to Sacha and pulled him into his arms. He worried Sacha might not be comfortable showing affection in front of one of his coworkers, but to his relief, Sacha didn’t seem to care at all. Then again, he’d been fully aware of Saint standing outside the back room in Sapphire Sands, knowing they were having sex.
“This is nice,” Gio said, brushing his lips over Sacha’s. “I should take time off more often.”
Sacha hummed. “Quite the incentive, huh?” He kissed Gio, the two of them wading together, enjoying the feel of each other, in no hurry to be anywhere or do anything.
“I could get used to this,” Gio murmured against Sacha’s lips, their hardening cocks pressed together. Sex in the pool was out of the question at