widened, but she couldn’t contain the laugh that bubbled up from her. “My friends are out there and that’s Daisy, by the way.”
Outside, lounging with their feet in the pool, were three powerful-looking women with smiles on their faces. All three wore giant sunglasses, bathing suits, and sarongs.
“When I told them about my sick day, they all agreed they needed one too. Although they’re off doing other things today.”
“And people.” The red head smirked. “A lot of us will be fucking. Two of us to be exact.”
“And one—me—will be dialing all of the European princes I know for a booty call,” Daisy said. “Come on over, Beck. Luna was just giving us a detailed depiction of your penis.”
I put my helmet down. “Nice to meet you. Happy my dick can be of service.”
Daisy gave me a mock salute. I shook hands with the tall blonde woman—Emily—and the smirking auburn-haired beauty—Cameron. Daisy was wearing an orange wig and gave me a high five.
“I’m sorry the media’s been tearing you apart, Beck,” Emily said. “Been there. Literally. As in like months ago. It feels horrible.”
I looked at Luna, who gave me a little nod. “It was more of a surprise than anything else. I feel worse about what they’re saying about Luna.”
Luna gave a little shrug—but her expression was more serene than I’d ever seen it. “Eh. What are you gonna do?”
“That’s my girl,” Cameron said.
“Luna’s told me how much all of you support each other,” I ventured. “That’s a nice thing to have.”
Emily gave a knowing smile to Luna. “We protect each other, all right.”
A shaggy dog jumped out from where he must have been hiding in the flowering bushes. Saw me and leapt toward my face.
“Oh my god, Brutus, no,” Luna squealed. But I was already sinking to my knees and giving Brutus a hug.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I know him.”
“You know Brutus?” Daisy asked. “How?”
“Your neighbors must have gotten him from Lucky Dog,” I said. “I didn’t realize it was this Brutus. They said they lived in a quiet neighborhood. This must be dog paradise.”
“Where did he come from?” Luna asked.
“Um… let me think.” I sat back on my heels and Brutus immediately rolled over for me. “He and his sister had been left in a box on our doorstep by someone. Both pretty malnourished and skittish. Took about nine, maybe ten weeks but they warmed up, as you can tell.”
“Brutus, in particular, can’t keep his nose out of human butts,” Daisy said.
I chuckled. “That sounds like Brutus.”
I ran my palm over his fur, really damn happy to see one of my dogs in his new environment. We did house visits often after the adoption went through, but Brutus had been adopted a few years ago. He looked healthy, happy, safe.
He looked loved.
“He was a real sweetheart when we worked with him,” I said. And when I looked up I caught Luna’s friends giving her matching looks. Luna was blushing.
“Any other animals I should know about?” I asked, glancing over my shoulder.
“Frank,” Cameron said. “He’s our free-range parrot, but you’d know if he was here because he’d be calling you a fuckface.”
“And?” I asked, because it felt like there was more.
“We’ve got a pod of dolphins in the marina that are horny as fuck,” Daisy said proudly. “My kind of people. Although, on Valentine’s Day, they usually make me feel more alone.”
Cameron and Emily snorted.
“And Steve,” Luna said, toeing the ground. She smiled at me from beneath a veil of hair. “Our rescued alligator. Lives in the lagoon. He likes when I feed him rotisserie chicken.”
“He’s not a vegan then?” I asked.
“Not even a little,” she said. “He’s a softie. You just have to watch your arms and legs around him.”
Brutus curled at my feet, seemingly content in this weird environment of rich people and infinity pools and parrots and alligators.
“Are you ready to kidnap me or what?” Luna asked. “These perverts will be here forever, so we should get going.” She lifted up her backpack.
“I’m ready,” I said. “It’s a pleasure to meet all of you. You should come to Lucky Dog sometime.”
“I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot of you, Mr. Big Dick,” Daisy said.
I grinned, gave Brutus one last pat, and placed my hand low on Luna’s back as we walked back through her house.
“You really told them about my cock, sweetheart?” I asked, bending down to nip at her neck.
She shivered. “I did. I described it in glorious detail. Is that okay?”
“More than