Advance - Chapter One

I gazed down at the lazy lump of black fur that was sprawled out on my couch. The dog, a year old wolf hybrid, woofed lightly in his sleep, and I scowled at him for a long moment. He was getting all of the attention, with my girlfriend's arms wrapped around his neck in a bear hug. In his sleep, his tail wagged, and she giggled and scratched him behind the ear. I glowered at the dog from my perch in the chair by the glowing fire that was currently eating away at some fresh pieces of wood. "I hope you're happy," I grumbled, crossing my arms.

"Oh, I am," she assured me, smiling at me in that way that I loved so much. Her green eyes glowed with delight, and I found myself smiling, feeling my heart melt at the sight of her. I couldn't help it, she did that to me. "Thank you, honey."

I nodded. "No problem, sweetie." I got up and moved toward the pile of newspapers next to the door. "Damn it," I cursed, picking up a paper. She looked over at me, puzzled, and I held up the dripping paper. "Newspaper boy threw it in the sprinklers again. I'm going to have to have a talk with that boy."

I rubbed at the growing stubble on my chin. I needed to shave, but that could wait until we went to the store, I supposed. We were supposed to have gone today, but I had decided to surprise her and get her the dog. I wasn't sure why; he wasn't very interesting. The first thing he did when he got here was piss on my leg and then jump onto the couch and take it over. That, along with him getting all of the attention from Andrea, put me into a slightly off mood.

"Well," she said. "Maybe it was an accident." her voice was light and amused at my frustration at having yet another wet paper.

"Accident? No, honey, an accident is when it only happens once. This is the eighth time. In a row. I have to say, I'm getting really annoyed. Who does he think he is? Just because he's got his own paper route, doesn't mean he can do this to me." I was complaining, I knew, but I was known to vent every now and then. This was turning out to be one of those times.

She sighed. "Oh, Jack. I know he's getting on your nerves," she said as she got up from the couch and walked over toward me. "but he's only a kid. Give him some time, don't yell at him. He'll come around. He's still new at this." she rubbed my shoulders lovingly. "Please? For me?"

I sighed, relenting. "Fine," I mumbled. "But only because I love you. He's lucky you're here, else I would have already spoken with him by now and put a stop to this."

"That or have him so scared of you that he quits his job," she pointed out with a small smile.

I sighed. "One time," I said. "One time that happened, and you won't let it go."

"Sorry," she said with a small chuckle.

The dog barked suddenly, perking its head up. It spotted us and growled at me for a minute, before it jumped off of the couch and headed toward Andrea. "Of course," I mumbled. "I bought him and he hates me. Just my luck." I hung my head.

"Hey," she said. "You haven't been too friendly with him today."

"Yeah, yeah," I said, waving my hand dismissively. The dog looked at me again and came toward me, sniffing at my shoes, and then up my legs, and finally ending at my groin. "Hey!" I said, jumping back. "Watch it." Andrea laughed and smiled at me.

"He's just being friendly," she said.

"Yeah, a little TOO friendly," I grumbled, crossing my arms once again. The dog panted with his tongue drooping out of his mouth as he stared up at my face with his deep, sky blue eyes. For a moment, it seemed as if he was staring through me, right into the very depths of my soul. It was unnerving at best, and I found I had to look away. It just wasn't right for a dog to be able to have that kind of effect on people, especially on me.

"What should we call him?" Andrea asked me, as if I knew the answer. Hell, I didn't know. It was her dog, not mine.

"How should I know?" I questioned with a shrug. The dog suddenly stood up on his hind legs and put his front paws on my chest, his tail wagging. "Ack!" I shouted, nearly falling over at the sudden addition of weight pushing me back.

She giggled. "He seems to like you, Jack. I think he wants you to name him."

"Like he cares who names him, Andy," I said, calling her by her nickname. "He's a dog. He'll learn to love whatever name we give him. Pick."

She sighed and shook her head. "You need to give him more credit than that."

"Why?"

"He's smarter than you think."

"How so? I don't think a smart dog would mistake me for a fire hydrant or tree. I'm not that yellow, and I'm not that tall," I snorted. The dog was still up on his hind legs, pushing at me with his front paws. I looked into his eyes, and for a moment I seemed lost. He was once again searching through my soul. He gave a happy yelp and began to lick at my face. "Gah!" I said, pushing him away. "Yuck! Dog breath! Dog saliva up my nose and in my mouth!" I wiped at my nose and mouth fervently.

Andrea laughed. "See? He loves you! You should name him. How about it, boy? Would you like Jacky to name you?" she was talking to him in that baby voice that she used with Kenna's two-year-old son, Brent. She used to use that voice with me. I sighed. I had been replaced by a dog, by this mongrel.

The dog barked, wagging his tail happily, agreeing with her. Of course, two against one, and my odds weren't good. That just wasn't fair. I sighed and bowed my head. "Seems I'm outnumbered," I mumbled in a defeated tone of voice.

Andrea laughed. "But of course," she said. "So, what are we going to call him?"

The dog and her both were looking at me expectantly, patiently waiting for whatever I was going to say. I felt important then, because I had the feeling that if I said the sky was green, they would listen closely and not object. Of course, the sky wasn't green and when Andrea came to her senses she would be intolerable, but at the moment, she would go with whatever I said.

I looked from her to the dog. He was looking at me with those sky blue eyes, his tongue hanging out of his mouth, glistening with drool. Ugh. Dogs. Can't live with them, can't grind them into dust. Honestly, they were worse than girls. Girls I could handle, but dogs...I had never gotten along with dogs.

I remembered this one dog we had while I was growing up, called Spot. Spot liked to use my socks as chew toys, and I eventually had to go to school with my sister's socks, and trust me, that was not a happy day. People laughed at me, because the socks that she gave happened to be one of those pairs with the girlish designs on them, with the little edges that flaired out. Apparently, girls had been into those at the time, and I was laughed at by my peers. To this day, I never forgave Spot for that incident.

Spot had done a lot of other things, but that was a story for another time. What was I going to call the black down in front of me? He was looking at me, at my soul, again, and I found I had to look away. Before I could look away, I caught myself looking into his eyes and said without thinking, in a voice that seemed a bit strained and low, "Sky."

Andrea nodded, her eyes lighting up. "Perfect!" she said. She bent down and wrapped her arms around the dog's neck. "Hey little Sky! How do you like that name?"

He barked and licked her face, then wriggled out of her grasp and darted toward me. "NO!" I cried as he jumped, tackling me to the ground. He sat on my chest, his tail wagging, and began to lick my face. He was practically eating my poor face! I shoved him off of me and wiped the drool off of my face once again. "Yuck."

Andrea laughed. "See? Told ya he likes you."

"Of course," I groaned. "If only the feeling was mutual."

She shook her head. "You'll get used to him," she said, bending down next to me. She grabbed my face in her hands and kissed me on the forehead. "Thanks, sweetie. I mean it."

I nodded. "You're welcome, honey."

"I love you," she said sincerely.

"I love me too," I declared, and then smiled when she gave me a light punch on the shoulder. "Just kidding. I love you more than you would ever know." she kissed me softly on the lips, and then broke apart as Sky came bounding toward us. I groaned. 'He's already ruining my love life,' I thought with a sigh. He licked me on the right cheek, and I moaned and wiped at it again. "Stop that," I said, hoping he knew commands.

He just wagged his tail and sat there, next to me. What a day this was turning out to be. What a dog this was.

Was I ever going to get used to him?

Sky looked toward the door suddenly, and I frowned. What was he looking at? The doorbell suddenly rang, and I inwardly groaned as Andrea helped me to my feet. Who could it be? It was nearly eight.

I walked toward the door with the brass knob and looked through the peephole.