SHAWMILA ONE SHOTS

TEACH ME HOW TO LOVE

Shawn carried Tarzan out of the car and to the back of the vet clinic where the training sessions were held. He was only a puppy but he was already pretty big compared to some of the dogs there. He stood to one side and the instructor came up to him with a clipboard.

"Is there something wrong with your dog?" she asked. She was not much older than he was, brown hair in a pony tail and purple rimmed glasses. He had met her when he had come in to enrol for the puppy training class, her name was Tori.

"No, he's fine," he said with a smile.

"Well, it's not a good idea to carry him around, he's more than capable of walking, and he needs to get used to the lead."

Shawn felt his face grow hot. He was used to being the centre of attention, but not that sort of attention.

"Oh, sure, I just....yeah....I'll put him down then." He put Tarzan on the ground and held tight to the strap of his harness. "Sit!" he said firmly and the puppy's backside hit the dirt, the way Shawn had taught him.

"Good job!" Tori grinned, slapping him on the back as she walked away. He felt like he'd just won a Grammy and all the other dog owners nodded and smiled at him, and he felt pretty chuffed. There were still some more dogs to arrive. A thin pale faced man turned up with a Greyhound, and a very large woman with full sleeve tattoos and facial piercings apologised profusely for being late as she carried in her teacup chihuahua named Bambi. They all took their places and Tori began by describing what would happen during the course.

"Hold on! I'm here, we're here, I'm sorry we're late....." He closed his eyes in disbelief.

"Oh!" she said when he turned around to face her. Camila Cabello stood there looking like she'd just walked off stage in a black and white checked mini skirt, knee high boots and a lace collared white t-shirt. Her hair was up in two cascading pigtails and she wore make up and big hoop earrings. She carried a little ball of fluff that eyed him suspiciously. "It's you."

"It is me. And this is Tarzan."

People were watching and he was pretty sure the couple in the matching yellow t-shirts and khakis took a photo with their phones. Great, they were going to make the news. Again.

"This is Eugene." She said.

"I figured." She'd spoken about him.

"I thought you were allergic to dogs." She said.

"So did I, turns out my Mum just didn't want a dog and that was the reason."

She laughed, and it was contagious, he couldn't help but smile. What was the chance that the one woman who he couldn't resist, the one he had his most embarrassing moment with, would turn up at the same dog training class? She stood beside him and the class resumed. He couldn't help but watch her, she looked so damn cute, and when she bent over to put Eugene on the ground, the short skirt tightened over her curvy behind and slid up to reveal her toned thighs. He swallowed, hard.

***

He seemed to buy that it was a coincidence, which was good, because firstly, Eugene was already trained, and secondly when Camila had heard he was coming to this class, she had impulsively signed up just so she could spend time with him and maybe convince him to look at her, perhaps see someone other than the girl who so cruelly rejected him.

She followed the teacher's instructions but she was conscious of him the whole time. His dog was adorable and when the first part of the class was over, he trotted over to her. Eugene growled so she picked him up and tried to bend to pet the big puppy.

"Here, give the fluffball to me," Shawn said, holding out his arms for her dog. Eugene wasn't always keen on strangers, especially men, but she went to Shawn willingly and so she squatted to hug the big golden retriever, who smiled wide, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.