Love The One You're With

Chapter 11-Let Her Go

"Any ideas yet?" Sam asked while glancing over to me with a mischievous grin as I scanned the buildings that we drove past. I shook my head and smiled when he laughed. "Hmm...I wonder what it could be," he feigned curiosity as he tapped his finger on his lower lip like he was deep in thought.

"You could just tell me," I rolled my eyes as I spoke but couldn't quit smiling at the sound of his laughter.

"Where's the fun in that, Quinnie?" He replied in a low flirty voice as he placed his hand on my knee. He smirked at me as I narrowed my eyes at him before lifting his hand by one finger and putting it back in his lap.

"Eyes on the road, Sammy," I groaned, rolling my eyes again. His eyes darted back to me as he wiggled his eyebrows. Such a flirt.

We pulled into a large empty parking lot of a big brick building with large glass windows and a double door. The sign said SPCA and had a picture of different animals. My excitement had me almost vibrating in my seat. "I thought we could visit the animals here.." Sam said quietly as he met me in front of his car. I threw my arms around his middle hugging him tight.

We walked inside and met one of the workers. "Hi there! My name is Leanne. How can I help you?" the older lady at the front desk asked as she stood to greet us.

"My name is Sam, and this is my friend Quinn. We were hoping to volunteer to walk some of the dogs," he spoke confidently, but I could tell he was nervous by how often he'd touch his face or hair.

"Oh my goodness! We would love that! Let me give you the rundown on all the rules and safety procedures, then I'll let you two get to it," she said happily as she pulled out a few disclosures and releases for us to read and sign.

After skimming through them, we both signed then listened intently as she explained everything. Sam nodded along and asked tons of questions..it was cute seeing him so excited and interested in something because he usually seemed so unimpressed with most things.

"Here are the leashes, you each can go ahead and grab one.." she said motioning towards a wall covered with different colored leashes and harnesses hanging from hooks. "A few of the more spirited pups need to use a harness so they don't choke themselves," she shrugged. Sam grabbed one and laid it across his shoulder as we followed Leanne down the hall towards the barking. She hesitated before a large green door and smiled. "It's gonna be loud in there, but this is where we keep the dogs until they're adopted. Each kennel will have a colored piece of paper with the dog's information on it. Red means only employees should handle, yellow means to use caution-this is usually for very nervous dogs, and green is the ones you'll want to look for because they're usually the easiest to work with." We nodded as she explained, but I felt my anxiety growing.

Sam put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently. "It's okay, I've done this a million times at other shelters," he whispered softly before letting go. I swallowed my nerves and nodded to let him know I was okay.

"Basically, just find a dog you want to walk, step in, close the gate behind you, then put on the leash. From there you can take them out the back door to the yard to walk as long as you want. Any questions?" Leanne smiled wide as we both shook our heads. "Awesome! If you need anything, just let me know!"

With that, Sam and I made our way back. The dogs immediately started going crazy as we walked through the narrow hallway. I stopped in front of a solid black shepherd mix and looked over her information. Green, 50lb female, loves her stuffed duck. She was quiet and sitting on her bed with a ball tucked between her feet as she watched me wearily. "Hi, Shadow..do you want to go for a walk?" I asked excitedly. Her ears perked up and her tail started to wag. I carefully stepped inside, closing the gate behind me as I slowly walked towards her. She dipped her head nervously before sniffing my outstretched hand and licking my palm. I looped the leash over her head then lead her outside with her duck in her mouth.