𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐓, mike schmidt

01. black lab

"I think today is the day we finally bite the bullet and get the dog, Miles." Carter said, as he stood over the stove flipping the pancakes he had surprised me with for breakfast.

"Are you making these pancakes to bribe me into saying yes?" I teased, while I took a seat at the counter and watched over him as he perfectly flipped each pancake.

"No...but that would've been a good idea." he added, giving me a playful smirk as he put two pancakes on a plate for me with a side of bacon.I gave him a smile as he handed over my plate and I dug in.

 Carter had been begging for us to get a dog for the past month. I had no problem with getting a dog, I just wasn't sure if I wanted to get a dog with a significant other. Obviously, a dog was different than having a baby with someone, but it was still a lot. I was still getting used to the fact that Carter even wanted me to be his girlfriend after the bullshit he had dragged me through for a whole year. 

"I'm open to it." I said, finally breaking the silence after enjoying my breakfast and digesting my thoughts. 

"See I knew I loved you for a reason." he joked, leaning over the counter to plant a peck on my lips.

-

Within an hour, we were on our way to the local pet shop. Saturdays were a huge adoption day for the pet store, so we had our fingers crossed that a dog that felt right for us would be there.

When we approached the pet store, I could see a decently sized crowd outside of the store.

"Are all those people here for the adoption day?" I asked, as Carter pulled into an open spot.

He shrugged his shoulders as we both hopped out of the car. He took my hand as we walked up and realized that a majority of the dogs that were up for adoption were running around in play pens and sitting in cages, outside.

Turns out, the employees wanted the dogs to get some of the beautiful sunlight that Hurricane was giving us today. I couldn't blame them, it did end up being a beautiful day. It had to be at least 75 and the sun rays were beating down on us, but not too much.

"Do you see that one?" Carter said, pointing to a black lab puppy that was sitting in the play pen alone. 

"He looks like the shy one." I said, as we approached the puppy and got a better look at him. He definitely was adorable. It was hard to look at him and not scoop him up in my arms.

"You know what I'm thinking." Carter said, as an employee came over and picked up the black lab so that we could get a better look. Carter's eyes lit up as the puppy came over and licked his face. It was as if he met the love of his life in that moment. 

Before I could continue basking in the cuteness of my potential puppy, my eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar shadow. As I continued to stare, I realized who the recognizable figure was. Mike.

I could recognize his dark hair and tired eyes from any distance. Luckily, he didn't see me as I continued to stare him down. He had a yellow lab by his side as he continued petting it. A brunette girl who I had recognized from somewhere came up beside him and began rubbing his back lightly. Who the hell was that? There was no way he had moved on already. 

It had been a miracle that I hadn't ran into him since he suddenly broke up with me six months ago. I had tried to duck and hide anytime I went in public and I ended up avoiding him. Hurricane wasn't a massive town, so I knew one day it would happen....I just didn't expect it to be the day that I had Carter by my side. 

His tired eyes glanced out at the crowd and that's when he saw me. I knew he saw me just by the feeling that went through my body and the look on his face. The girl beside him seemed to snap him out of his trance as she took his hand and lead him inside the pet store. 

I didn't see him again for the next thirty minutes that Carter and I were at the adoption event. We ended up asking the pet store to hold the puppy for us because Carter wanted to go buy him some toys and a bed before we brought him home. They could only hold him for 48 hours, so in 48 hours or less we'd be puppy parents.

As we got in the car and pulled out of the spot, Carter cleared his throat and took a look over at me in the passenger seat.

"What?" I asked, as his eyes peeled away from mine the moment I caught him staring.

"Soooo, who was that guy? Did you know him or something?" he asked, as we drove past the adoption spot one last time and I saw a glance of Mike coming out of the pet store with the same brunette by his side. That shit stung. It shouldn't have since I had moved on with Carter, but a part of me was still hurting to see the boy who I had been in love with only six months ago.

"I don't know him." I lied, playing it off as I took out my phone and began mindlessly scrolling, hoping he'd move on from it.

"Oh, you just seemed like you knew him by the way you were staring." Carter added, as we were driving down the familiar roads back to our apartment.

"Nope." I said, shrugging my shoulders.

I never knew how good I was at lying until this moment. Thankfully, he dropped it and we made it back to our apartment with nothing but normal conversations that didn't involve Mike.

I knew the rest of the day would consist of me thinking of Mike and the brunette who was by his side. She looked so familiar, how did I know her?

Then I remembered, she was the girl he had brought with him to the party the day before Thanksgiving. Aly had known her because she was the girl who volunteered for everything. Of course he'd end up going back to her. But, why? He couldn't be with me, but he could be with her? How was she possibly loving her better than I did?