Kojo, Destroyer of Chew Toys And The Mood

After a very long shift, Tim Bradford used to drink a beer and sit in front of his TV to numb his mind and unwind, but when he started dated Lucy Chen, she occupied his couch with him, and he much preferred unwinding with her occupying the couch cushion beside him and wrapped in his arms.

She pet Kojo in her lap as she nuzzled Tim's neck, hardly paying attention to whatever game was playing on the screen until she heard the dog start to snore, which made her chuckle.

"How could he possibly be tired? We're the ones that worked a whole day," Tim said.

"I worked a full shift, but I'm not tired at all right now."

"No?"

She cupped his cheek. "No," she murmured before dropping her gaze to his lips and waiting a beat; they were in that new, electrifying phase of their relationship where every kiss was exhilarating, so the moment before, when her heart started hammering, and her blood whooshed, she got excited without even making contact with his mouth. Whether it was impatience or desire, she was unsure, but Tim bridged the gap between them with a hunger that made her surrender to his want.

He mostly focused on the purposeful movements of their tongues, but he let his hands glide down her back until they settled low on her hips on the border of being ungentlemanly. When she scooted closer, his fingers dropped lower, making her sigh into his mouth. Tim absolutely loved how she responded to every touch, even the slightest ones could send her spinning, which only turned him on even more.

Kojo woke up due to Lucy's shuffling and watched his two favorite people being so involved with each other that neither was paying him any attention, so he barked, and barked, and BARKED until they looked at him.

"Yes, buddy," Lucy cooed as she scratched behind his ears. "What's wrong?"

Tim observed how his dog rolled over for belly rubs then groaned. "He just wants attention." He hooked his finger under Lucy's chin to redirect her face back to him. "He's fine. I'm not."

"You're not? What's wrong with you?"

"My girlfriend isn't kissing me."

She grinned and asked playfully, "What am I supposed to do about that?"

He ghosted her lips. "You can get over here."

Lucy hummed, pretending to consider his request, then angled her head to crash her lips against his.

Tim was hoping to get lost in her for hours on end...but Kojo barked again. He pulled back and looked down at his dog to say, "Calm down! I'll let you sleep in bed with me if you let me have a few more minutes with Lucy."

Since Kojo only barked at the offer, she laughed. "Looks like he doesn't like that."

"I'll send him outside."

"Don't you dare." She stood up from the couch and looked for the dog's favorite rope toy to play with him on the floor for a while, which left Tim to watch them with a scowl and his arms folded across his chest. "Stop moping."

"I'm not moping."

"That's exactly what you're doing right now."

"We can't keep doing this."

"Doing what?"

"Whenever we're trying to spend some quality time together, Kojo ruins it."

"He's adjusting," Lucy explained as the dog trotted over to stand between her legs and looked up at her expectantly. She pet him softly as she continued, "Before we started dating, I would come over and spend more time with Kojo than you, and when you were home alone, you gave him all of your attention. Now that we're together, things are changing, and he's getting jealous."