A Love Like Ours || m.f.

28

"Mark~ wake up, we're here." I softly rubbed at his arms as not to startle him in his sleep.

"Just a few more minutes." he murmured and nestled deeper into the car chair.

I peered down at him and smiled. "Ok. A few more minutes."

I spent the next five minutes fixing my hair in the rearview mirror and stealing small glances at Mark.

"Marki I promise you can sleep when we get home, will you just do this for me real quick?"

He didn't stir nor make a single sound. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his forehead while gently ruffling his hair.

"Baby wake up."

"Hm?" He struggled to open his eyes, but once he did he frowned up at me.

"Did I forget my glasses at home?" he groaned while stretching out his arms.

"No I got them."

"Thanks." He slipped hem on and yawned before slumping back in the seat.

"Real quick, let's go." I pleaded unbuckling my seat belt and opening the car door.

"Real quick." he agreed.

He stepped out of the car and peered at where we were before looking back at me with an "are you serious?" expression.

I smiled and skipped towards the entrance of the canine rescue center.

"(Y/n)! Wait up!" Mark hollered, jogging to catch up to me.

I glanced back at him and felt my smirk grow as he groggily caught up to my pace.

"You really want to do this today?" he asked, a bright smile dancing on his lips.

"You don't?"

"I didn't say that, did I?" he teased

He eagerly grabbed my hand as we entered the rescue facility. There was a slight pep in his step that told me he was just as excited to be here as I was.

"Good afternoon, what can I help you with?" The friendly lady at the counter asked.

"We're here to adopt." I answered.

"Today?" Mark whispered dramatically.

"Who knows?" I whispered back.

"Ok! Which dog were you looking at?" she asked

"Oh we don't know yet."

"Alright, all the dogs are down the hall and to the right." she motioned for us to follow her directions, and we did.

We walked into a room full of cages, each cage holding a different type of dog. Most of them were sleeping, but a couple small dogs were up on their feet yapping at our sudden entrance. There was a worker at the end of the hall, scooping food into dishes.

I stopped in front of a small shih tzu cowering in the back corner of the cage. Mark was behind me, looking at the other dogs. The small dog peeked his eyes in my direction, then slowly moped to the front of the cage. I let the dog sniff my hand before attempting to pet it through the bars.

"(y/n) come here." Mark called

He was farther down the hall, crouched next to a larger kennel. I walked over and knelt next to him. In the kennel sat a sleeping chocolate lab.

"Well isn't she pretty." I whispered

"I thought the same thing."

The worker filled the last of the bowls and came over to greet us.

"There's a training class in session right now if you would like to go watch. All the dogs in the class are adoptable." he mentioned

We thanked him and headed towards the class.

"So what kind of dog are you thinking about getting?" I asked Mark.

"I want a golden." he stated

"Ok. Then we're getting a retriever." I agreed. I wanted a bigger dog anyways.

Mark kindly held the door open and I walked into a room full of semi-obedient dogs. The trainer broke character for a second to smile at us, then she continued.

I glanced around the room at the class of dogs. They didn't seem to care much about us as they payed careful attention to the instructor.

"This is so cute." I whispered

Mark answered with a laugh and a curt nod. The trainer gave the dogs a break, letting them run free around the room as she walked towards us. Some of the pups followed after her, shaking their bodies excitedly at our knees. Mark bent down to pet a smaller dog as I made small talk with the instructor.

"What dog do you have your eye on?" she asked.

Mark looked up and peered around the room at the playful dogs, then he locked eyes with me. They didn't have a golden retriever.

"We're actually looking for a golden retriever."

"Oh we don't get many of those."

I saw Mark's face fall slightly, and I'm guessing the lady did as well.

"But I- uh think that one of the boys called in a golden earlier yesterday. She needs spayed and all her immunizations before we can put her up, but maybe I can reserve her for you?"

"You're allowed to do that?" Mark asked, rising from his crouched position.

"Well- no. But I can try. She's due to be up for adoption in a week exactly. You would need to be here at 7:00 when the center opens to get her before anyone else."

A week from now Mark and I would be at PAX. My heart sank. I nodded solemnly and glanced at Mark. I knew he was thinking the same thing.

"How about I give you the adoption centers number? If you make a decision, call and ask for Annie."

I took the card with the adoption center's information and glanced at both sides. The back was blank except for the name "Annie" written in blue ink.

"I'll make sure to not bring her up to anyone else."

"Thank you so much." I politely shook her hand and gave her a warm smile.

"Of course. Have a great rest of your day." She walked away, leaving Mark and I to our thoughts.

"Let's go take a nap." I thought out loud.

"Sounds good." He agreed, and together we walked hand in hand out of the rescue center.

so a few people have been asking about smut in this book. I'm on the edge and I need all of your opinions. I'm not great at writing it, but if you want it I can sure try.

????

it's up to y'all