Rooftops

Twenty-Four

||Twenty-Four||

Jackson sends me three pictures the next day. I'm leaning against the kitchen counter, phone in hand; with a drink sitting in front of me, when I open his messages. I smile when I see Dutch. He's outside, sitting in the grass looking up at the camera with his tongue hanging out from the side of his mouth. The next photo is of Tyson. He's lying on the couch on his back, asleep, and it's honestly the cutest thing ever. However, it's the last picture that makes my heart skip a beat. It's a picture of Jackson. He's making a kissy face at the camera and the caption at the bottom says 'missing your lips'.

"Damn," I hear a voice say over my shoulder. "He's hot. Who is he?"

I glance over my shoulder and smile at Brie. "Jackson- my boyfriend."

Brie grins, "Damn girl. I didn't know you got yourself a Texas boyfriend. How long have you two been together?"

"Three years."

Brie stares at me as if I had just told her that the world was about to end. She's surprised. "Wow, so it's serious?"

"We live together," I tell her. "And we own two dogs together."

Her eyes widen, "Two? What kind?"

"They're both German Shepard's. Dutch is the oldest and Tyson is the youngest."

"Do you have pictures?"

I smile and roll my eyes, "Of course I do."

I show Brie possibly every photograph of Dutch and Tyson that I have on my phone. I start from when they were puppies up to the latest pictures I have of them. I feel like a mother, and I guess in a way I am. Dutch and Tyson are my babies. They're like my children.

"Crazy isn't it?" Brie says after I finish showing her pictures of Dutch and Tyson and we're sitting outside on the deck.

"What is?"

"How much all of our lives have changed in the last five years." Brie begins. "I've started my own clothing line. Tony's designing for major companies. Dom's hosting at major events. Justin's traveling the world and documenting it. Rob's staring in major films. Jade's working at the SD Zoo, and you... you're running your own clinic in Texas and you have your own little family."

I repeat her words in my mind a few times, nodding and sipping from my glass of wine as I keep hearing her words over and over again. It was crazy. It was crazy how much we've all grown.