Baggage Comes With A Price

It All Began Here.

It all started on a cold, crisp, Autumn morning. Brad, was a well built man who normally kept to himself. He has short brown hair that seemed to always be in a mess. He had big blue eyes that normally gave him unwanted attention from ladies. He also is the son of a CEO of a well known business chain, which he will have to take over one day. He is only twenty-five years old, but some days, when his father is running him rampant around town, he feels like he is forty. He tends to go on morning walks as often as he can. Brad was walking along a path in the local park, when he noticed a beautiful woman playing with a dog. He couldn't quite tell what kind of dog it was. Looked like a husky, but not quite. She however, was gorgeous. She was pretty slim. Maybe about his age. She had black hair that came down to her shoulders. She was wearing a shirt that looked to be a jean shirt but was definitely not denim. She was wearing slim white pants that went into a pair of light brown boots. He couldn't tell from where he was at, but maybe she has nice eyes. He heard her laugh. What a cute laugh. The woman noticed him staring at her. She flashed a quick smile and waved at him. He returned the gesture. He decided to approach the woman. Clearing his throat, he introduced himself.

"Hello. My name is Brad."
"Mine is Nicole." What a wonderful voice she had.
"Nicole? What a beautiful name! And what's this guy's name?"
"Rocky."
"He's a husky yeah? With something else mixed in?"
"Yeah. He's also part wolf."
"Oh really? Wow. He's very pretty."
"Thank you." She said as she gave the dog a scratch on his head.
"You're welcome." Brad had said with a scratch on the back of neck.
He started to back away and said,
"Anyways, nice meeting you both."
"Hang on. Do you want to maybe hang out a bit and play with Rocky? I'm new here, and I need to get a lay of the land. Maybe you can make some great pointers?"
"Uhh... Y-yeah... Sure."
They sat in the park talking and playing with Rocky for a couple of hours. Then they heard a sound rumble from both of their stomachs.
"Well, I guess it's lunch time!" Brad said starting to stand and offering his hand out to Nicole for some assistance. "Would you two care to join me? There's a nice place only a couple of blocks away, they don't mind dogs."
"Umm. Sure." She sounded a bit nervous at this. She called Rocky over and they began to walk to this restaurant.
While there, they began to talk more and more, as they learned more about each other. He had learned that she is a veterinarian. She also likes to go on adventures. She's a bit of a risk taker. Then there's so much more that he had learned about her.
Regrettably, it was time for them to depart. They quickly exchanged numbers and went on their way. Brad hadn't been this happy to meet a girl since he met his high school sweetheart. He could not wait to talk to her again. So, he messaged her.

Brad: Hey, Nicole, it's me. Brad. From the park. I'm just testing this to make sure you gave me an actual working number.
Nicole: Oh, hey! :) Yes I did give you an actual working number. I'm not that mean.
B: I'm not saying your mean!
N: Relax. I'm just teasing!
B: Oh. Alright. Well. I'll talk to you later?
N: Sounds great! :) Bye now!
B: Bye. :)

Brad had felt his stomach doing flips. He couldn't explain this feeling, but, he knew that he was meant to meet that woman in the park today.