On the Run Together

Chapter 2: Can I Pet Your Dog?

Clint was almost biting his tongue in half trying to keep from asking questions of the lady from the circus as he followed her. He still wasn't entirely sure that it was a good idea to be following her in the first place, but on the other hand, she had helped him get away from Mr. Nelson, and so far, she hadn't done anything horrible... and he could always run away later if he had to. He was good at running away by that point.

He also couldn't ignore the fact that this lady was running away too, and that had to mean that someone was messing with her, and he couldn't let that stand, either. Nobody should mess with people who were nice, and they especially shouldn't mess with women.

They were all the way up to the little blue truck when there was clearly movement in the cab. "You're not allergic to animals are you?" the lady asked.

Clint shook his head quickly, a little smile betraying his excitement. "Whatcha got?"

"His name is Sicem," she said. "He's not much of an attack dog, unless you count licking an attack."

Clint started to laugh at that, an honest grin lighting up his face as he rushed toward the truck. "You have a dog?"

"Well ... yeah. He's good deterrent for some jerks," she said. "And he's good to snuggle up with when it's really cold."

Clint bounced on his toes to see the dog sticking its head out the window. From what he could see, it was a fun-looking golden retriever, and the dog seemed to get more excited on seeing Clint. "Can I pet him? Ple-e-e-ease?" he asked, forgetting how wary he was when there was a cool golden retriever to pet.

"Of course you can," she said before she opened the door to let the dog out. Instead of him running off to do his business, the fluffy dog bounced around Clint with his tongue hanging out — obviously excited to say hello. But once the lady gave him a little whistle, he settled right down and sat like a proper dog — though he kept scooting closer to Clint and licking his lips as he made his way over and laid his head on Clint's chest, looking up at him and wagging his tail.

"See? Vicious," she said.

Clint laughed as he rubbed the dog's ears and stuck his face in Sicem's face, only to get licked all over and start laughing some more. "He's the best!" he declared.

"He really is," she agreed. "Wait. Sicem—" The dog froze and glanced her way only with his eyes. "—get 'im." With that, the dog went up on his back feet, with his front paws on Clint's shoulders, and just started licking him all over his face and ears, whining as he did so. "I think he likes you."

Clint grinned as Sicem outright knocked him over with all the licking — and he didn't seem to mind in the least. "I like him too," he said, rubbing his face in Sicem's tummy when he got a chance to breathe, which only seemed to encourage the golden retriever more.

"If you want him to settle down," she said, reaching over to the dog and then scratching his chest. "You have to hit the secret spot. He loves his chest scratched more than anything else."

Clint grinned as he watched Sicem with his tongue lolling out and then copied her movements, scratching Sicem's chest before he looked up at her. "Is it really okay if I stick with you and Sicem?" he asked.

She watched him for a moment and then nodded her head. "You don't really have a plan right now, do you?"

Clint paused, for just a moment wondering if this lady would tell someone if he admitted it... but when Sicem started licking him again, he smiled and scratched Sicem's ears and then slowly shook his head. "I was gonna join the circus," he said. "Because they let you do fun things — and I'm not going back to people like Mr. Nelson."