Opening the fridge door I realized there was almost nothing to eat for dinner. There were only eggs, some veggies and some peanut butter oatmeal cookies I made the other day. Rolling my eyes I put on my long black coat and my warm, black boots, grabbed my wallet, keys and left for the store.
The cold air turned my nose into an ice cube instantly and I pulled my coat closer around my body. As I walked, the only sound I could hear was the music in my headphones and the cars of New York honking exaggeratedly to my left. Man, drivers have no patience left these days.
When the noise from the road got too extreme, I turned my head towards it and my face dropped instantly. In the middle of the road was a beige dog with tints of white and some black around his face. He looked absolutely terrified and confused and instead of helping him, the stupid drivers on the road honked at him like idiots.
Without giving a shit about anything, I threw myself out on the trafficked road and approached the dog with rapid steps eager to get him out of there. I didn't know if it was aggressive nor did I care at this point, but I simply lifted the poor baby, noticed he was a boy, and brought him to the sidewalk. As I put him down his tail started wiggling a bit and he sat next to my leg as if I was his savior. My heart ached at how scared he was. I loved dogs more than anything in this world and everyone who knew me, knew me as the biggest dog lover there is.
I knelt down in front of him and scratched behind his ears, action that he seemed to adore. ''You're such a good boy'' I let him know just as I noticed that he had a collar with a name tag. Bandit. His name was Bandit and I smiled from ear to ear because that might be just the cutest fucking thing ever.
''Let's see, Bandit, who do you belong to?'' I talked to him as I stroked his fur with one hand and checked the tag with the other. Under his name there was a phone number and a ''Jeffrey'' in parentheses. I grabbed my phone from my pocket and I dialed the number, a deep, raspy voice answering just after a few seconds.
''Hi, is this Jeffrey?'' I asked, happy that someone had answered.
''Yes, I'm Jeffrey''
''Hey, I'm here with a dog called Bandit, is he yours?''
''Holy shit, you are? Yes, that's my boy. Is he alright?''.
''He is fine, just a little terrified. He was in the middle of the road surrounded by cars''
''Where are you? I'm coming to get him right now''
''I'm on 73rd 8th Avenue in front of the Think cafe'' I answered, looking around to give him directions.
''Oh, I know it. I'll be there in 15 minutes, is that alright with you?'' he asked and I smiled, happy for this person to reunite with his furry baby.
''That's fine, I'll be here''
''Hey, thanks a lot'' he added before hanging up.
I turned to Bandit who was still sitting next to my leg, stuck like glue, and I smiled because he was too sweet. ''You know, Bandit, I'd take you home with me if I could. You are too precious, boy'' I told him as he looked up at my face, his tongue out and eyes as pure as crystal.
A bit less than 15 minutes had passed when I heard ''Bandit, there you are boy'' and I turned towards the direction of the voice only to freeze in place. No, it wasn't the cold. Holy fuck.
I felt my legs turn to jelly and my palms start to shake as I watched the man approach his dog and I. He took long and fast steps towards us, his leather jacket flying behind him as he smiled largely at the sight of his dog.
''Oh my goodness, Bandit, I've been looking for you all day boy'' he said as he reached to hug his now happy and wiggly dog.
Myself...well, I could barely do anything, so I turned to Bandit, took his furry face between my palms and asked him ''Why didn't you tell me that your dad is Jeffrey Dean Morgan, bud?''.
The tall man with black and white beard smiled. ''So you know who I am?'' he asked, his deep voice penetrating my ears in a very pleasing way. Hot damn.
''I love The Walking Dead. How much, well, you really don't want to know. You'd just run away'' I responded, a bit embarrassed with my honest answer. Inside I was just freaking out. Big time.
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He laughed. He laughed and his cheeks caught a tint of red and I melted. ''I'm glad you like it'' he said and I smiled. ''And you are?''
''I'm Iris'' I replied, voice a bit shaky, but I hoped he never noticed.
''Well, Iris, I don't know how to thank you for finding my boy''
''Don't worry about it, I'm just happy I could help'' I smiled genuinely.
''No, this means a lot to me and I really appreciate your kindness. I have to do something to thank you'' he shook his head, so determined to do something to thank me.
''Just make sure you never lose this angel again, he is so precious. I would've taken him home with me if he didn't have a home'' I admitted and Jeffrey looked at Bandit with love in his eyes. ''Oh, I know something that you can do for me'' I continued before he could say anything. ''Just post more photos of him on Instagram. That's all'' I blushed a bit at myself admitting that I was following him on social media.
''I definitely will. Make sure you like every single photo, yeah?'' he giggled as he patted the dog's head.
''Will do. Okay Bandit, you don't run away again, alright? I'm glad I got to meet you, bud'' I kissed his forehead and nodded at Jeffrey. I never wanted the conversation to be over but I was starving and about to pass out because of that. ''Gotta go now''.
''Oh. Okay. I uhm, thank you so much again, Iris'' he said as he looked sincerely into my eyes. I stood there and wondered if there could be anyone out there more beautiful than this man. I refused to think so.
As I started to walk a few steps, taking my headphones out of my pocket in the process, I hear ''Hey'' from behind. I turn around to see Jeffrey standing in the middle of the street with a hand in his pocket and one on Bandit's collar. Fuck, he is handsome.
''Iris. That's one fucking beautiful name'' he blurted out loud, loud enough to cover the noise on the street.
I smiled as confidently as I could, mouthed a ''thank you'', turned around and made my way to the store with the biggest, most ecstatic expression on my face.
