A Bark In the Park

4. The Next Sunny Day

Harlie walked briskly with Charlie around the park. Another warm day had her regretting wearing pants instead of shorts. Too late now. She was determined to get Charlie to listen to commands. They passed other walkers and a few kids who had clearly skipped school to enjoy the warm weather.

She scanned the park to find a quiet spot. Charlie needed a quiet area to focus. Any little distraction could spell disaster. Harlie found the perfect spot. It was at the far end of the park. People were scarce that far away from the entrance.

"Alright Charlie, I think we found our spot. Now, I'm going to take this leash off. Remember your training." Harlie held the leash in front of him.

With a deep breath, Harlie unhooked the leash from Charlie's collar. She took two steps back and waited. He sat on his haunches, waiting for her command. Harlie went through the commands the other dogs already knew. After the third whistle combination, Harlie finally let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

When Charlie completed his fourth command successfully, Harlie said, "Oh my God! Charlie, you're such a good boy!"

While she praised him, he lay on the ground, wagging his tail happily. Just as suddenly, he sat up without a command and looked past her. She froze and slowly turned. Someone was sitting on a bench nearby eating their lunch. Before she could command him to stay Charlie took off running. She watched in horror as Charlie snatched the person's lunch. That was just the shock she needed to make her feet move.

Harlie ran after both Charlie and the man whose lunch he'd taken. "Charlie! Stop! You come here!"

Her words came out on heavy breaths. Though she was in better shape then she had been, she wasn't in sprint after a four-legged creature shape. As she huffed and puffed after Charlie, she saw him dash under a bush. The man, who was clearly in better shape than she, dashed after him standing next to the bush.

"Hey! Get out of there," the man shouted at Charlie.

Harlie walked over to the bush. "Don't yell at my dog. If anyone is going to shame him into submission it is going to be me."

"Fine. Can you just-" He stopped talking and stared at her.

She shook her head and squatted next to a bush. "Charlie! Come out of there right now!"

The bush shook with Charlie's full-body wag. Harlie could hear crunching coming from the bush. Dammit. The dog would be the death of her. With a sigh, she tried to stand, but her legs protested and she just landed on her butt with a splash. Her face burned with embarrassment. First, her delinquent dog steals the guy's lunch. Next, Harlie plops on her butt into a puddle of who knew what thanks to her legs giving out on her. What's next, a freak rainstorm soaking her white shirt?

A hand was held out in front of her face. She squinted up at the stranger then placed her hand in his. A zing shot up her arm. She jerked to pull her hand away but he was quicker and pulled her to her feet instead.

"Are you ok?" His deep voice sent shivers down her spine.

"I guess." Her brain was trying to figure out why his voice sounded familiar.

"That's good. I'm glad I got to see you again."

Harlie blinked at him. He knew her too. She really hoped this guy wasn't a stalker. That wasn't something she needed in her life. "Do I know you?"

He let out a laugh as they watched Charlie slink out of the bush. "No. Not really. We met one time sort of."

Well, that answered none of her questions. A stalker was still on the table of choices.

"Refresh me on where we met. Because honestly, at this moment, I am wondering if you are a stalker."

"A stalker that let your dog run off with their lunch?"

"I didn't say it was a smart stalking plan." Harlie smiled at him.

"The last time we met, you had a lot of other dogs. However, I think this one was still a delinquent." He petted an apologetic Charlie on the head.

Harlie looked at him a bit closer, then all at once, it hit her. The hot guy who chased her down to give her the water bowls.

"The hot guy." She breathed out.

He laughed again. "Well, if you say so. I'm not so egotistical to say that about myself, but I've heard that once or twice."

She slapped her hand over her mouth. Her inner monologue became her outer monologue. She eyed the bush that Charlie had crawled out of and wondered if she could fit.

"I'm Noah." He held his hand out again.

Harlie stared at it then reluctantly placed her hand back in his. "Harlie."

"Harlie and Charlie?" His lips quirked up.

"Yep. It's kind of a thing in my family."

Noah looked around, then asked, "Have you had lunch yet?"

"No. Why?"

His bright smile flashed again. "Can I buy you lunch?"

Suddenly it hit Harlie. Her dog stole his lunch and he was offering to buy her lunch. This was absolutely not happening, but she kinda liked this hot guy.

"No." Noah deflated a bit, but then she continued. "I will buy you lunch. It's only fair since Charlie stole yours after all."

"I'm not going to turn down lunch with a pretty girl." Noah winked.

Harlie blushed and looked away. She took a bit longer than usual to hook Charlie to his leash to buy her time and let her gather her wits.

Noah held his hand out for Charlie's leash. "Can I?"

Before Harlie could say anything, Charlie was joining Noah. She guessed he couldn't be so bad if he was a dog lover.