collaborative love | [ON GOING] ×

page 24

Cadence
Elliot

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
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   "I should've never agreed to this." Cadence grumbled to herself as she finished tidying up her living room in her apartment. She threw magazines under the couch or in the trash, being sure Elliot couldn't find the many filled out quizzes she took within them out of boredom and curiosity. He would surely tease her.

   Cleo, her fully black dog, wagged her short tail and slowly followed after her as Cadence ran about the area. She got Elliot's order for Chinese through text and called it in to delivery shortly after he arrived. She wasn't much of a cook as he was, something she envied from time to time.

   A knock on the door turned Cleo's attention away from Cadence as she started barking and making her way over to the door.

   "Shit! Cleo! Shut up!" Cadence shouted, running after her and holding the door knob in her hand as she loosely held Cleo's collar when she opened the door, to keep her from escaping.

   Elliot's smug face greeted her with a smirk, looking down at Cleo with a toothy smile, coming in and crouching to her level. "And who is this?"

   Cadence closed the door and let go of Cleo's collar as she sniffed and licked Elliot. He laughed and petted her, turning his face away as she continued to viciously wag her tail and lick him violently.

   "Her name's Cleo." Cadence walked off to the kitchen and gestured for Cleo to follow her. "Cleo! Come!"

   Cleo listened but remained close to Elliot as he also went into the kitchen, taking off his jacket to hang on the back of one of the chairs at a small table. "What breed is she?"

   "Cane Corso, but my dad thinks she's a mix since she's so flabby."

   "Well, I love her flabbiness. It's very cute."

   "Yes, I agree. She just drools too much."

   Elliot made a face and crouched down to pet Cleo as she sat down in front of him. "Seriously? She's a dog."

   "Don't seriously me." Cadence retrieved two glasses from a cuborad, setting one down and filling the other with water from her fridge as she spoke. "I lost count of how many times I've slipped on her messes."

   He laughed and admired Cleo, petting her still. "I didn't know you had a dog though. Kind of surprising."

   Cadence leaned against the counter and drank from her glass. "What? Don't think someone like me can have a dog?"

   "No. I just didn't think many apartments in Orlando offered that privilege." He stood and walked over to grab the empty glass, copying Cadence and filling it with water.

   "Yeah, they don't. I just did extra digging because otherwise I wouldn't have moved here without her."

   "I always wanted a dog. My mom's allergic though, so we only had cats."