[///ON HOLD///] Animal House (Rendezvous #2)

Chapter 4

“Can I take my birthday off, Nora?” Grant asked.

Nora glanced up at him before she continued to observe the teeth of GG, a female Great Dane. Since Great Danes were known to be gentle giants, her owner, Tyler, named her so. But it also had something to do with his addiction to video games. She knew because Tyler was a close friend of her brothers. Nora only knew what GG meant since her brothers were gamers as well.

“When’s your birthday?” she asked.

“Two weeks. The twenty-ninth to be exact.”

“Sure. Will you be spending it with family?”

“No,” Grant slowly spoke. “Flying across the country for one day is too much a hassle, so I’ll just be spending it with friends.”

“Hm.” Nora murmured as she felt around GG’s jaw, feeling for any abnormalities. “Shouldn’t a guy like you have a girlfriend to spend his birthday with?”

Grant didn’t answer and Nora glanced at him again. His eyes were on GG and his lips were compressed into a tight line, as if he was suppressing either a smile or a frown.

Nora grinned and chuckled. “I see.”

“It’s not like that,” he quickly said. “There’s no one like that.”

“You’re slipping up, Grant,” she said amused. “And what are you worried about? It’s not like I’m going to say something old-fashioned, like it’ll interfere with your work.”

Grant sighed. “I told you, it’s not like that. We’re not officially dating.”

“Oohhh,” Nora held it out. “You’re still trying to catch her.”

He stared at her flatly. “Do you have to phrase that way?”

“She is right though,” Erika said as she entered the room. She immediately went to work and began to clip GG’s long nails. “Her name’s Keely Davis. She goes to the same university that we did, but since we’ve graduated, Grant has some of Keely’s friends giving him updates.”

Grant groaned and hung his head from Erika spilling out his guts to Nora.

Nora laughed. “Well, hopefully you’ll catch her by the time of your birthday.”

“I seriously doubt it.” Erika sighed. “Unfortunately for Grant, Keely comes from a really rich family. She probably attends parties with young CEOs and hot celebrities every night. Guys way beyond normal stands, unlike Grant.”

Grant glared at Erika from the corner of his eyes and Nora couldn’t help but pat his back.

“Don’t worry Grant. Plenty of girls prefer normal guys to the flashy ones.”

“Not Keely,” Erika added.

Nora could only shake her head as the two began bickering. GG continued to lie calmly as they finished her grooming and Tyler’s mother arrived to pick her up.

After GG, there weren’t any more appointments. Walk-ins were always welcomed, but usually, Nora just sat around for the rest of the day without a single patron. Since the Animal House just opened recently, not many knew of its reputation, or even existence. It would take a bit more time before they were occupied with pets.

It was only a little past noon, so there was still a long, slow day ahead of Nora. And it was just Monday too.

Nora and her two assistants stayed in the back and checked over their supplies to make sure everything was in order. As they continued to go through their materials, they heard barking and yipping.