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Brooke sank to her knees and looked under the bed. Nothing. She sat back on her feet and tried to think. Where the heck were her tennis shoes? She stood up and headed for the living room where she knew Neal was stretched out on the couch. "Hey... You have any idea where my tennis shoes are at? I thought they were under the bed, but they aren't there," she asked, running her hand through Neal's hair as she bent down over the back of the couch.
"...They're not in th'front hallway?" he asked, smiling softly up at Brooke from his back. "Did y'check under the bed? Nothin'? Hmmm..." He twisted his lips thoughtfully. "...Did y'check Einstein's bed?"
Brooke groaned. "No... I'll go and look... The little trouble maker..." She leaned back and checked the front hall, not finding them there. She headed for Einstein's bed and saw one sticking out from under it. "Gross!" she said as she pulled the drool-soaked shoe out - but it was only one. She walked back into the living room and dropped it on the floor in front of the couch. "Make sure he doesn't take off with that one," she said, wondering where the other one could be.
"Try under the bush by the deck," Neal replied, eyeing the wet shoe with a sigh and a shake of his head. "Man, we need a shoe tree, or somethin'. Keep our shoes out of his reach..." Luckily, Neal had learned with a very young Sixx to keep his boots up on the shelf in his closet. Other shoes, though... Seriously, the pup needed to learn.
Brooke leaned down and kissed Neal on the forehead. "Which means if it's outside, it's wet and muddy."
"Yeah, probably," Neal sighed, closing his eyes at the brush of Brooke's lips against his skin. "Don't know how he does it..."
Brooke smiled. "He sneaks out under the cover of Sixx...literally."
"Damn that giant beast..." Neal grinned, looking back up at Brooke. "Sorry, love. We'll just have t'keep a closer eye on him, is all."
Brooke smiled and headed out the back door, searching the yard for her wayward shoe.
Andy pulled up outside of Neal and Brooke's house. He grinned at the thought. It was funny to think of Brooke living there as well. He shook his head and put the car in park, scooping up Amos. "You ready to go and beat up on Sixx, and show Einstein all your bad habits?" he grinned. Once they were on the walkway to the house, he put Amos down, and grinned when the pup took off for the front door, scratching and barking to be let in.
Neal sat up on the couch at the ruckus outside the front door. He grinned when Sixx galloped to the entryway, the Dane yipping and barking in excitement, his tail whipping back and forth in a blur as he pressed his nose to the bottom of the door, snuffling deeply at his canine friend on the other side.
"Okay, okay..." Neal muttered good-naturedly, pushing off the couch and dodging Sixx's tail as he grabbed the Dane's collar to pull him back. "Hey, Amos!" Neal cooed as he opened the door, allowing a small black and tan flash of fur to dash into the house, and then cursed loudly as Sixx nearly wrenched his arm out of its socket jerking out of Neal's grip to greet Amos with loud barks and a deep play bow.
"Hey, Andy," Neal greeted the other human with a tired smile, opening the door wider. "Brooke's lookin' for her shoes... C'mon in, make yourself at home, yadda yadda...you know th'drill."
Brooke groaned when she found her shoe...half-buried in a muddy hole. "Oh you've outdone yourself this time, Einstein," she grumbled, and headed back into the house. She heard Sixx barking and figured that Andy had shown up with Amos. She had to grab the wall as Einstein came tearing in from where ever he was at, heading straight for Neal. She raised her eyebrow at him and shook her head. She held up the soggy, muddy shoe with a sigh for Neal to see before she turned to Andy and grinned. "Hey Andy. Glad you could come over. I'm going to throw these in with the dirty clothes, and then see if I can dig up another pair of shoes."
Andy grinned and nodded at Brooke, and watched as she walked down the hallway. He turned back to Neal and raised his eyebrows. "Einstein?"
Neal nodded wearily. "...Einstein. He picked right up where Amos left off, gotta tell you..." Neal shook his head slowly, heading for the kitchen to open the patio door for the wriggling dogs. "He's damn lucky he's so fuckin' cute, man, or I guarantee there's at least three times a day we question our sanity in bringin' him home."
Neal shot Andy a little grin, taking the sharp edge off his seemingly-harsh words. "We love the little fucker - too much for our own good. Kind of like we love you." Neal smiled deeper, dropping his shoulder to nudge his best friend lightly. "Y'want a beer, man?"
Andy mock-glared at Neal and nudged him back with a smile. "Yeah...sounds good." He stood at the patio door and watched the dogs run around the yard. "He can't be that bad. He's too cute," he teased.
"Yeah, right..." Neal mock-glared right back, sticking his tongue out at Andy playfully. "Just like Amos was a perfect fuckin' angel, right?" He turned away and headed for the fridge, pulling it open. "So...Tecate, Bud light, or Coors?"
Andy laughed and shook his head. "Amos was a perfect angel. Dublin was the one that was hell...and that was even after he had come back from little doggy boot camp."
"Well, that's Dave's dog for ya," Neal replied with a grin, grabbing two beers at random from the fridge before closing the door. "That's what y'get when people get their first dogs at the age of 26. Heh heh." He passed a bottle to Andy and twisted the cap off of his, wandering out onto the deck to watch the dogs chase each other around the yard.
Andy snorted and opened his beer taking a long drink. "So, what are the plans for today?" He watched as Einstein started to dig at the fence. "Should have named him Houdini."
Neal picked up a tennis ball from the bin and whipped it at the fence right above Einstein's head, smiling a bit as the dog jumped back and skittered away, running back to porch to join them.
"T'morrow, I'm goin' t'Petsmart for one of them electric fence things, swear t'God..." Neal muttered under his breath, tugging lightly on Einstein's ears. "...Maybe a zap collar, too, I dunno..."
Andy laughed and shook his head. "Probably would be good idea - you don't want him getting loose..." He looked toward the house. "Doesn't Brooke have a closet full of shoes? Or is she one of the few smart women out there that doesn't have more than what she can wear?" he teased.
Neal chuckled softly and took a swig from his bottle. "That's one 'a them 'women's mysteries' I don't even attempt to begin to understand, man..."
Brooke walked out on the back porch as Neal was speaking. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around him letting her chin rest on his shoulder. "What is 'one of those women mysteries'?"
Andy snorted and tried to keep from laughing as he took another drink of his beer.
"How women can have so many shoes, but can never find a suitable pair t'wear," Neal answered truthfully, leaning his head against hers.
Brooke laughed. "Do I have a lot of shoes? "
Andy looked at the two of them and smiled. "You two are too damn cute for your own good... "
Neal gave Andy a light shove with a snort of laughter. "Shut it, Skib... I dunno, Brooke...since it's a mystery, I don't even try t'understand or quantify it..."
Brooke smiled and kissed the side of Neal's neck. "Kinda like I know that we're going to have a house full of guitars, 'cause neither one of us knows when to walk away from one," she teased. She looked out into the yard at the dogs running around, and saw the new hole in front of the fence. "He was digging again, huh..."
Andy drained the rest of his beer and put his hand to his chest. "I am wounded. Now, are we going to stand around here all day with the love-fest, or are we going to head to the dog park?" He grinned unabashedly at Brooke and Neal as he rocked back on his heels.
Neal narrowed his eyes at his best friend and reached up to stroke Brooke's hair lightly. "Yeah, he was diggin'...gonna look into them fences at Petsmart t'morrow, okay?" He shifted carefully away from Brooke and turned, kissing her cheek softly. "Y'ready for the dog park?"
Brooke nodded. "Yeah...that sounds like a good idea... I'll help you put it in." She leaned into the kiss on her cheek and smiled softly. "I'm ready when you are."
Andy grinned at Neal and shook his head. "I'll give you two a moment." He laughed and scooped up Amos and headed for his car.
Neal rolled his eyes elaborately at Brooke as Andy fled the scene, and then leaned in to give his girl a proper kiss. "He's such a smart-ass...I don't know why I keep him around..." Neal murmured with a smile as he pulled back, and then whistled shrilly for their dogs, grabbing their leashes off the patio table.
"C'mon, boys - who wants to go to the doggie park?"
Brooke collapsed on the couch and slid down so that her head was resting in Neal's lap. She looked up at him and smiled. Glancing out of the corner of her eyes, she smiled deeper when she saw Andy with his feet propped up and Amos sprawled out on his chest. She looked down on the floor for Einstein and didn't see him. "Where has that silly puppy gone now?"
Andy peeked up eye open and glanced down around the living room, not seeing him - just Sixx laying under Neal's feet. "Don't see him...are your shoes up this time?" he asked, sitting up and holding Amos close to him.
Neal whistled softly, calling out for the missing pup. "Einstein, baby...c'mere, sweetheart...mommy's got treats for you..." Smiling down at Brooke, he ran his fingers lightly through her hair, his foot petting Sixx's deep chest as it rose and fell beneath him.
Brooke could hear the puppy's toenails on the kitchen floor and then a couple of seconds later she had a face full of a wet nose and puppy kisses. She scooped him up and grinned. "You are just bound to get into trouble, aren't you?" Of course, as soon as she had him up in her arms, he squirmed out and climbed over her shoulder and into Neal's arms instead.
Andy grinned sleepily at the scene on the couch. "I think that Amos and I are going to head out... I am getting tired and I have to drive home."
Neal smiled softly over at his best friend, petting Einstein gently. "You guys are welcome t'nap here for a while...can get you a pillow and a blanket, if y'want...just don't want you fallin' asleep behind th'wheel or nothin'..."
Brooke slipped up and off the couch and down the hall to the extra bedroom. She snagged the blanket off the bottom of the bed and walked back into the living room, handing Andy the blanket before she curled back up next to Neal. "Just take a nap, and then you can go home... "
Andy laughed softly and stretched back out in the chair with Amos on his chest again. "Fine, fine...if you two insist..." he said, closing his eyes and getting comfortable.
Neal smiled sleepily. His best friend, with man's best friend, in Neal's favorite recliner... Neal's girlfriend, curled up against his side on the couch... Her pup in his lap, eyes closing... His beast, at his feet, snoring softly...
God, it just didn't get any better than this.