Chapter 4

Jesse got his light jacket and Shelby’s leash out of the hall closet. She stood, wagging her tail for all it was worth, as he clipped the leash to her collar. The two men stepped outside. The late summer night had turned chilly.

“I better get a jacket, too,” Nick said as he went into his townhouse, two doors from Jesse’s.

When he came outside, he donned a U of M hoodie and had Clyde on a leash. The two dogs pulled against their restraints when they saw one another. Once they were allowed contact, they sniffed noses and then all the other body parts that are necessary in doggy etiquette.

“Good thing we don’t have those rituals,” Jesse said with a laugh.

“Oh, I don’t know. Could prove interesting,” Nick rejoined.

Their eyes met for an instant. Jesse felt a stirring in his briefs.

The moment passed and the two men and their dogs made for the dog park. Shelby and Clyde contentedly walked side by side, occasionally stopping to sniff to determine who had recently passed that way.