Austin Inverness loves dogs and his wife, Erika. Erika was the only girlfriend Austin ever had who didn’t judge him for being bisexual, and dogs never judge, period. Unfortunately, Erika isn’t much of a dog person. Airman Neil Stafford has been deployed to Turkey for a six-month tour and he enrolls his schipper-poo, Bunny, in the Fosters for Fighters program that arranges fostering for soldiers' pets. There he meets Austin, who will foster Bunny while Neil is overseas. The two men keep in touch via Skype and Austin is delighted by how well they get along. Erika, on the other hand, is delighted by how little she has to do to take care of Bunny. That is, until Bunny needs an emergency trip to the vet. By the time Neil returns home, Austin has noticed key differences between his wife and the new friend he can’t stop thinking about. As for Neil, he knows for sure he wants Austin in his life, but not at the cost of his friend's marriage. When Austin realizes Erika questions his bisexuality, the cracks in their relationship quickly spread and Austin questions everything, including if he can make the right choice. Will Austin and Neil be able to overcome the bumps on the road to happiness?

Fostered Affections

“Can I try something?” he asked Neil.


“Depends,” Neil said. “Will you regret it later?”


Austin chuckled to himself as the appropriate Beatles song started playing in his head, albeit the cover from Across the Universe. “Can I hold your hand?”


Neil smiled. It was definitely a sweet and attractive smile. Austin allowed himself to acknowledge that. “Sure.”


So they stood, hand in hand, while Bunny romped and sniffed and was adorable in her own way. Austin exhaled slowly and closed his eyes. He imagined that he and Erika were officially divorced with no hard feelings between them. He was free to love whomever he wished. The remnants of a loyal husband in him panged for Erika. The rest wanted the hand he was currently holding to never be far away.


Chapter 35