Animal Dog Dogsex Woman -

She was smitten.

The Third Wheel Who Steals the Show

Their first date was a coffee shop. Alex asked about the fur on her coat. “Gus,” she said, waiting for the usual eye-roll. animal dog dogsex woman

Gus was her anchor. He’d been there through the promotion, the pandemic, and the breakup with Mark, who had once complained that Gus “stared at him judgmentally.” (Gus had been staring because Mark ate the last slice of pizza without offering any crust.)

For Claire, the condo had always felt just big enough. Just her, her stack of unread literary fiction, and a Golden Retriever named Gus whose primary hobbies included shedding on dark fabrics and sighing dramatically when he wasn’t getting enough attention. She was smitten

So when she met Alex—a quiet, bespectacled veterinarian with a shy smile and dirt under his fingernails—Claire had a strict policy: Gus comes first.

That was the moment Claire knew she was in trouble. Not because Alex was handsome—though he was—but because he saw Gus not as an obstacle to romance, but as a part of her heart. “Gus,” she said, waiting for the usual eye-roll

Instead, Alex smiled. “Golden Retriever? Late spring shed. He’s blowing his coat.”