crvboy presents: Puppy Love by Writer's Dream

Blaine knew that he had been a coward in not being at the camp when Levi got back, but he just didn't know what to say to the man. He had known that there was an attraction between him and Levi but he had never expected to act on that attraction. His thoughts were jumbled and he didn't know where to start to organize his thoughts. He looked down to where Ruff trotted at his side and berated himself for running like some scared little girl.

"What do you think Ruff; you think we should head back?" When the pup answered with a small bark Blaine turned around and headed back towards the campsite, he didn't know what he would say to Levi if he was still there, but he had to risk it.

Walking into the camp Blaine felt some relief to see that Levi was nowhere to be found. His relief was short lived as he realized exactly how much of an idiot he had been. After a quick walk around camp to make sure that Levi was not there, Blaine grabbed Ruff and placed him in the truck before climbing in himself. He started up the truck and headed towards the campsite where he had met up with Levi the day before. He was startled when he got there and found that all of the stuff that was there the previous day was gone.

"I guess I really screwed up this time Ruff," Blaine said to the dog as they drove back towards their camp. Blaine was surprised at how hurt he felt now that Levi was gone. It took a minute before he realized that he must have hurt Levi just as much as he was hurting now. "I don't even know where he lives Ruff."

Blaine was completely disheartened as he arrived back at camp and decided that he just wanted to go to sleep. He had known that he wasn't ready for any romantic entanglements but he would have liked to have known he gained a friendship that could have eventually turned into something more, if only he'd have given it half a chance. Climbing out of the truck he let the pup down before going to the cooler and grabbing a cold beer. Flopping down into one of his chairs he gazed out at the lake below him. Hearing footsteps behind him he turned, expecting it to be Levi and was surprised when it was Mark.

"Hey buddy," he said softly.

"Hey there, how's it going today?"

"Well, it was going pretty good, until I fucked it up," Blaine said morosely.

Helping himself to a beer from inside of the cooler, Mark took the remaining chair and looked out to where Blaine was looking. All he seen was the lake, shimmering with the glare from the sun.

"Okay, who's this?" Mark asked as Ruff lay down at Blaine's feet.

"His name's Ruff, he wandered into camp yesterday."

"And you just decided that he was yours?"

"No, I went around to the other campsites and nobody was missing a pup. He was pretty ratty looking and it was apparent that nobody had been taking care of him so I took him in. Seems fitting though, two social outcasts."

"You're not an outcast Blaine."

"Yeah, well tell that to someone who didn't freak at a simple kiss."

"Kiss?" Mark questioned raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, there was a vet in one of the neighboring camps, he showed up here yesterday when I was taking my midmorning swim. It was after he left that I found the pup and I came upon his campsite when I went looking for the dogs owner. We took Ruff into town and Levi gave him a check-up and all of his shots as well as a teeth cleaning and a flea bath. Then we went and bought stuff for the dog. We ended up spending the day together and went swimming this afternoon. He kissed me and I freaked."

"Well, freaking out would be a bit normal, especially after everything that happened with Christian."

"Yeah, I know that, but after my head finally cleared I went to his campsite and all his shit was gone. I don't know where he lives or anything like that."

"You know where he works though, so you could look for him there."

"Yeah, I could, but he won't be in until Monday."

"So you wait anxiously for Monday to get here and then you drive your ass into town and apologize for being an ass and you go from there."

"And if he doesn't listen or I can't do it?"

"If he doesn't listen then he's not worth it. If you can't do it then you need to muster up some balls because it's obvious you don't have any," Mark said with a grin and a laugh.

Glowering at his friend, Blaine threw his empty beer can at Mark's head and laughed when his friend easily dodged it. Climbing to his feet he went to the cooler and grabbed another beer before settling back into his chair. Taking a sip of his beer he let out a sigh and reached down to run his hand lightly over Ruff's back.

"I really screwed up, didn't I Mark?"

"I don't know bud, I honestly don't. I agree that you acted a bit rash, but as I said before, it's understandable that you would be having a problem with becoming intimate with anyone. Christian screwed with your mind and it's not an easy thing to get over."

"Yeah, I guess you're right, I'm just kicking myself now. He seemed like the type of guy who would understand if I had actually taken the time to explain things."

"So you're just going to have to find the chance to explain," Mark said knowingly. "You just need to explain that you're not ready for anything more than friendship right now and that maybe given time you and he could become a couple."

"That sounds kind of lame though, don't ya think?"

"If it's the truth then it doesn't matter how lame it sounds. Remember what you always told me Blaine, honestly is always the best policy. I know I always said that was cliché, but I guess it is the truth," Mark said sincerely.

"Yeah, you're right, I just feel like an idiot."

"There's no reason to feel like an idiot bud, what you did was a natural instinct, the one that tells you to protect yourself. Explain; I'm sure that it will work out however it's supposed to."

"Yeah, just have to wait until Monday for him to be at the office and try and see him there."

"Like I said, it'll work out, but hey bud, I just wanted to stop in and see how things were going, I need to head out; tonight is the weekly dinner with the 'rents."

"Ahh, the joys of dinner with the parents, have fun dude."

"Oh yeah, my mom mentioned about a friend coming for dinner and so I have the feeling that this is going to be one of those nights where she's trying to set me up with a nice girl," Mark said laughingly as he got up and walked away.

"Well, let me know how it turns out, I do have my cell phone ya know."

"Yeah, I know, but sometimes I have to come and raz you in person, over the phone just is not as fun."

"Thanks a lot smart ass," Blaine said to his friends retreating back.

"Anytime," Mark hollered back before waving and climbing into his truck.

The rest of the day, and the next, were a blur to Blaine. He waited for Monday to come, so he could go and talk to Levi. Going through his regular routine, he berated himself over what had happened in the lake. He hated that he had reacted so irrationally, and wanted to explain it to Levi. He had to make certain that he understood why he behaved like that over a simple kiss. What did Levi think of him? He had to find out. Blaine couldn't get Levi off his mind, and was even losing sleep over what had happened.

Monday morning found Blaine and Ruff headed into town, to find Levi. Blaine still wasn't sure exactly what he was going to say; he'd decided to see where things went with Levi. He just hoped that he didn't screw things up any more than they already were. Pulling into the parking lot at the clinic, Blaine grabbed Ruff's leash and headed in to find Levi. Both of them had their tails between their legs. Blaine felt he had a lot of explaining to do.

"No, I'm sorry, he won't be in today. He has had all his appointments rescheduled. He might be in tomorrow. Can someone else help you?"

"No, it was really him that I needed to see, is there any way that I could get a hold of him?"

"I'm sorry sir, but I can't give out his personal information."

"Then, could you let him know that Blaine and Ruff stopped in to see him?"

"Yes, of course. Would you like to leave your number?"

"No, that's alright, he knows where I'm staying."

As Blaine walked out the door he wondered if Levi would actually come to the campsite to see him tomorrow. Figuring that the only other chance he had at talking to Levi today was if he could find Levi's truck, Blaine climbed back up into the truck and started driving around town.

While Blaine was driving around town looking for him, Levi was doing a search of his own. He had already been to Blaine's camp and was shocked to see that Blaine's truck wasn't parked at the campsite. Deciding that the only thing he could do at the moment was wait, Levi walked down to the waters edge and stared out at the shimmering lake. That was where it had happened.

He knew that he had screwed up the second that Blaine had headed towards shore. He hated himself for pushing Blaine, even unknowingly, into anything that he wasn't ready for. He knew that Blaine had been hurt recently but that thought had flown completely out of his mind once they had started playing around in the water. He had felt a connection with Blaine from the start that he had never felt before. In twenty-six years he had never fallen completely in love. For the first time, with Blaine, he had felt that spark that told him that he may have found the one that he had spent his life looking for.

Levi thought back to the few serious relationships that he had before he met Blaine. He suddenly knew exactly what it was that had been lacking in all of them. There was never the same feeling that there was with Blaine. There was never that wondering, that waiting to see if something more would develop. He had never been so worried about the others, the way he worried about Blaine. Levi could only hope that his moving too fast hadn't completely scared Blaine away.

Climbing to his feet, Levi made his way back to Blaine's camp and settled into one of the lawn chairs. He wasn't sure how long he had sat there staring at the cold ashes of the fire that Blaine must have built the night before. Levi didn't know how long he had sat there before he accepted the fact that Blaine wasn't going to be back at camp anytime soon. Feeling his chances at clearing the air slip through his fingers, Levi got to his feet and started walking the half a mile back to his own camp.

On his way back to camp he wondered how badly he had screwed things up with Blaine. He had only wanted to give Blaine time to think about what had happened and now he was afraid that he was too late. Something had told him that Blaine would come looking for him at his campsite and that had been why he had packed up and moved. He knew that if he and Blaine had talked that it could screw things up even more. So he had moved campsites. Over the past two days he had stopped himself from going to Blaine's camp over a half a dozen times. Now he wondered if he had left it too late, if any chance he had at being with Blaine was gone.

Blaine had spent most of the morning driving around the small town looking for any sign of Levi. It was not an extremely small town, but made up of only about five thousand people or so it still didn't take all that long to take a look around town. He had even tried some of the less used roads in the hope that maybe Levi lived along one of those. No matter how many houses he had driven by, Levi's truck was nowhere to be found.

He knew that he should have stuck around and talked things out but he was scared. He wanted to explain things to Levi and he would, he just had to find the man first and apparently Levi didn't want to be found. Maybe he just didn't want to be found by Blaine. The second the thought popped into his head he felt a sharp pain shoot through him. He would have done anything to fix what he had done, but it wasn't something he could fix by himself.

The feeling of dejection swept through him when he pulled up next to his tent. As irrational as it sounded he had kind of hoped that when he got back Levi would be waiting for him. He was brought out of his dour mood as he watched Ruff run around the camp. He was surprised when Ruff suddenly started heading away from the camp, stumbling his way through the roots and branches on the ground. Blaine tried calling the pup back to him and was surprised when the pup stopped, turned around and looked at him, and then continued on his way. Letting out a sigh, Blaine quickly followed behind the pup. It wouldn't hurt to let the pup do a little bit of wandering.

Blaine figured that they had gone about a half a mile when they came to a clearing. Blaine wouldn't have thought anything about it if it wasn't for the fact that the embers in the fire pit were wet. The campsite had been empty the last time he had walked over this way and that was three to four days ago. Deciding that he had more important things to worry about he reached down and picked the pup up before heading back to his own camp.

Back at camp Blaine walked down to the waters edge and stripped down before wading into the shallows. Looking back towards the shore he chuckled as he watched the pup start out into the water before apparently deciding that it wasn't to his liking and walked back to solid ground and lay down. Blaine dove down into the water, swimming approximately a hundred feet before coming back up to the surface for air. It wasn't until he surfaced that the thoughts swamped his mind. He could vividly remember the feelings that spread through him during his water wrestling match with Levi.

Just remembering the feeling of Levi's dick brushing against him caused the blood to start rushing to Blaine's nether regions. Taking a deep breath, Blaine turned and headed back towards shore. He had been hoping that a refreshing swim would help clear his head, but all it managed to do was cloud his thoughts that much more. Walking out of the water he started remembering the first time that he had met Levi. He had been so stupid, not realizing, or rather, not wanting to realize that Levi was interested in him.

Blaine looked down to where Ruff was following next to him. If it hadn't been for the pup he probably would never have seen Levi again, nor got to know him. He found himself wanting to know what was going through Levi's mind. Wanting to know his thoughts and feelings. More than anything, Blaine wanted to know if Levi had been as affected by that kiss as he had been.

Blaine felt as though he had just woken up from a deep sleep, realizing things that he should have realized long before. He had been tell himself that he wanted to be by himself, that he didn't need to have anyone in his life, but it was all a lie. One big gigantic lie meant to convince him-self of something that was so untrue that there was no way around it.

Blaine had begun to wonder if he had ever really loved Christian. If he had truly loved Christian then he doubted that he would have gotten so torn up about what had happened with Levi. Blaine was actually grateful for all the alone time that he had gotten because it had given him time to think and sort through everything that had happened. He could admit that Christian had hurt him, but the most important thing was that he had realized that he wasn't mad at Christian, he was mad at himself. He was mad because he wasn't more torn up than he was. He should have been feeling as though his world had ended and he didn't. In some ways he felt like he was free for the first time in a long while. Free to pursue what he had just recently realized that he wanted.

Walking up to his camp and slipping into his tent, Blaine quickly dried off before throwing on some clothes. When he came back out he was surprised to hear Ruff barking from the trees. Slipping his shoes on, he sighed before heading in the direction of the barking. It wasn't until he was part way through the trees that he realized that Ruff was on his way to the same place that he had led Blaine earlier in the day. Blaine didn't know what it was that had caused Ruff to go to the other campsite and when he reached the end of the trees he stopped in his tracks. There, on his haunches, petting Ruff, was none other than Levi. Blaine felt the breath completely leave his body as Levi spotted him and stood up.

"I heard you were looking for me," Levi said softly, taking a step towards Blaine.

"Yeah, I looked, but I didn't find."

"I think you were in town while I was waiting for you at your camp. I figured we needed to talk."

"Yeah, we do, but first," Blaine said closing the distance, "I need this." Without another word Blaine reached out and pulled Levi to him. Wrapping his arms around the shorter man, Blaine lowered his head and captured Levi's lips in a soul wrenching kiss. All of Blaine's thoughts flew out of his head and he put everything he had behind that kiss. He didn't know how long it went on, but when Levi pulled back he pulled in a great gulp of much needed air.

"Well," Levi said, his face flushed, "that was some welcome."

"Yeah, well, I missed you. When I couldn't find you today I just knew that I had screwed everything up."

"You didn't screw up anything Blaine; I just knew that you needed time to think."

"I did, but I should never have taken off like that. When I finally came to my senses I went to your camp and you were already gone."

"I wasn't gone Blaine, I had just moved closer. When I packed up the other camp I came here and set up."

"That's probably why Ruff led me here after we got back from town, but we were too late."

"I know we need to talk Blaine, but why don't we go sit down."

"Why don't we go sit at the lake? That is where it all started."

"Sounds like a plan," Blaine said before taking a hold of Levi's hand and heading back through the trees. Levi's hand in his felt so right and Blaine felt as though he was finally complete. He knew that he and Levi had a lot to work through but he finally felt confident that when it was all over he and Levi would be together.

Reaching the water's edge, Blaine sat down and pulled Levi down next to him. He didn't know how to start, or even where to start. He knew that he had to confide everything that had happened with Christian, but he didn't know how to best explain it. Blaine was searching through his thoughts trying to come up with the best place to start when Levi interrupted his thoughts.

"One of us has to start," Levi said softly, squeezing Blaine's fingers reassuringly.

"I'm just trying to figure out exactly where to start. There's so much that I know I should tell you, but some of it is kinda hard to explain, ya know?"

"Yeah, but, I'm guessing that the reason that you freaked was because of whatever happened with the ex, so… why don't you tell me about him?"

"Can't start with the easy stuff, huh?"

"I don't think any of it's going to be easy, but we may as well start from the beginning."

"I met Christian about eight months ago during one of my rounds around the park. I was checking campsites for illegal firearms. We'd had a tip that there were people out hunting and it wasn't hunting season. We seemed to hit it off pretty well and we went on a few dates. After a couple of months I gave up my apartment and moved into his. For six months everything seemed to be going great and then one day he came home and told me to get out."

"Yeah, pretty much. He told me that what we had wasn't real. That he wasn't really gay and that I had seduced him. I tried to talk some sense into him, but according to him it was all my fault; he didn't do anything wrong. At least, that's what he says."

"That's pretty harsh."

"Yeah well, that was actually the highlight of the whole thing."

"Yeah, since he had it in his mind that I had basically screwed his life up he decided to work on screwing mine up as well. I'm not sure exactly when he did it, but sometime between the time I left his apartment and got to my parents he called them. Told them that I had coerced him into being with me and that I was gay. When I got to my parents place I was told in no uncertain terms that I wasn't welcome there. They told me that they refused to have anything to do with me until I came to my senses that I wasn't welcome in their house. That my lifestyle choices were dirty and that I must be Satan's spawn. The same kind of shit that I've heard before from bigots, I just never expected it from my parents."

"You hadn't yet told them that you were gay?"

"No, I knew that they wouldn't take it very well, but I never expected the rage that met me when I showed up at their door."

"So, what happened then?"

"Well, simply put, since I wasn't expecting any of what happened I didn't have enough cash in the bank to automatically get a place of my own. I rented a storage unit to store most of my stuff in and went and bought some camping equipment. When Christian threw me out I didn't have time to grab the stuff that I had there. I knew I could have bunked with one of my buddies but I didn't want to ask any of them to take me in."

"So, you came out here and set up shop?"

"Came out here, called and got a couple weeks off work, and then just worked on wallowing in misery and self pity."

"You must have really loved him."

"Actually, I've had a lot of time to think and I don't think I ever loved him, at least not in the forever way. I mean yeah, he hurt me, but I was more angry, and not at him. I was pissed off at myself. I should have felt a lot more hurt than I did but when I actually thought about it, I realized that I felt free."

"I don't know how to explain it; I just realized that I can live my life the way I want. I wish that my parents were more supportive, but there's not a whole lot I can do about that. I guess; I am just looking forward to finding someone who I know isn't going to screw me over and who I can love and who will love me back."

"Got anyone in mind?"

"Actually I do, but not sure if I fucked it up to the point of being able to repair it."

"I don't think you fucked up Blaine, I think you just freaked out a bit."

"Yeah, I did, not just a little bit though, I acted completely irrational."

"It's easy to see why though Blaine, you were hurt and whether you were angry at yourself or not, I moved a bit fast."

"It wasn't just that you moved fast Levi, it was more of a case of it scared me. I felt something when you kissed me that I hadn't felt before. There was a spark that went through my entire body."

"I was afraid that I was the only one who had felt that way."

"No Levi, you weren't the only one, you just handled it a lot better than I did."

"You just needed a little bit of time and I tried to give that to you. Blaine, I don't know if you noticed, but the campsite I moved to was a lot closer to where yours was."

"Yeah, I guess it was. I didn't realize that until you pointed it out to me."

"Yeah, well, as stupid as it sounds, I wanted to be close to you but give you your space as well. I wasn't sure what was going through your mind and it worried me. I wanted to know what you were thinking and how you were feeling. I wanted to understand why you pulled away from me when you did and now I do."

"It's a lot to take in though."

"Yeah, it is, but it's nothing that can't be worked through. You have some insecurities Blaine, but so do I. So does every other human on this earth. The question is, do you want this to work? Are you willing to give it a chance, us a chance?"

"Even after everything you still want to be with me?"

"Blaine, I wouldn't have come back if I didn't want that. I was almost afraid that I had given you too much time to think and that you were regretting what happened."

"I didn't regret it Levi, I never regretted it. Even when I ran from it I knew that I had wanted it to happen. That's what scared me, I was supposed to have just gotten out of a relationship with someone that I thought I loved and yet, the way you made me feel…"

"You weren't expecting it," Levi stated simply.

"That would be the understatement of the century. It was such a powerful feeling and I didn't know how to react and so I reacted badly."

"We'll make it through Blaine. I'll be by your side for as long as you want me there. We can take this at any rate that you want to, as slow as you want to."

"Slow would probably be a good thing right now."

"Does slow constitute long, drugging, passionate kisses? I could really use one of those at the moment," Blaine said, turning to look at Levi.

"I think I can manage that," Levi said, tipping his head up and pressing his lips gently against Blaine's.

Blaine felt as though he was flying and quickly increased the pressure of his lips on Levi's. He lost himself in the feelings that swamped his entire body. He felt as though nothing in the world could ruin the moment that he was sharing with Levi. As though he had spoken too soon, Blaine and Levi were pulled apart by a voice behind them.

"Well, looks like it didn't take you long to find someone new to sleep with."

Turning towards the voice, Blaine felt his jaw drop open at the figure standing there. "What are you doing here Christian?"

"Oh, was just coming to see how your parents were doing," Christian said spitefully.

"You should never have come here Christian," Blaine said, climbing to his feet, hands fisted at his side. "You have some nerve, especially after what you did!"

"What I did? I didn't do anything to you Levi, your parents deserved to know what a sick bastard they had raised."

"I'm the one that's sick huh? If you aren't gay then why did you enjoy my dick up your ass? Or should that be my dick in your mouth, either way, you couldn't seem to get enough of it."

"That was all a mistake Blaine. I don't know what you did to me, but whatever it was has worn off now."

Blaine could feel the anger rising in him and had completely forgotten about Levi next to him. He was reminded of Levi's presence when he felt a hand curl around his, silently offering support. Turning his head, he smiled softly at Levi before turning his glare back to Christian.

"So, who's your new little fuck toy,' Christian snarled.

"He's not a fuck toy Christian, and it's none of your business."

"Blaine, you don't have to protect me," Levi said softly, moving so that he stood shoulder to shoulder with Blaine, their hands entwined. "As for you," he said, turning gaze to Christian, "you are despicable. I don't know how you found out where Blaine was, but you'd better leave before you piss me off even more."

"Finding Blaine was easy, he likes the woods and he wasn't at Marks. This was his favorite place to go camping, didn't you know that?"

"Yeah, I've already learned that, as well as what kind of idiot you are. Now get out of here, because I'm done dealing with you and so is Blaine."

"Can't even stand up for yourself now, huh Blaine?"

"Get out of here Christian and stay as far away from me as possible."

"I don't know if I can do that Blaine, you ruined me and now I am going to ruin you."

"You're not going to succeed Christian, at least I can admit to who I am. I honestly think that makes me the stronger of the two of us. You need to move on, just like I have."

"I'll leave you, for now, but Blaine, you haven't seen the last of me."

"Yeah I have Christian; if you don't leave me alone I will have a restraining order put against you, now leave."

"I'm going, but we'll finish this, eventually, bye Blaine."

"Rot in hell Christian."

"Nah, I think I'll save that for you," Christian answered before turning and heading back towards Blaine's camp.

"Well, that was fun," Levi said sarcastically. He instantly regretted his words when he noticed how Blaine was shaking. "Blaine, look at me, it's going to be okay, he can't do anything to you."

"Yeah, well, he can try and fuck with what we're trying to build."

"He can only screw with it if we let him, and I for one am not going to, so don't worry so much," Levi said, wrapping his arms around Blaine, trying to ease the tension. They were quickly broken apart by a yell coming from Blaine's camp, quickly followed by a loud pitch yelp.

"Ruff," Blaine said hoarsely before turning and running at full speed towards camp, Levi following close behind. What he saw when he got to camp made his anger boil over. Obviously deciding that Christian wasn't supposed to be there, Ruff had fastened his teeth around Christian's pant leg. They arrived in camp just in time to see Christian pull back his other foot and plant his foot squarely in Ruff's midsection, sending him flying.

"You sorry son of a bitch," Blaine bellowed, charging towards where Christian was getting ready to climb into his truck. "You don't lay a finger on my dog," Blaine said as he pulled and decked Christian, his fist meeting with Christian's nose.

"You bastard, it's just a fucking dog."

"He's not just a fucking dog, he's my dog," Blaine said before grabbing the back of Christian's shirt and shoving him up against the truck. "Don't touch him again.'

Backing off he made his way over to where Levi was checking Ruff over. He barely spared Christian a glance as he climbed in his truck and pulled away, flinging gravel and dirt over where Levi and Blaine were examining the pup.

"Is he going to be okay?" Blaine asked worriedly.

"He's going to be fine, but I can't tell if anything is broken or fractured. Why don't we take him into town and I'll do some x-rays. It's better to be safe than sorry."

"I swear to god, if he seriously hurt Ruff I am going to kick his ass," Blaine said, reaching over and carefully picking the pup up. "Levi, there's a blanket in my tent, would you grab it and lay it on the seat of the truck? I want him to have somewhere comfortable to lie."

"Sure, I'll just be a sec," Levi said, standing up and hurrying into the tent. He came back with a fake mink blanket. Hurrying over to the truck he arranged the blanket in the center of the bench seat before moving aside so that Blaine could place Ruff on it. "He'll be okay Blaine," Levi said softly.

"I hope so, but Christian did give him a pretty good kick."

"Yeah, he did, but there's no use in thinking the worst before we know if there is a good reason for it." Knowing that Blaine needed some type of comfort, Levi stepped towards him and got up on his toes, pressing his lips very lightly to Blaine's. "We'll take care of it, I promise."

"Thanks Levi, I'm glad you were here."

"So was I, nobody should have to deal with any of that alone. Besides, I told you that I'd be by your side for as long as you wanted me here."

Pulling away from Levi, Blaine waited until he was in the truck and then shut the door before going around to the other side, climbing in and firing up the engine. Blaine's hand was tense on the gearshift as he thought about everything that Christian had said. He knew that it was a load or horse shit, but it made him so angry. Blaine was brought out of his thoughts when Levi placed his hand over his. Knowing that he had someone there with him made him feel somewhat better and he took his hand off the gear shift and turned it over, lacing his fingers with Levi's.

"Thanks for being here."

"I'm here to do what I can Blaine. If it hadn't been for that pup then you probably would never have talked to me a second time."

"That's true; I was kind of being an ass."

"Yeah, you were, but we got past that and things are starting to look up, so lets not worry about Christian right now. We'll make sure that Ruff is okay and then we can move on from there."