The Royal Contract

“Here he is, our little guest,” Angela unveiled the surprise, picking the tiny puppy to show them.

Immediately, the little doggie slightly barked, looking frightened by their presence. “This is Goliath.” But when Angela cradled it in her arms, it went silent, seemingly comforted by the warmth of her body.

It looked so adorable that she also wanted to pet it. Amelia walked towards Angela and started running her hands on the dog’s fur.

It was not much different from her earlier guess. It might not be a stray cat, but it was still a live pet.

“I am thinking of adopting him,” Angela announced, enthusiastically looking at them, proudly showing off Goliath in her hands. “I think he would be good company for me. Or us when I am here.” She added the last part as if asking for permission.

“You should adopt him,” Amelia seconded her plan. “He looked a handful, but he would give you so much joy.

.....

She always loved to care for animals, but her lifestyle could not support one. She could not keep one and then leave it in the care of another. That would not be fair because they needed constant attention from their owners.

Being a responsible owner was hard, and she did not want to take it lightly to say she owned a dog or a cat, then abandoned them at home or in someone else’s care.

“Yes, of course, Goliath would always be welcome here. It would be an honor to have him as part of this family, like you are, Angela.” Eida finally moved toward them, joining them in welcoming their new friend and member of the family.

Eida had very few of her own that she could say her family. She also had some, but she had not been close to them. Therefore, it would be nice for them to build a family, not by blood but by friendship.

“Oh! I am so happy to hear that.” Tears suddenly appeared in Angela’s eyes, threatening to fall as she gazed at her and then her friend, finally landing on the dog in her hands.

Amelia immediately moved to her side, not wanting her to feel the need to cry, even if it was happy tears. “Come on. There is no use for tears.” She teased her, making her smile instead.

“Goliath seems to be happy too.” She proclaimed as the dog barked to join them.

“I think we need your superpowers and salvage breakfast. I think Eida’s eggs are burning.” She declared, smelling the haze that was starting to fill the room.

She quickly moved to the stove and took the burning pan from the oven. “Open the windows wide.” She told Eida, who rushed to the other side of the room, following her instructions.

Angela took a rag and started waving it in the air to drive the smoke away from the detector. Then, into the already open windows. Even Bea helped out.

They hurriedly tried to contain it before the smoke detector sensed the smoke and sent rain on them and the fire department on their doorsteps.

That would have been an embarrassing unneeded fussed.

But she guessed it was too late when the doorbell continuously buzzed on the door, demanding to be open. It seemed the fire department acted fast, or it could be just their neighbor noticing the smoke outside.

“Wait. No need to worry the fire is under control.” She said as she neared the door.

But when her eyes landed on the person who was about to ram his body into the door. She knew the fire was not even close to being extinguished as it raged continuously inside her.

Unfortunately, he did not have time to stop his momentum, charging toward the locked door as it suddenly swung open. But he managed to slow down a bit, lessening the impact of his body when it bumped into hers.

Still, they both ended up on the carpet, but he somehow managed to grab her, reversing the fall, making them land on his back and her on top of him.

“How did you manage to do that?” She mumbled, unable to think of anything else to say as her eyes locked in with him. She was curious, and it was the first thing that popped into her head.

“It was instinct for playing years of football back in the days.” He managed to answer automatically, but he did not look like he was thinking about the game as his eyes focused on her face.

Then, she knew she should stop him, but she could read in his eyes how much he craved to devour her lips. He slowly lifted his head, but instead of avoiding it, she waited, also wanting to capture those luscious lips, so ripe for the taking.

But before they could do more, something moved on the top of his head. Then, she watched as her new friend slid his slightly wet and slimy tongue out of his mouth, rubbing it continuously on Evan’s cheeks.

“It seemed he also had the same idea.” A familiar voice spoke on top of them, taking the tiny dog away from him.

“I am sorry, Evan.” Suddenly, she snapped out of her trance, realizing she had been lying on top of him for too long. “I was...” She trailed off, not having a valid reason for it.

She quickly stood up, fixed her dress, and waited until he was on his feet. Besides, she was too embarrassed to say anything else, being caught in that position by his grandmother.

She knew if Angela did not interrupt, she would have allowed him to kiss her. She could tell that was what he was about to do from how his eyes stared at her lips. Honestly, she also wanted it so much.

“Don’t be. If someone had to apologize, it should be me. Besides, it was no one’s fault since it was an accident.” Evan responded, putting her at ease.

One incident averted, but how could she avoid what seemed inevitable? How could she maintain a distance when it kept pulling them together? How could she cut the invisible string that tied them together?