Richard startled, looking over to see Graham walking down from the road. “What are you doing here?”

Graham raised an eyebrow. “Answering a question with a question? I should’ve hit you back when I had the chance.” He shook his head. “I dropped my wallet when I was out here so I came back to get it. Going to answer my question now?”

Richard looked at the lake rather than look at Graham. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“So Rex told you.”

Richard nodded.

Graham sighed. “I’m sure I look silly now,” he snarked. “Graham Norris, brilliant student, can’t even get over a dog.”

“As if I look any better,” Richard snorted. “I went to all those colleges just to trudge back to my little hometown with my tail between my legs when my fiancée dumped me.”

“Ouch,” Graham winced.

“That’s not the worst part,” Richard grumbled. “You want to know why?”

“I’m going to regret this.”

“She said I was ‘emotionally stunted’.”

“Oh,” Graham mimed getting hit. “That really hurts.”

“It really does.”

For several minutes they just stood together, side by side, staring out at the lake. It wasn’t until Graham’s nose turned red that they started looking for his wallet, and once they found it Richard offered to drive Graham back to his car.

“Do you think,” Graham asked as he slid out of the passenger seat, “you might like someone who still misses their dog?”

Richard’s face was still a bit red, and the question made it worse. “Yeah. You think you might like someone who can’t be emotional?”

“Yeah,” Graham said with a small laugh. “I think I’m emotional enough for the both of us. Want to have dinner?”

Their eyes met and for the smallest moment they both waited, faces red.

Then Richard smiled. “Sure. Climb back in. I think I know a good place.”