Chapter Three – Serious Business

The merchandising opportunity had fallen through. Not that it had been that much of an opportunity, Otis thought as he began calculating his ins and outs, seeing how the people who were supposed to give him work rarely called him. One of them had commented on his looking like he couldn’t lift a box if his life depended on it, and that had hurt because it wasn’t true. Maybe he wasn’t fit for heavy lifting, but surely he could lift a box. Or even two.

That left him with his part-time job at the restaurant and the dog-walking business. Otis liked the sound of that. Dog-walking business. It meant that it was justifiable to take it seriously, and Otis found himself a lot more at ease in the company of Fidos and Buddies than in that of humans. He was so lucky that Mr. Smith had promoted him to waiting tables. It was enough to make ends meet already, and Missy had also assured him that he’d start raking in more than decent tips. So far, he had gotten a few, but he had only been in his new position for a few days. It felt rather good, and he silently thanked his grandma for teaching him good manners. So far, from what he could gather, he had gotten the biggest tips from his elderly customers. Just like his grandma, they appreciated a young man who knew how to behave without being rowdy or obnoxious like so many youths today (as grandma used to say), and that Otis could understand.

Well, it wasn’t only the elderly part of their customer base leaving him tips. There was also Jackie. The boyish customer in the well-cut suit appeared relentless in his pursuit of arm candy, although it left Otis feeling rather odd. Maybe Jackie was the kind who liked unusual things and unusual people. Definitely, since he was frequenting a restaurant that appeared to cater more to people of a certain age, that was a bit odd about him. That evening, when he and Otis had talked for the first time, Jackie had left Missy a generous tip, but only after having her promise that she would share it with Otis. And then, the following day, he had appeared again and, while Missy refused to send Otis over to take his order, he hadn’t gotten mad and had just looked at him from afar. The glances Jackie threw his way, while indulging in his expensive food, made Otis go through the stages of an unknown illness. At times, he felt hot all over and, at others, he sensed a cold gripping him as he started to sweat.

Jackie left good tips, according to Missy. In Mr. Smith’s book, he was a good customer. Missy had started to mellow toward him, as well. She had laughed at something he said at least once, and Otis had noticed that it was her pleasant, good-natured one, not a fake one. That meant that she was beginning to like Jackie, at least a little.

In the meantime, Otis had struggled to keep clear of his handsome neighbor. After all, the last conversation they had, things hadn’t gone down too well. Otis had managed to snatch one piece of advice from Hudson, but it now looked like an appetizing morsel that left him wanting more. One way or another, he had to find a way to apologize properly for spying on his neighbor – it had the be the spying that had made things sour so fast – and then make a new attempt at obtaining new advice from someone as accomplished in the dating sphere as Hudson appeared to be.

Only those young men didn’t appear to be there to date Otis’s neighbor. Hudson had mentioned his work… but he hadn’t cared to disclose what that was all about. There had been a camera, and some objects hanging on a wall… Otis closed his eyes and tapped the pen against his lips as he struggled to remember. He recalled something that looked like a leash, and another object that appeared to be a muzzle meant for dogs. And the camera, of course. However, none of those frequenting Hudson’s apartment appeared to be pet owners. That left Otis more puzzled than ever. There had to be something else. Without a moment’s hesitation, he began searching for other uses of muzzles and leashes on the Internet. And it only took him a few quite interesting answers from the bots roaming the vast virtual world to make him close the browser and turn his phone with its face down.

Was Hudson into that sort of thing? Otis shuddered as his mind wandered. Just imagining himself wearing a leash and coming to rest his chin on Hudson’s knee, his tongue lolling out, waiting for a treat, made his entire body tremble in the most impossible ways. He lay on his back, and placed both hands on his belly, waiting for the trembling to fade. Before, he had thought that his neighbor was out of his league, looks-wise and everything, but now, he had confirmation that was true. He would never be able to assume the kind of alternative lifestyle the Internet had just explained to him, where leashes and muzzles were not used on pets.

It would be better if he didn’t think about his neighbor so much. Otis decided that he would do everything tonight not to think of Hudson at all. His brain needed a breather, obviously, because all night he dreamed about tattooed arms closing around him and impossible heat scorching his skin.

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