A North Carolina Autumn - Chapter 53: Chapter 53

Christmas shopping normally stresses me out. It's always a guessing game when it comes to presents for family and friends. But with Rylie, it's surprisingly easy to shop for her gifts. I'd ordered some of them online, and they'd arrived early enough that I didn't need to stress about that.
Even though it's dumb to go out two days before Christmas, I'd done it anyway just to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. I made sure to get enough candy for our stockings and Rylie's little brothers, and a few books for her before heading to pick her up.
Rylie had spent the morning getting things for the new puppy, determined to make sure my mom would have everything she could ever need. The puppy was ready for us to pick up as of yesterday, so he's next on our list.
I put the car in park before sending a text to Rylie, letting her know I'm here. A call comes through a moment later and I answer quickly, thinking it's her.
"Hi." I say with a smile. "You ready?"
"This isn't Rylie." The voice on the other end says, and my smile slips.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Who is this?" I say in what I hope is a friendly voice.
"You don't know me."
"Well, yeah." I chuckle. "Do you have the wrong number?"
"No. You don't know me, but I know you. We never got the chance to officially meet."
My smile completely disappears. "Are you going to tell me who you are?"
"Not yet."
"Not yet? You know what, I don't think you should call back." I reply, my patience running out. "Have a good day." I quickly hang up the call before they can say anything else and drop my phone in a cup holder as I let out a sigh.
"You okay?" I jump as the car door opens and Rylie pokes her head in.
"You scared me! I didn't see you come up." I laugh, putting a hand to my chest.
"Sorry," She giggles. "You did look distracted. Or frustrated."
"Both. I hung up on an unknown caller."
"Again?" Rylie questions, closing the door as she gets in.
"Oh," I'd nearly forgotten about the last unknown number that had texted and called. "Hold on." After a quick search, I figure it out. "Yep, again. Same number. I wonder why they keep calling? They still won't tell me who they are."
"Is it a guy or a girl?" Rylie questions, taking my phone to look for herself.
"Girl, I think. The connection makes it hard to tell for sure."
"I'm not a fan of that." Rylie says. "May I?" She turns the screen towards me, and I laugh when I see the red block button.
"Please."
Rylie grins and quickly pushes the button. "Great! Now I don't need to be jealous."
"You're jealous of an unknown caller?" I giggle.
"An unknown girl caller, Aspen. She probably knows who you are, otherwise she wouldn't be calling you over and over."
"It was only twice." I laugh, earning a glare from Rylie. "But you're right, we shouldn't take any chances."
"That's my girl." Rylie says, leaning over the console to kiss my cheek as it reddens at her wording. "I'm the only one that gets to be obsessed with you."
"I wouldn't say she's obsessed..." I joke before starting the car again.
It wouldn't take too long to see that I was wrong about that. Very wrong.
"Park here, I think that's her car." Rylie directs me to a parking spot next to a grey SUV.
"We're not going to get kidnapped, right?" I say warily as a tall, bodybuilder looking man steps from the car.
"No," Rylie laughs. "That's Sean. He and his wife, Lilly, are the breeders."
"Oh..." I respond as I watch a very small woman step out from the passenger side. "Quite the couple."
"Right?" Rylie laughs before opening her door. "But they're the sweetest people. You'll love them."
"Okay," I say, following Rylie out of the car. "But this feels like a drug deal."
"Oh, it basically is. Puppies are drugs." Rylie responds with a straight face.
"Fair enough." I giggle before walking hesitantly towards the very large man. Small puppy barks sound from the car as we approach, and Rylie grins.
"She can smell me, can't she?" She says to the breeders.
"Definitely. It's safe to say you were her favorite tech at the vet, and she memorized your scent."
"Perfect, my plan to feed her treats until I became her favorite worked!" I smile as I watch Rylie interact with Sean and Lilly. It's always so easy for her to talk to people, and they always like her instantly. She's so naturally funny and kind, I can't blame people for liking Rylie the moment they meet her.
I smile as I think back to when I first met Rylie, one of my favorite memories. I still remember the way my breath caught when I first saw her, instantly falling in love with the startling blue of her eyes, and the adorable dusting of freckles across her cheeks and nose.
And her dimple. I think, watching Rylie smile as she talks with Lilly. Can't forget that.
There had been no doubt at the time that Rylie was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen, and that still hasn't changed. It only becomes more evident the more I fall in love with her.
I'd burned our first conversation into my memory, unable to forget how adorable Rylie had been as she'd introduced herself.
"Hi, I'm Rylie. You must be the last roommate." She'd said sweetly. I'd probably spent too much time staring at her contagious smile, or focusing on the feel of her soft hand in mine as she'd reached out for a handshake.
While I'd been thinking about how the summer would be torture due to having someone as perfect as Rylie as my bunkmate and soon to be best friend, Rylie was going on this adorable nervous ramble that had managed to calm my own nerves. Knowing she was just as nervous as I was had been comforting.
We'd connected so easily at the beginning, and it made me laugh when I looked back now. How had I not seen that we had something other than friendship? It was so obvious now.
I'm really glad we figured it out eventually. I think with a soft smile, a smile that grows as Rylie slips her hand into mine. The movement brings my attention back to the conversation, and I focus on what Lilly is saying.
"I guess we don't have to assure you that she's had all of her shots, since you were the one to give them to her." She says, and we laugh. "Have you picked a name, or are you going to let your mother decide?" Lilly asks me.
"We decided on Sammy." I respond with a smile.
"We almost chose something else since we have a friend named Sam and we didn't want him thinking we were naming a puppy after him." Rylie laughs. "But Sammy seemed so fitting for a little Samoyed puppy."
"That is adorable." Lilly agrees with a smile. "It sounds like she's getting a bit impatient, so we'll grab her and get you on your way."
It only takes a few minutes to transfer the puppy's crate and a few items to our car and we're headed home.
"You want to hold her, don't you?" Rylie laughs when I briefly glance into the back for the fifth time.
"Yes." I giggle, trying to focus on keeping us in our lane. "I'm glad it's a short drive back to the apartment."
"Me too." Rylie agrees. "Although I'm a bit nervous about Harvey..."
"I think they're going to love each other." I grin. "Harvey is pretty well behaved, if I do say so myself."
Rylie giggles and takes my hand. "He does have some pretty great owners."
After what feels like an hour and countless glances to the back seat, we finally step into our apartment, greeted by the kindle of Harvey's collar as he runs into the room. He skids to a stop the moment he notices the crate in Rylie's hand.
"Oh boy," Rylie says, gently setting the crate on the ground. "Here we go!" She fiddles with the latch for a moment, but leaves the door shut, giving Harvey a chance to sniff the crate and its contents.
A little black nose peaks out through one of the holes in the carrier, and Harvey hesitantly sniffs before letting out an excited bark. "That's a good sign." Rylie giggles, pointing to Harvey's wagging tail.
"We should let her out before he takes off in excitement." I agree with a laugh. Rylie opens the door, and it only takes the puppy a few moments to slowly venture out. She approaches Harvey carefully, and I laugh as he sits patiently, not attacking her with sniffs and licks like I'd expected.
"That's so cute!" Rylie whispers. "He's letting her get comfortable first!"
"He's such a gentleman." I agree with a laugh.
"Let's give them some time." Rylie grins before pulling me over to the couch where we can keep an eye on them. I grab the remote and pull up Netflix, navigating to the movies.
"They really need a better selection of romance movies." I groan as I skip past all the worst ones we'd only been able to watch halfway through.
"And more lesbian ones." Rylie grins as she leans in. "But maybe we could just make our own." She lowers her voice as she pushes my coat off.
"Are you suggesting what I think you are?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.
"Maybe..." Rylie smirks.
"You're incredibly inappropriate." I laugh, and Rylie joins me.
"Yes, but you love me."
"I do. So, so much." I answer before kissing her softly. "And we can do all the inappropriate things you want, as long as I get to see you naked."
"Deal!" Rylie laughs. "But we'll wait until we don't have two pups getting to know each other five feet away."
"That's probably a good idea." I agree with a giggle. "Wanna pick something?" I ask Rylie, passing her the remote.
"Sure." She smiles, clicking the search. "I think you'll like A Knights Tale. If not, we can watch Treasure planet again since we haven't seen it in a few weeks." She bumps my shoulder jokingly.
"I'm going to ignore the fact that you're bullying me about the fact that I like to re-watch my favorite movies a lot." I glare jokingly before laughing. "How about we watch both? I don't think we have much else to do." I grin.
"I like the way you think. And we can wrap stuff while we watch." Rylie says excitedly. "You alright if I order some food? I found this new place with Spencer that I think you'll really like. I won't spoil it, but it's a breakfast type food."
"That sounds great to me, love." I smile, looking forward to our evening. Nights in were my favorite. It never mattered what we did or watched, I was happy as long as I was with Rylie.
She clicks play on the movie before placing an online order, shielding her phone from me so I don't peek. I giggle and lay my head on her lap, taking away the temptation to try and look.
When Rylie finishes, she starts playing with my hair as we watch the movie and puppies, equally entertained by both. Harvey and Sammy are getting along great, and already sharing everything.
"Maybe it was a bad idea to bring her here until Christmas. Do we really have to give her to my mom?" I sigh as I watch them play. I hadn't even held the puppy yet but I already loved her.
"Aspen, you can't say things like that. You're getting my hopes up." Rylie teases, smiling down at me.
"I'm kind of serious though..."
"Kind of?"
"Kind of really serious." I laugh, sitting up. "She's a really, really cute puppy. And Harvey loves her. We can't just give her to my mom now, can we?"
"Aspen..."
"Think about it. She has no idea anyway... she wouldn't know that the puppy was originally meant for her..."
"Baby," Rylie laughs, cupping my cheek.
"I know, it's a dumb idea. It's not like we could find another present for her on such short notice, let alone another puppy."
"Well... it's funny you say that..." Rylie trails off.
"Yes...?" I say, hope filling my voice.
"I have an idea." Rylie grins before pulling her phone back out.