Who: Eggsy and Anna When: Recently Where: Dog Park What: Meeting the dog for dog walking Rating/Warnings: Low/None Status: Complete
His hours had increased at the shop and he was feeling terrible for leaving J.B. at home all day long, so when Anna had suggested that she would be interested was a godsend. So, he finally set up a time to meet with her at one of the local parks and loaded J.B. up in to his car. It didn’t take long to get over to the park and he decided to walk J.B. around for a little bit before Anna showed up. J.B. was well trained enough from the dreams that he wasn’t worried that he would overreacted, but he was still a normal dog. Slightly tired would be a good way to meet the girl.
Anna showed up to the dog park, grinning brightly at the sight of all the dogs running around and playing. She was thinking that she might get a dog. At some point. Eventually. But for now… she could borrow one! And help out a potential friend in the mean time.
She wandered over to the person she assumed was the guy she was meeting. “Eggsy?” She asked, sounding excited and hopeful.
“Aye, love. You must be Anna, cheers,” Eggsy held out a hand to her with a smile. She was a cute little thing and apparently he must have a slight thing for redheads at the moment. Granted he wasn’t dating one, but he was finding their company quite enjoyable, “This lad here is J.B. He is really well trained, so don’t be afraid of him.”
Wow, that was a nice smile. And the accent? Wow. Anna may have gone a little pink at meeting the guy. But the smile was bright and genuine, happy. She reached forward to shake his hand. “I am! It’s nice to meet you.” She turned her attention down to the dog. “Well, hello, there, JB. It’s nice to meet you, too.” Anna loved animals. Dogs in particular. She really wanted one, but not until she had a yard for it to go play in.
The pug looked up at the newcomer and immediately began to wag his tail. Eggsy was a lot more lax here than he was in the dreams since he wasn’t really being judged on his ability to raise a dog. They had bonded easily and Eggsy held a looser leash, which meant that J.B. could approach Anna and begin to sniff around her, “So, have you ever assisted anyone in walking and taking care of their dog? I’m just curious.”
“No.” Anna said, and she crouched down to hold a hand out to the dog. She’d been really… secluded as a kid. Didn’t spend a whole lot of time with animals. But they seemed to like her. She smiled softly, moved slowly, spoke gently, and had an air about her that creatures seemed to find comforting. “But I’m eager to learn. I’m a quick study, I’m enthusiastic, and I love animals.” But she’d understand if he wanted someone with more experience.
“Don’t worry about it. I imagine it can’t be too difficult to come and walk J.B. a few times a week,” he commented as J.B. moved to close the gap between him and Anna. He sniffed the girl’s hand a few times before giving her a lick and then let her pet him, “What else do you do besides this?”
Anna beamed brightly when the dog came over and sniffed and licked her hand. She was happy when animals were happy. Her hand came over to pet the dog’s head, and soon she was learning the ways JB liked to have his ears scratched.
“I’m a student at UCI. I was working as a secretary for a Fencing Studio, but it closed a few weeks ago. It’s all right, though. I have to study hard if I’m going to keep up my four point oh grade point average.” She explained, all the while petting the dog.
“Color me impressed, love,” Eggsy answered with a laugh, “I didn’t know fencing was much of a thing out here and a four point oh? That’s pretty impressive. I’m still deciding where I want to go to college since I moved out here. I think you are certainly are more than qualified to help out ‘ol J.B. here.”
Anna flushed deeply when he said he was impressed. And the use of the word ‘love’ was great, too. She couldn’t help smiling. But then again, that was Anna for you. Always with pink cheeks and bright smiles. “You can always audit some classes at the different colleges and see where you like best?” She beamed. “Okay! So, twice a week? Three times a week? I can bring him here.” She said, scratching behind the dog’s ears again.
“That might actually be a brilliant idea. See what one seems to fit my learning style better,” Eggsy was going to have to remember that idea and do a bit more research on it. It may work a lot better than just trying to blindly pick a place. His dad had brought up college tours, but now the idea seemed a bit more appealing, “Uh, let’s start with twice a week and see how it goes? I don’t want to overwhelm you. And he does love the park!”
“I can do that.” Anna said, beaming brightly. She finished scratching behind the dog’s ears, then stood up straight again. “Maybe Tuesdays and Thursdays? I don’t have classes until eleven, I could do a walk and the dog park from eight thirty to ten.” She offered. It’d be nice to get fresh air and exercise for both herself and for the dog.
“I think that sounds perfect. How much would you like to be paid? I’ll have to make sure I have cash for you every Thursday,” it sounded like a really good schedule for him. He tended to work both of those days, so having someone take J.B. out would make the dog a lot happier. And Anna seemed to get along brilliantly with him.
“Oh.” Anna’s face fell at that question. She hadn’t even thought about payment. “What do you think would be fair? I mean, I’ve never done this before so I don’t even know how much to expect.” She didn’t mind--she’d probably have done it for free, actually.
“I have no idea, but I feel like I should offer up something because you’re taking time out of your day to help me,” Eggsy admitted with a laugh, “I’m not sure how all this American stuff goes. You guys tip and that is so incredibly confusing sometimes. I mean, if paying you seems awkward then we can work something out if you wanted.”
“...you could get me coffee.” Anna suggested, brightening a little. “Feed my addiction? I couldn’t say no to that.” Coffee or Red Bull, Anna was pretty much addicted to the caffeine. It got bad around finals last year, and then her ex-boyfriend and Caroline somehow got her to kick the stuff… but now she was back on with a vengeance.
“Haha, I think I can help you out with that one,” Eggsy agreed to it with a laugh. It seemed pretty easy to make sure he always brought a coffee or something equally caffeinated when he saw Anna next time, “You’ve got yourself a deal. Should we wander around and let J.B. get a bit of a walk in?”
“Yeah, let’s do it. He and I can start getting to know each other better, too.” Anna said, smiling brightly. She turned to follow Eggsy around the dog park, to learn everything there was to know about her new best canine friend.