A dog named Toby (5)
A dog named Toby Chapter 5 By Roofles
"Have a good one, Cheryl." Cody waved using the hand carrying his briefcase. The doors opened as he approached and wasn't too surprised to see a dog waiting for him. The other dog with him however was.
Charlie was whining as he tugged on the larger dog's arm. He was apologizing over and over again to the bernese who looked over the beagle head and waved at Cody. Who wished he had taken the back way out after seeing the scene the two were making. Several other coworkers were looking at the two and kept a distance between them as if they were a couple of lepers. They whispered hushly amongst each other as they went by.
"I already told you." Toby said trying to move past the dog as he continued to wave at Cody making sure he had the man's attention before turning back towrds the beagle with a drooping frown.
"You promsied. You said so!" Charlie continued in a loud whine his tail wagged hopefully before stopping as Toby turned away. It picked back up as the larger dog looked at him again.
"I say a lot of things." Toby muttered wishing he hadn't given into his primal desires in the past. He always hated needy men. And on that note ran over to join Cody, pushing past the beagle and caught up to the man that was trying to sneak away.
Toby jogged over and tossed an arm around Cody's neck and gave him a strong one arm squeeze. "You ready? Buddy ole' pal." The dog said guiding them towards the side garage to the office.
"Your other buddy won't mind will he?" Cody said trying to shrug the heavy arm off to no avail.
"Oh, he will. But he'll get over it. Probably..." He muttered a bit at the end trying not to look at the dog still watching them go. The beagle had one ear up and was reaching for him as if to call out but only a soft whine escaped him as his fingers curled back into his palm. Toby rolled his eyes and all but forgot the dog focusing solely on the man he was leaning on. Cody was too aware of the looks he was getting as they headed into the garage however. The dog kept his arm around him the whole time.
"You just love making a scene." Cody said couldn't help the smile on his face as he looked up at the beaming dog. He reminded him of a friend he'd helped out a bar, drunk off his ass but in good spirits. Giddy and laughing the whole time at just about any and everything that came by.
"I do like being the center of attention." He nosed giving him a small push from behind with his groin. His tail only wagged faster at the startled expression that came across Cody's face. Although not reserved in any manner Cody was used to his work days being stale and dull full of gray suits and an empty home.
"I swear if you do that here." Cody warned. But laughed even to his surprised. The dog was a good distraction of his empty home.
"Oh? Am in trouble." Toby grinned but moved back to his side a second after. His arm slipped from his shoulder and a firm paw grabbed his ass. "Am I going to have to be put on a leash?"
"I'd think you'd like that too much." Cody replied. "You don't even have a collar." He said looking at the dog, he shook his head with a laugh at the look he got in return. Cody just fished his keys from his coat pocket and began fussing with them trying to find the right one.
"Maybe next time I'll wear them?" Toby mused aloud as he let go resting on the other side of the car. He looked at the man fiddling with the keys across from him and rested his chin on his folded arms. His tongue slurped out across his black nose , the movement finally caught Cody's attention.
"What?" He asked looking at the dog staring at him with half closed eyes.
"Your purty for a white boy." Toby drolled in a heavy southern accent. The facade was rather well done and Cody could almost hear the banjo's in the background after the remark.
Cody tossed his briefcase into the back seat ignoring the dog as he got in. He looked over about to unlock the door for him before groaning and rolling his eyes at the dog's crotch shoved up again the window with the fly zipped down, the top of the pants open. "Toby..." Cody grumbled as he lowered the side door window. "Yes. I'll take two balls and a cock please, hold the fries. Wait. Make that a diet cock. I'm trying to watch my figure."
The dog shifted with a grunt bringing a paw down to adjust himself before opening the door. "Sorry," Toby said sliding into the seat and looking over at him. "There's nothing 'diet' about me."
"I know. You'd go straight to my thighs if I let you." Cody said more to himself than to the dog buckeling up. Toby just stuck his tongue out of the comment. Cody chuckeled and began to ease out of the parking lot.
"Where's your place at anyways?" Cody inquired stopping to let a purple Handa sneak out before him. He stopped before turning, waiting for the dog to repsond before taking a left or right. "Well?" Cody looked over to see Toby picking at his teeth in the mirror.
"Right." The dog said smacking his lips and flicking his finger.
"And then where." Cody asked lightly, rolling his eyes again. He was hoping for some kind of address but Toby just vaguely pointed him in the direction.
"Left. Right. Over there. No your other over there. U-turn. And...stop." Toby said bracing himself for impact as the car quietly came to a stop in a parking lot. The sign out front was in Chinese with a golden serpent lit up with dozens of lights wrapped around it. The nights were coming quicker and the sign was already lit in the twilight sky's.
"You live...at a restaurant?" Cody asked turning the car off and bending down to get a better look at the sign.
"Yeah. Come on in." Toby said almost ignoring him as he shut the door and headed in.
Cody had half a mind just to start the car. Back up. And head home. But he knew the only thing waiting for him was left over pizza, a few cold beers and a dim apartment that even the sound of the tv couldn't get rid of the silence it was sure to be.
"W-wait up." Cody called slamming the door and heading inside. He stopped and turned back around to make sure the door was locked before jogging back inside.
The restaurant was nearly empty with only a small family of beavers eating in the corner. There was authentic music playing as he walked in. The walls had several stylized bronze dragon's with hand painted pictures of rivers and small old river towns. The scarlet drapes were embroidered with golden laces. Even the glass on the top of the booths, seperated one from the other, had a design of a dragons on them.
And the whole time Cody looked around the room enjoying the atmosphere he didn't spy the dog. And as much as he enjoyed eating out he was in the mood for the dog's shenanigans. Or rather his wallet wouldn't be able to support him eating out today. Or for the month.
About fed up felt a tug on his coat and looked over to see the dog motioning for him to follow. He did only to tell him that he wasn't in the mood to blow the few dollars he had left but the dog kept a good few steps in front of him. And every step Toby took Cody found he had to match it with two almost three of his own. So he followed the dog following the iguana to their table. Toby took his menu and took a seat, flipping through it without seeming to notice he wasn't the only one at the table as Cody joined him.
"And to drink?" The iguana asked eyeing Cody a bit more than he was comfortable with. Cody was about to say he wasn't going to have anything when the dog butted in.
"Two cokes. One diet." Toby said shutting the menu. He was proffessional as he spoke but his face cracked into a smile as the iguana headed off to the next table.
"Really? A restaurant? If you were hungry you could've just said." Cody flipped the menu open looking over the items before seeing the price and giving up on the thought. "Maybe I'll just have a coke and leave it at that, heh. I still got some baloney in the fridge at home." He frowned as he mutterd to himself, setting the menu down.
"Well fast food wouldn't have been appropriate." Toby said though he was noticeably agitated about something. He picked at the menu and didn't mean Cody's eyes as he looked across at him.
"Appropriate? For what exactly. Enlighten me." Cody said thanking the waiter as a couple of drinks were dropped off.
"Well I mean... Four - for..for our situation is all." Toby had picked up one of the silverware and was bending it slightly with both paws. His ears had folded down and he still didn't meet Cody's eyes.
"Situation? What kind of situation would that be? Two coworkers screwing around for the hell of it. There really isn't anything here I mean. Just a fling really." The words made Toby wince and a whine almost escaped him before he straightened up.
Large paws clasped around Cody's hands tightly squeezing before softening. His thumb rubbed the top of his hand. Cody looked down as his hands were taken before looking up at the bernese mountain dog now leaning across the table. His hulking form almost knocking over his own glass. Toby looked him square in the eye before loosing his nerve and letting go with a laugh.
"Hah, your right. A fling. Just screwing around and such. I mean sure." The dog tried to laugh it off rolling one shoulder as he did so. He scooted back into the cushion seat he was in. He pushed himself back a bit more as if trying to create and even bigger distance between them.
"Toby. What did you think this all was really. I mean we met at a party. Fucked and went to work. Is that how all your relationships start?" Cody laughed forcefully trying to ease the tension that was now between them.
Toby wasn't about to admit that was basically the jist of it. "Well...at least let me buy you dinner. For driving me to work and home. I know gas prices aren't cheap these days. So this. All of this is on me!" He clapped his paws together and his ears rose up but they continued to droop and there wasn't that fire or spark in his eyes.
"Sounds good." Cody confessed. It would be nice just to be out like this. And a free meal he couldn't turn down. And...the company was good he had to admit.
Toby ordered for the two brightening up as time passed by. He ordered drinks claiming that "just so long as I'm not driving this doggie is drinking." Though Cody felt there was something more to it than that he didn't press the issue.
He slammed a paw onto the table pointing his other paw at him. It was holding a half empty beer glass as he slurred. "And so's I tell him. So's I tell him that if he didn't box up his kittens he was about to have some angry puppies." Cody laughed as Toby pulled back nearly howling as he burst into laughter, holding his gut as he did so.
Cody didn't get it or the past several innuendo's and cultural references that he just flatty didn't get. The dog was enjoying himself though and his antics was proof of that. He kept kicking both his legs out to Cody's side as he held his gut trying to contain his laugh after another. He sit up straight and say something else, commenting on his own remark before leaning back and kicking a paw up next to Cody's side. Toby loved walking around bare paw and even in the restaurant he slipped his shoe wrapps off. His toes pulled at Cody's pants pocket playfully as he stuck his tongue out from across the table.
"I think you've had eno-," Cody wasn't even able to finish as the dog cut him off.
"We should go to a bar! Pick up some dudes and have a little fun. Unless you don't want to do that because I'm a dog." Toby faced drooped as he pouted almost trying to guilt him into doing it.
Cody rolled his eyes again at the very crude attempt to figure out just why he wouldn't go out with the dog. He slipped it into their conversation trying to fish out what it could possibly be about himself that the man across from him would find so repugnant that he wouldn't go out with him. At first he started small like them being coworkers. But now it had been the third time he had brought up the fact he was a dog and because of that Cody wouldn't go out with him. Even if it was to troll along bars. The fact he was sitting here now was enough to prove that wasn't the fact. The rest of his family wouldn't be seen dead in the presence of the canine but Cody hadn't even notice it was an issue.
Cody ran a hand across the hind paw at his side. The flesh underneath the fur was warm even in the November weather. The fur was rough and a bit coarse but only on the surface. The more you probed the softer it got. A warm fluffy feeling that he imagined a cloud from a dream would feel like. Who wouldn't want to just take this home. Or it's owner rather.
"I think you had enough." Cody repeated himself but the dog shrugged him off. "It's not that. We got work tomorrow. We can't just be drinking and partying the night before."
"We did on Sunday." Toby pointed out. "Besides I do it all the time. Come on. It'll be fun. Just the two of us wrecking havoc on the town."
"I doubt we'd be able to do any real damage. And Sunday was a special occasion."
"Oh come on, don't be a stickler." Toby said rather crassly trying to peer pressure him into doing it. He took another drink before setting his glass down.
"Heh, as I said. I think you've had enough." Cody grabbed his glass and pulled it towards him, away from Toby to reinforce his point. Toby, who growled at the action, grabbed at the glass pulling it back roughly. The glass tipped over at the motion and Cody jumped to his feet as the front of his suit was splashed with what was left of the drink.
The growl instantly turned into a whine as Toby got up. "Shit. Sorry. I didn't mean to. It just- oh wait please Cody. Cody!" The dog said calling after him. Reaching for him as he got caught on the table. He shoved the table back, tossed a few dollars onto the table having already paid and ran after the man.
Cody tried to swat the liquid off his coat but it had already set. He wished he could afford the water resistant one he had spied but could only afford this "piece of crap." He said now trying to rub the stain out. It only made things worst. The sky crackled and rain began to slowly fall.
"Cody." Toby said shutting the door behind him.
Cody ignored him standing next to his car in the parking lot as the rain began to fall. In seconds it was a down pour and his suit was soaked. He still rubbed at the spot though. "Damnit all." He said letting it go and shaking his hands in anger.
"Cody." Toby said a lot softer taking a step into the driveway. His paw splashed in a small puddle and he padded his way over. "Sorry. I didn't mean to."
"What is your problem." Cody said turning towards him. His tone was even and calm but it was clear he was still angry over it.
"I just...why won't you go out with me. Did I do something wrong?" Toby said taking another step towards him. He grabbed his wrists and held them up before taking his hands in his. Toby looked down at him with large brown eyes.
"It's not you. It's me." Cody said loosening his grip as if to let go but Toby still held his hands. "I know that sounds lame but I got enough shit in my life to worry about dating. I don't got the time or energy to care about your wants and needs. Or anyones let alone my own."
"That's it." Toby said bluntly his ears jumping up and tail wagging. Cody was soon pulled into a bear hug as the dog grinned wagging happily. "I'm not a hand full or needy or nothing." Cody begged to differ. "I thought it was me." Toby went on letting him go an taking a half step back. He looked back down at the man. "So Cody. Be my boyfriend."
"Is that a question?" Cody asked raising an eyebrow. Standing in the middle of some Chinese restaurant driveway while it was raining with a dog still holding him.
Toby just grinned.
"Let's go. I don't want wet dog in my car." Cody said pushing past the dog. Toby's fingers lingered but let him go as he popped the door open.
"So that's a yes." Toby said skipping around to the other side.
"I never said that." Cody answered as he dog got inside. Even before the dog buckeled up he was driving back out of the parking lot and onto the main street.
"You never said no either." Toby said sticking his tongue out again. His tail wagged even trapped underneath his bulk.
"Toby." Cody said as they drove down the road.
"Yeah?" The dog asked happily his ears jumping to attention.
"Where are your shoes?"
"...Fuck."