QUOTE : Do you think I can feed him leftover steak?” she said sounding a bit muffled. Bent at the waist, Rachel riffled through the fridge. Clay sat off to the side with a perfect view of her string bikinied backside, only he wasn’t looking. He faced the arched door, watching for me. Should I be happy that he’d ignored the perfect view or annoyed? Instead of thinking about it, I answered Rachel. “I’m pretty sure people-food is bad for dogs.” Yes, I knew it wasn’t nice, but if he wanted to play the dog, I’d play along. “We can pick up some dog food for him in the morning. He’ll be fine overnight.” I sat at the kitchen table, pulled my legs up, held my knees, and watched Rachel straighten from the fridge and let the door close. She turned to look at Clay with concern, but Clay ignored her and continued to watch me. My stomach growled. “But dinner does sound good,” I said to Rachel, ignoring Clay. “I should have thought of groceries while we were shopping.” “No problem. I forgot to tell you during the grand tour that there’s a cupboard over there that you can stock and call your own. The top shelf in the fridge is mine. But don’t worry about it for tonight. I was lazy yesterday and ordered take-out pizza. There’s still plenty if you don’t mind leftovers.” “Leftovers are fine with me.” My stomach rumbled in agreement. “We’ve got cheap plastic plates in the cupboard to the left of the sink—inherited from a prior roommate. Grab two, will you?” she said as she re-opened the fridge. I unfolded myself from the chair and grabbed the plates while Rachel pulled the pizza from the fridge. Clay lay down where he sat and put his massive head on his paws. I could see his eyes move to follow my progress. Rachel