I found myself standing at the entrance to a house, one belonging to a new girlfriend I made recently. She was a bit older than I was and even had a daughter, but she certainly didn’t lack anything. Always happy to go along with whatever plans I’d made, always eager to find some fun activity for us to do on our off days, and showered me with affection whenever she could. 

I knocked once before the door opened, revealing a small pomeranian girl, still dressed in her school’s uniform. The tip of her ears came up around my waist, and her entire body was just a big ball of golden fluff. On her face was plastered a big goofy smile, her chocolate eyes sparkling.

“Alex!” cried the pup, throwing her arms around my legs and trying her best to hug me. It was a bit awkward, but I always appreciated the gesture. Knowing this little pup enjoyed having me around was a joy in and of itself.

Petting behind her ears, I smiled down at her. “Hey, Sammie. How was school today? Learn anything exciting?”

She gave a quick nod, that smile never leaving her face. “Uh-huh, Ms. Simons taught us how to do our multiplication tables.” 

I tried to pry myself out of her tight little grip, but she wouldn’t relent, tightening her grip on my legs. “Well, that’s good. Math is important.” Giving in to her embrace, I began to walk through the entrance, having to essentially drag her with me. 

Walking through the short hallway, Sammie clinging to my leg, I noticed the sweet smell of baking cookies. Oatmeal cookies, to be precise. My favorite. My mouth damn near began to water, and I hurried my pace, my stomach demanding a quick bite. With every quickened step, the lump known as Sammie would let out a small yip of joy.

Rounding the corner to the kitchen, I was met with an amusing sight: a mature, slightly chubby pomeranian dressed in an apron, with her puffy yellow fur sticking up out of her blouse. It was enough to make me chuckle. Ears twitched at the sound, the mature woman jumped a bit, and  turned to face the noise.

This mature dog was none other than my current girlfriend, Catherine. Like her daughter, Catherine had deep brown eyes and puffy golden fur. Seeing me, her eyes lit up and a smile equally as big and silly as her daughter’s graced her beautiful face. That smile was what first drew me to her. Ever since that first day, I wanted to see her smile all the time. 

“Hi mommy!” exclaimed the weight on my legs. “Look who showed up.”

A tired sigh escaped the older pomeranian as she walked over, taking off her oven mitts. “Sweetheart, I think it’s time to get off poor Alex.”

The pup let out an exaggerated whine before hopping off and heading towards the living room, likely to watch some silly cartoon while the adults talked adult things. 

With Sammie gone, I pulled Catherine into a warm embrace. As she was a bit shorter than me, her ear tips tended to end up near my mouth whenever we hugged. This time was no different. She seemed to intentionally flick them around my chin and lips. 

Pulling back from the hug, I looked down at her with a smile. “So...oatmeal, huh?”

I could see her blush even through her fur. “If you must know, I remember you telling me they were your favorite. And since your birthday’s coming up soon, I wanted to learn how to make them.”

My heart skipped a beat hearing that. “Oh god, Catherine, that’s so cute.” 

“WHAT!?” She fidgeted a bit and pushed away from our hug. “S-shut up, you ass. I just wanted to do something nice for you. Is that really a big deal?” 

“No, it’s not a big deal or nothing, honey. It’s just, knowing you care enough to try means a lot to me.” 

“Well, I don’t even think they came out right, so don’t go feeling too happy.” At that, she put her mitts back on, then bent over and opened the oven, pulling the tray of freshly baked cookies out. She lingered for a few second, allowing me to take a good look of her rear on prominent display. What a tease.

She’d pay for that later. 

When she finally picked herself up and placed the cookie tray on the stovetop, I almost dove right in to take a bite. Thankfully, my common sense reminded me they’d burn my tongue off at the moment, so I decided to instead just take a deep sniff. God, those cookies smelled so good, my common sense was almost wanting to risk a third degree burn on my tongue. 

A soft paw smacked my chest. “What do you think you’re doing? You can’t have them yet.” She gave me a worried look, as if she honestly thought I was about to eat the still burning goods. Such a mom, even to me. 

“I wasn’t gonna-”

“Don’t bullshit me, boy,” she interrupted, “or you’re not getting any of them at all.”

“Fine, MOM,” I sarcastically whined. 

Catherine glared at me. She hated when I called her that, even as a joke. She got close and whispered menacingly, “Don’t make me get the rope again.” 

That shut me right up. I hastily apologized, and the two of us went out to the living room. Sammie was still there, watching some show about anthropomorphic bugs learning about the magic of friendship or some nonsense. It didn’t really matter. Once Catherine and I plopped down on the couch, Sammie changed the channel to Jeopardy. 

Every time I came over, the three of us would watch the game show together. We made our own little game out of seeing how many questions we can all get right. Catherine usually beat Sammie and me, but every now and then, one of us managed to reign supreme. 

“..and now, here is the host of Jeopardy, Alex Trebark!” the announcer’s voice rang out. Applause from the audience thundered as the old musk ox walked out. Once dark brown fur had turned shades lighter with age, and his stride was noticeably slower than his younger days. Despite this, the proud ox was the ever present host of the game show.

The episode went about as well as it always did; Sammie and I trying our best to guess the answers, and Catherine being smug everytime she got one right. With every correct answer, the mature pomeranian would poke my side and mention how easy the question was, which only served to annoy me. She knew this, of course, as well as she knew how the night would end if she continued her smug demeanor. 

Credits rolled at the episode’s end, leaving me and Sammie with only two correct answers apiece, meanwhile Catherine had garnered herself three entire rows of questions all answered correctly with a smug smile. Just before I was about to say something to try to deflate her ego, a loud buzz was heard from the kitchen. Apparently, Catherine set a timer beforehand to an appropriate time to when the cookies would be cooled enough to eat without destroying one’s tongue. 

The excitable pup dashed off the couch ahead of her mother and me, eager to get the first taste. By the time we got to the kitchen, Sammie was already stuffing her face the way only a child can. Freshly baked oatmeal mixed with the scent of chocolate washed over me, causing my mouth to water once more in anticipation. Before taking that first bite, I noticed Catherine looking a bit worried. Still probably thinking she might have messed it up, I assumed. 

Giving her a soft smile, I bit off a small chunk, making sure to get the perfect balance of oatmeal and chocolate chips. It was sublime. Perfectly baked. The slight bitterness of the warm, gooey chocolate was the perfect counterbalance to the earthy taste of the oatmeal. There was not a single thing wrong with it. And above the taste, the knowledge that this older dog went out of her way to make this solely because she knew I liked it was enough to make my heart swell. 

With my pallet overwhelmed by this confectionary delight, I scooped my pomeranian girlfriend into a tight embrace, letting her know just how happy I was in that moment. Feeling left out, of course, her young pup demanded to be included in the hug, which I was more than happy to wrap her up as well into my arms.