He drove through the city, doing his best to avoid construction and countless potholes. One was so deep he had to swerve into the other lane.

Naomi lived near the edge of the city where the businesses faded to residential neighbourhoods, much like he was used to in Kingston. He'd never loved the busyness of Ottawa or Montreal. Winnipeg could be overwhelming too, but it was illogical for Kieran to invest money to settle in a more rural area at this stage in his life when everything still seemed temporary.

If he had to buy a house in Winnipeg, he'd choose a neighbourhood like this. A blue-collar area, not too pretentious, but also safe enough. He pulled into a strip mall pizza chain that had Naomi's order ready, and she'd paid for it already. He asked them to throw in desserts too, which he put on his card.

After he tossed the haul in the passenger seat, he typed her address into his phone. The drive took five minutes, and he pulled up in front of a modest bungalow with a willow tree near an enormous picture window, looking into a retro living room. Several medium wooden statues had him thinking Naomi was an art collector or an artist. A surprising number of them looked like lovers entwined, which seemed ironic given the reason for his visit. He grabbed the pizza and tried to push the thought from his mind since comforting her was the goal.

After ringing the doorbell, he checked out the hand-painted sign hanging over a mauve bench on their porch. 'Shivanna and Naomi's humble yet awesome abode'.

Did she own the place? She'd teased him about being twenty-six, and she couldn't afford a house on a dog trainer's salary being much younger than that. Maybe they rented, or she had family money.

The door swung open, and Naomi grinned despite her red-rimmed eyes. "You're fast."

"I took off running before Brinny discovered her dog was more mud than fur."

She chuckled and opened the storm door. "Ever the gentleman."

"My boots are muddy. I can leave them outside."

She shook her head. "I have bigger problems in my life than a dirty rug."

He left them outside anyway, and as he stepped inside, a light jingling sound neared, accompanied by gentle claws on the hardwood. Kieran did not expect a dog that size to create that modest noise. The most beautiful chocolate lab he'd ever seen sat by Naomi's side and studied him with a cocked head. The animal didn't make a single lunge toward him or aggressive bark. It just wagged its tail.

"This is Cleo."

The dog stared into his eyes as if expecting a greeting.

"Hey, gorgeous," he cooed to Cleo. He looked at Naomi next and handed her the pizza boxes. "Can I pet her?"

"Yeah, she's friendly." Naomi took off with their food.

Kieran got lost in the softness of Cleo's fur and the cuteness of that happy dog grin when he scratched behind her ears. She groaned in contentment as he kneeled so she could inch closer. After Cleo laid down flat on the ground, her paws in front of her as she eyed him, he petted her back.

Naomi chuckled as she returned and leaned against the wall. "She loves you."

"She would have made my childhood. I always wanted a chocolate lab."

"Never got one?"

He shook his head.

"Allergies?"

"A parent who made empty promises."

"Looks like Cleo would be glad to have you visit anytime."

She and Kieran shared a smile for a moment. "You sure, Cleo?"

The dog let out a quick groan of contentment and stared at him with those matching chocolate eyes before her focus shifted.

When he looked up at Naomi, she grinned and held a red toy that had captured Cleo's attention. "This is all yours if you let us eat our pizza in peace, alright girl?"

Cleo stood to sit at Naomi's feet. When she handed over the toy and called out 'bed', Cleo trotted it over to a dog bed in the corner of the living room. Once they wandered into the kitchen, they washed her hands. She handed him a vintage-looking plate with yellow and orange flowers in the center. Only then did the décor hit him, from the old diner-like rectangular table to the flower-power upholstered chairs and the hanging cabinet with yellow glass.

"We decided modern homes were for squares."

Kieran chuckled. "You would hate my condo. But I blame Jake for the decorating out of pure laziness, apathy, and lack of funds on my part."

Naomi placed a couple of pieces of pepperoni mushroom pizza on her plate. "Our decision was also because we moved in around free day, and we found some sweet pieces. By sweet, I mean we didn't have to pay a cent for them."

He took two slices of the same and followed her to the kitchen table. "Free day?"

"The day when everyone puts their unwanted stuff on the curb, and you grab everything you can. You'd do well since you said you had a truck."

He sat down across from her. "Didn't realize there was such a thing."

"You're missing out. There was one a couple of weeks ago where we got an almost complete foosball table."

As they ate their pizza together, her choice of topping stood out. "Didn't you say you could go your whole life without pepperoni?"

"It was a metaphor. Real pepperoni is non-negotiable."

"Here, I thought you'd ordered two pizzas for me to be generous."

Her smile was thinner than earlier. She inspected the smaller boxes. "I didn't order these."

"Seemed today called for whatever this brownie-looking thing is."

She set the box down and smiled at him. "Look at you, all thoughtful."

"I didn't want to assume you ate your feelings, cause you don't look like it, but I also remembered the chicken wing and pizza-buying chick."

"As long as you don't judge me."

"Do I look like someone who cares what you eat?" Kieran laughed and patted his stomach.

"Looks can be deceiving." Naomi focused on finishing her slice of pizza.

He sensed her comment was based more on her internal conflict than on their conversation. He'd learned long ago to let a woman bring up what she wanted to say instead of playing a guessing game he'd never win. It'd been a while since he experienced it as Brinny was an over-sharer. Naomi doubled up on her silence by digging into her second slice.

Once they'd finished their third slice without another word, Kieran cleared his throat. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head.

"Was it something I said?"

She shook her head again.

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Don't let me get my hopes up again." The defeat in her tone killed him.

He nodded and offered her the brownie box, which she took without hesitation. He opted not to take the second one in case she needed more chocolate therapy. Once she finished the first, she sighed.

"The most frustrating part is, for the briefest window, I feel normal and imagine I'll have what others do. Like someone will finally say, that's not a big deal, but it's like I've asked them to amputate an arm, or they lie and claim it's fine only to make me wait longer for the inevitable breakup. I always thought Greg would be the one who accepted me because we've been through so much together, and he's my rock." Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she curled into herself, almost halving the height of her torso as she shook.

Did he grab her hand or rub her back or watch her fall apart like an uncaring asshole?

"Do you still want that hug?"

Naomi looked up at him with glossy brown eyes and nodded. Once they stood, she had her arms around his neck with her head resting against his shoulder before he had to contemplate where to put his hands. They fell naturally around her lower back. Her hugs felt like she melted into him, blurring the lines between their bodies. It was hard to tell if five minutes had gone by or thirty seconds, but her crying eased.

"You give great hugs," she said.

"So do you."

He didn't realize how close to her ear he'd been whispering until she shivered against him and pulled away.

"This isn't a Brinny-type situation because I can't—"

"No, sorry, that was a genuine accident. I respect that you're ace. Truly do."

That put a fleeting smile on her lips, but whatever she considered resurrected her frown. "Some days, I want to tattoo asexual to my forehead and be done with allosexual expectations."

"It'd be a conversation starter. On the plus side, other aces might reach out more often."

Naomi sighed. "I guess it's time for me to stay in my lane."

As much as he wanted to tell her she was amazing and plenty of non-douchey regular guys would love her in a heartbeat, he didn't want to set her up for heartbreak. Dating another ace person would be the safest option for her.

"It might curb your disappointment and heartbreak."

Naomi played with a strand of her hair. "I'm too intense for some aces."

"I'm sure there's a pocket of aces like you. The ones who keep wanting to cross the fence even if they get stabbed trying to jump it." One percent of the population included many people.

"How on earth would I find them?"

"There must be an app for that, and if not, I bet Jake would be happy to develop one. I'm getting sick of his healthy eating obsession. I like to eat my junk food in peace."

"Speaking of junk food, don't forget your dessert." As they sat at the table again, she pushed the second box toward him.

"It's all yours if you want it."

She shook her head. "It's good, but you deserve one too."

"You sure?" When she nodded, he took a bite, and warm chocolate filling coated his tongue. It tasted like a creamy store-bought brownie. "That's better than I was expecting."

"Theme of the day."

"Couldn't agree more."

They finished their meal as Cleo came to check on the crumb on the floor situation. After Naomi mentioned they hadn't been out for her second walk today, Kieran offered to go with her.

Once she left the house, her mood lightened, and it shifted the conversation away from her love life. He understood why Greg was drawn to her. She was easy-going, funny, and entertaining as she recounted her stories from dog training and cracked jokes. She was someone he would miss when she wasn't around.

***