20

~Darlina's POV~

The next morning I thumbed through my hangers of clothes in my closet, trying to pick out something to wear to work today. I had already showered and done my makeup, so I was just about ready to leave, aside from the fact I hadn't found an outfit yet.

Eventually, though, I managed to find a pair of denim jeans and tugged them on, grabbing a simple white crop top with short sleeves to slip on over my head. I eased my feet into a pair of white nikes and grabbed my bag, slinging it over my shoulder as I spritzed on a bit of perfume lastly.

I left my room and headed down the hall with a pep in my step, pleasantly surprised to see that Atlas was actually already waiting for me in the living room, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He had a frown on his face, so I was pretty sure he was still unhappy with having to do this. Still, I just smiled at him, grabbing my keys from where I always left them beside the front door. "Good morning." I chirped, earning a dry look from him in response. "Ready to go?" I asked without acknowledging his obvious displeasure.

Atlas gave a reluctant nod of his head and we left the apartment, heading out to my car together. It was upon arrival to my car that I looked up at Atlas, suddenly realizing something. "Ah..." I stammered and glanced back and forth between Atlas' large frame and my small car. "You can fit in there, right?" I worried, furrowing my brows.

He looked at my car for a moment and then met my gaze, cocking up an eyebrow. "Let's just go, smalls." He sighed, swinging open the passenger's side door. I nodded, opening my door before I slipped into the car.

With one glance over at Atlas as I was putting on my seatbelt, I couldn't help but to giggle at the sight of him. He looked incredibly out of place in my car, his large frame dwarfing my already small car. I had a Volkswagen Beetle, which I had saved up to buy myself when I was twenty, so Atlas was visibly too large for the vehicle.

Noticing my giggling, he looked over at me and scowled, not finding it nearly as funny as I did. I couldn't help but to laugh more, trying futilely to hide it by placing a hand in front of my mouth as if that'd make it less obvious how amusing I found the situation. "I'm sorry." I said with a laugh once I managed to calm down, still grinning as I stuck the key into the ignition. He rolled his eyes and stared at the side of my head. "The hell is so funny?" He grunted, scowling the slightest bit. To my surprise, he didn't actually seem as angry with me as I thought he would be, considering the circumstances.

All I could do was grin and shrug my shoulders, pulling out onto the street. "You look like a giant in my car." I answered honestly, making sure to keep my eyes on the road. He merely hummed in acknowledgment, turning his head to look out the window at the passing buildings and other vehicles. The conversation came to a halt as I continued driving, deciding not to tease him.

"Hey," Atlas said suddenly as we began nearing Diya's. "What exactly am I expected to do for volunteering here?" He asked with great reluctance, still refusing to look my way.

I pulled into the parking lot and came to a stop in my usual parking spot, glancing over at him. "Nothing too bad, honestly." I assured him, pulling the key from the ignition. "In the mornings I have to clean the back room that they sleep in because some of them have accidents, getting them food and water, stuff like that. Most of the dogs are still pretty young, so they play together a lot." I explained, grabbing my purse before the two of us got out of my car.

We headed inside and I let him enter first, quickly slipping in after him to shut the door before any of the dogs could get past. Atlas stood awkwardly beside me as the dogs came stampeding towards us, as they do every morning. I grinned, crouching down low as they licked at my arms, hands, even my pants. "Hi, cuties." I greeted them, the softening of my voice like second nature around animals.

As Atlas was just standing by me while the dogs were occasionally sniffing him, trying to familiarize with his scent, I tilted my head back and peered up at him. I laughed when I saw the uncertain look he was casting at the dogs, secretly finding it a little cute. "Here, sit a little. They just want to get to know you." I told him, waving my hand in a 'come here' motion. Though he hesitated, he eventually lowered himself to his knees, his arm brushing against mine from our proximity.

The small dogs began sniffing him first and I smiled, able to tell he was a little bit wary yet they seemed to like him. I gave them a few more pats before I stood up, causing Atlas to flick his gaze up to me. "Where are you going?" He asked quickly, almost panicked, if I didn't know better.

Raising an eyebrow, I gestured in the direction of the back room. "I've got to go clean up any accidents, refill their food and water. You can stay here, get a little familiar with them and then I'll properly introduce you to them." I explained, watching as he pursed his lips. Still, he stayed there while I went to clean by myself.

It only took me about twenty minutes before I was finished both cleaning and refilling their bowls, but I was still a little surprised to find that Atlas was exactly as I had left him. He was now sitting instead of on his knees, but remained in the same spot, still surrounded by the dogs. I noticed that Buddy, in particular, kept trying to lick his face. A laugh threatened to bubble out of my throat as I approached, watching him cringe away from Buddy's tongue.

"That's Buddy." I said, the sound of my voice catching Buddy's attention. Atlas was forgotten about as he ran over to me, excitedly bounding my legs in circles.

"He usually doesn't take to strangers so well. It took like, two weeks before he liked me." I told him, perhaps a little bit jealous that Buddy had taken to him so quickly. Yet somehow the two of them were very alike in their looks. Buddy was huge, just like Atlas, and intimidating at first glance, also just like Atlas.

With a tiny dog licking at his arm while many of the others were still sniffing him, Atlas peeked up at me with a slight frown. "He licked me." Atlas grunted as he stood to his feet. My eyes widened when he lifted the bottom of his shirt to wipe the drool off his face, completely exposing his muscular abdomen and the tattoos there. I flushed and stared for a second, stunned by how built he was, before I quickly looked away.

"Um," I cleared my throat when he finally dropped his shirt back into place, clearly not caring that he had just flashed me his abs. "You could've used a tissue." I pointed to the front desk.

Atlas just shrugged. "And I didn't." He said flatly, running a hand through his styled hair, which he had slicked back much like it was on the day I first met him. If I was being honest, I preferred his hair in its natural state. It looked good on him, but he still looked more than handsome like this, too.

"Right." I nodded, hoping I wasn't still blushing. "Um, since you've clearly met Buddy already, I'll give you the rundown on the other pups too." I said, and began to quickly run him through the names of each dog. By the time I was done, he looked about ready to die of boredom, causing me to frown. "Do you not like dogs?" I asked, peering up at him with furrowed eyebrows.

He looked down at the dogs around his feet, jumping at his calves. "Never said that." He mumbled, but he didn't argue against it either. I assumed that meant he wasn't up for conversation and let it go.

"Who's this, Li?" Jonah asked from where he was posted behind the front desk, curiously eyeing Atlas. My mouth parted with the realization that I had forgotten to introduce the two men. "Ah, this is one of my roommates, Atlas. He'll be volunteering here for a while." I told Jonah, gesturing to the large man beside me. "Atlas, this is Jonah. He usually runs the reception."

While Jonah greeted him with a friendly wave, Atlas just stared at him, making me smile apologetically. "He's just a bit shy, doesn't take well to new people." I excused, causing Jonah to smile in amusement. "I see. That's fine, then." He nodded in acceptance, going back to his phone.

Smiling now, I looked around me at the dogs. "Who wants to go outside?" I asked, which caused the animals to begin excitedly jumping around one another, a few almost crushing each other. I grinned and headed to the side door, opening it for them. If it wasn't for the fact that bugs exist, I would have left the door open so they could come and go as they pleased, but I couldn't. Bugs were not my thing.

While they were outside, I turned towards Atlas and smiled. "Come on, I'll give you a quick tour." I said, beginning to show him around the building with him quietly following. I wasn't sure if he was actively listening, but I assumed he must've been.

A small smile tugged at my lips as he and I exited their kennel room. "Trust me," I began with a grin. "I think you'll come to like this place more than you expect." I assured, utterly positive. As always, Atlas didn't look like he agreed.

But I noticed the way he seemed to grow more relaxed as the day went by, and that made me even more sure.