I hum, "Mm?"

Jericho whines some more, his paws scratching at my legs gently.

"Yap?"

Placing the knife down onto the cutting board I look down at my poor boy, "Whats up buttercup?" His whines continue, "You're the most impatient dog ever, you know that right?"

I cut off some of the turkey meat I've been cutting up and throw it away from the kitchen, Jericho instantly dashing for it.

*Ding*

Noah - Where would you like to meet up?

Jaime - At the park, I thought I would bring my dog along if that's ok?

Noah - Of course

Noah and I decided on meeting up, I don't know if I would classify it as a date, especially with Jericho involved. But I didn't want to go on my own, I don't know this person, he could be bad news for all I know, he might have been nice at the florist but that could be a front.

And if I'm being honest I'm terrified to go anywhere without Jericho right now, What if she comes back?

What if this Noah guy tries anything?

I might just be paranoid but I don't want to see her again, ever. I don't want to feel that hopeless, that abused.

I need Jericho. He is my shield, protective layer and my comfort zone. My best friend.

To keep things safe I insisted on a picnic in a public area, hopefully Jericho doesn't scare everyone away. The agreement is that I make the sandwiches and a few snacks while he provides the drinks and some snacks also.

I closed the shop early for this, so lets hope that its worth it and that mother dearest doesn't find out.

For the sandwiches I'm making my personal favorite, shredded chicken, feta, cream cheese with salad in a Turkish roll. I make two and just in case he doesn't like it I make two more with 3 types of meat. For a snack I pack some small bluebird green onion chips.

And of course I didn't forget Jericho, I cooked some brown rice this morning that I'll mix with shredded turkey and some mixed veggies. I make sure to use a mix that has no corn in it, Jericho's allergic.

*Ding*

Noah - See you in an hour?

Jaime - Sounds good

I should probably change out of my work clothes.

I have a shower and wash my hair with my mums homemade batch, the smell of lavender filling the air. I air dry my hair then moisturize. I change into a grey knitted turtle neck, blue skinny jeans and my knee high winter boots. I leave my hair out to show my natural waves, and apply a small amount of makeup.

Packing the food into a small chilly bin and it load into my Toyota Prado. Also pack two bowls for Jericho,a ball and a blanket. Jericho hops into the back, where I've laid tarp and blankets down so that he doesn't get his hair everywhere.

The park isn't far, we could have easily walked, I just didn't want to carry the chilly bin around everywhere.

I make sure to clip a leash onto Jericho before I let him out of the car, last thing I need is for Jericho to terrorize the village. I don't see Noah yet so put my stuff down near a tree.

I'm about to start throwing the ball around as I wait when I get a tap on my should from behind, causing me to jump a mile, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you" He sheepishly says.

If we were close I would be slapping him silly, but I refrain from doing so, that probably wouldn't go down well, I go with sighing softly and regain my composure.

"Hi to you too"

He grins cheekily, today Noah is sporting the same large fluffy green jacket from the florist and yet another tshirt that needs to be a size bigger and some jeans.

"This must be your dog?" he gestures to Jericho.

I look at Jericho, who is looking at Noah warily, "Yes, this is Jericho"

"What kind of breed is he?" He asks as he kneels down to Jericho's level, he slowly puts his hand out, making sure to hide his fingers encase Jericho doesn't fancy him. In return Jericho very slowly reaches out a sniffs his hand.

Satisfied he sits back on his hunches and pays Noah no mind.

"He's a Tibetan Mastiff"

Noah stands back up to his full height, towering over me, "Really they are a very expensive dog"

"Yeah I heard about the Chinese man who brought his for over a million" I go on to tell Noah on how I found Jericho 3 years ago.

Needless to say to awkward personality is gone to one of undying rage, he was definitely scary in those few moments, "Humans can be some cruel creatures" I can't help but agree.

Noah looks at me for a pregnant moment, as if expecting some kind of answer or reaction, "Whats wrong?" he sighs softly and shakes his head.

"Nothing, I'm just wishing I came to New Zealand sooner who would have thought such a beauty would be hidden here"

Instantly I feel hot and I can guarantee my face looks reder then a tomato.

Noah's awkwardness very quickly fades through out the day as we talk, he turns out to be quite snarky and has more confidence then I thought, turns out I'm more awkward then he is. I guess he just isn't use to meeting up with other girls.

"Feeling Hungry?" I call out, instantly Jericho abandons his game of fetch with Noah to sit impatiently for food. He whines and carries on causing Noah and I to both laugh.

"I made some sandwiches and packed some chips to go with it, I wasn't sure if you would like my kind of sandwich so to be safe I packed a meat filled sandwich" I start to unpack some of the sandwiches and hand one of each to Noah for him to inspect.

"I'm not a fussy eater, I'm sure I'll like anything you make"

I put Jericho's turkey rice into his bowl with some water in his other one, He is into it before I even put it to the ground, "He seems hungry" Noah remarks amused.

"It's because it has turkey in it, it's his favorite food"

I pat Jericho's head affectionately, Noah digs into the bag he brought, "I've heard a lot about this L&P so I got some bottles and I packed a fruit salad with some granola bars"

I smile and graciously take a bottle.

Noah digs into my chicken specialty, his reaction closed off, he looks to me and smiles, "This is quite good, I haven't had feta before, its interesting" he takes another bite and smiles to himself, I blush slightly and mumble thank you.

Now that I have a moment to study him better, I noticed that he has an African accent, it's not as strong as it might have been once. And he has the most extraordinary eyes, a dark brown but with swirls of a light hazel that make his eyes almost glow.

"So what brings you here to little old NZ?"

He finishes off his bite and smiles, "I'm a travel agent for some American agencies, I'm current looking for some of New Zealand's hidden gems"

"That's so cool, that would be an amazing job, traveling the world, Sorry this neck of the woods isn't too special"

"Oh no, this part I think is quite great, it shows the beauty of nature that's very unique to New Zealand and of course the wildlife-"

He rambles on for a while and I can't help but be captivated, its interesting how passionate he is in his work and the beauties of the world, if he told me to go the somewhere I think I might just go.

He grins constantly causing me to grin with him. We eat our food and happily ask questions and find out who each other are. Its nice.

Yes, I'll be seeing this man again.