Chapter Thirty-One
Trent
When Declan left for work this morning, I couldn’t believe how much I’d missed him only ten seconds after he was out the door. He’d slept over again last night, but we both had to work today, and we weren’t sure if we’d see each other later or not since he had to catch up with work after our impromptu staycation day.
On my way through the door of the studio, I called my brother and left yet another voicemail. The jerk hadn’t responded back since he sent those two stupid texts. There wasn’t anything I could do about it, either.
Since I was such an ass when Dec and I first started hanging out, I decided to get right to it and headed into Levi’s office as soon as I walked into the studio. Levi was already there, sitting at his desk and he looked up when I walked in. “What’s up?”
“Declan and I are dating,” I blurted before I even said hello.
Levi lifted one, perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “Thanks for the announcement?” He said it like a question.
I took a deep breath. “I wanted to tell you so you’d know, and it was out of the way. Are you gonna be weird about it?”
His eyebrow stayed up. “I’m not the one that came in here screaming about my relationship status.”
I sighed and shrugged. “I thought you’d be weirded out.”
Levi leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair as he let out a deep breath. “Okay, I won’t lie and tell you that it’s not a little weird to see you with him.” I frowned, but he held up his hand to stop me from commenting. “But it’s not because I still have feelings for him. Yes, I’ll always care about him, just not in the way you’re thinking. I love Andy, he’s the love of my life. Declan is someone I cared about for a long time, and I hope he finds happiness. If that means he’s with you, then good. I want you to be happy, too.” He shrugged. “That’s what matters. We’ll all get used to it after a while, anyway, right?”
I puffed out my cheeks and let everything he said sink in before I opened my mouth. “Okay, I get it. Just… if you feel weird or something when we’re out or whatever, will you tell me so we can figure it out?”
“Trent, it’s going to be fine, I promise.”
“You’ll tell me, though, right?”
“Sure.”
I nodded.
Levi suddenly smirked at me. “So, you and Declan, huh? Did you actually get him to agree to go on a date?”
“Yeah, we went out on Saturday. And, um, he came over Sunday night after I got home… and he didn’t leave until this morning.”
Levi’s eyebrows shot up, but he was smiling. “Wow. That’s…” He trailed off, then shrugged with a small smile. “You look happy.”
“I am,” I said honestly. I was happier than I’d been in a long time. Even after Evan left, Declan made me feel like I mattered to someone, like he cared about me, even if my own brother didn’t.
“You know that if something goes wrong I have your back, right? You can talk to me, even if it’s Declan stuff.”
“I know, Levi. Thanks.”
He reached across the desk and patted my hand before I got up and headed to the break room where I ran into Andy. Andy crossed his arms over his chest and eyed me before he said, “I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but I walked past the office and overheard.”
“Uh, okay?”
“If he hurts you, I’ll kick his ass.”
I eyed him. He was only an inch taller than me and was lean, but pretty muscular from swimming laps every morning. I didn’t think he could kick Declan’s ass, but I really didn’t know, and if the two of them got into a fight, they’d both end up hurt. Not that either of them would really do that, but still. I frowned. “I don’t need you to, but, uh, thanks.” I knew he meant well, and honestly, it was kinda sweet that he wanted to protect me.
He nodded and walked past me, patting my shoulder on his way and making me smile.
As I threw my jacket, wallet, and keys in my little locker, I pulled out my phone and typed out a text.
Me: I told Levi and you officially have a threat from Andy. You better watch yourself!
I sent an emoji with its tongue sticking out. Dec replied right away.
Cupcake: I could take him.
I snorted and typed back.
Me: Sure you can. Have a good day, BABE!
I stuffed my phone in my back pocket and went to the front desk to look at our appointment book, checking out the rest of the week. When I saw what was on my schedule for Thursday, I groaned.
Levi must’ve heard me from his office, because he yelled, “It’s your turn!”
“I hate you,” I yelled back.
“Love you too,” he called out.
I groaned again. I hated having to go to schools and do the portraits. We didn’t do them very often since most public schools used the same big-named place. But there were a couple private schools that hired us. It looked like I was going on location on Thursday with Jax.
My phone beeped with an incoming text, so I checked it.
Cupcake: Thanks, babe. You too.
I smiled at that and put my phone away as a customer walked in the front door.
***
The next day, when I was walking into my apartment, Declan called my cell, so I answered, “Hello?”
“Hey, um, you’re off work right now, right?” Declan asked, sounding flustered.
“Yeah, why? You okay?” I set my keys on my table.
“Um… I found a cat. Well, not just a cat, but Mrs. Henderson’s cat. And uh, my other neighbor said that Mrs. Henderson passed away.”
I froze midway through taking my shoes off. “Oh no, I’m so sorry, Dec. You want me to come over?” I knew he hadn’t been particularly close to Mrs. Henderson, but I also knew that they’d been neighbors for a long time, and he had to be upset about it.
“Actually, you think you could come with me to the vet?”
I wrinkled my nose. “I don’t understand. What are you… why do you need to go to the vet?”
“Her cat was in the hallway again, and when I scooped him up to give him back to her like I always do, Ms. Joan opened her door and told me about Mrs. Henderson. She said that Mrs. Henderson didn’t have any family at all so the apartment owners came to pack her stuff up and sent it all off to be donated or something. They must’ve missed the cat. And… she said that I could take him to the shelter, but I don’t think I can do it. What if they put him to sleep?”
After processing what he was saying, I nodded to myself and started slipping my shoes back on all the way. “So you’re keeping the cat because there’s no one to take him?”
“Um, maybe? I want to at least take him to the vet to make sure he’s okay. He seems pretty terrified and I don’t know anything about animals. Kade’s not home because he has his lab class tonight, and I was wondering if… maybe you could come with me?”
“Yeah, of course. I’m heading out to my car now.” I grabbed my keys and walked back out, locking up behind me. “Do you want me to grab anything on my way?”
“I don’t think so. I called Brycen already to see if I could bring the little guy in to him, so he’s waiting for me.” Brycen was Levi and Caleb’s younger brother. I’d forgotten that he was a veterinarian.
“Oh, good idea.” I hopped in my car and started it. “I’ll be there in a couple minutes, okay. Want me to just call you so you can jump in my car and we can go?”
“You don’t mind driving?”
“Nope. I’ll call you in a couple minutes, Cupcake.”
“Thanks, Trent.”
“Anytime.” I hung up and made the short drive over to Declan’s apartment, then called him when I was outside. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw Dec come out with the cat wrapped in a blanket. When he sat in the car, I held out my hand, palm down, for the cat to sniff as I said, “Hi, little guy. Do you have a name?”
“I can’t remember,” Declan said. “I’ve helped catch this damn cat a million times, and I still can’t remember his name. He’s the one that’s always escaping and running around the building.”
“Mmhmm, I’ve caught him a couple times, too.”
“Yeah, I think everyone that lives in the building has.”
“Well, we should name him something, at least for now.”
“You think?”
“Did you plan on calling him ‘cat’ for the rest of his life?” I smiled at him when he rolled his eyes, then I grabbed his chin and gently turned him to me. “Hi.”
He smiled. “Hi.” Then he leaned in and placed a sweet kiss on my lips. “Thanks for coming with me.”
“You know I would’ve been upset if I missed it. I love adventures.” He smiled as I backed out of the parking spot and I asked, “You know where we’re going, right?”
“Yeah, it’s not far. Go right out of the parking lot, then take Bayyard Street down to Millard Avenue and make a left.”
“Got it.” I drove out of the parking lot, following his directions. “So about that name. What kind of name do you want?”
“If I name him, does that mean I have to keep him?”
I glanced at him for a second before refocusing on the road. “Babe, I’m pretty sure you already decided to keep him. You’re freaking out over him already.”
“I’m not freaking out.”
“Okay, not freaking out, but you’re obviously concerned.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m keeping him.”
“Then why aren’t we going straight to the shelter to drop him off?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Declan hug the cat to his chest at the mention of the shelter and I bit back a smile. He blew out a breath. “Okay, fine. I want to keep him.”
“Then he needs a name.”
“Okay… like what?”
I laughed. “I dunno. What kind of name do you want? Like a person name like Tom or Bob, or do you want something like Fluffball or something?”
“I don’t know, but none of those sound right.”
“Okay.” I tried thinking about names for a grey, white, and black very fluffy cat. “What about Furface?”
“Pass.”
“Chilly?”
“Nah.”
“Tiger?”
“He does have some stripes on his back, but I don’t think that fits, either.”
“It’s a boy, right?”
“Yes. What about… Jack?”
I peered at the cat. “You really want to name him Jack?”
“I don’t know! It’s the first name I could think of.” After a few seconds, he said, “Monster?”
I laughed at that. “That’s kinda cute.”
“Eh, it’s okay. Let’s keep thinking.”
“Grey Leaf?” I randomly said.
“No. Scardy Cat.”
I laughed. “Oh my god, don’t name him that. He’ll be doomed.”
He laughed a little. “So far, I like Monster the best.”
“It’s cute,” I said with a nod as I made the next turn. “Titus?”
“I like that, too.”
Without looking at him, I smiled and said, “You still like Monster. Go with that, then.”
After a few seconds, he said, “Yeah, okay. Monster, it is.” He bent over and whispered into the cat’s ear, though I could still hear him, “What do you think? Is Monster okay? I’m sorry I can’t remember what Mrs. Henderson named you.”
I smiled to myself as I saw the sign for the veterinarian’s, so I made the turn and parked my car. Declan and I made our way inside and signed in. I held the cat—Monster—in my lap while Dec filled out a million forms, and by the time he was done, a nurse came out to call us back to a room.
Once we were back there, it only took a few minutes for Brycen to come inside. He shook both our hands before he started examining Monster. It always surprised me how much Brycen and Levi looked alike, and even their sister Elyse. Caleb was the only sibling that didn’t look like them, obviously, because he was adopted, not that you could tell by the way they all treated each other. I didn’t even find out that Caleb was adopted until I’d worked with Levi for a couple years. I couldn’t even remember how it came up, but when I’d asked Levi why he’d never told me, he’d said, it didn’t make a difference. That Caleb was just as much his brother as Brycen, so why did it even matter? The thought made me smile.
Brycen was in his element, checking over the cat and giving Declan a shitload of information. In fact, I couldn’t even remember a time when I’d heard the quietest Maher talk this much. He may have looked like Levi—though taller—but he absolutely was not anything like him. Caleb and Levi behaved more similarly than either of them and Brycen.
He said the cat looked healthy, but he still gave him a couple shots since we had no clue if he’d had shots before. Then he even helped us make a list of all the supplies Declan was going to need at home. We were clearly going to need to make a trip to the pet store.
Once we were finally in the car, I said, “Let me drop you and Monster off, and I’ll run to the store to get everything.”
“I can’t make you do that,” Declan said automatically.
“You’re not. I want to help.”
Declan looked at me for a minute before saying, “Well, Brycen said that Monster would probably sleep for the rest of the night from the shots and stress, so why don’t we drop him off, then go to the store together.”
“That’s fine, Cupcake.” I smiled at him and made my way back to his apartment. After we set up the cat there, we drove to the nearest pet store, and I was pretty sure that Declan ended up buying, like, half the store. We went back inside his house and began setting up the litter box and everything. After a bit, I asked, “Did you eat dinner yet?”
Declan froze and stared at me. “Holy shit, you didn’t eat yet?” I shook my head. “I’m so sorry, you should’ve told me. We could’ve gotten something when we were out.”
“We were busy.”
Declan frowned at me. “You gotta take care of yourself, though.”
I grinned. “Dec, it’s fine. It was only one meal. I’ll just raid your fridge right now.”
“I’ll order you a pizza.”
“A whole pizza, just for me?”
“Obviously.”
I laughed and pulled him into me, then wrapped my arms around his neck. “Can I stay the night?”
“You can stay anytime you want.”
I smiled at that and pulled him in to kiss me. He wrapped me in his arms, kissing me back, then nipping along my jaw. “You taste good,” he whispered, “but I need to order you some food.” He pushed me back against the counter. “Stay here for a minute.”
I nodded and released him, then crossed my arms as I waited for him to return to the kitchen. I heard him order a pizza with my favorite toppings—buffalo chicken, hell yeah—and when he came back into the kitchen, he didn’t say anything, he just walked right over to me and kissed me again while fiddling with my pants. He unhooked my jeans, pulled them down, and wordlessly dropped to his knees.
He ran his lips over my lacey underwear and looked up at me. “These are so sexy.”
I ran my hand through his hair and smiled. “Thanks.” Most guys I’d dated in the past thought I was a freak for wanting to wear lacey panties, which I knew was ridiculous, but it had still always hurt my feelings. Of course, I’d never really told anyone about that, and I still wore them because they were for me, not for anyone else. They made me feel good, so anyone that didn’t like them could suck it—or not suck it, actually, but they could totally kiss my ass. The fact that Declan liked them and had never, even once, made me feel bad for liking to wear them, meant more to me than I could possibly tell him.
I cupped his chin and leaned down to kiss him on the lips. He kissed me back while his hands roamed over my ass and cock through my panties, giving me chills. When I groaned loudly into his mouth, Declan gently pushed my chest so I’d stand back up and he peppered kisses along my stomach, lifting my shirt a little. Then he licked my cock through my underwear and gently nipped at it, making me feel like I was going to blow my load before he even pulled my panties down. He teased me mercilessly, licking and nipping, using his lips, teeth, tongue, through my underwear until I was begging.
“Please, Declan, please suck me off before I die.”
He chuckled, his hot breath brushing over my now-wet panties. But thank fucking god, he listened to me and slowly pulled them down, releasing my aching cock and taking it to the back of his throat in one fell swoop.
“Holy mother of god!” I yelled, burying my fingers in his hair and flexing my hips. He reached behind me and pulled on my ass, encouraging me to fuck his mouth, so I did just that. I pumped into him with abandon, and before I fucking knew it, I was exploding in his mouth in a white-hot current of bliss that shot through my entire body over and over and over again.
When my orgasm finally subsided and Dec licked me clean, I leaned against the cabinets behind me, then slid to the floor, landing with my bare ass on the cold tile. I couldn’t manage to care one bit. I felt completely boneless. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, then muttered, “Dude, you are way too good at that.”
He chuckled and sat beside me, leaning against the cabinets.
“I can’t decide if I’m happy that you clearly have a lot of experience because that was the best goddamn blowjob I’ve ever had, or if I’m jealous that you’ve done that so many times.”
He didn’t say anything to that, not that I could blame him because I just made it awkward, but he did put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. I went easily and wrapped my arms around his waist. He kissed my hair and when I finally recovered enough to move, I pulled his pants down, right there on the floor, and showed him my own blowjob skills. He came pretty quickly and after cleaning him up, I ended up climbing back up to rest against his side and hug his waist. We stayed that way until the pizza arrived.
We both ate before we headed to his bedroom where we found the cat on the bed already. We laughed, then squeezed onto one side of the bed while the cat had the other. As much as I wanted to complain, I was actually pretty happy because it meant that I had to cuddle close to Declan. Not that he’d seemed to mind any other time before then, but I cuddled extra close, thanks to Monster.