Joe fussed over Princess. He couldn’t for the life of him understand what on earth had come over her. Christ, she had appeared to be spitting mad for no apparent reason. Joe put her down inside the house and quickly closed the door, not wanting any further skirmishes. As it was, he was going to have to offer at least to pay for the vet’s bill. Heaving a sigh, he collapsed into the kitchen chair.
Staring down at Princess, “What on earth was that all about, hey?” Joe opened his arms as she jumped into his lap, her head pushing under his hand. Silky fur vibrated as he stroked her little back. “You can’t just go around attacking other animals; it’s naughty.” Joe hid his chuckle when she burrowed into his stomach, burying her head under his arm. Hell, she almost looked contrite, rolling his eyes at the thought.
The sound of the slamming door had him sitting up straighter. Figuring that Stuart’s non-existent tolerance for Princess was about to cause a massive fight between them. He braced himself for what was coming.
Joe’s mouth hung open incredulously, he stared up at Stuart convinced his face was as bemused as Princess’s was. Watching Stuart stroll nonchalantly into the kitchen, giving Princess a quick pet. His smile stretched wide across his face, his charcoal eyes beamed with satisfaction. “You go, Princess, kick his big fat ugly ass,” his pride evident in every word.
What the heck?
“What?” Stuart shrugged, walking away and whistling as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
Joe stared down at Princess with a bemused expression. “Oh well, that went better than expected.” His deep musical lilt giving away his amusement, Joe settled Princess on her cushion. “I better go face the music, wish me well, and if I don’t see you again, it was a pleasure knowing you.” His dramatic words got a loud purr in response.
Joe’s nervous giggle did nothing to settle his uneasiness as he headed for the front door. He was going to shout to let Stuart know where he was going, thinking it was probably pointless when he heard the shower switch on. Shrugging, he was sure Stuart would know where he had gone anyway.
Heading out the door, Joe berated himself for being a crappy friend, abandoning Max and Aaden straight after their arrival, even if it had been to remove Princess. Heaving a sigh when he couldn’t figure out what Princess’s problem was. Brad plainly would have told him if she had a habit of striking other cats?
He knocked on Miss Stevens’s old front door. He was appreciative of the fact she’d left the island. As far as he was concerned, it meant one less homophobic asshole to deal with, and he’d dealt with a few over the years.
Taking his time to examine the house, having ignored it after all he’d heard about the owner. Letting his gaze wonder, he could see it probably suited the evil witch. It was the smallest of the five. Painted a drab grey, it sat back slightly, not directly overlooking any of the other four homes. Darkened windows were covered with dreary brown curtains. Peering closer he cringed, realising the colour looked like actual shit.
The air of disuse seemed to create an almost sinister feel to the place, feeling slightly alarmed by the clenching in his gut, he pulled back afraid to touch the place.
The wind picked up, causing a chill to seep through his hole-ridden woolly jumper. Shivering, Joe looked up at the darkening sky. The winter, he suspected, would be here sooner than expected if the naked trees were any indication. The late Indian summer well and truly gone, October it appeared, was racing them quickly into winter. Wondering if he had time to go back and grab a jacket, the door opened.
Joe quickly pushed inside to get out of the wind. “Take your time, man. It’s bloody freezing out there, and cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.”
Taking in Aaden’s stony expression had him thinking that he maybe should have gone with an apology first. Joe shifted from foot to foot in the hallway, deciding to jump right in and get the apology over and done with.
“I’m sorry, man. I had no idea that Princess would go off like that. Brad never said she would attack other cats. Is Max alright?” His nerves had his voice sounding squeaky. The silence stretched as Aaden glowered down at him.
“He is fine, though he is now sulking in the back garden. I can’t get him to come in.”
Joe felt Aaden’s frustration roll off him as he moved. “Though, I can’t say I blame him, Joe, this place feels and smells of pure evil.”
Joe’s eyes jumped to Aaden’s face, was he serious? Could you feel and smell evil? There were times he had just narrowly missed Joel catching him, but somehow his body had told him something was off. Just as it had outside this house before he’d entered, but he was doubtful that he would personally be able to smell or really feel evil in there.
Joe gazed about, though he had to say the décor, on the other hand, could be classed as criminal to the eyes. The shit brown curtains were the best thing about the décor. The amount of dark flocked wallpaper made him shudder. It appeared to be everywhere. Well, that and the dark, ugly mahogany furniture which was causing him to feel a real case depression. He’d bet the rest of the place wasn’t much better.
Joe shuddered in distress at his friend having to stay there. It only got worse as they moved through to the dismal kitchen, fuck it looked like it belonged in the 1950’s. In fact, Joe doubted it had changed since the house had been built. The dark laminated cupboards, even though yellow, were not in the slightest bit sunny. The yellow appeared dull and lifeless. The fridge, cooker, and washing machine not much better, the stainless steel looked grey and lacklustre. The shit brown theme continued with yet more hideous brown curtains blocking out the light.
Joe gave Aaden a severe look. “How much can you do with the place within the terms of your lease? Because, Aaden, my man, this place needs a serious overhaul. Never mind your creepy evil vibes. The colour scheme is enough to give anyone the willies. For fuck sake, who would have shit brown as a colour theme?”
Aaden’s booming laughter filled the kitchen, “don’t hold back there, will you; give me your honest opinion.”
Joe cast him a sheepish look, he may have been a little harsh, but hey, shit brown was shit brown. The loud meow that rumbled next to his leg had him jumping in surprise. Where the hell had Max come from? For such a massive white cat he certainly moved silently. Joe supposed it was something natural, the need to be silent to catch their prey.
Stroking in between his shoulder blades knowing that was the spot Max loved the most. Over the years he’d gotten to know Aaden, he had been surprised when he’d visited his home to find Aaden was a cat lover. Not sure why he found it odd, but Joe just couldn’t see Aaden with a cat, a big ass dog yes, but not big fat fluffy Manx cat, nope. He again wondered how Max got so big, hell he was three times bigger than Princess and much larger than most other cats, he’d seen for that matter.
Without thought, Joe spoke what was on his mind. “What the hell do you feed him, man? Hell, if he gets any bigger you’ll need a dog flap never mind a cat flap.” The words barely out his mouth, the loud snarl had him yanking back his hand. Max’s bicoloured eyes held him captive; the meaning conveyed clear, stop before it was too late.
“Max is very sensitive about his size, so you may not want to mention it again, especially if you value your hands.” Aaden chuckled at the distinct look of a rabbit caught in the headlights Joe had when he tucked his hands into his jeans, out of harm’s way.
Aaden looked down at Max, pleased he looked none the worse for wear after his tussle with Princess. “It looks like your offer is redundant, Max seems fine now, aren’t you, baby?” Aaden bent down checking him over, just to make sure. His silky white fur glowed like a beacon in the dismal coloured room.
“You’re okay aren’t you, boy, it would take more than one tiny little pussycat to hurt my big bad boy, hey.” His chuckle was met with a disdainful glare as Max flounced away.
Aaden turned to the insistent knocking that filled the house, hiding a grin at Joe’s mournful sigh.
Joe would have taken bets on who was at the other side of the door, even before Aaden had opened it and let Stuart past with an unrepentant Princess at his heels. Joe rushed forward to stop them both from coming in any further.
“No, no way, Princess and you need to get on back home. I can’t be doing with any more fighting today.” Sounding prissy to his own ears only pissed Joe off further, cringing he continued moving forward. Too scared of another fight to worry about how he looked or sounded.
Their smug joint looks had him bending, picking up Princess before pushing Stuart back to the front door. “Come on, you pair. Before you both get me into more hot water, and I can’t afford to lose a hand, or anything else for that matter, if we get on the wrong side of Max.” Joe gave an apologetic wave to Aaden as he pushed Stuart towards the door.
“Give me a holler if you need a pair of hands. You are most definitely going to need help getting rid of the shit in here. I’ll be over in the morning once you’re settled, well if that’s at all possible to do that in here.” Casting another quick glance around, hoping it would improve with another look. He walked to the door, unable to stop the jolt of disgust.
It always amazed him what people could live with. He counted himself lucky that Stuart had such good taste. Stuart’s style reflected beautiful warmth that was welcoming, whereas this place was the exact opposite, the antichrist. Shuddering as a feeling of unease skimmed up his spine, looking around the cul-de-sac unsure what it was. He shook of the uneasy feeling the house was giving him. Joe hurriedly stepped away, glad not to be inside any longer.
Joe waved once more when Aaden acknowledged his offer, lugging Princess in his arms and pulling Stuart behind him. He didn’t have to see the self-satisfied smile to know he’d brought Princess over with the primary aim to get him away from Aaden. The jealousy should have him wanting to punch Stuart’s lights out, yet secretly he couldn’t help feeling a little smug Stuart had chased after him. Not wanting to think too hard about that after all his issues with Joel, he pretended to be angry instead.
Dropping Princess as they entered Stuart’s home, he gave them both a hard stare. “You should know better than to antagonise someone who is bigger than you; Max could hurt you.” Princess’s upturned nose pushed him to breaking point. Watching her waltz out of the room with an ‘as if’ look.
Joe turned his angry glare at the stupid fool grinning at him. Pointing, “If Max had hurt her, it would have been on your head. That was an idiotic thing to do because Brad and Martin would have had your guts for garters and I would have gladly held Martin’s jacket while he kicked your ass.”
Stuart’s shoulders rounded, immediately making Joe pleased to have got his point across. Dusting his hands together before striding off in search of something to eat when he realised he’d not eaten anything since lunchtime, and he was starving.
Settling on the sofa, Joe was pleased that the evening had turned out better than he’d expected after the initial issues. Perplexed he watched Stuart with Princess, it seemed they had reached a silent agreement now that they had a common enemy. But for the life of him, he just didn’t get what Princess’s or Stuart’s problem was with Max and Aaden respectively.
Max being a Manx cat should have at least created a little solidarity between them, surely?
He supposed Stuart’s apparent jealousy of Aaden had something to do with his obvious attractiveness. That he was definitely worth a second look, standing six foot six, rocking hard body made for wet dreams, topped off with beautiful multi-tonal shoulder length flowing locks. A face that spoke of deep sorrow and something almost untouchable that insisted you take a second look so you could lose yourself in those coal black eyes.
The thing was, he wasn’t even sure if he could explain to Stuart that though he found Aaden attractive, he had lost his soul to a stranger on a street corner years earlier. Sad charcoal eyes had haunted his dreams for more years than he could say, taking away any chance he had off keeping any relationship alive. Those eyes had called to him, and in part, he wondered if that was why Joel had appealed to him because of his hair and eye colouring matched his dream man?
Said dream man currently was stretched out with his e-reader absently stroking Princess as she stretched out on his legs. A feeling of warmth settled in his chest, spreading his serenity at finding something he’d never realised he’d lost on that street corner in London.
Giving an internal sigh he shook of the past Stuart hadn’t mentioned. He wondered instead what the hell was he going to do with the pair of them?
Joe sank into the big cushions of the deep forest green sofa feeling the pillows surround him. He considered the house across the road, comparing it to what he now felt was home. This place just felt right, like it was meant to be his. The muted blues, claret, and deep greens were used as the colour palette throughout the house, showing Stuart’s masculine taste. Though some of the shades were dark, the rooms still glowed with cosy warmth.
The claret walls complimented the forest green sofa and snuggler. The matching chunky handmade oak furniture gleamed under the flickering firelight. Brass lamps were strategically placed to allow light to fill the corners of the room.
Joe wiggled his ass, stretching out against the big stuffed pillows. His head rested back, the fire catching his eye. Flames danced creating rainbows of colour, the deep blue turning a violent red as the wood ignited. Feeling its heat seep into his body, a feeling of safety he hadn’t considered feeling again cocooned him. Stuart’s home, no it was their home, he felt that deep inside, this was theirs now.
The idea grew as he looked up from under his lashes at the man that was changing his world. His heart clutched in his chest as hooded charcoal grey eyes gleamed at him from across the room. Breathlessly he watched the smile slide slowly across Stuart’s beautiful mouth, growing in intensity as his stare never wavered.
Propelled off the sofa by need, Joe bent forward until his lips gently pressed against Stuart’s. Not looking for more than letting him know how happy he was, he kept the kiss light. Floating inside the kiss his knees weakened, Joe’s moan was captured in Stuart’s mouth as he encouraged Joe to deepen the kiss.
Joe deepened the kiss, the gentleness coating it in a beautiful dreamy glow that gently built their passion. Pulling back, feeling overwhelmed by the beauty of the kiss, cupping Stuart’s face, words flooded his mind, wanting to be unleashed. Love, God he loved him so much it hurt to look at his dreamy face.
Joe stepped back, insides quaking at his emotions. Not yet, no, he wasn’t ready, but God he wanted to be. Joel was out there somewhere, and though he’d not made his presence known, Joe knew it was coming as sure as day would turn to night, and the last thing he wanted was for Stuart to get caught up in his shit.
His unsettling thoughts had him returning to the sofa and sitting back down. He ignored the concerned look Stuart cast his way. Joe picked up his own e-reader, pretending to read. Worrying his lip, Stuart’s taste lingering on his lips. The unique flavour had him craving more, more of everything. Joe was adamant he’d have it, but not before the issues with Joel had been sorted, he needed to protect Stuart from his shit. Whether he agreed or not.
Concentrating on Aaden, he realised he hadn’t mentioned anything about Joel. Rubbing his arms, Joe pulled his legs in and hugged them close. He knew Aaden was going to want to talk about it, but that he would need to happen when Stuart wasn’t around. Stuart still didn’t understand all that had gone on, and as far as Joe was concerned, he’d never get to see how evil Joel was.
Pondering how he was going to speak to Aaden without Stuart present, Stuart hadn’t mentioned any weekend plans. Sucking on his lip again Joe realised he had the perfect ruse. Aaden was going to need a lot of help to sort out that house, he’d already offered so it wouldn’t look suspicious. It was going to take a great deal of hard work getting rid of the décor alone. Joe grimaced at the thought of what the rooms he’d not seen looked like.
Glancing back at Stuart and Princess, those two were just going to have to get over themselves when it came to Aaden and Max. They were his friends and he wouldn’t be dictated to by a cat or a man.
Stretching against Stuart’s legs, they may have got off to a rocky start, but it would appear they now had a common goal, hating their neighbours.
Princess knew she was going to have her work cut out for her trying to avoid the monster across the road and keep an eye on Joe in Stuart’s absence. Well, she had to make sure he was safe even if that meant putting herself in Max’s path.
Settling back against Stuart, it was a hard job, but somebody had to do it.
If her body quivered, or radiated with excitement at the thought of Max’s large body pressed against hers, it was nobody’s business but her own.
God, it has been so long since I’ve come into contact with a male cat, especially one that smells so inordinately good. For whatever reason she couldn’t fathom, he got her juices flowing.
The chuckles that shimmied over her senses had her burying her head. Nope, not listening, mother, her mother could take her humour and shove it where the sun didn’t shine.
Observing Joe with hooded eyes, Princess could see the look of determination cross his face as his thoughts flooded her mind. Grumping, she lamented her situation. Life could suck at times, but she wasn’t going to be defeated that easily.