Work Rules_A Breaking the Rules Novel

by Jacki James

  Alex

  I pulled into Nathan’s place right at eight thirty. I was excited about today and hoped it went well. I was never good at pulling off surprises, but with Linc’s help, I thought this one was going to work.

  We headed straight to the clinic and got that part over. They said twenty-four to forty-eight hours for the results, so I was planning for a pretty spectacular weekend. When we were done there, I casually suggested that we grab some coffee and a snack.

  “I’m always up for coffee, and a snack sounds good, too. I’m totally ravenous for some reason. We could get one of those Danish pastries, or I know!” he exclaimed, eyes wide he continued, “We could get a beignet. Do you know of any place that has them? That sounds so good.”

  “I don’t know of any place that sells beignets in Austin. At least not authentic ones,” I said. “I was thinking maybe we could go back to the cat cafe. It isn’t far, and while they don’t have beignets, they do have pastries.”

  “And they have kittens which is better than beignets. I wonder if Sassy is still there.”

  “Sassy?”

  “Yes, the little black and white kitten from last time we were there. I named her Sassy.” He sighed. “I should’ve brought her home with me. She was so sweet.”

  “Well, maybe she’s still there.”

  “I doubt it. She was special. She was cuter and sweeter than the other kittens. I bet someone took her home.”

  We pulled into the cat cafe parking lot and headed to the food truck. We got coffee and pastries and went inside. Nathan was looking around hoping to find Sassy. I smiled at Terry, the woman behind the counter, and she nodded. She was the one who handled the adoptions, and we had gotten to know each other really well over the last couple weeks.

  “I don’t see her anywhere,” he pouted, looking so sad it made my heart hurt. “I hope she got a good home. Someplace where she can live in the house and get lots of cuddles and treats.”

  “Well, why don’t we ask just in case. She could be in the back.” I steered him toward the counter.

  “Can I help you?” Terry smiled.

  “I don’t know if you remember me from my last visit, but I wanted to see if the little black and white kitten that was here a few weeks ago was still here. She was tiny and really friendly. She was special, and I wanted to see if she’d found a home.”

  Terry reached over and grabbed a stack of cards from the counter. “I remember you and I know just the kitten you mean. You were in here playing with her that day. She’s a special one, isn’t she? And yes, she does have a home.” I watched as Nathan’s face fell. “Let me see here, the man who is adopting her is coming to get her today. He wanted her a few weeks ago when he first played with her, but she wasn’t ready. We don’t adopt them out until they have been spayed or neutered, and she needed a few more weeks to be old enough. He should be here right now as a matter of fact.” Terry was eating this up and playing her part to perfection. “His name is Nathan Davenport.”

  “Wait, what?” He looked back and forth between me and Terry. “Lexi, seriously?” he asked hopefully.

  I nodded yes, and he squealed and launched himself at me. I caught him, wrapping him in one of the bear hugs he loved, and then set him back down. “Oh. My. God.” He fanned himself and his eyes teared up. “How did you do this?”

  Terry spoke up. “Your wonderful boyfriend came in a few days after you guys were here and asked me about our process because he wanted to surprise you. Normally, I’m not on board with the whole surprise someone with a pet idea, but anyone who saw you with her that day could tell you wanted to take her home. He got your roommate to come in and do all the paperwork for your residence, and then we just had to wait until she was ready.”

  He smiled at me like I had moved a mountain for him instead of adopted a cat, and I realized I would give pretty much do anything for him to keep looking at me like that.

  “He is pretty awesome, isn’t he?” He beamed at me.

  “Oh yeah. You did good with that one,” she agreed.

  “Is she ready to go?” he asked, his coffee and pastry completely forgotten.

  “She is, let me go get her.” Terry turned to go.

  “No! Wait,” he said sounding slightly panicked. “I don’t have a carrier or any cat supplies. I don’t know what she eats. I’m not ready to take her home today. It isn’t safe for her to be loose in the car.”

  “Baby,” I said as I put my finger to his lips to quiet him, and his eyes shot to mine. I smiled gently. “I have it all covered. We have a carrier in the trunk along with everything else you need.”

  He sighed in relief. “Of course, you do. I was so excited I forgot who you were for a minute there, Mr. Always Prepared.”

  I laughed shaking my head, “I’ll go get the carrier while Terry gets Sassy.”

  “Oh! You’re naming her Sassy. That is perfect. I’ll run and get her.”

  We spent the next half hour getting reacquainted with Sassy and eating our pastries. Then we headed to Nathan’s. Once we got there, Linc and I spent the next hour setting everything up while Nathan cuddled with Sassy. Until I had gone shopping for her, I’d had no idea cats came with so much stuff. We had a cat tree to assemble, a kitty hammock to put up, and some board with a spring attached. It had a feathery ball on the end for her to chase and bat around. I figured it would last all of a week, but it was worth it to watch Nathan explaining to Sassy how everything worked and how all of it was hers.

  He was so fucking cute it was ridiculous. Lincoln caught me watching him, and he just shook his head and mouthed, “You are totally screwed.” While he laughed, I just nodded and laughed with him because, yeah, he was right.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Nathan

  I felt guilty that my shifts were so long, and I had to leave Sassy home alone for such lengthy periods. She was just a baby after all, but honestly, she didn’t seem to mind. I came home after a long shift on Thursday and found her napping in her kitty hammock. That seemed to be her favorite spot. I had been especially careful to come in quietly hoping to catch her sleeping, so I could get a picture and it worked. I snapped the pic on my camera and texted it off to Alex. I hopped in the shower and put on my most comfy, favorite pajama pants.

  I loved working trauma, but it was much more draining than working the floor had been. I scooped Sassy up out of her hammock and laid down on the couch. We snuggled a bit, and she purred contentedly. Then she turned in circles on my chest, kneading and pushing my skin, and once she was satisfied, she curled up and went back to sleep.

  The man got me a cat. I still couldn’t believe it. I mean, didn’t most guys go with flowers or candy or maybe blow jobs to show their affection? A blow job would’ve been a really nice gift. Sassy let out a little kitten sigh and stretched out. I smiled at her. Okay, maybe a kitten was a better gift than a blow job. I thought about that for a minute. Yeah, the kitten was awesome, and I was pretty sure I could still talk my way into a blow job, so that way I could have both. And both was even better.

  I was still contemplating the merits of both as gifts when Linc came in from work. “Hey.” I asked, “What do you think makes a better gift? A kitten or a blow job?”

  He plopped down in his chair, and being Lincoln, he seriously considered my ridiculous question. “Well, a kitten lasts longer, like fifteen years or so. But blowjobs are pretty amazing. Can’t you have both? Both would be awesome.”

  I laughed. “That’s what I was just thinking! I want both.”

  “Well, if the way that man looks at you is any indication, I’m thinking you’re gonna get your wish.”

  I lifted Sassy up off my chest and sat up. “I think so too.” I smiled. “What about you? I haven’t seen any guys doing the walk of shame out of our apartment in a while. That isn’t like you, Linc. Is everything okay?”

  He looked like he really had to think about the answer. “Yeah,” he nodded. “Everything is fine, actually.”

  I looked at him for
a minute. I’d been so caught up in what was going on with me and Alex that I hadn’t noticed the slight change in Lincoln. He looked… relaxed, peaceful even.

  “Anything you want to tell me about?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. Lincoln was a jokester and always fun. His job was intense, and he liked to play and let off steam, but no one would ever describe him as relaxed. There was only one thing I knew of that had that effect on him, and I hadn’t seen it in a long time.

  “No. Not really. Just know I’m okay and I’m being careful.”

  “Okay, but you call me if you need me. Anytime, you know that.”

  “Nathan, that’s never happening again. Ever,” he said firmly. “But thanks.”

  I could tell he didn’t want to continue this conversion, so I let it go. “So, Alex is taking me on a day trip to see the leaves in the National Forest Sunday.”

  “How’s that going?”

  “Good, I think.”

  “You think? He looks at you like you’re the most important thing in the world, and you’re the happiest I’ve ever seen you. What’s there to think about?”

  “It’s terrifying, Linc. Really, seriously terrifying. I keep waiting for him to decide that I’m too much work. I mean, I’m not stupid, Linc. I know I’m not easy. I’m high maintenance and I keep waiting for him to decide I’m not worth the trouble.”

  “Hold on a minute. You are not high maintenance. Who said you were high maintenance? Never mind, Trevor, right?” He guessed.

  “He made all the decisions at home. Anytime I wanted to do anything, he told me not to be so high maintenance.”

  “You are not high maintenance. High drama? Yes. But high maintenance, no,” he said.

  I picked up the throw pillow and threw it at his head. “Thanks a lot, asshole.”

  “I wish I could throat punch that stupid fucker. He never saw how amazing you were, and that shit he pulled at the hospital in Dallas was inexcusable.”

  “My dad told me that, too,” I said quietly. “He used those same words that day he threw me out. He said it wasn’t any surprise because I’d always been needy and high maintenance like a girl. I thought he was wrong and just being a misogynistic asshole until Trevor said the same thing. He said I was needy, too.”

  “Wanting the guy you’re living with to stop sleeping with other people doesn’t make you needy, Nate.”

  “Yeah, well Trevor thought it did. And I’m so afraid that once Alex gets to know me, he’ll think the same thing. I don’t want him to think I’m more trouble than I’m worth.”

  “Well, here’s a thought for you. Talk to him about this. He’s a good guy, and y’all need to talk about stuff.”

  “We talk about stuff,” I said defensively.

  “Do you?” he raised an eyebrow. “You’ve told him all about Trevor then?”

  “Okay,” I said. “We talk about some stuff. But you’re right. I need to tell him about Trevor. If this is going to work, we don't need to keep secrets.”

  “You do want it to work then?”

  “Yeah, more than anything,” I answered honestly.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Alex

  I wasn’t sure what we were going to do on Saturday. Nathan and I had both received our test results the day before, so I knew for sure that sex was on the agenda. But to be honest, I was a little bit nervous. I’d fooled around with guys and exchanged hand jobs and blow jobs, but I’d never actually had sex with a man. And even though I meant it when I’d told Nathan that his past didn’t matter to me, it was a bit intimidating.

  Tony saved me by calling and asking if I could watch Maddie while he and Peggy went shopping for a new fridge. I called Nathan up and let him know I was on kid duty Saturday. He surprised me by suggesting he see if Emma was busy, and if she wasn’t, we could take both girls to the children’s museum. After he got the go ahead from Mark, we had a plan.

  To alleviate the whole car seat issue, we took separate cars. I took Tony’s, and Nathan took Mark’s, and we met there. The day was a blast. The girls ran around looking at everything. They were laughing and giggling and learning all at the same time. The girls’ favorite was a room where you used golf balls and ran them down ramps and through loops. It reminded me of the board game I had when I was a kid, and I made a note to buy that for Maddie for Christmas this year. That seemed to be the room the girls liked the most as that was the one they kept returning to.

  On their third trip to the room, Nathan and I stood off to the side and watched. It occurred to me then that there were a couple of important things we hadn’t discussed. “Do you ever think about having kids?” I asked purposefully looking at the girls and not him. I didn’t want to see his reaction if the answer was absolutely not.

  “I hadn’t thought much about in a long time until Emma. Linc is the oldest in his family and none of them have kids yet, but Emma is amazing. So yeah, I guess I think what Mark and Justin and Emma have is pretty awesome.”

  That wasn’t exactly a yes, but it wasn’t a no either. I was going to let it drop until he turned and looked at me. “What about you, Lexi? Do you ever think about having kids?”

  “Well, I guess I just always assumed someday I would get married and have a couple of kids. It never really even crossed my mind my life would go a completely different direction,” I answered honestly. “I realize being with a man doesn’t mean those things can’t happen. It just means it might happen differently than I expected. I’m not sure I’ve worked all that out in my mind just yet.”

  “You have time, you know?” Nathan said, “You don’t have to have it all figured out today.”

  “Yeah, I know. I think it’s time for us to return the girls, and then maybe we can go out and get some dinner.”

  “We could do that, or since Linc is on shift all night, I could drop Emma off and pick us up some dinner. You could drop Maddie off, and then go grab an overnight bag because I bet we could find something to do at my place for the rest of the evening,” he said with a look that was pure sin.

  “Yeah, um, that works,” I stammered.

  Nathan chuckled and winked at me. “Well then let’s grab the girls and go.”

  Nathan

  I dropped Emma off, grabbed our dinner, and headed back to the apartment. I fed Sassy and gave her some attention. I asked her what I should do, jump him the second he got there or talk to him first, but she was no help at all. I knew that what we were about to do was more than just sex, and Lincoln was right, Alex should know what he was getting into before we took this step.

  I met him at the door with a kiss.

  “Mmm, I could kiss you all night, but we have food to eat. And I don’t want to put a damper on our day—because today has been awesome—but there are a few things Lincoln thinks we should talk about.”

  “Things Lincoln thinks we need to talk about?”

  “Okay, things we do need to talk about, but I don’t want to talk about, but Lincoln says I should.”

  “Baby, we don’t have to talk about anything you aren’t ready to talk about. Come here and sit with me. We can eat after.” He sat down on the couch and pulled me onto his lap. I turned and straddled his legs to face him and relaxed against his chest. I almost changed my mind and skipped talking.

  “No,” I sighed tucking my head under his chin. “He’s right. You do need to know. It might help you to understand why this whole relationship thing is so hard for me.” Then I realized how that might sound, so I sat up and looked at him. “I want this though. I don’t want you to think I mean it’s too hard, or that I don’t think you’re worth a little hard. Because you are so worth it.”

  “So are you,” he said gently cupping my face. “And don’t you ever doubt it.”

  “Okay,” I began, settling back against him, “You know I lived with Lincoln’s family from the time I was fifteen until I graduated. After graduation, Linc and I went to the same college. We planned to get a place together after graduation, but my senior year of college a nurse re
cruiter from a hospital in the Dallas area came and talked to us about her hospital. They were offering a huge sign on bonus and a relocation allowance, and I decided to go. Everyone was shocked. I mean, they never expected me to leave Lincoln. I don’t think people believed us that we were like brothers and not a couple, to be honest.”

  “People still don’t," Alex said. “I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say you two were a couple in an open relationship.”

  I stilled and took a breath then quietly asked, “Does that bother you? My friendship with Lincoln, I mean.”

  “No, baby, not at all,” he assured me. “I know you love him just like I love my brother, and I would never ask you to do anything that would damage that relationship.”

  “Good.” I smiled at him since both Linc and I’d had guys who couldn’t handle our relationship, so that was good to hear. “Anyway, I went to Dallas. I think part of me felt like I needed to stand on my own feet, you know? Without Lincoln, or his mom and dad helping me. Just me taking care of me. I didn’t want them to feel like they were stuck with this stray Lincoln dragged home.”

  He stiffened when I said that, but before he could say anything I patted his leg, “Shhh, I know you don’t like it when I say things like that about myself, but just let me get this all out.”

  He relaxed against me and placed a gentle kiss on my neck. “Okay, not a word,” he promised.

  “At first it was great. I had an apartment that I used my bonus to pay the first six months’ rent on, and I loved my work. I was lucky because I got to start out in the NICU and work with the babies, and I liked the people I worked with, too. Anyway, there was this doctor, Trevor Gibson. He was handsome and charming. I knew better. I knew that dating someone at work, and especially a doctor, was a bad idea. But I was young, and he was persuasive. So we dated. For almost two years.”