Bollocks.
Ryan’s phone buzzed from the pocket of his jeans, and with a resigned sigh, he pulled it out to answer it. Of course it was Matt.
“You’ve been ages, everything okay?”
“No.”
Worry immediately coloured Matt’s tone, and Ryan heard a door close, then footsteps. “Why, what’s wrong?”
“Your mum’s demon cat knocked the key out of the lock and under the door, so now we’re stuck in here.”
Silence.
The kind of muffled silence that you get when the phone’s pressed against something. Like maybe Matt’s chest while he laughed.
Ryan rested his head on one hand and sighed, waiting for Matt to talk again.
When he came back on the line, he sounded a bit strained. “So the cat locked you in?”
“You better not be fucking laughing at me. It’s not that funny.”
“I’m not laughing.”
He was, and doing a piss-poor attempt at hiding it too.
“Wanker.”
“Sorry. I’ll be there in a sec.”
He ended the call, and Ryan waited until he heard footsteps outside and then the key in the lock.
Matt opened the door, grinning. “Mum said there’s some Alka-Seltzer in the cabinet if you need it. For your upset stomach.”
Ryan felt his cheeks heat, and he groaned. “I hope you told her the truth?”
“Nope.”
“You bastard.”
“Aww don’t be like that.” As soon as Ryan got close enough, Matt tugged on his arm and pulled him close. “Sorry.”
“Sure you are. I don’t think I can look your mother in the eye now.”
Oscar chose that moment to trot past, tail up in the air, without a care in the world. Like he hadn’t just embarrassed Ryan beyond words. “Devil’s spawn,” Ryan grumbled.
Matt laughed and twined their fingers together. “I hope that’s not put you off.”
“Off what?”
“Cats.”
Ryan pointed in the direction where Oscar had disappeared. “No, just that one.” He met Matt’s gaze. “Why do you ask?”
In answer, Matt started walking towards the utility and tugged Ryan after him. “Come and see.”
Matt’s mum waited for them beside a big square box with a white fluffy blanket inside. She gave Ryan a quick once-over. “Are you feeling better now?”
Ryan blushed enough to heat the whole house but managed to get out a “Yes, thanks.” Easier just to accept it than try and explain.
“Good.” She leant over the box, smiled at whatever was inside, then beckoned Ryan closer. “Come here and meet….” She hesitated and looked to Matt.
“I’ll think of something, give me a chance.”
Ryan stepped close enough to peer over the edge, and then everything inside him melted at the bundle of fur curled up on the blanket. A tiny kitten, the spitting image of Oscar but in miniature, lay nestled in the box. Asleep.
“Can I stroke him… her?”
Matt stepped up beside him. “It’s a boy, and yes of course.”
Ryan reached in and gently ran a finger down the middle of the kitten’s back. It stretched out in a long, adorable line, all legs and belly, and yawned. “Oh God, that is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” He glanced up at Matt. “And he’s yours?”
Matt nodded. “My surprise.”
Matt’s mum chimed in with, “Well, I know you’d like to steal Oscar if you could get away with it, so when Barbara next door told me she was getting a kitten like Oscar, I asked her where from and went to take a look. This little one was the last available.”
Ryan continued to stroke him. He was gorgeous. “But you live in a second-floor flat.”
“That’s what I said.” Matt tickled the kitten under the chin, and it did another little stretch. “But he can’t go out until he’s had all his jabs anyway.”
Ryan met his gaze again. As lovely as the kitten was, it was also impractical considering where Matt lived. Surely? “That’s only another couple of months at the most, right?”
Matt nodded. “Right.”
“Plenty of time for you to look at renting—or buying—a house,” Matt’s mum offered from where she stood watching them. She pointed at the local paper sitting on the worktop next to her. “There’s loads for sale and rent on that estate of yours. And I can always have him for a bit, if it takes longer.”
Matt hummed and eyed the newspaper and then the kitten. “It’s not a bad idea. I do like the thought of having a back garden.”
Something sharp tugged at Ryan’s chest. That would mean Matt moving. No longer being only a flight of stairs away. Would he want Ryan to stay over as much at his new place? Fuck. Ryan didn’t like this new turn of events one bit. “Really? You’re thinking about moving?”
With a mother’s intuition, Matt’s mum walked over to the back door without a word and quietly slipped outside.
Matt turned to face him and took one of Ryan’s hands in his. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while.”
Shit. Ryan almost couldn’t speak, but he swallowed and forced the words out. “I’m going to miss having you so close.” He spared a look at the kitten, big, blue eyes now open and fixed on him. “I’ll be over a lot to play with this little guy. If that’s okay?” He searched Matt’s eyes for confirmation.
Matt smiled and wrapped his arms around Ryan’s waist. “Of course it’s okay, but I have a better idea.”
“Oh?”
“Yep.” He leant in and kissed Ryan, closed mouth but longer than a peck. “Instead of coming over lots, what about if you come over once and then never leave.”
The words took a second to make sense in Ryan’s brain. “You mean move in with you?”
“Well, yes, but I was thinking more of let’s choose a house together and then move in.”
A surge of warmth filled Ryan’s chest, and he smiled wide. “That sounds even better.”
“It does, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah.” He slipped his arms around Matt’s neck and kissed him again, open-mouthed and hungry. Matt gripped his waist hard, and Ryan struggled to remember where they were and that they couldn’t take this any further. He pulled back enough to catch his breath. “I love you.” He’d said the words before, they both had, but they’d never felt so right as they did in that moment.
“I love you too.”
A quiet but plaintive meow interrupted them, and they both looked down at the box.
Matt reached in and scooped up the kitten. “Let’s take the newest member of our family outside with us so Mum can give me care instructions like I know she’s dying to.”
Ryan watched him head towards the door, still stuck on the words “our family.”
“You coming?”
“Yeah.” He walked over to Matt and opened the door for him, ready to follow him anywhere. “Lead the way.”
About the Author
Annabelle Jacobs lives in the South West of England with her three rowdy children, and two cats.
An avid reader of fantasy herself for many years, Annabelle now spends her days writing her own stories. They're usually either fantasy or paranormal fiction, because she loves building worlds filled with magical creatures, and creating stories full of action and adventure. Her characters may have a tough time of it—fighting enemies and adversity—but they always find love in the end.
https://annabellejacobs.com/
Twitter: @Ajacobs_fiction
Facebook: Annabelle Jacobs Fiction
Email: [email protected]
Also by Annabelle Jacobs
The Choosing
Torsere Series:
Capture
Union
Alliance
The Lycanaeris Series:
The Altered
The Altered 2
The Altered 3
Toy With Me
Will & Patrick Series:
A Casual Thing
A Serious
Thing
Magic & Mistletoe
Chasing Shadows
Always Another Side
The Regent's Park Pack Series
Bitten By Mistake
Bitten By Design
All Hallows' Eve
A Christmas Kiss
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Epilogue
About The Author
Also By Annabelle Jacobs
Maybe This Time Page 19