by Aliana James
If they were to live together and get along, he couldn’t walk around on eggshells. Travis didn’t have a thick skin. Grunting at him like he did Kane would cause him to shut down, or even cause another argument like this past weekend. After they got back to their apartment, Travis had stayed glued to the movers and made a point of going to take a nap before his shift at Raven.
They saw each other in the hallway briefly when he got home. Nothing but awkward, all because he had been stupid. Who knew that books meant so much to Travis? Anything Alec read was downloaded on his e-reader. He didn’t collect anything. Only a couple of team shirts. Nothing that couldn’t be replaced.
And then he had compounded it all by breaking more gadgets in the kitchen. How could he have known offering to buy new ones would make everything worse? It was like there was a set of rules and no one had told him.
If he was going to survive the next year or two of this marriage, he needed to figure out the rules now.
Two days in and Travis regretted the marriage already. That had to be what he’d apologized for.
“I’m ready.”
They walked the hall and Travis stopped to speak with two associates about a report. Poor man, his whole life was about reports. Travis laughed at something they said and turned his way.
“Let’s go.”
The sun warmed his face and shoulders as they exited the building.
“There’s a great deli around the corner,” Travis suggested.
“Sounds good.” He followed Travis through the throng of people on the street. Travis held the door open for him and a wave of smells hit him all at once. A huge board showed the weekly specials.
“There are too many choices,” he joked.
Travis grinned. “I usually get the reuben.”
He followed where he pointed and saw the reuben on the menu board.
“That looks good.” They both got in line.
“So you’ll never guess who I ran into this morning. Julian.”
Travis gazed back at him in surprise. “I thought he was in Greece or somewhere near there the last time you mentioned him.”
“Nope, he’s here. He came to check up on the coffee shop and the other properties.”
The line moved, and they placed their order.
“I’m going to grab a table. Can you get me an iced tea?” Travis asked.
“Sure,” he answered as he paid, glad he made time to come see him for lunch. His number was called, and Alec grabbed the tray to make his way through the crowd of people. Travis had nabbed a corner table and it was hard to wiggle his way over to him.
Travis laughed and hopped up to grab the drinks off of the tray.
“I saw you struggling but knew if I moved then someone would grab the table. So sorry.”
“It’s okay. This place is crazy.”
“Yeah, it gets that way since it’s the only decent place to get lunch.”
Travis sank his teeth into his sandwich and hummed. It was one thing to want to straighten things out between them; it was a totally different thing if he was going to be making cute little noises as he ate. Alec might not be able to concentrate on his food.
“You sounded surprised that Julian was in town. He comes to New York every couple of months, right?” Travis wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Didn’t we go out with him the last time he was here?”
“Oh yeah, that’s right. We did. How did I forget that? It was in August.”
“Yeah, for your birthday.”
He had blocked out most of that night. Everyone had tried to get him drunk because they were already six drinks to the wind.
“Don’t forget I’m working at Raven on Thursday, Friday and Saturday,” Travis said.
He frowned. When the hell was Travis going to sleep?
“How in the world do you handle being at the club three nights in a row and working?”
“I won’t go into the office on Saturday morning so I’ll catch up on sleep then. Friday nights are the hardest when I work three days in a row. But I gave in my notice so this is my last week.”
“Will you miss the club?” Alec asked as he finished one half of his sandwich and unwrapped the second half.
“Yeah, I’ll miss the people. I’ll see Jonas outside of work I’m sure.”
“I bet you’ll miss the leather pants.”
Travis choked on his iced tea and started to cough. People at the next table stared and then Alec patted him on the back.
“Are you choking?”
Travis shook his head. “Went down the wrong pipe. I’m okay, thanks.”
Alec nodded at him and went back to his lunch.
“You.” Travis pointed at him. “You did that shit on purpose.”
“Sorry.” He smirked.
“Sure, you are.” Travis rolled his eyes and sipped his iced tea. “Damn, that hurt.”
“Are you okay?”
“Oh, you’re concerned now?”
He laughed. His sandwich finished and his drink in his hand, he sat back in his chair. He had a meeting in a little over an hour so he needed to leave soon.
“Kane said he’ll stop by tomorrow after work and fill us in on everything. Have you spoken to Tyler?”
“Not really. I got a couple of texts from him but that’s all. My mom texted me today and said she saw him this morning. No change. He’s hanging in there.”
“No news is good news, right?”
“I suppose.” Travis gathered up his sandwich wrappers and dumped them on the tray. “Stay here a minute, okay?”
Travis got up and approached a little old man and a woman with a tray of food in their hands. He took the tray from the old man and led them over to their table.
“Here you go. You can have our table.”
“Thank you!” the woman said.
Alec got up, wiped the crumbs with his hands, and pulled out the chair for the woman. Two guys scowled at him from the corner where they’d been waiting and he glared back at them until they looked elsewhere. Really? Did they want to fight an old couple for a table?
“Hope you enjoy your lunch,” he said.
The older couple smiled and he walked past the two guys to join Travis. The financial district was always busy, especially during lunchtime, and today was no exception. People jammed the sidewalks and as they approached the corner, they spotted a cluster of people gathered by the stoop.
“They’re so cute!” a woman exclaimed.
Curiosity got the best of him and he peered around the lady to see what was happening. A man sat next to a cardboard box and two people were holding kittens in their hands.
“Travis, come see this.” He glanced up to see Travis frown and check his watch.
“I have to get back, Alec.”
“It’ll only take a minute.”
Alec weaved his way through and glanced into the box. Other than the two kittens that were being held, there were four more huddled together for warmth on a bright green blanket.
He reached into the box and picked up the brown striped one. As he held it up, it let out a cute little meow, and he smiled.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Travis said, hands on his hips.
“What’s the matter?”
“You’re not thinking about taking one, are you?”
Was he? He’d always thought he would get a dog, but he was never home. A cat could stay by itself. They didn’t need to be walked.
“They’re six weeks old,” the man said. “That one there is a boy. If you are looking for a girl, there’s only one.”
A boy. Huh.
“You are thinking about it!” Travis put his hands in his pockets and shook his head.
He held up the kitten to Travis. “How can you not love this cute little face?”
Travis snorted. “You’re crazy. This thing is going to get into everything.”
He shot Travis a glare, gazed at the kitten and said in a baby voice. “Don’t be afraid of the big bad man.” As he turned to Travis, he
said, “And he’s not a thing. He’s a kitten.”
Travis peered into the kitten’s face and they locked eyes. He extended his paw toward Travis.
“See? He likes you.”
“He is cute.”
He held up the kitten next to his face and then pouted at Travis. The lady next to them laughed.
“I’d say you’re getting a kitten,” she said to Travis.
“I’d say you’re right.” Travis laughed.
“Yay!” He turned to the kitten. “Welcome to the family, Chauncey.”
“Chauncey?”
“I always wanted to name a dog or a cat Chauncey.”
“Wait a minute, Alec. You need to go to the pet store and pick up supplies. He needs a bed, cat toys, one of the tree things, food and we need to find a vet.” Travis ticked off his fingers. “And I’m not changing the litterbox. That stuff sets off my allergies.”
“Got it.” He held him out to Travis. “Hold him for a minute.”
“He probably has fleas, Alec.”
He rolled his eyes as he grabbed his wallet and pulled out a couple of twenties.
“Here you go.” He handed them to the man and took the kitten from Travis. There was no way, he could take him on the subway. He’d have to call a car service.
When they arrived at the corner, Travis stopped and stared at him, shaking his head.
“I’ll see the two of you later. Pet store and then make a vet appointment. And please keep him away from my shoes.”
“Huh, we don’t want no smelly shoes, right?”
Travis waved as the light turned red so he could cross while Alec went in the opposite direction. He thumbed open the contacts on his phone, ordered a car, and waited for it to arrive.
The kitten purred inside his jacket. He might have to reschedule his afternoon meetings. He had some shopping to do.
Chapter Twelve
Alec
Alec slipped out of his construction boots and hung his jacket on the peg by the door. Picking up everything the kitten needed had pushed his meetings back two hours. The commute from Long Island took longer than normal, and for the first time in a long time, he thought about buying a house out there. Somewhere in the middle of his satellite office and Manhattan.
Most of the development projects his department worked on landed in between. Something to think about. Maybe he’d see what Travis thought about it. He thumbed through the mail on the entryway table. Something was different.
A decorative tray replaced the pile of mail he usually had stacked on the table. Next to the tray sat a potted plant and a decorative frame. He recognized the large print hanging over the table; it was the one Tyler had taken of downtown Manhattan. He glanced around the entryway. Gone were the neat piles and his jackets were no longer on the pegs.
It looked clean. Granted, he wasn’t a slob. He wouldn’t have made it through a tour with the Army if he had been. Everything had its place. He just never thought about making things nice while keeping them neat.
“Hey.” Travis shifted from one foot to the next as he stood in the entryway. He had changed from his suit and tie into sweats and a T-shirt that said ‘Kiss The Cook.’
Alec couldn’t help but smile. “Nice shirt.”
Travis laughed and his shoulders relaxed. “Thanks. You said to make myself at home so I hope you don’t mind. I moved your mail to your bedroom and all the shoes and jackets to the closet, and rearranged a few things in the living room and the kitchen to make room for my things.”
“I told you it’s okay.” He picked up the mail and tore open an envelope.
“Great, so do you think you can put your shoes and jacket in the closet?” Travis asked, hands on his hips.
He stopped sorting the mail and glanced around. Wow, all the shoes were gone. The umbrella he kept in the corner, his baseball cap, and his gym bag also gone.
“Where—”
“Closet.”
Travis walked over to the closet and opened it with a flourish.
“Your favorite baseball cap is hanging here, jackets here, shoes there. Gym bag top shelf.”
The closet, not one he used too often, had been organized in a way he never would have thought possible. Everything that had been in the entryway now had a place. He cocked an eyebrow in surprise, opened the other side of the closet, and stood still.
“When did you find time to do all this?”
“After work,” Travis answered. A beep sounded in the distance. “Oh, I have to go check on dinner.”
Dinner? And organized closets? He shook his head in disbelief and smiled. Married life had its perks. He started to walk into the living room and caught himself just in time. He picked up his jacket, hung it in the closet, and grabbed the stack of mail.
In only two days, their apartment had taken on a different feel. The shelves in the living room, normally empty, had art pieces displayed on them. A colorful blanket lay on his armchair, which as he turned his head, had a more prominent spot in front of the television. He didn’t know if he liked the throw pillows on the sectional; the colors made his eyes water.
He noticed the dust lingering on his jeans from the worksite and went straight to his bathroom to shower and change. If he were being honest, he would have plopped his dirty self right on the sectional with a beer and takeout and not given a second thought to changing until he was ready to go to bed. But he knew Travis wouldn’t like it, so he cleaned up and made himself look presentable. The man cooked dinner, and it was the least he could do.
The doorbell rang as he left his bedroom. He scooped Chauncey out of his playpen on his way to the door.
“Alec? Can you get the door, please?” Travis called. His stomach growled and his mouth began to water at the savory smells coming from the kitchen.
He opened the door to allow Kane to enter and took his jacket. He juggled the kitten, held him against his chest, and hung the jacket on the peg. He sighed, grabbed it, and pointed to the closet.
“Hang it in there, will you?” he asked Kane.
Old dog, new tricks. He’d get used to it at some point.
“When did you get a cat?” Kane asked in shock.
“Chauncey, meet Kane. He’s a big softie. Don’t you be afraid.”
“For the love of God, are you serious? Baby voices?” Kane shook his head.
Alec cuddled the kitten close to his broad chest and stuck his tongue out at Kane.
“What smells so good?” Kane asked him in a low voice.
“No clue. Let’s go find out. Travis is cooking dinner.” Alec gestured for Kane to follow him to the kitchen.
“Hi, Travis,” Kane said from the doorway where he stood with his hands in his pockets.
“Kane,” Travis replied and glanced at his feet. “Shoes off. Wash your hands. Both of you. Dinner is almost finished.”
He returned the kitten to his playpen. Hands washed, he grabbed two beers from the fridge.
“What are you drinking, Trav?”
“I’ve been sipping some wine.” Travis gestured to the open bottle of merlot with the spoon. He changed his beer for a glass of wine, topped off Travis’s and popped open the beer for Kane.
“Thanks,” Kane said as he sat on a bar stool.
Travis flipped the dials on the top of the stove, opened the oven, and pulled out a casserole dish. With a spatula, he plated the food on three plates, grabbed two, and nodded at Alec.
“Grab that last plate for me?”
“Okay.” They usually ate at the kitchen island, so it confused him. “Where are you going?”
“To the table,” Travis replied, his eyebrows raised. Kane chuckled behind him.
“Shut up,” he muttered.
“You do live here, right?” Kane joked.
He had forgotten they had a dining room table, the one piece of furniture Travis insisted he bring from his apartment. He set one end of the table with three light blue placemats, matching napkins, and silverware he wasn’t sure was his. There was a basket
of bread in the middle and a bowl of salad.
Travis took the side seat, leaving the head of the table for Alec and the seat opposite for Kane. He paused before he grabbed his fork and waited for Travis to say grace. The Andrews family never started eating without it.
“Dinner is beef au jus, garlic mashed potatoes and honey glazed carrots. Enjoy.” Travis plucked a roll from the basket, ripped a piece off, and dipped it into the au jus sauce on his plate. Alec’s eyes followed the bread as it traveled to Travis’s lips and widened when Travis let out a moan of satisfaction.
“This is amazing, Travis,” Kane said between bites. “I haven’t had garlic mashed potatoes this light and creamy. Amazing.”
His attention drifted to his plate, and he scooped up a bite of the mashed potatoes. Holy shit, that was good. The beef au jus melted in his mouth.
Kane polished off his food and pressed his lips together. Travis chuckled and rose from the table, his hand extended for Kane’s plate.
“Seconds?” Travis asked.
“Oh God, yes, please,” Kane answered, and they all laughed. Travis winked at him and headed into the kitchen with his plate.
“Holy shit, I can’t remember the last time I had a homecooked meal that good,” Kane said.
“I know. I’ll gain a million pounds if I eat like this all the time.” They both smiled and laughed.
“Not to worry,” Travis said as he placed plates with generous portions in front of Kane and Alec. “I don’t have time to cook like this every night, nor would I want to. As much as I enjoy it, it’s a lot of work.”
The second helping tasted better than the first and before long he’d cleared his plate for the second time. Before he could blink, Travis gathered up all of their plates and walked to the kitchen.
“I’ll give you a little time to digest before I bring out dessert,” Travis called from the doorway. Kane raised his eyebrows in shock and stared at him.
“Holy crap,” Kane muttered.
He smiled, sipped his wine, and thought about getting more when Travis appeared with another beer for Kane and a new bottle of merlot. Travis’s face was flushed. Whether it was from the wine or from cooking, he didn’t know. His shirt stuck to his shoulders as he slipped into the seat. As Travis picked up his glass of wine and took a sip, he followed the droplet of wine that escaped, his tongue darting out to capture it.