Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Rhys smiled, and they both began to laugh, but he buried his face in the side of Caleb’s neck. Caleb held him there, shielding him from all the people staring at them.
“When you decide on something, you go all in, don’t you?” Caleb asked.
“I guess I do.”
“Maybe we should get out of here now.”
“Yeah. That sounds good.”
Caleb waved to the crowd, then took Rhys’s hand. They walked out of the square with everyone watching them. Rhys didn’t like it, but he did like Caleb’s hand in his, and he felt better than he had in days. He had a chance with Caleb, and that made being stared at worth it.
“Tessa and Finn didn’t really need to meet me here, did they?” Caleb asked.
“No, they said that so I could find you here. I wanted to talk to you in public so you’d know I was serious.”
Caleb squeezed his hand. “You did a lot of planning for this.”
“I did, and I hope we can test our drink again and still do the festival together.”
“We can. I never wanted to do the festival alone. It’s not the same without you.”
Cloud Nine was closer than Frost + Foam or Rhys’s house, so they headed there, holding hands the entire way. Once they were inside, Caleb pulled Rhys into the back and turned to face him, not sure what to say. Nothing had felt real since Rhys had called out to him. Was he actually about to get everything he wanted: Rhys, a festival win—he had every confidence in their entry, a chance at a real relationship? The world felt bright again, even though the sun was setting.
Rhys smiled at him. “Kiss me.”
“Anytime.” Caleb pulled Rhys into his arms and devoured him the way he’d wanted to in the square. That reserved brush of lips hadn’t been nearly enough. He wanted so much more. They were interrupted by angry meows that seemed far too loud to come from an animal as small as Mallow.
“Is that a cat?”
Caleb nodded. “It’s Mallow.”
“Who is Mallow?”
“A kitten I found in the alley behind the shop.”
“Are you keeping her?”
Caleb nodded. “I am. I hope you like cats.”
Rhys smiled. “I do. Can I meet her?”
“Really? You want to?”
“Of course I do. You remember when we were with the rabbits, I told you I wanted to get a pet eventually.”
“I know, but I…”
Rhys took Caleb’s hands in his own. “What’s wrong?”
“I found a cat when I was with Adrian, but he wouldn’t let me keep her. He took her to the shelter while I was working.”
“Without you even saying goodbye? That’s horrific. If he ever comes near you again, I’ll make sure he regrets it.”
Caleb smiled. “Don’t worry. He won’t, but I appreciate you wanting to defend me.”
“He sounds like a monster.”
“More or less, but I don’t want to talk about him anymore. Let’s go see Mallow.”
Rhys followed him upstairs, and as soon as Caleb opened the door of his apartment, Mallow jumped up and climbed his leg, telling him how annoyed she was that he hadn’t come to feed her yet.
“She’s so cute and so fluffy.”
He turned to face Rhys. “Mallow, this is Rhys. He wants to be your friend.”
Mallow meowed and leapt from Caleb’s chest to Rhys’s shoulder. He winced as her claws dug into him. “Sorry.”
“No, it’s okay.” He picked her up and cuddled her. She settled against him and started purring. “I think she likes me.”
Caleb grinned. “Of course she does.”
“So I was wondering…” Rhys looked down at Mallow, and Caleb stepped closer to him.
“Wondering what?”
“I wanted to see if you’d have dinner at my house and maybe stay with me tonight.”
“You want me to spend the night at your house?” Caleb wanted to be sure he’d heard right. He’d never even been to Rhys’s house before, and he knew how Rhys felt about privacy.
“Yes.”
“I would love that, but I’d need to bring Mallow with me.”
“She can come over, or we can stay here if that’s easier. I would just need to go get our dinner.”
Caleb pulled Rhys to him, and Mallow jumped down and headed to the kitchen. “You’d really let Mallow stay at your house?”
“I’d love for her to.”
If it were possible, Caleb loved Rhys even more in that moment. “I want to see your house, and I’d love to spend the night there.”
“I’ll have to move a few plants and put a blanket on the couch. I could get Mallow a scratching post and a litter box so—”
“You don’t have to do all that. Just knowing you’re okay with her is enough.”
“I’ll do anything to make you and Mallow comfortable.”
Caleb kissed him as Mallow meowed loudly from the kitchen. “Thank you. Obviously, I have to feed Her Highness before we can leave.”
Rhys laughed. “Obviously.”
CHAPTER 32
When they arrived at Rhys’s house, Mallow wandered around for a little while checking out the new environment, but fairly quickly, she settled on the fleece blanket Rhys had put on the couch for her and fell asleep.